I used to make strawberry shortcake with store-bought angel food cake, smothered in Cool Whip, and decorated with strawberries. (This way is delicious and a time saver!). However, with my daughter home from school today I figured a fun activity would be to bake it from scratch.
While I have always considered this dessert a healthier choice because of the strawberries, as I researched recipes, it is loaded with sugar and butter. Here is my version, which I simplified and healthified (and made up a word).
When I served this dessert, my guests thought I was a genius. They could not believe I baked it from scratch or that it was healthier than other strawberry shortcake. I divided my recipe into three simple steps.
Simple Strawberry Shortcake
The strawberries
- 16 oz. fresh strawberries, hull (slice off tops) and cut into cut into pieces
- 2 Tbsp. white sugar
The shortcake
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 2 cups white flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 2½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ cup cold unsalted butter, slice into the batter
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 1 cup low fat milk
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
The whipped cream
- 1 cup heavy cream (make sure the cream is cold, it will whip better)
- 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a bowl, toss cut strawberries with 2 Tbsp. sugar. Set aside.
In a mixer, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in butter pieces and milk.
Sprinkle flour on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pat dough flat onto parchment paper (warning, dough is sticky) and form a giant rectangle.
Thoroughly sprinkle white sugar over dough.
Bake 22-25 minutes or until golden around the edges. Allow time to cool before serving.
If you are ambitious and want homemade whipped cream, it is SUPER EASY and kids find whipping cream magical! In a mixer combine cream and powdered sugar until peaks form (this means your whipped cream is ready).
*If short on time, Cool Whip is a pretty darn good substitute, but don’t tell my pastry chef friend that! Slice the shortbread into servings. My batter produced about 12 big pieces. When ready to serve, layer with whipped cream and sweetened strawberries.
