Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Serves: 6

Summer is here, and you know what that means—an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially juicy, sweet strawberries.

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Even though strawberries are available year-round, there is something extra special about them during peak season. And what better way to celebrate than with a classic dessert like strawberry shortcake?

This delicious recipe features a moist, flavorful almond cake layered with sweet strawberries and Cherchies® Strawberry Butter Spread, then topped with a generous dollop of homemade whipped cream. It’s fresh, simple, gluten-free, and just fancy enough to feel special.

I remember having strawberry shortcake often when I was growing up, but back then we usually used the little pre-made sponge cakes from the grocery store and canned whipped cream. They were fun and nostalgic, but homemade is so much better. Boy, have things changed!

This version uses a tender almond cake that is naturally gluten-free, making it a great dessert option for guests with specific dietary needs. And really, what strawberry shortcake would be complete without whipped cream? It’s light, creamy, dreamy, and so much better homemade.

Serve this refreshing dessert for Mother’s Day, brunch, July 4th, summer BBQs, or anytime you’re craving sweet strawberries and cream. It’s quick, easy, and sure to become one of your family’s favorite warm-weather desserts.

Thanks for stopping by 🙂 Comment below if you have tried this delicious recipe. Come back again for more family-tested recipes, entertaining ideas, and cooking tips featuring our favorite Cherchies® gourmet products.

Note: This recipe is gluten-free. For a dairy-free option, substitute your favorite dairy-free whipped topping or use homemade coconut whipped cream.

Cake Ingredients

4 eggs (room temperature)- separate yolks and egg whites into two different bowls
1 teaspoon (tsp) orange zest
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup sugar

Strawberry Filling Ingredients (adjust portions according to guests)

1 pint of strawberries, washed and sliced (reserve 3 strawberries, cut in half with stem for garnish (optional)).
1/2 jar Cherchies® Strawberry Butter Spread

Homemade Whipped Cream Ingredients

1 cup cold heavy cream or cold heavy whipping cream
2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon (tsp) good vanilla extract

Cake Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” cake pan with parchment paper, cut to the size of the pan, and spray with cooking spray.

Separate egg yolks from egg whites into two separate medium bowls. Add the sugar to the yolk bowl, and beat on high with a hand mixer for 3-4 minutes. Add the almond flour and orange zest. Mix to combine. Set aside.

Beat the egg whites for about 2 minutes on high until soft peaks (or little white mountains when beaters are lifted up) form. “Room-temperature egg whites whip faster than cold egg whites, and room-temperature egg whites whip into a greater volume than cold egg whites. So make sure your egg whites are at room temperature before starting”.- Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter and mix until just combined. Add batter to a lined and greased baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until the toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Cool the cake completely. Prepare the strawberries as directed below.

While the cake is cooling, place the bowl and beaters you plan on using for the whipped cream in the freezer for 15 minutes or in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. The colder the cream, bowl, and utensils, the more successful your homemade whipped cream will be.

Strawberry Filling Preparation

Mix the strawberries and Cherchies® Strawberry Butter Spread in a medium bowl and set aside.

Whipped Cream Preparation

As mentioned, begin with cold everything, cream, bowl, and utensils (beaters). The bowl and the beaters are an added step, but I find that doing so makes the lightest, airiest whipped cream.

This recipe comes together in minutes, so if you are using your stand mixer, do not be tempted to walk away. The result could be an overwhipped cream. Whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla in your cold bowl on medium-high speed until it is soft and billowy rather than curdled and grainy. If you are nervous about over-whipping, don’t be. Feel free to check on it often. You are looking for medium cream peaks, which means when you lift the beaters out of the bowl, they should look like little white mountains that hold their shape.

Assembling the strawberry shortcake

Now comes the fun part, eating! Cut the cake into individual portions. Add the strawberry mixture to each portion, and dollop with a generous amount of the whipped cream. Garnish each with the reserved strawberry slices for a pretty presentation. From this…

To this! Enjoy!

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Apple Butter Sundae Recipe

October 19, 2020dessertsSheri SpalloneComment

“Cherchies Apple Butter- “One of the best”- Sallyanne 7/4/2020”

Originally posted in 2015, this recipe and pictures have been updated.

A spread of Apple Butter a day keeps the doctor away. That’s what they say, right? (Just kidding, I know it is an apple a day). I wonder what they say if it’s served over ice cream?

I may have found a new favorite easy dessert, Apple Butter Spread over ice cream, drizzled with chocolate syrup. Yum!

It had never dawned on me to put apple butter over ice cream until my kiddos came up with this concoction. Thank you, kiddos! They heated our apple butter spread, and lovingly decorated their ice cream with it, chocolate sauce, and their favorite sundae toppings for an instant, easy dessert!

