My first official day of summer vacation. My last summer without a small child following me around. At least for a long, long time.
Bring married to someone from a different culture comes with it’s share of misunderstandings. Alex always has a difficult time explaining to people where he’s from. He was born in London, lived there only as a small child, and was raised in Zimbabwe. His family has now all immigrated to Australia, not wanting to return to the dreary weather of England, but needing to move out of Africa because of the declining political stability.
When we met, it honestly didn’t feel like we were from different cultures. He has lived in America, and has actually traveled through more of it than I have. I had lived abroad before, and had many friends from England, Australia, South Africa.
But little things come up once in a while. One of those things is a misunderstanding of what certain things are. This shortcake was one of those things.
A couple weekends ago, I gave him a list of recipes I wanted to make over the summer. I told him he could pick 2-3 that I would start developing recipes for that weekend. Strawberry shortcake was on his “shortlist.”
I tried to make shortcakes first out of almond and coconut flours. A yummy cakey lump came out, but it was not shortcake, he assured me. I agreed.
A few trials later, I had switched to oat flour to give them more of a biscuity texture. And this final recipe, that I am sharing with you today, came out perfectly. A flakey, dense, slightly sweet biscuit, the perfect item to layer sweet whipped cream and juicy strawberries on.
“This is not shortcake,” he pressed. This resulted in both of us whipping out our smartphones and putting “shortcake” into Google images. He scrolled through all of them– nope, he was convinced Google Images had it all wrong. He found an image of a shortbread cookie, and declared that was what it was.
“Sweetie, I am pretty sure strawberry shortcake is an American thing. Are you thinking of a British dessert?” Wanting to show him I was right, I went to Wikipedia and read about the history of Strawberry Shortcake— which revealed a few things:
- Shortcakes were actually developed in England, before Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
- Shortcakes are sometimes referred to as shortbread in England.
- Strawberry shortcake became popular in America, and was often served to celebrate the summer fruit harvest.
- June 14th is Strawberry Shortcake Day in America. <– and this would have been posted on the 14th had the tracking pad on my Mac not been acting up.
So, as it turns out, Alex still knows a lot more about the world than I do, even when it comes to baked goods.
Contents
Strawberry Kiwi Shortcakes, Gluten-Free
Ingredients
Shortcakes
- 1/2 cup oat flour +2 tablespoons
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Topping
- 2 cups strawberries sliced
- 2 kiwis sliced
- whipped cream or coconut whipped cream
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add all the dry shortcake ingredients, and stir together well.
- In a small bowl, add the egg, coconut oil, honey and vanilla. Beat together quickly, not letting the coconut oil solidify.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir until all the dry ingredients have been mixed in.
- Place the dough in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to allow the dough to stiffen.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees f.
- Once the dough is chilled, it will be easier to work with. Separate the dough into 4 pieces, and roll each piece into a ball.
- Bake the shortcakes for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown.
- Allow to cool, then split, and fill with sliced strawberries, kiwi, or whatever fruit you desire. I think this would be great with cherries or peaches, too!
- Top with whipped cream or coconut whipped cream, and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Whether you want to call these shortbreads or a biscuit, I am in line for one. Michelle these look so good with strawberries in peak season I can’t wait to try them. I bet the oat flour makes them perfectly delicious. Your husband is not any different from the kids at the International School. You ask them where they are from. They respond something like this…”It’s kind of complicated… I was born here… but my parents are originally from here and we moved to 6 different countries in the last 12 years.” LOL Sharing and Pinning!!! I hope you are doing well, little mama!
I hear you on the kids from the international schools! Every year, we have a UN Day at the school I work at, and at least half the kids are confused which country to represent. Sometimes they’ll split their time between two countries, or sometimes they’ll be adamant they are Malaysian, even though their parents are Western.
I’ve been buying our son American flag clothes (mostly to tease my husband), but also because I want him to have a sense of country– of course, he will have to have a sense of 3 countries, because Alex will be teaching him all about England and Australia, too.
I love the fun KIWI addition! So great!
Ha! Having traveled in South Africa and lived in Australia – I love the story of cultural differences. (: This recipe looks yummy – low sugar! And my kids would dig the addition of kiwi!
Yes, shortcake shouldn’t be limited to just strawberries 🙂 So many fruits would be great on it.
he chose wisely! i like this shortlist recipe! save any for me?
Of course I did, Lindsay 🙂 Swing by KL and I’ll plate it up.
hahahaha the best.
Have the ‘scone’ debate then the ‘biscuit’ debate. Oh man, those two terms drive me bonkers!
This looks delicious either way 😉
Not too much difference between a British scone and an American shortcake 🙂 And I’ll never get used to calling a COOKIE a biscuit! It’s just NOT a biscuit 🙂
I know what you mean about misunderstandings between different cultures. I’m American and my husband is English – you wouldn’t think that the two cultures are all that different but we’re constantly trying to explain what different things are to each other. There are lots of phrases and words that completely go over my head most the time….At any rate – these look amazing! Strawberries and kiwis remind me of my childhood. I used to love that combo so much, I wanted it in everything. Pinning this!
It really is strange how many differences there are! It seems like since we speak the same language, their are fewer cultural differences. Fewer, maybe.. but there still are quite a few! How long have you been married? Do you live in America or England, or elsewhere like us? Thanks for pinning!
Hi again! We’ve been married for almost a year – next month is our anniversary. We got married in August, and that’s when I moved to England from Arizona. It’s been quite a change, and I miss my family and my home, but I do love it here. It’s a good way to get a wider perspective of the world
Congrats on a year 🙂 I went to school in Arizona– undergrad at NAU!
Yes, living abroad does give you insight into the world/other cultures, and changes you forever! I have been living abroad off and on since 2006 after finishing grad school. Now that I have a foreign husband.. I am not sure if I will be moving back to the States. Hopefully part time, at least. I miss it a lot! I will have to check your blog and read about your adventures in England 🙂