East Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcake

_{Starring my Grandma’s baking powder biscuits made with either gluten-free or all-purpose flour}

There’s nothing like strawberry shortcake to kick off summer and I am hoping that this dessert signals to Mother Nature that it’s time to warm things up. I added a simple cooked rhubarb strawberry jam to fresh strawberries for the filling and topped them with some sweetened whipped cream. These biscuits can easily be made with either a gluten-free flour blend or all-purpose flour.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

3 cups gluten-free flour blend

2 tbs. baking powder

1/4 cup cane sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 cup cold unsalted butter (or butter substitute such as Miyokos brand plant based butter), cubed

1 cup buttermilk (or 1 unsweetened non-dairy milk mixed with 1 tbs. white vinegar or lemon juice)

1-2 tablespoons buttermilk or cream (to brush on top of biscuits)

2 tbs. coarse sugar for topping (often called “sugar in the raw”)

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling:

3 cups rhubarb cut into 1/2″ pieces

2 cup strawberries, separated (removing stems, cut 1 cup of the strawberries into quarters to be mixed with the rhubarb. Cut the remaining strawberries into slices. )

1/3 cup granulated sugar or honey

1/4 tsp. salt

5 tbs. of water divided

3 tbs. cornstarch

juice of 1/2 a lemon

Sweetened whipped cream or non-dairy whipped cream

Method of Preparation:

For the Biscuits

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Place the flour or gluten-free flour blend, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl or bowl of a food processor. Whisk or pulse to combine. Add the cubed butter and “cut” into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or pulse the mixture in the food processor. Your mixture will have coarse crumbs and look like sand. If using a food processor, dump the dough into a large bowl.
2. Pour the buttermilk over the dry flour and butter mixture and combine with a spoon. Do not over work the dough. You want it just to come together.
3. Pour this “shaggy” mixture out on a floured board and press together using floured hands. At this point, you can either press the dough into a round 1/2″ thick or use a floured rolling pin. Cut the dough into rounds using a 2.5 to 3″ cutter or you can use a floured juice glass. Place the rounds on a parchment lined cast-iron skillet or baking sheet. You should have approximately 8-10 biscuits. It is important to crowd them together (so they are touching) in the pan so they rise more fully.
4. Brush the tops with the buttermilk or cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 12-16 minutes or until they are lightly brown on top. Cool.

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling:

1. Place the chopped rhubarb, 1 cup of the quartered strawberries, 2 tbs. of water, sugar and salt in a small sauce pan. Let this mixture sit for 10 minutes to release the juices of the strawberries.
2. Place the pot over a medium high burner and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook the rhubarb and strawberries until they begin to soften.
3. Place the remaining three tablespoons of water in cup and whisk in the cornstarch.
4. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the cooked fruit and cook for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the lemon juice. Cool.
5. Add 1 cup of sliced strawberries to the cooled cooked mixture.

Assembling the Shortcake:

1. Carefully, slice each biscuit in half horizontally. Place the bottom of the biscuit on a plate, top with strawberry rhubarb mixture, whipped cream and then the top of the biscuit. Enjoy!

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