Enjoy the refreshing taste of summer 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.
1/3cupvegan butter (use soy-free if need to avoid soy)
2cupsall purpose flour
2Tbspsugar
3Tbspbaking powder
3/4tspfine sea salt
1 1/2tsppoppy seeds
1Tbspfresh lemon zest (for batter)
1tspfresh lemon zest (for garnish)
1/4cupfresh lemon juice
1/2cupalmond milk (unsweetened, unflavored)
2canscoconut milk (regular, full fat) chilled in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours
1/2cuppowdered sugar
2lbsstrawberries, washed and sliced
2Tbspsugar
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!