Most of the past four weeks have been all about our move. More and more boxes to tape up. More and more boxes to label and color code. More and more … it felt like preparing for our move would never end. And then there was the actual move July 1st. Having a few celebrations squeezed into the ruckus was a much-needed reprieve. Laughter, company and dessert is the best remedy for times like this. We had a middle school graduation, twins’ 11th birthday, and father’s day to celebrate. Thank goodness for celebrations, because packing is a pain in the ass. Strategically fitting all the odds and ends that one (ahem) accumulates requires some serious Tetris skills and patience. For those of you who move often, I feel for you.
On a frugal side note: we must have packed over a hundred boxes so buying SO many boxes would cost a fortune according to my handy-dandy calculator so I called around (months before) to places like Bed Bath Beyond, Pier 1 Imports, and others asking for their boxes. Given that they flatten their boxes immediately after unpacking and then throw them away, I thought, why not. Most were happy to oblige (bed bath beyond had the best). We scored many large patio furniture-sized boxes that were perfect for large lamp shades, outdoor cushions, and pillows, as well as thicker, custom-sized boxes for vases, ceramics, etc.
I knew it was going to be hectic, so I planned packing the non-essentials from mid-April (after our trip to New York) into May to spread out the craziness a bit. We used every bit of free time in June, between celebrations, to pack anyway.
So much for my no-nonsense plan. Sigh. What was no-nonsense were these strawberry shortcakes. No-nonsense and freaking delicious.
My Mom was SO helpful (thanks Mom!) in packing the kitchen stuff with me (read: serving dishes, baking dishes, fancy dishes, everyday dishes – LOTS of dishes). I love my boys, but boys and breakables? Um, no thanks.
With all that we find out the house, we are set to move into, has water damage. This news came the day before our movers were scheduled to arrive.
And we pause.
sit speechless.
panic for a minute.
breathe.
come up with plan b.
find a storage facility.
send the moving trucks over to storage.
frantic house hunting.
breathe.
plant all six of us in a hotel.
emotions flying.
stress rising.
private space cravings.
breathe.
So much for plans. #lifehappens
After eight days residing in a hotel, we have found a water damage free (yay!) house that we love for an even better price. Hallelujah. I am so ready to get off this roller coaster ride.
EIGHT MORE DAYS until move-in.
Cue: Happy dance.
In the midst of it all I managed to snap some pre-move photos and scribble recipes into my composition notebook (yes, the black ones from elementary school, not since elementary lol!) with full intent to share the ooh, this is too good not to share eats with you guys. Hope to share more of my scribbles with you real soon once I get my shit together.
And so the story goes where the blogging Mom couldn’t type up her recipes, compile all the photos, and organize them to post in real time due to reasons being life … yadda yadda yadda … enough about that let’s make some strawberry shortcakes before they are out of season!
Strawberry shortcakes made from scratch and allergen-free. YES and YES.
To me strawberry shortcakes = big red stained smiles. And a crumble-trailed mess if those smiley ones are mobile. I warned you.
Light, flaky biscuit, with mounds of sweet strawberries covered in whipped topping. A trifecta of sandwich happiness is what this is.
May I suggest an R-rated boozy version? A few splashes of grand marnier (orange liqueur) or frambois (raspberry liqueur) combined with the strawberries. Since I have three under the legal drinking age we opt for the G-rated version.
Though I have made coconut cream from scratch, I find sometimes we just need a store-bought version. Are you with me on this? If so, the one I use is pretty darn tasty without the need to pull out the mixer. I opted for no extra work when I made this in early June. The biscuits are not overly sweet and certainly will not overpower the taste of the strawberries; their contribution is more for the light texture and crumb shell that makes a shortcake a shortcake. The berries are key here so use the ripe, darker-berries-that-look-like-they-are-about-to-spoil for this recipe. I added ground flax seed, hence the speckled dough, solely for nutritional reasons. It’s just too good of an Omega-3 source to resist and does not come across as grainy or seed tasting at all. And simple, here’s how.
Prep berries.
Then biscuit ingredients.
Work the “butter” into the flour blend.
You can easily switch out the ground flax seed for white rice flour if you prefer a more traditional looking shortcake.
Add “buttermilk” and shape into a disc. Excuse my veiny photo bomb.
Cut circles (I had already packed my cookie cutters but this cup worked like a charm).
See the chunky “butter” bits in here? You want that to keep the biscuit light and buttery tasting.
Brush the biscuits with “egg” wash then the sprinkling of raw sugar on top.
Super flaky biscuits without gluten, dairy or egg baby! Now we wait for them to cool before slicing and piling assembling.
Then transfer them onto a prep board.
And stuff, I mean, assemble.
Whether you use flax seed or not, these would make a scrumptious addition to your summertime eats.
Have a wonderful weekend!
xo
Jessica
- For the dough:
- 1¼ cup (213 g) white rice flour, plus extra for flouring rolling surface
- ¼ cup (28 g) tapioca flour (or starch)
- ¼ cup (42 g) brown rice flour
- ¼ cup ground flax seed meal
- 1 tablespoon aluminum free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup coconut milk (not canned), preferably chilled
- ½ tablespoon melted non-dairy butter
- 3 oz (3/4 stick) non-dairy butter (I use Earth Balance soy-free spread), chilled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons raw sugar plus 1 tablespoon
- For "egg" wash:
- 3 tablespoons non-dairy milk (I use coconut milk)
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil or non-dairy butter, melted and cooled
- For the strawberries:
- 2 pints fresh strawberries
- 1 teaspoon raw or cane sugar
- frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed at room temperature for an hour, longer will yield a thinner whipped topping similar to whipped cream
- Hull and quarter strawberries then transfer into a medium bowl. Leave the smaller berries halved. Sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar and combine. Then whisk flours, aluminum powder, and kosher salt in a large bowl set aside. Measure coconut milk then add ½ tablespoon melted “butter”; stir to combine and set aside. This is our “buttermilk”.
- Add chilled non-dairy butter to the flour mixture bowl and cut “butter” into the flour using a pastry cutter or fork until the size of peas. Add “buttermilk” and combine by hand until you have a ball of dough. Transfer onto a well-floured surface and shape it into a large thick circle by hand, about an inch thick. Cut into a 3-inch round (I used one of our plastic tumblers), then transfer onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Gently press any loose dough pieces back onto the biscuit round if needed.
- Note: If your dough has gotten too warm to the touch, chill it for 5 minutes before brushing on the wash and baking.
- Combine "egg" wash in a small bowl then brush liberally over each biscuit.
- Sprinkle each with a pinch of the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar. Bake 15-18 minutes until slightly golden. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing through the center. Add heaping spoons of strawberries, then spoonfuls of whipped topping. Serve immediately.
Don't miss a recipe! Subscribe here.
Based on 3 Review(s)
Comments