Undoubtedly, ice cream is a delicious, tasty treat, but add apple butter and chocolate syrup to the mix, and your mouth will thank you for the explosion of flavors and texture. So what do you say? Are you ready to give this delectable confection a try? You will not be disappointed; it is just what the doctor ordered.

This recipe also works well with our Cherry and Strawberry Butter Spreads.

Thank you again for visiting, and please come back. Something is always cooking in our kitchen, and we love to share recipes with you! Comment below and let us know how you liked this recipe.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

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Your favorite ice cream
Cherchies® Apple Butter Spread (Cherchies® Strawberry Butter, or Cherchies® Cherry Butter)
Chocolate sauce (optional)

Preparation

There is not much preparation to this recipe as it is an easy, easy, recipe, ! Simply scoop mounds of your favorite ice cream, dollop our Apple Butter Spread (heated of course) over top, and if you'd like an extra decadence factor...drizzle chocolate sauce and add your favorite sundae toppings. Oooh baby!

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Cooking Tip: How To Make Frozen Yogurt Popsicles

July 8, 2020cooking tips, dessertsSheri SpalloneComment

Posted originally 9/7/16, but updated to reflect the times.

Frozen popsicles are just plain fun for kiddos and adults alike. Am I right? They are perfect heat busters, the flavor combinations are endless, they are easy to make with real pronounceable ingredients you have handy, and they are creative outlets for cooped up young adults. Yes!

How are you doing? A LOT has happened these last few months, but our family is safe, and for that, I am grateful, and I hope you and your family are as well. Do you have children at home? We have a full house once again (25, 19, and 16), and our younger two are always bored (even after they do something), and they are always hungry. Sound familiar? Luckily, they have always loved helping in the kitchen, so when they were practically bouncing off the walls the other day, with "nothing to do," I suggested making one of their favorite summer recipes, homemade frozen yogurt popsicles®.

Surprisingly, no eye-roll :). Problem solved, a creative project they could make and eat! Win-win! (I must have caught them at a weak moment).

A few years back, our middle child, Nicholas (15 at the time) suggested we not only use fruit and yogurt (instead of the typical fruit and fruit juices) but add our fruit butter spreads and preserves to the mix, an idea that had never crossed my mind before. It made sense, fruit butter spreads are fruits that have cooked down to a spreadable consistency, so why not use them in frozen pops? But preserves? Yes! What a bright kiddo:).

So we set forth on our quest and made frozen yogurt pops with whatever ingredients we had on hand, blueberries, cherries, vanilla yogurt, leftover Cherry Butter, Blackberry Preserves, and chocolate syrup. We created three different varieties, Blueberry Vanilla Yogurt Pops, Berry Cherry Yogurt Pops, and Ice Cream Sundae Yogurt Pops . The hardest part for young adults was waiting for the darn things to freeze;).

These velvety, fruity concoctions will be a hit with your family, as they were with ours. They are the perfect healthy snack, dessert, or breakfast treat, they are easy to make with real ingredients, and they are the ideal boredom-buster project for all ages. Homemade is the best, especially when you can make recipes with someone else, and for me, my friends, spending time with our young adults, is priceless!

Here's how we made them (We made three kinds. You can see the recipes below ).

Thanks for visiting! Come back again. Comment below if you made this recipe and any yummy variations.

Ingredients

1 large container (32 oz.) Greek Vanilla Yogurt
Popsicle molds
Popsicle sticks
1/2 cup chopped cherries
1/2 cup blueberries
2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Cherchies® Blackberry Preserves
2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Cherchies® Cherry Butter or Cherchies® Strawberry Butter
1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) Chocolate Syrup

Preparation

Before you begin, you'll need a few kitchen tools, a popsicle mold (I purchased this 10 serving mold on Amazon), and a cherry pitter (also to make my life easier).

1. Separate the greek yogurt into 3 medium bowls (not necessary if only making one variety), and set aside.

2. In a small sauce pan, cook the blueberries and the Blackberry Preserves on low until the preserves have dissolved (a few minutes). Turn off the heat and allow the preserves to cool about 5 minutes. Now the fun begins!

3. As I mentioned, we made three varieties. I'll post another blog in the future (maybe the next heat wave) of other combinations. For the Blueberry Vanilla Yogurt Pops, we added about 2 Tablespoons of the blueberry-preserve mixture. Gently swirl the blueberry mixture into the yogurt. Don't mix too much, as you want the swirled effect. Carefully pour into the molds.

4. For the Berry Cherry Pops, we followed Step 3 using 2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) of the Blueberry-Preserve Mixture and we added 1/4 cup of chopped cherries to the mixture, swirled ever so gently just as above, and poured into our molds.

