I know it’s been a little silent around here as of late, but for good reason. Baby McCabe made his appearance early last Monday morning(and I mean early), so we have been adjusting to life as a 4 child family. Follow my instagram if you’d like to see pictures 😉
Now, back to business.
I think strawberry shortcake will always and forever be in my top five favorite desserts. Actually, though I like strawberries, I really just eat it for the shortcakes with all of that whipped cream on top. I’m just here for the carbs and fats, really.
And sugar.
Though I love a traditional shortcake, I wanted to make a version that was a little bit healthier. So I opted to switch out white flour for my two favorite whole grain flours: Spelt and Oat.
Spelt gives the shortcakes such a nice, nutty flavor. The oat flour gives it tenderness. These shortcakes come together quite quickly, thanks to the food processor, as do the other components. Though it does have several, it really is a pretty easy dessert to throw together.
Usually I toss sliced strawberries with sugar, but went with raw honey this time for, again, a little bit healthier of a dessert. A little bit of fresh thyme added to the berries elevates this dessert and works so well with the honey.
I do not, however, recommend tossing the strawberries with the honey ahead of time as the honey will make a runny syrup with the strawberry juice as it sits and the strawberries won’t retain the sweetness from the honey. Not that it’s not a tasty syrup, but I find that the strawberries pack a sweeter punch and have a fuller, more glossy look if the honey is tossed with them right before serving.
More Shortcake Ideas:
Individual Strawberry Shortcakes
- 1 C. Oat Flour
- 1 C. Spelt Flour
- 2 T. Sugar
- 1 T. Baking Powder
- ½ t. Salt
- 1 stick(8 T.) Butter, cold, cut into pieces
- ⅔ C. Heavy Cream
- FOR THE STRAWBERRIES & CREAM
- 2 C. Sweetened Whipped Cream(whipped to stiff peaks)
- 1 Quart Strawberries, tops removed, quartered
- 3-4 Fresh Thyme Sprigs, stems removed
- ¼ C. Honey(use more or less depending on sweetness of strawberries)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat mat.
- Place the flours, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
- With the processor running, Drop in the cubed butter piece by piece and process until just combined and forming small crumbs.
- Drizzle the cream into processor through top while processor is running and process until dough JUST comes together. Be careful to not over-process.
- Place dough on floured work surface and pat down dough to a uniform 1-inch to 1½ inch thickness.
- Cut dough into rounds about 2 inches in diameter with a round cutter. Reform dough as necessary with scraps being careful not to overwork dough and re-cut into rounds.
- Place cut dough onto prepared baking sheet. Bake shortcakes for about 12-15 minutes or until tops are just turning slightly brown. Cool on a wire rack.
- Toss the strawberries, thyme leaves, and honey together in a bowl just before topping the shortcakes. Doing this ahead of time may result releasing too much liquid and the berries won't retain that glossy coating of honey.
- To assemble, top shortcakes with a large dollop of whipped cream and spoon the honey thyme strawberries over the top of the cream.
