Vegan Strawberry Shortcakes

This is my fifth VeganMoFo post for 2014. For more information on this month’s theme, see my Cook from Books description here.

I don’t make a lot of dessert on the blog. Dessert to me is like that friend that lives over an hour away that I want to visit, but don’t always have the energy to travel to. But once I do decide to go and get there, I’m all like, hi! so good to see you, we’re going to have fun! And we do.

So dessert. Since it’s way out of my comfort zone, I rely heavily on cookbooks to select and make them. Last weekend, while flipping through my copy of Spork-Fed, I decided Strawberry Shortcakes with Coconut Whipped Cream was going to happen in my kitchen, and I’m glad it did. When I think of coconut milk, I immediately think of savory Asian dishes, not really dessert or whipped cream, but that’s silly—coconut whipped cream is magic, and I’m so happy to have discovered it through this cookbook!

A little background on Spork-Fed: it’s penned by Jenny Engel and Heather Goldberg who are genius cookbook authors, sisters and founders of Spork Foods, a Los Angeles-based gourmet vegan food company, and is an adorable-sized cookbook packed with more than 75 recipes, plus tips on cooking, health and entertaining. All of the recipes inside are carefully crafted and expertly developed and made with a spirit of fun and adventure. A couple of years ago I blogged about their Tofu Satay with a Decadent Peanut Sauce, and still make their peanut sauce often because it’s quick and easy, and so perfectly balanced and versatile.

I loved making this Strawberry Shortcake. The shortcake dough had an impossibly poofy and light texture, and baked to perfection. The strawberries were marinated in a perfect blend of sweet and sour ingredients, balanced out with a little hit of vanilla. But the star of this dessert was the whipped cream, made from coconut milk and a pinch of other complimentary ingredients. I initially followed the recipe exactly and the whipped cream came out perfect: impossibly thick and airy with little peaks. But I decided I wanted more of it, and made the mistake of adding more liquid than the recipe called for. Oops. So this whipped cream is a little thinner than it should be—but it still looked and tasted fantastic. My mistake = a good excuse to try it again!

When I stored the leftovers in the refrigerator, I decided to drizzle the leftover whipped cream over the shortcake. The next day, I took a bite and it was heavenly: it had a cakey texture and was beautifully rich and creamy, and almost like a completely different dessert … one more reason to love coconut whipped cream.

This dessert and more is yours with Spork-Fed!