5. Finally, for the Ice Cream Sundae Pops, we added to the remaining bowl of greek yogurt, chopped cherries, 2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Cherry butter (heated for 10 seconds in the microwave), and 1 Tablespoon of Chocolate Syrup.

6. Once again, gently swirl the yogurt mixture and pour into the mold. The molds I purchased had this handy lid to insert the sticks, but you could easily cover with plastic wrap and insert the sticks into the plastic. Almost done! Place in freezer and wait...and wait...and wait!

7. After a few hours (what seems like eternity), remove the lid or plastic wrap, run the desired mold bottoms under warm water and gently pull out pops. Voila! Homemade frozen yogurt fruit pops, a sure-fire heat buster and delicious treat anytime! Enjoy!

Blueberry Vanilla Yogurt Pops

Vanilla Greek Yogurt (divided if making three separate batches)
2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Blueberry-Preserve Mixture (mentioned in Step 2)
Follow directions above for making the pops

Berry Cherry Yogurt Pops

Vanilla Greek Yogurt (divided if making three separate batches)
2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Blueberry-Preserve Mixture (mentioned in Step 2)
1/4 cup chopped cherries
Follow directions above for making the pops

Ice Cream Sundae Yogurt Pops

Vanilla Greek Yogurt (divided if making three separate batches)
1/4 cup chopped cherries
1 Tablespoon Chocolate Syrup
Follow directions above for making the pops

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Memaw's Strawberry Cake Recipe

August 22, 2019dessertsSheri SpalloneComment

Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Hi friends. Today's mood is a bit more somber than in previous posts, so instead of the silly puns, leftover magic tricks, and cooking tips, I give you a piece of my heart, and it is hurting BADLY. You see, Monday was D-day (dread day) for our family. We dropped off our baby boy, hours away, to begin his new life as a college Freshman. It was the day my heart shattered into a million pieces. For anyone who is going through this (or has gone through or is just feeling blue), I feel your pain:( I have been dreading this past Monday's events all summer (in fact, for 18 years), but inevitably, the day came (to what seemed to be a blink in time), and all I can hope is hubby, and I prepared him enough. We are so proud of the young man he has become. It was bittersweet letting him go, but seeing him so happy and confident helped make the transition for Mom a tad better, that and CARBS…lots of them, particularly cake!

Baking cheers me when I'm down, so sharing this delicious strawberry cake featuring juicy strawberries and Cherchies® Strawberry Butter Spread makes sense. Imagine sinking your teeth into sweet strawberry comfort in every bite. Does it make you smile? It makes me smile:)

Are you feeling the pangs of college drop-off, the end of summer, the first day of school, or a child graduating from high school, or do you want to bring a smile to someone's face? If so, then make Memaw's Strawberry cake today. This easy cake recipe is so delicious and comforting that it will chase away any blues.

Thank you for letting me share my story. Below I have posted a glimpse of the college drop-off day. Let us know if you have tried this flavorful recipe. Come back again for more family-tested recipes, entertaining ideas, and cooking tips using all our favorite Cherchies® gourmet products. Thank you for stopping by.

**Now, it's time to spoil our baby girl for the next two years until the next and final Freshman college drop-off. (I may be making cake every day that summer).

*Note- This tasty recipe is best made the day ahead.

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Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix (We used Betty Crocker's Super Moist Cake Mix)
4 Tablespoons (Tbsp.) flour
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup strawberries and juice, mashed
2 Tablespoons (Tbsp.) Cherchies Strawberry Butter Spread
1 cup oil
1 small box strawberry jello
Extra strawberries for garnish

Frosting Ingredients

1 box powdered sugar

1 stick butter, room temperature
2 Tablespoons (mashed strawberries with liquid)

* To make this cake gluten-free, simply substitute the flour and cake mix with gluten-free flour and cake mix (we tested with King Arthur Gluten-free Yellow Cake Mix and flour)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray.

Wash, remove the ends, and roughly chop the strawberries. Place them in a medium bowl, add Cherchies® Strawberry Butter Spread, mash them with a potato masher, and set aside. Reserve 2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) of mashed strawberries for the icing.

In a large bowl, sift the cake mix, flour, and jello together. Set aside. (I use a fine mesh strainer over a bowl to sift the ingredients together).

In another large bowl or standing mixer, add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add oil and beat well. Mix in strawberries and juice (this replaces the liquid called for on the cake mix box).

Slowly add the sifted dry ingredients to the bowl with the eggs. Pour the cake batter into a 9 x 13 pan and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, prepare the icing. Combine the butter, strawberries, and powdered sugar. Beat the ingredients together with a hand or standing mixer until combined. Icing should be somewhat thick. If icing is too thin, powdered sugar may need to be added until desired consistency.