Vegan Strawberry Shortcake with Vanilla Cashew Cream

Happy National Strawberry Shortcake Day, everyone! Celebrate peak strawberry season with this wholesome take on the classic, berrylicious dessert. These tender biscuits are super simple to prepare-- a perfect summer cooking project with kids. Good Karma Vanilla Flaxmilk with protein lends a delicate sweetness to both biscuits and delectable cashew cream filling, complementing the luscious berries while letting them shine.

Did you know National Strawberry Shortcake Day existed? Neither did I, until just recently. That said, it just so happens that last year on this day (or at least within a day or so of today, one year ago), Chef F and I went strawberry picking in Connecticut with my sister and then 4-year old niece, Jane. Had I known then there was an officially marker around the day, you can bet we’d have made these shortcakes—easy, family fun from start to delectable finish.

Growing up in New England, strawberry picking was an iconic part of early summer. Popping those rich, sweet sun-ripened berries into our mouths as we picked was irresistible. Inevitably our faces and fingers would be shamelessly stained when it was time to present the broad cardboard flats of berries for weighing and purchase.

It was one of those simple pleasures that makes your heart shine like a smiling cartoon sun to share strawberry picking with Chef F, Laura, and Jane, not least after the extended absence of visits due to Covid-19. We were there for a quick visit in honor of my parents’ 50th anniversary—not the celebration my mom longed to offer to everyone. That one, painfully delayed by the pandemic and still evolving circumstances, is still in the works. The visit, too, was fraught with hiccups, including F coming down with a hard-hitting bug and a memorial service my parents were attending. I guess the result was so whirlwind, I didn’t register at the time just how strawberry-special it was, too.

This year, Google happened to remind me of strawberry picking last year, and the happenstance of Strawberry Shortcake Day, as we bask in the bliss of a remote loch in Scotland on vacation. It’s intriguing, isn’t it, just how opposite peaceful solitude can be from loneliness. It’s striking how even when that place of contemplative reflection brings your thoughts to loved ones who are lost or far away, the feelings evoked aren’t necessarily lonely ones. Today, Google plucked up a memory, and I missed my sister, her family, our parents, our west coast sister and her family—but with an appreciative wistfulness.

We’re offered too few opportunities to step away and truly take soul-cleansing, mentally refreshing space for ourselves. It’s too bad, because allowing that space is when we do that the meaning emerges from everything we’ve unconsciously been working to process. It’s when we can reset and realize the fragility and preciousness of picking strawberries. It’s when we can set hopeful intention. It’s when we are available to listen to our hearts’ wishes, whispering, I don’t know what is coming, but let’s make the effort to pick strawberries together, again.

Vegan Strawberry Shortcake with Vanilla Cashew Cream

Approximately 6 servings

For the shortcakes:
1 Cup Good Karma Vanilla Flaxmilk +Protein
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 Cups white whole wheat, all-purpose, or gluten-free flour blend
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon baking powder
Pinch salt
¼ Cup monkfruit or other granulated sugar (optional)
⅓ Cup extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat and set aside.

In a measuring cup, combine the Good Karma Vanilla Flaxmilk with protein and the tablespoon apple cider vinegar. Let rest while you prepare the dry ingredients.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, pinch salt, and sugar (if using).

Stir the olive oil into the milk mixture. Add to the dry ingredients and stir gently to form a dough. Be careful not to overmix!

Sprinkle a work surface lightly with flour and shape the dough into a large rectangle that is roughly ¾ -inch thick. Using a cutter or a glass with approximately a 2 ½ inch diameter, cut rounds, gathering remaining dough to form a new rectangle as needed, yielding 12 biscuits (there may be some extra dough). Place biscuits on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until tops are becoming golden. Serve with fresh sliced strawberries and Vanilla Cashew Cream.

To serve:
1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced
Vanilla Cashew Cream (recipe below)

Vanilla Cashew Cream
1 cup raw cashews
⅓ cup Good Karma Vanilla Flaxmilk + protein
½ Teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch sea salt
1 teaspoon tapioca starch

Place cashews in a small saucepan of lightly boiled water and simmer 5-10 minutes. Drain and rinse.
Transfer cashews to a blender with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. Place in an airtight container and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.