Grammie's Strawberry Shortcake

I bought some amazing strawberries at the store the other day.  And I love, love whip cream.  Love it.  So why not add shortcake and make a whole dessert?

Cybele Pascal makes a really good shortcake, but it is more of a group dessert thing rather than individual sized portions.  So I searched through my Grandma's Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.  (Not sure from what year but I know that it is the 8th printing and the pages are already yellowing....)  I LOVE using this book to cook.  It reminds me of my Grammie every time I open it.  But now I have to change a lot of what is in the book....

Grammie's Book

Grammie's* Strawberry Shortcake

2 1/2 cups gf flour blend
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum
1/2 cup shortening (or futter) -- either way, it should be cold
1 beaten egg
2/3 cup rice milk**
3-4 cups of sugared sliced strawberries (I used about 2-3 tablespoons of powdered sugar)
whipped cream (recipe to follow)

1) Put all dry ingredients in a mixer then cut in the butter until the mixture is like coarse crumbs

2) Combine the egg and the rice milk

3) Add the liquids to the dry ingredient/shortening mixture -- add liquids all at once -- mix only until moisten

4) Take all the dough and put on a floured surface (I sometimes like to use powdered sugar instead of flour), knead the dough gently for about 30 seconds, then pat out until about 1/2 inch thick round -- cut with a round cutter, then place on an ungreased baking sheet (although I did use a silpat sheet)

Bake at 450 degrees for 10-14 minutes (depends on the size of your cutter).


Whipped Cream

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup rice milk

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1) Combine these two in a small saucepan -- be sure to whisk out all the lumps!  Heat on medium heat, stirring constantly, until it becomes thick.  Once thick and smooth, remove from heat and let cool.  [Note that once the mixture starts to go thick, it gets thick fast so keep stirring and don't cook it too long!]

2) While the milk/cornstarch mixture is cooling, mix the shortening and the powdered sugar together.  Add in the milk/cornstarch and mix until smooth.

You now have dairy and soy-free whipped cream (courtesy of Cybele).

Put it all together -- strawberries, shortcake, and whipped cream -- anyway you want!

I ate all the whipped cream before we could take pictures -- oops!!

*No, I never made strawberry shortcake with my Grammie -- we made grilled cheese and pickles!  But since it came from Grammie's cookbook, why not honor her?

**If you have coconut milk yogurt, you might want to try and add that instead of the milk or even do about 1/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup yogurt.  If you want!