Foodie Friday: Strawberry Shortcake (Vegetarian recipe)

What's the first ingredient that you think of when someone says 'Birthday cake'? Chocolate? Vanilla? Salted Caramel? Nope, this year I decided to celebrate with something completely different; a Strawberry Shortcake. 

It might seem like an odd choice but the main ingredient that I wanted to include was fresh Strawberries, and bizarrely, I didn't fancy making a chocolate cake (although I assure you, I'll be eating some chocolate in its classic bar form later this evening!). Instead, I opted for something seasonal, fresh, with all the indulgence of an English Afternoon Tea, and thus this delicious Strawberry Shortcake was made from scratch in my kitchen earlier today.

I'm so pleased with how it turned out as I ended up tweaking the recipe from a couple that I found on Pinterest to suit what I had in my cupboards. This cake is like a giant scone that's both dense and fluffy inside, topped with an overly generous amount of whipped organic Ricotta. To finish it off, I've added fresh Strawberries that have been lightly cooked in a zingy Orange syrup to bring out all of their juicy flavours. 

Heaven in every mouthful!

Ingredients (makes 1 large cake)

For the cake:-

• 250g Plain Flour
• 1 tbsp Baking Powder
• 1 organic, free-range Egg
• 2 tbsp Coconut Sugar
• 50g organic Butter (cold & cubed)
• 80ml Almond or Soy Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• Pinch of Salt

For the topping:-

• 250g organic Ricotta
• 250g fresh Strawberries
• Juice of 1 Orange
• 1 tbsp Coconut Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 1 Star Anise

Method

• Preheat the oven to 220C / Gas Mark 7 and line a 20cm cake tin with greaseproof paper.
• In a large bowl, add the Flour, Baking Powder, Sugar and Salt and mix well. Add the Butter and mix into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until it resembles something that looks like fine sand and then make a well in the centre.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the Egg, Milk and Vanilla Extract.
• Pour this into the well and gently stir everything together. Once you are near a dough like consistency, use your hands to give the mixture a light knead so that everything is fully combined.
• Place into the lined cake tin and gently press the mixture down. Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes until the top is a light golden brown and a skewer in the middle comes out clean.

• Whilst the cake is baking make fruit topping by adding the chopped fresh Strawberries to a small saucepan with all the other ingredients, except the Ricotta. Simmer for 3-4 minutes to allow the Strawberries to soften slightly. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• When the cake is done, take it out of the oven and allow to cool fully before adding the topping otherwise everything will run off!
• First, place the Ricotta in a bowl and with a fork, lightly whisk it to a whipped consistency. Spread over the cake and finish with the Strawberries and a generous drizzle of the Orange syrup from the saucepan. 
• Cut into slices and enjoy!

Storage tip: Enjoy this cake ASAP and store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 48 hours.

P.S: Thank you everyone for the Birthday wishes on social! :)

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