The temps are rising, it’s the weekend and its Father’s Day on Sunday. I have just the cool and refreshing summertime treat to help make your weekend a little sweeter and we can all use a little sweeter! My almost no bake GF Strawberries and “Cream” Bars are just what the doctor ordered…well she would if she tasted one!
I know Father’s Day looks different than it ever has before. Whether you are a father, have a father, can see them, not able to see them, these bars are perfect for all your outdoor celebrations this weekend (socially distant of course). These are a breeze to whip up too. Perfect for make ahead, so your dessert will be taken care of on cookout day!
The gluten free shortbread crust comes together in 5 minutes. No chilling or rolling time required. The bake portion of these bars are for the crust and that’s it! The filling is a cinch too, pretty much just dumping all the ingredients into the high-speed blender and Bob’s your uncle (that means there you go for those of you wondering… ) I used Kite Hill cream cheese style spread and coconut cream for the filling and freeze dried strawberries. It comes out so smooth and creamy you would never guess that there isn’t dairy in the filling! It’s just the right amount of sweet and tart!
So pretty! Just swirled gently when adding the cream top layer.
Mmm, shortbready, strawberry and creamy goodness! Perfect cool summertime treat. They’re pretty to boot!
See perfectly set, Goldilocksed it! Set, but not too set or too loose…just right!
Perfect bite for any forensic detective to ID me by my teeth! Haha, I swear I don’t have a forensic detective on my tail. 😉
Whatever is on your agenda this weekend, make it a little sweeter with these GF Strawberries and “Cream” Bars! Celebrate your Dad, if you are a Dad, if you’re not a Dad or just want some yummy creamy strawberry treats!
Happy Weekending and Strawberry Creaming It!
Diane
- For the Crust:
- 1¼ Gluten Free Flour (I used Pamela's Vegan GF Artisan Blend)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 stick Green Valley Lactose free butter (can sub vegan butter or regular butter)
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1½ tsp. apple cider vinegar (can sub white or rice vinegar)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 to 3 tbsp. ice water
- For the Filling:
- 1 can coconut cream (solid top part only, use water for a smoothie)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 8oz Kite Hill Almond Cream Cheese Style Spread
- 1.2 oz bag of freeze dried strawberries.
- 1 tsp. agar agar powder
- ½ cup light canned coconut milk
- For the Crust:
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and spray and line a 9x9 square pan with non-stick spray and parchment paper cross and length wise leaving some of the paper to hang over the sides. Spray the parchment paper with more non-stick spray and set aside.
- In the bowl of food processor fitted with s-blade, add all the dry ingredients and pulse a few times to incorporate.
- Sprinkle the cubed butter over top of the flour. Pulse the food processor about 30 times in short second bursts until you have a sandy mixture. While running add the egg yolk and vinegar then the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together and forms a ball. It's ok if there are still some loose bits.
- Dump the dough into the bottom of prepared pan and press evenly across the bottom. Ok if it comes slight up the side, but not too much. Once even, dock the dough with a fork all over the bottom and place in the pre-heated oven on the middle rack. Bake for 15 minutes, check the dough and press down with the bottom of a glass or measuring cup sprayed with non-stick spray to even out and keep dough from puffing up too much. Place back into the oven and continue to bake another 5 or 10 minutes until the crust is a light golden brown. Remove from oven and place on cooling wrack while you prepare the filling.
- For the Filling:
- In a small sauce pan add the coconut milk and the agar agar powder and bring just to a simmer while whisking constantly until the powdered is dissolved and mixture thickens some, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into bowl and set a side to cool some
- In the container of a high-speed blender add all of the filling ingredients except the freeze dried strawberries. Next pour in the coconut milk mixture and blend until completely smooth and creamy. A few minutes on high.
- Next reserve about 1½ to 2 cups (depending how much of the cream portion you want) of the mixture in a bowl and set aside. Add the freeze dried strawberries to the remaining mixture in the blender and blend on high until the strawberries are incorporated completely into the mixture and it is smooth with no bits of strawberries. Should only take a few minutes.
- Pour strawberry mixture into the cooled crust and evenly spread out. Next gently pour the cream portion on top and carefully spread over the strawberry layer. Ok if they blend a bit, you can make pretty swirls with a knife if you like. Cover with tin-foil and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours to overnight (great make ahead).
- Remove the bars from the fridge and using the parchment overhang, pull the set bars out of the pan. Slice into squares. Store left overs in airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 ddays.
- Enjoy!
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