Strawberry Shortcakes for the Day of V

When asked to make Strawberry Shortcake for Valentine's Day, my first response was: "STRAWBERRIES?!? in FEBRUARY??" ummm...ok.. I'll see what I can do

So I hit up my smoothie reserve in the freezer: One bag of whole organic strawberries from Trader Joe's, and began my quest for the perfect recipe.  And I found it: Vegan with a Vengeance, you never disappoint me.

Now, instead of serving the strawberries and cream over biscuits, or pound cake, this recipe uses scones.  I can honestly say, I have never really been a huge fan of scones.  The ones I've had in the past have been rather dry, crumbly and lifeless.

Until I made these... and now my relationship with scones has been changed forever.

SCONES
From Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar (plus an extra for sprinkling on top)
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup soy creamer (I used SILK French Vanilla)
3/4 rice or soy or almond milk plus 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Add cider vinegar to the milk and let sit while you mix the dry ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
Add the oil, soy cream, and milk with vinegar.
Mix until just combined; the dough should be clumpy and not sticky.
Even if there is still a light dusting of flour, that's okay.
Drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto the greased cookie sheet and pat the tops just a little bit to round them out; sprinkle with a bit of sugar.



Bake 12-15 minutes until slightly browned on the bottom and firm on the top.
Mine were done at 12 minutes on the DOT.




For the Strawberry Goodness:
(cut in half because I only had 1 lb of strawberries)
1lb sliced strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.
Cover and let chill for an hours or so, the strawberries will develop a sauce all of their own!


Vanilla Cashew Cream
1/2 cup raw cashews (soaked overnight)
1/4 coconut milk (I used So Delicious Vanilla)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tbsp pure maple syrup

Drain cashews and blend with coconut milk and sugar until smooth, 3-4 minutes.
Stream in maple syrup and oil and blend until well combined and silky smooth.
Chill for several hours, or overnight.

To assemble:
TWO scones, top with strawberries and juice, dollop or two of cream , and a few more strawberries.
Dig in and taste the wonder!