Sunday, June 22, 2014

Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcake


For me, shortcake is an essential summer staple.  You start the season with strawberries, then move on to blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and peaches.  You can leave the rhubarb out if you want (but might need to splash in a little more soy milk), but it does add some nice flavour.  Frozen rhubarb would work well here as well--just let it thaw a bit so you can chop it up.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 tbsp coconut oil
- 3/4 cup finely chopped rhubarb
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup non-dairy milk, plus more for brushing
- sugar for sprinkling

METHOD
1. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.  Cut in coconut oil with knives or a pastry cutter.  Place bowl in the freezer to cool down the coconut oil.
2. Add the vinegar to a 1 cup measure (the kind that has markings for other measurements as well).  Fill to the 3/4 cup mark with non-dairy milk (almond works very well) and mix.  Place in the freezer as well.
3. Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. When the oven is almost heated, add chopped rhubarb to the dry ingredients, then mix the liquid ingredients in to make a wet dough.  Transfer to a floured surface, lightly flour top of dough, and press into a rectangle with your fingers.  Use a pastry scraper to fold like a letter.  Rotate 90 degrees and repeat.
5. Press/roll into a larger rectangle and cut into squares.  The size of the pieces, and the thickness of the dough, is up to you.  Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.  Brush with non-dairy milk and sprinkle with sugar.
6. Bake for 12-14 mins, or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.