Vegan Strawberry Lemon Poppy Seed Shortcakes
Growing up, nothing said summer like fireflies, camping out and my mom’s strawberry shortcake! I gave her version a makeover with these easy made-from-scratch vegan strawberry lemon poppy seed shortcakes. They’re lower in sugar, dairy-free and vegan, with a hint of lemon and poppy seed. They’re also refreshing and delicious, just like my childhood favorite.
These shortcake biscuits don’t take long to whip together, and this dough rolls out nice and easy. That’s my kind of dough! My bet is that’s your favorite kind too. And if you’re new to this business of taking a rolling pin to dough, this is the perfect place to get your proverbial baking feet wet.
Another perk with these little babies is that they freeze well. When I’m serving just a few people, I freeze the extras for another day. They’re delicious when thawed and reheated (and the work has already been done!). On the flip side, when I’m serving a larger crowd, it’s easy enough to double this recipe.
The whipped cream served atop this strawberry shortcake is particularly divine. For me, it’s dairy-free heaven because of my dairy allergy. For family and guests who don’t have issues with dairy, they ooh, ahhh and rave about it!
There’s a secret to making the whipped cream that I wish I had learned earlier: get everything COLD. This includes the bowl and the whisk or beaters, not just the cans of coconut milk. Cold makes all the difference.
Save it/pin it and make these vegan strawberry lemon poppy seed shortcakes sometime soon! Please let me know if you do — that would make my day!
Vegan Strawberry Lemon Poppy Seed Shortcakes
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup vegan butter (use soy-free if need to avoid soy)
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 3 Tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon zest (for batter)
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest (for garnish)
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup almond milk (unsweetened, unflavored)
- 2 cans coconut milk (regular, full fat) chilled in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 lbs strawberries, washed and sliced
- 2 Tbsp sugar
Instructions
Shortcake biscuits
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
- Mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking, powder and salt)
- Cut in the vegan butter until the mixture looks like fine crumbs
- Add poppy seeds, almond milk, lemon zest and lemon juice; mix until blended
- Put dough onto a clean, lightly floured surface and gently smooth it into a ball, then kneed it 20 or so times
- Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut with a round cookie cutter (if you don't have one, you can use a round drinking glass)
- Place about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then bake at 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until done
Coconut whipped cream
- For best results, use a standing electric mixer. You can use a hand mixer, but it's more difficult and takes more time to get the whipped cream to the most desirable thickness/consistency (although that's what I used before I finally got a standing mixer). 🙂
- Also for best results, put your bowl and whiskers or beaters in the refrigerator or freezer (I put the beater in the freezer and bowl in the frig, unless I have enough room in my freezer ... which I usually don't). The key to success is for everything to be as cold as possible (the cans of coconut milk, although do not freeze them), bowl and beater(s).
- While the biscuits are baking, open up the 2 cans of coconut milk and put the solid (only) parts at the top of each can into the cold bowl, add the powdered sugar and whip for 3-5 minutes on high (5-10 if using a hand mixer) or until it forms a nice, smooth, thick whipped cream texture
Strawberries
- Wash and cut the strawberries; add 2 Tbsp sugar
Putting it all together ...
- When the biscuits are done and you're ready to serve, top each biscuit with strawberries, then whipped cream, then garnish with a little lemon zest. ENJOY!
