Raw Red Velvet Strawberry Shortcake
Saturday I made a trip to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market, something I love doing but do not often get to since I normally work Saturday mornings. I was excited about what deliciousness I might possibly find there, and two of the things I picked up were some fresh local strawberries and beets.
I was quite excited about them! Although I made some things like salads with part of them, I decided that I wanted to make a dessert featuring both of them as well. Now, I know what some of you are thinking...beets in dessert?! Why yes, I use them in dessert quite often, and you will find many recipes using them on this blog. This time I decided to make Raw Red Velvet Strawberry Shortcakes.
I sandwiched it with raw coconut cream laced with vanilla and drizzled it with fresh berry sauce and those amazing fresh local strawberries.
Makes 4Cake:
1 cup raw almond meal
2 cups raw coconut flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
12 medjool dates, pitted
1 cup cubed raw red beets
2 Tbsp raw coconut nectar
2 Tbsp coconut water or raw almond milk or waterCream:
1 cup raw cashews, soaked 4 hours and drained
1 cup young coconut meat (or additional cashews if unavailable)
1/4 cup coconut water
3 Tbsp raw coconut nectar or agave nectar
1/4 tsp sea salt
seeds of one vanilla bean, or 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh organic strawberries
1 small chunk red beet (for color)
1 Tbsp coconut butter
1/4 cup raw coconut oil, warmed to liquidSauce:
1/2 cup fresh organic strawberries
2 Tbsp raw coconut nectar or agave nectar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups fresh organic strawberries, sliced
- Combine almond flour, coconut flour, sea salt, in a bowl and whisk together until and set aside.
- To a food processor, add the dates, vanilla, beets and coconut water, and nectar to the processor and process until pretty smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients back and process until smooth and well incorporated.
- Place the batter on a teflex lined dehydrator sheet, and spread out into a square about 2 inches thick and dehydrate for about 8 hours, until dried but still moist in the center.
- Once dried, cut into 4 squares. Cut each in half horizontally with a knife.
- Meanwhile, to make the cream, combine all ingredients but the coconut butter and oil in a food processor and process until smooth. With the motor running, add the coconut butter and oil and process a minute more. Pour the cream into a bowl and let sit in the fridge until the consistency of whipped cream.
- Meanwhile, for the sauce, combine all ingredients in the food processor and process until smooth.
- To assemble, place the bottom half of a shortcake square on a plate, top with some cream, then some berries and sauce, then put the top half on, then drizzle with more sauce and sprinkle with more berries. Repeat with the other 4.
- Enjoy!