Strawberry Shortcake: A Gluten, Vegan AND Refined Sugar Free Recipe

Finding a delicious dessert that is gluten-free, vegan AND refined sugar-free can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Well, look no further because I have you covered with this Strawberry Shortcake recipe!

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The Basics: How, What, When, Where, Why

I know what you're thinking... a dessert that doesn't have gluten, dairy, eggs OR sugar? Does it even taste good? It is still a dessert? The answer is YES, this Strawberry Shortcake recipe is light, fluffy, and absolutely delicious. With homemade frosting and juicy strawberries to top it off, this dessert is much easier to make than you would think.

I'll be the first to admit that making gluten-free desserts can be a challenge. So, when I decided to take on trying to make a cake that was also vegan and refined-sugar free, I was definitely a little worried. While it took some trial and error, I can say with complete confidence that this Strawberry Shortcake is AMAZING. And that's coming from someone who's favorite dessert growing up was strawberry shortcake (instead of birthday cake, I always wanted strawberry shortcake as a kid). So, clearly I'm well versed in my strawberry shortcake knowledge! 

No Need for Gluten

As a gluten-free food blogger, I have a whole shelf in my pantry dedicated to flour alone. With other baking, you typically use one kind of flour, but when it comes to gluten-free baking, there's so many different options. So, let's break down the different types of flour:

1. Almond Flour: Almond flour is a great low-carb and paleo substitute to all purpose baking flour. It's a very fine type of powder so it's best used together with another gluten-free flour.
2. 1 to 1 Baking Flour: This kind of flour is used in replacement of whole wheat or all-purpose flour. It usually contains xanthin gum, which is a binder in place of gluten. 1:1 Baking Flour is a great gluten-free substitute for cookies, brownies, and other baked goods.
3. Paleo Baking Flour: This grain-free flour is great for muffins, breads and pizza making! It has a bit of a thicker consistency and doesn't yield very fluffy baked goods.
4. Coconut Flour: Often used to make pancakes, coconut flour is another great grain-free alternative. Like almond flour, it's very light and fluffy, so it is best used with a heavier baking flour.
5. Tapioca Flour: This starchy flour has a bit of a sweet taste to it and is a great flour to use as a thickener. While it's not the best baking flour, it's perfect for soups, sauces, and fillings!
6. All-Purpose Flour: Free of xanthin gum or other thickeners, this flour is great for making pizzas and other breads. Because it doesn't use a thickening agent, it's best not to use this flour for baked goods.
7. Oat Flour: Like almond and coconut flour, this fine flour is great for baked goods when combined with a heavier flour like 1 to 1 Baking Flour.

Flour I Use

While there's many more gluten-free flours like chickpea, brown rice, and potato, these are the most basic gluten-free flours that are typically used in baking. For this Gluten-Free, Vegan and Refined Sugar Free Strawberry Shortcake, I used 1 to 1 Baking Flour because I need four cakes that would be fluffy yet firm. While you can use a flour mixture, be careful using other flours without xanthin gum for the shortcakes.

How To Make a Good Vegan Cake

In my opinion, the biggest difference when baking vegan is the lack of eggs. I often use dairy-free alternatives like almond milk, coconut oil and coconut yogurt in my baking, so that wasn't a big change. Can I tell you a secret, though? I had never worked with vegan eggs before and it was quite... an experience. If you've never had the pleasure of working with vegan eggs, allow me to describe it to you. Vegan eggs come in a powder form that you are supposed to combine with cold water, then mix together to create a beaten egg like consistency. All of that is fine and easy, but I was not expecting the smell of the powdered eggs. It basically smells like rotten eggs, so I would highly suggest breathing through your mouth when combining the powder and water.

What Does "Refined Sugar Free" Mean?

So, what exactly is refined sugar? Refined sugar is any sugar that has been processed that is not naturally found. So, this means anything from cane to coconut sugar qualifies as refined sugar. When baking refined sugar-free, the alternatives are natural sugar, such as honey and maple syrup. While I was a little apprehensive about how this would taste, I honestly couldn't tell a difference! The sweetness of the honey and maple syrup together was the perfect amount of sweetness.

Expert Tips

Before we jump into the recipe, allow me to share some tips that I learned along the way.

• Preparing the Pans: Unless you want to use parchment paper, be sure to generously prepare your baking pans by pouring a teaspoon of melted coconut oil in each. Then, wipe away the excess oil and sprinkle with baking flour. Dusting the pans prevents the cakes from sticking to them.
• The Shortcakes: Trust me when I say, for this recipe alone it's worth investing in four of the same sized cake pans. If you only have one or two cake pans, not only will this take much longer but you'll also probably end up with different sized shortcakes.
• The Frosting: Make the frosting the night before and allow it to sit in the refrigerator overnight. Because this frosting is both vegan and refined sugar free, it doesn't have the same consistency as store-bought frostings. While it tastes great and works well, it's not thick enough to spread over the entirety of the cake.
• Serving: Unless you're serving this cake right away, be sure to refrigerate it before serving. This will allow the frosting to better set between the layers of shortcakes.