Ah, summer is (sort of) here at last... and so I thought it was worth celebrating the fact with this gluten-free strawberry shortcake recipe. It's dead simple and you can even make the biscuit bit in advance (though you do need to eat up quickly once you've added the fruit as the shortcake will go soggy). Watch out if you're using home-made jams because sometimes people add butter to remove the scum during manufacture.
Serves
6
For the shortcake
50g dairy-free margarine
25g caster sugar
50g Doves Farm gluten-free
white self-raising flour blend (or similar)
40g ground almonds
Extra gluten-free flour
for rolling out
Vegetable oil for greasing
For the topping
4 tbsp strawberry jam
1 tsp lemon juice
600g fresh strawberries
Oven
at 160°C. Cream together the margarine and sugar before adding the flour and
ground almonds. Knead together to form a dough (add a drop of water if it’s too
dry) and then roll out thinly, about 2–3mm. Use cutters or a knife to create
six side-plate-sized rounds or squares before transferring to a lightly oiled
baking tray. Bake for 20–25 minutes until lightly browned and transfer to a tin
when cool if they are not needed straight away.
To
prepare the topping, first wash the strawberries and pat them dry. Remove the
leaves and cut into slices. Measure out three tablespoonfuls of strawberry jam into
a pan – try not to get pieces of fruit with it as you only need it as ‘glue’
for the fresh strawberries. Heat it with some lemon juice over a low heat. Allow
the jam to bubble for three or four minutes to condense the mixture a little
before spreading it onto each shortcake with a knife. Immediately add the
slices of strawberry and brush over the remaining jam. Serve.