Strawberry Pudding Cake

By Linda Garrettson

I was never good at chemistry. Neither was anyone in my family. We all missed out on the chemistry gene. To my great relief, my youngest daughter was able to sidestep her science requirement by taking Physics for Poets. Where was that bold and imaginative curriculum when I was in school?

You are probably wondering what this has to do with a recipe for strawberry “pudding” shortcake. Here’s the deal: bakers need the chemistry gene to create good recipes for cakes and breads. I can always follow a recipe, but this column requires something original.

My confidence level is fairly low when it comes to baking. The shortcake part would require a “chemistry gene-less” person like me to create shortcake from scratch—and to do it without dairy, butter or refined sugars. A bit of a dilemma.

Undaunted, I set out to cobble together ingredients from recipes that made the word shortcake a stretch. The resulting “cake” was scary when I took it out of the oven. It shrank by about 50 percent as it cooled, and the color was akin to the ho-hum sandy glacial deposits in my backyard.

Many cooks tell me that good things often come from experiments. While my shortcake is hardly shortcake (more like a custard cake), it’s easy, the texture is divine and it actually tastes good. Topping it with fresh strawberries and a dollop of my strawberry ginger pudding may be a bit of a departure from the Hostess shortcake and Reddi-Whip cream of yore, but heck, why not?

No chemistry genes required.

Strawberry Pudding Cake
Ingredients
1 cup almond flour
1 cup oat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 cup almond milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
Pinch of lemon zest

Method
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly grease an 8” x 8” glass pan.
Mix the flours, baking powder and sea salt in a bowl.
Mix the almond milk, maple syrup, applesauce and lemon zest in another bowl.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread evenly in prepared pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Allow to cool before cutting into 9 squares.
Strawberry Topping
Slice or quarter 2 cups of fresh strawberries.
Toss with 1 tbsp. almond extract and 1 tbsp. maple syrup. Set aside.

Strawberry Ginger Pudding
Combine in a food processor and puree until smooth:
1 package (10.9 oz.) Mori-Nu extra firm tofu
2 cups of fresh strawberries (leaves removed, coarsely chopped)
Pinch sea salt
1 tsp. almond extract
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, grated

To Assemble
Layer the strawberries on top of the cake and top with a dollop of the pudding.
Enjoy!