Cornbread with Strawberries & Cream

Who doesn’t love cornbread? Cornbread with soups and stews and of course with chili. It is the perfect staple to any hearty meal. If you’re looking for traditional cornbread, here’s my plant-based recipe.

But have you considered using cornbread for dessert?

This delicious cornbread is only slightly sweetened with maple syrup and a little applesauce, but the addition of lemon juice adds brightness and pairs beautifully with strawberries.

It’s a whole new idea for strawberry shortcake… a plant-based dessert made in heaven.

We know that table sugar is not used in a plant-based diet so I’ve tried to keep the sweet ingredients whole food. This always becomes a bit tricky when it comes to sweeteners. So here’s the deal.

If you don’t want to sweeten your strawberries, by all means, you don’t have to. However, if you want them to get that syrupy goodness that’s in strawberry shortcake, then add about a tablespoon of sweetener of your choice to them and let them sit for about 10 minutes to develop that syrupy goodness.

If you want to create a little syrupy strawberry goodness without added sugar, take the back of a fork and mash them a little. They should release some juices.

Sucanat, which is a whole sugar, maple syrup, coconut sugar can be used or leave it out, your choice. And, if you must, don’t worry too much about using a tablespoon of table sugar. Even powdered sugar works.

Now, let’s take about the lemony cornbread. It’s fluffy, golden, just a little crumbly, and the perfect replacement for strawberry shortcake. It’s made with unbleached all-purpose flour, almond flour, and cornmeal, but if you want to use whole wheat flour instead of the unbleached all-purpose flour, keep in mind that it’ll be a bit heavier.

And, if you don’t have almond flour, replace it with 1/2 cup more of the unbleached all-purpose flour.

Other yummy dessert recipes:

• Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Cake
• Vegan Avocado Brownies
• Carrot Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream
• Blueberry Lemon Bars

What are some of your favorite plant-based dessert recipes? I’d love to hear in the comments below

And, also, I’d love to hear your feedback for this Vegan Lemon Cornbread with Strawberries & Cream! If you have a photo, post it on my Facebook page, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking in your caption, and I won’t miss it!

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Lemon Cornbread with Strawberries and Cream

Lemony cornbread sweetened with maple syrup pairs perfectly with strawberries and cream for a modern, whole grain take on strawberry shortcake.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time40 mins

Servings: 9 people

Ingredients

Strawberries

• 1 lb organic strawberries hulled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon sugar *(optional) use cane, Sucanat or coconut sugar

Cashew Cream

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake

• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
• 6 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup medium-grind cornmeal
• 1/2 cup blanched almond flour (or use unbleached flour)
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Instructions

Strawberries

• If using sugar to create juicy strawberries, add them to a bowl with 1 tablespoon sugar. Set them aside in the refrigerators for about 10 minutes for them to become juicy.

Cashew Cream

• To quick-soak the cashews, pour boiling water over them and let them sit for 10 minutes. Then, add to a blender with 3/4 cup non-dairy milk, vanilla, and maple syrup and blend until smooth. Remove to a container and refrigerate covered until ready to use.

Cake

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 8 x 8″ baking pan sprayed with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
• Mix the ground flaxseeds and water in a small bowl and let sit for a few minutes while you prepare the dry ingredients.
• In a large bowl, blend the dry ingredients: unbleached flour, almond flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• In another bowl, combine the non-dairy milk, applesauce, lemon juice, maple syrup, and the flax mixture.
• Mix the dry and wet ingredients together just until moistened.
• Pour into your prepared 8 x 8″ baking pan.
• Bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until the cornbread is started to brown and bounces back when touched on top. Be careful not to overcook as it can become dry.
• Divide the cake into 6 servings, top with strawberries and a couple of dollops of cashew cream.

Notes

Almond Flour: If you don't have almond flour, you can use whole wheat, but it makes it denser

Sugar: Strawberries are naturally sweet but if you'd like more juice, use 1 tablespoon sugar and let them sit for a few minutes to become juicy.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Lemon Cornbread with Strawberries and Cream

Amount per Serving

Calories

270

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

10

g

15

%

Saturated Fat

 

0.7

g

4

%

Sodium

 

309.7

mg

13

%

Carbohydrates

 

40.8

g

14

%

Fiber

 

1.8

g

8

%

Sugar

 

14.5

g

16

%

Protein

 

4.7

g

9

%

Vitamin C

 

1.7

mg

2

%

Calcium

 

20

mg

2

%

Iron

 

1.8

mg

10

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.