Strawberry Shortcake Recipe – Easy Healthy Summer Dessert Refined Sugar-Free!

With only a few basic ingredients, this Strawberry Shortcake Cake is the ideal summery treat ready in less than 30 minutes! This dish comes up super quickly and has a delicate crust packed with luscious strawberries that will refresh even the hottest summer days!

There is a ton of strawberry taste in this freshly made cake! Loads of juicy strawberries and nonsalted cheese or Greek yogurt are the star ingredients in this lovely 15-minute refreshing treat that everyone will be obsessed with its taste and simplicity!

The best thing about this wonderful easy Strawberry Shortcake is that it is completely made without a pinch of refined sugar, as in 99% of all my recipes! The natural sugar from the strawberries and raw honey is all we need for an amazing cake!

This is one of my grandma’s old tried-and-true strawberry desserts I was obsessed as a kid. Still am! Whenever we didn’t know what to do with all the strawberries from our little garden, we would make this super easy cake, and everyone would love it!

why you’ll love this recipe

• Less Than 30 Minutes; Insanely Easy – I always strive to prepare those quick, super easy recipes and this is probably one of my favorites! It requires just a few simple steps, and it is done in less than 30 minutes! How awesome!!!

• No Refined Sugar – Like 99% of basically any cake recipes online, it calls for an insane amount of refined sugar which is linked to various conditions like higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease. This cake doesn’t require it at all! I eventually got tired of it because I couldn’t find a cake that had it all – easiness, no special 15+ ingredients, and no refined sugar. An extremely hard challenge hahah XD. So, this is basically my grandma’s old Strawberry Shortcake Recipe, but with some alternations in ingredients!

• Highly customizable! What makes this Strawberry Shortcake even more awesome is that it is not a typical overly sweet cake, since it has cheese which, depending on the type, can have different tastes. You can make it sweeter by adding more of the raw honey or other chosen sweeteners like date syrup, or maple syrup… Also, you don’t even have to use strawberries as the main ingredient, you can also use some other berries like raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries. I guess they all go extremely well with cream cheese or Greek yogurt!

• An awesome summer treat! Let’s agree, we all crave something refreshing, juicy, and fruity when spring and summer days begin to approach! So, if you don’t like to spend hours in the kitchen preparing something that will satisfy your dessert cravings and refresh you, then you have to try this recipe!

ingredients you need

This Strawberry Shortcake calls for only, believe it or not, 5 simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry! How awesome is that? Here is the breakdown of what you’ll need!

• Eggs – You’ll need 2 medium-sized eggs at room temperature.

• Oat flour (or blended oats) – For this recipe, I used oat flour, but I guess you can also use some other nut flour like almond flour or walnut. However, I haven’t tried. Make sure to sift it before using, it to get rid of any lumps.

• Strawberries (or other berries) – Use either fresh or frozen berries.

Pro tip: What I always love to do with every fruit and vegetable is to clean it deeply of all the pesticides. Add 1-2 teaspoons of soda bicarbonate to 2 cups of water and soak the berries for 15 minutes. I don’t know how much it helps but is always a good step.

• Cream Cheese (unsalted) – I can’t bear this enough how important is that you use unsalted cheese, otherwise your cake will turn out pretty salty (believe me, happened to me the first time XD). Also, you can use for example Feta cheese, but since it is more solid, you’ll need to mix it with some sour cream to make it creamy. Also, a Greek yogurt combination with berries would go wonderfully!

• Raw Honey – You can also use some other more natural sweeteners, like maple syrup or date syrup.

• Baking powder

• Salt (optional) – To enhance and balance the flavor. Make sure you don’t use table salt, but some other alternatives like sea salt or Himalayan salt. However, be careful if your cheese is already salted a little bit, then you don’t have to use salt at all.

how to make strawberry shortcake

The whole process of making this Strawberry Shortcake is quite simple and consists of only a few steps! So, let’s get started!

Step 1: Crack 2 eggs, and separate the egg’s white and egg yolk in 2 different medium bowls. Mix the egg yolk with baking powder and the chosen sweetener.

Step 2: Mix the egg whites with a mixer until smooth, foamy, and glossy, with stiff peaks forming and it holds its shape. To check if the egg white mixture is well-mixed, flip the bowl upside down, and if the egg whites don’t move and don’t slide, you did a good job.

Step 3:  Incorporate the egg yolk mixture with the egg white mixture. Mix it slowly with a spatula until well incorporated. Then add 2-4 tablespoons of oat flour and continue mixing with a spatula until a smooth consistency forms. Just like in the image below.

Step 4: Place the parchment paper on the baking tray and sprinkle with some oil to prevent sticking. Pour the mixture on the baking tray and spread the mixture so that the thickness is 0,5 to 1 cm. Bake in the preheated oven at 180° C (356° Fahrenheit) for approximately 12-15 minutes or until crispier an golden.

Step 5: Filling time: Combine 200-250 grams of cream cheese and 70-100 grams of strawberries. Mix until well incorporated. If the sweetness of the actual strawberries (or other berries) is not enough for you, then freely add some of your desired sweeteners. The mixture should not be too thick or too liquid, so adjust the amount of cheese and strawberries to that.

Step 6: Cut the baked crust into 4 squares, and place the first one on the plate. With a spoon, add the strawberry cream mixture on top of the first square, and repeat the same for the rest of the 3 squares, adding the cream mixture in between. Sprinkle with some ground nuts like hazelnuts, almonds, or walnuts, or adore it with sliced strawberries.

Step 7: Serve immediately or leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.

FAQ For the strawberry shortcake

what flour can i use?

I made this Strawberry Cake with oat flour plus added 1 tablespoon of whole wheat flour, and haven’t experimented with other types of flour, but I guess that almond, walnut, or hazelnut flour would also work pretty well. They all have a specific taste that would contribute to the end product’s overall taste!

what type of cheese can i use?

You can experiment with different types of cheeses like cream cheese, cottage cheese, or even firmer ones like Feta, but make sure to soften it by mixing it with sour cream for example. But, please, make sure it’s totally unsalted! Also, you can try it with Greek yogurt, since the combination of it with berries would be a wonderful combination!

what can i adorn my strawberry shortcake with?

There are many options to get creative with, and some of the ones are ground nuts like almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts. You can top it with some additional sliced strawberries, raisins sliced almonds, or grated dark chocolate!