Strawberry shortcake

Strawberry season is upon us, just in time to make delicious strawberry shortbread!

Dessert is not terribly good for us. Most of them, that is. That being said, we all like dessert and having a sweet treat from time to time isn’t such a bad thing. That’s where fruit desserts come into play – already naturally sweet, extra sugar isn't necessary.

I have never met someone who doesn’t like strawberry shortcake. Have you? It's not too sweet, just sweet enough, juicy red fruit, all on top of a light and slightly sweet biscuit. Perfection in my books.

Not only is strawberry shortcake the quintessential strawberry dessert, strawberries are just coming into season for us in my neck of the woods. This makes me very happy.

I’m using my yogurt biscuit recipe as the base and made the necessary changes to convert it for this dessert. I’ll share both versions with you since I think you’ll enjoy both. The yogurt biscuits are the best I’ve had. They stay light and airy and moist for days. I used to not make biscuits very often because those that didn’t get eaten that day would end up in the trash, dry and inedible. This is not the case with yogurt biscuits.

Recipe Note: I chose to use sprouted flour (a grain that has sprouted and turned into a plant, then dried and ground into flour) in this recipe, but you can use any flour you have. I have made this biscuit recipe more times than I can count with all kinds of different flours and they work beautifully every time. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that if you are switching flours, you may need to add a few tablespoons to the recipe if the dough is a little sticky.

I chose to use Greek style yogurt sweetened with honey instead of whipping cream, but use whichever you like. Unlike strawberry shortcake, I have met quite a few people that don’t like yogurt, so in that case whipping cream might be the better choice.

Strawberry shortcake

1 batch of Yogurt Biscuits (recipes below)
1 batch of Honey Balsamic Strawberries (recipe below)
Greek Style Yogurt or whipping cream

Slice the biscuits in half, down the middle. Put the biscuit on a serving plate, scoop some strawberries on to the biscuit and top with yogurt or whipped cream. Add the top of the biscuit and garnish with mint, cream or strawberries.

Basic Yogurt Biscuits

2 cups sprouted spelt flour (plus a 1/4 cup if required)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 oil of choice
1 cup full fat yogurt   

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the yogurt and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon and transfer to a well-floured surface and gently knead to form a ball of dough. Be careful not to over mix. Less is more here. Roll the dough out until 1 inch thick. Using a round cookie cutter or a juice glass, cut the dough into circles. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden on top.

White Chocolate Yogurt Biscuits 

2 cups sprouted spelt flour (plus a 1/4 cup if required)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons palm sugar or alternate unrefined sugar (reduce to 2 tablespoons if using regular sugar)
1/4 oil of choice
1 cup yogurt
1/3 cup chopped white chocolate, coconut or chopped hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix the yogurt and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon and transfer to a well-floured surface.  Add the chocolate and gently knead to incorporate it into the dough and form a ball. Be careful not to over mix. Less is more here. Roll the dough out until 1 inch thick. Using a round cookie cutter or a juice glass, cut the dough into circles. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden on top.

Recipe Note: I have tried this recipe with dark chocolate and it really isn’t nearly as good. No need for you to repeat my mistakes.

Honey Balsamic Strawberries

4 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey

Place the strawberries in a large bowl. Combine the vinegar and the honey stir until honey has dissolved. Add the honey mixture to the berries and set aside for 30 minutes.

Related post on Beyond The Peel: Sweet Almond and Sprouted Spelt Tart with Roasted Rhubarb Jam

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