Healthier Blueberry Shortcake: A Guilt-Free Indulgence

Blueberry shortcake brings back nostalgic memories of summer desserts for many. But traditional recipes come loaded with calories, fat, and sugar – destroying any chance for guilt-free enjoyment.

Well not anymore! In this post, I’ll share my easy recipe for creating a lighter, gluten-free blueberry shortcake that doesn’t sacrifice flavor or texture. You can have your cake and eat it too!

Let’s start by getting to know shortcake basics…

What is Shortcake?

Shortcake refers to a biscuit-style cake made with flour, sugar, milk, butter, and baking powder. The crumbly and tender texture resembles scones.

What is shortcake called short?

Shortcake gets its name from being lower in density and richness compared to typical cakes. Shortcakes have a light and “short” (crisp) texture from distinct layers created by minimal mixing and handling of dough. This contrasts dense, close-crumbed cake variations.

The biscuit dough often splits and filled with fruit and whipped cream when served. This dessert perfectly suits the summer season when fruit is fresh and cravings for something chilled peak.

And what better fruit to feature than sweet juicy blueberries?

What is shortcake made of?

The basic ingredients in traditional blueberry shortcake include:

• All-purpose flour
• White granulated sugar
• Cold butter
• Milk
• Baking powder
• Salt

After baking the shortcake, it gets filled and topped with:

• Fresh blueberries
• Whipped heavy cream or vanilla yogurt
• Lemon zest
• Powdered sugar

So while delicious, you can see it packs a lot of carbs, fat, and calories!

Let’s see how we can rework this dessert to be a lighter and guilt-free treat.

Healthier Ingredients

When creating a healthier baking recipe, you need to make smart substitutions for commonly used ingredients. Here are the swaps I make:

• Flour – Use a 50/50 blend of almond and coconut flour. Much lower carbs/calories than all-purpose.
• Sugar – Replace with monk fruit or erythritol natural sweeteners. Zero glycemic impact.
• Butter – Swap for heart-healthy avocado oil. Adds moisture without hydrogenated oils.
• Cream – Trade heavy cream for thick Greek yogurt. Probiotic-rich and less fat.
• Berries – Overflow with fresh local blueberries. One of the healthiest fruits.

Does shortcake contain egg?

Traditional shortcake recipes do not include egg as leavening comes from baking powder instead. The biscuit dough gets mixed minimally to prevent overworking the gluten. My healthier recipe also skips eggs, using yogurt and baking powder for rise.

And there you have it – same classic flavors with a better nutritional profile! Time to get baking…

Healthy Blueberry Shortcake Recipe

The full recipe makes 6 servings. Each gluten-free shortcake clocks in around 179 calories and 10g carbs. Let’s get started!

Ingredients

For Shortcake Biscuits:

• 1 1⁄4 cup almond flour
• 1⁄4 cup coconut flour
• 1⁄3 cup monk fruit/erythritol blend
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1⁄4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
• 3 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-4 tbsp water

For Blueberry Filling:

• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1⁄8 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp monk fruit/erythritol blend

For Topping:

• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1⁄8 cup sliced almonds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment.
2. In large bowl, mix flours, sweetener, baking powder and salt.
3. In separate bowl, stir yogurt, avocado oil, vanilla and water. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined.
4. Scoop batter onto baking sheet in 6 mounds. Bake for 18 minutes until tops appear dry. Cool for 5 minutes before carefully splitting shortcakes.
5. In another bowl, toss blueberries, lemon juice, cinnamon and sweetener. Let sit for 10 minutes for juices to develop.
6. To serve, spoon blueberry mixture onto shortcake bottoms. Top fruit with dollop of Greek yogurt and then shortcake tops.
7. Garnish yogurt with lemon zest and sliced almonds. Enjoy immediately!

And that’s all it takes to create a fresh, flavorful blueberry shortcake that won’t totally ruin your diet!

Let’s wrap up with some ideas for customizing…

Modifications & Variations

• Use raspberries or blackberries instead of blueberries.
• Add vanilla or orange extract to batter.
• Use honey or maple syrup to sweeten berries.
• Top with whipped coconut cream.
• Dust with powdered erythritol instead of powdered sugar.
• Mix berries into yogurt topping before spooning over shortcakes.

Be creative and come up with your own ways to healthily indulge in this classic American dessert. Just please don’t forfeit the blueberries 🙂

Enjoy your guilt-free blueberry shortcake!