Necessity is the mother of invention. ~ Olde English Proverb

Poor people are crafty. ~ The Russian Version!

Since strawberries came out this year I’ve been wanting strawberry shortcake. I’ve avoided all carb and sugar versions and realised it was either create something or I was going to have a weak moment. So this is the closest I can get but with a twist of flavours I love. Almond and lemon zest! It really is tasty and I’m writing it up before I forget how I did it! It had no raising agent in it, I wanted it a bit dense and heavy, but do add 1 tsp baking powder if you prefer it to have some lift. It was wonderful dense like this and the crumb was perfect – for keto baking that is!

I made raspberry and strawberry jam on Wednesday after the farmers market, as well as tayberry and blackberry jam too, with a touch of whisky added using xylitol sugar. I should have taken pictures and blogged it, it came out so great. Anyhow, we had the strawberry and raspberry jam with the shortcake today, served with sour cream … or you could use fresh whipped cream or Greek yogurt!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter or 1/2 stick
• 1 cup powdered xylitol
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup fine almond flour
• Generous pinch of salt
• Zest of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 tsp almond essence
• 1 tblsp vanilla essence
• 1 tblsp psyllium husk powder

Method

1. Melt the butter and stir in the powdered sugar.
2. Cool, then add two eggs and whisk lightly.
3. Add a heaped cup of almond flour, stir in lightly.
4. Add the zest of a lemon, stir in the almond and vanilla essence.
5. Lastly stir in the psyllium husk, if you don’t have any don’t worry, it’s not essential.
6. Pour into a well buttered pie dish and add halved strawberries to the top.
7. Bake at 350F for a half hour.
8. Serve dusted with powdered xylitol (I grind my own in a coffee grinder) and cream, doused with fresh strawberries or a compote or fresh strawberry jam.
9. If you use regular flour and sugar, this should work just as well!

This is Felicity, watching me eat the dessert I baked. She is an absolute sweetheart and you’d never say lived feral around our house for nearly 8 years. We finally have her safely living on our porch and she now purrs gently with a very occasional meow. She will not venture in but she has many warm sleeping spots under cover, and an igloo and heating pad in cold winter months. Love this little feline.