Paleo Berry Shortcake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Back in the good ol’ days, before I knew what paleo was and I could devour gluten and dairy without any guilt, I did a lot of baking. I made a homemade dessert at least once a week. In the summer, one of my favorite, quick homemade desserts was berry shortcake. I would bake easy drop biscuits, macerate strawberries (or any berry) in sugar and whip up some heavy cream. Throw it all together and you had a quick, delicious shortcake.

I haven’t made that in a long time. But after making the paleo biscuits and gravy I started wondering if I could use those biscuits and make a shortcake. I decided to give it a try for Father’s Day. Kyle loved it. I was still disappointed in how dry the biscuits were so I’ll be honest, I slathered mine in butter. Even with the dry biscuit, it was a tasty dessert. The berries were so good that next time I might just eat them alone with the coconut whipped cream or ice cream and leave out the biscuit.

OK here’s all the recipes:

 For the berries:

1 pint fresh blueberries (or other berry)

1 TBSP orange zest

1 – 2 TBSP  fresh orange juice (juiced from the orange you zested)

honey (optional)

Citrus works really well when you need to add flavor without using sugar. I especially love it in combination with summer berries.  Just combine all these ingredients in a bowl. If you chose to use the honey, a little goes a long way. A drizzle is all you need. It can overpower the fruit if you use too much. Cover the bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours. The longer the better.

Coconut Whipped Cream:

1 can of full fat coconut milk (refrigerated at least 4 hours. The longer the better)

pure vanilla extract

cinnamon (optional)

Open coconut milk (do NOT shake). Scoop just the thick cream from the top half of the can. Leave the watery part inthe can. (But don’t throw away. You can use it in a smoothie or other cooking). Add a few teaspoons of vanilla extract and a pinch of cinnamon (optional) and wisk by hand or with a mixer until thick and creamy.

Biscuits:

Use the same biscuit recipe found here

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream:

2 14 oz cans coconut milk (regular, not light)

2 whole vanilla beans

6 TBSP honey

(You will also need an automatic ice cream machine)

Pour coconut milk in a medium size bowl. Slice open your vanilla bean pods length wise and scrape out contents into coconut milk. Throw the entire pod in as well and let “marinate” for an hour or 2. Remove empty pods and add honey. Wisk until combined.

Pour into your ice cream maker (following their instructions for time, etc). Ours takes 25-30 minutes.

You can combine as many or as few of these different recipes to create an easy, tasty dessert! Enjoy!