Last month, my sweet blog friend JaneĀ invited me to join her for a Draegers cooking school sessionĀ to celebrate our birthdays. To promote her new dessert cookbook, Jeni of Jeniās Splendid Ice CreamsĀ led the class and shared a few of her recipes and treats with us.
When we first entered the room, we selected chairs in the middle. A little tray table was attached to the arm of each seat, and a place setting, plus a thick handout, already rested on top.
I flipped through the papers, which included all 9 recipes Jeni planned to cover. The second and third dessertsācream puffs and juniper parfaitsāsounded the most intriguing, while the shortcakes, first on the list, seemed rather typical, so I patiently waited for the second half of the presentation.
Jeni spent the first 30-45 minutes demonstrating how to make her highly adaptable sweet cream ice cream base, from the whisking to the boiling to the chilling, and she explained the science behind her secret ingredient: cream cheese! After answering multiple questions from the small crowd, she turned her attention to the shortcakes.
With just three ingredients, her recipe sounded basic and, well, rather boring. Pulse the flour with the butter, add the cream, press into a pan and bake. I figured Iād skip the shortcake and spoon up all of the ice cream and strawberries instead to save room for the next two desserts, but when the class aids plated the shortcakes and passed them out to use, I still took a little nibble.
Oh. My. Goodness. Those shortcakes⦠Heaven on a plate! So light and tender, with the perfect amount of buttery background flavor. I immediately drew a huge smiley face on my handout next to the recipe title, accompanied by one word: āAWESOME!ā I secretly thanked the dessert gods that Jane was gluten-intolerant because she handed me her shortcake too!
The next two desserts, although what I initially really looked forward to, werenāt nearly as memorable as those shortcakes. Donāt get me wrongāthey were both fabulous! The salty vanilla frozen custard on the cream puffs⦠The perfectly balanced symphony of flavors in the parfaits⦠Jeni truly is a talented dessert chef, but those simple shortcakes completely consumed my thoughts as I drove home.
I knew I needed to create my own version!
Of course, being Amyās Healthy Baking, I wanted to make a lighter shortcake with a little less butter and cream. And instead of ice cream, I decided to stick a different sweet treat between the halves: a toasted marshmallow! After adding in the same fruit as Jeni, I created theseā¦
Strawberry Shortcake Sāmores! Theyāre a fun combination of two classic summer treats sandwiched into one irresistible dessert. Gooey marshmallow goodness and fresh juicy strawberries drizzled with dark chocolate and layered between halves of buttery shortcake⦠Thatās pure bliss in my book!
I may have eaten three in one dayā¦Ā ā„
Letās start with the shortcake. My ingredient list is slightly longer than Jeniās, but it still yields the same tender result. I opted to skip any sort of sugar in my shortcakes, unlike many traditional recipes, because I knew the toasted marshmallows would add more than enough sweetness to the final dessert.
I only used 3 tablespoons of butter in my shortcakes. The rest of the tender texture comes from Greek yogurtāmy favorite ingredient in healthier baking! It adds all of the moisture of butter while keeping the fat and calories low.
To compensate for some of that missing butter flavor, I added in extra vanilla extract. Extra vanilla can imitate the taste of butter, which is the same trick I used to create my popular healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe. So even with only those 3 tablespoons, these shortcakes taste just as rich and buttery as Jeniās originals!
The chocolate drizzle is very similar to the one I created for my Boston cream pie oatmealĀ last week. You just need cocoa powder, milk, and sweetener. Because the marshmallows are so sweet, I only added a tiny bit of sugar, so the drizzle tastes extremely dark. Unless you enjoy 75%+ dark chocolate, I donāt recommend eating a lot of this on its own! Pair it with something sweet, like fresh berries or ice cream, to balance out the dark richness.
To assemble, slice each shortcake square in half horizontally. Lay strawberry slices across the bottom half, and drizzle with the dark chocolate. Next youāll add the toasted marshmallows. Because we werenāt exactly camping and donāt own a fire pit in our backyard, I toasted mine with a culinary torch, but a long-nosed lighter or gas stove flame could work too. Use whatever method youāre most comfortable with!
But as soon as each marshmallow is toasted, place it on top of the strawberries, and press down the other half of the shortcake. The marshmallows squish better when theyāre still warm, so that way you get the maximum ooey gooey goodness of sāmores!
As soon as I finished photographing these sāmores, I savored my first one, carefully biting into the dessert and slowly pulling it away to see those long gooey strings of marshmallow. And of course, itās practically a crime to waste perfectly toasted marshmallows, so I had to eat a second⦠And maybe even a third that evening after dinner.
Although they sound involved, these Strawberry Shortcake Sāmores are so simple to make! You can even prepare everything but the marshmallows ahead of time, so all thatās left to do is have each person toast their own and squash it between the layers. Itās the perfect treat to end a backyard barbeque or pool party!
No summer is complete without strawberry shortcakes and sāmores!
If you like this recipe, then be sure to follow my Healthy Baking board on Pinterest!
This easy dessert combines two classic summer treats into one! The strawberry shortcakes are light and tender, and the dark chocolate drizzle and sweet toasted marshmallow really take them over the top. You can prepare the shortcakes and chocolate drizzle up to 3 days in advance; simply store in an airtight container (and place the chocolate drizzle in the refrigerator).
- To prepare the shortcakes, preheat the oven to 425°F, and lightly coat an 8ā-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or the back of a fork until the mixture resembles a fine meal. Stir in the yogurt, milk, and vanilla. Press the dough into the prepared pan (use a silicon spatula to prevent it sticking to your hands). Bake at 425°F for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges begin to turn golden and the center feels firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Once cool, slice into 9 squares.
- To prepare the chocolate drizzle, stir together the cocoa powder, milk, and sugar in a small bowl until smooth. Spoon into a zip-topped bag, and snip off the corner.
- To assemble the sāmores, slice each shortcake square in half horizontally. Place sliced strawberries across the bottom half, and drizzle with the chocolate sauce. Lightly toast the marshmallows using a culinary torch (or a campfire!), and place on top of the strawberries. Immediately place the other half of the shortcake square on top, and gently press down.
Notes: Try to press the shortcake dough into the pan as evenly as possible. Itās a bit stiff, but with enough gentle pressing itāll spread out! Pinch together the dough to seal any rips or holes. The top may rise unevenly and create little hills, but thatās okay.
Store any extra chocolate drizzle in the refrigerator. It will thicken as it chills, so microwave it on HIGH for 2-4 seconds to help it reach a drizzling consistency. It should keep for 1-2 weeks in the fridge.
Yum! Love this idea. Very creative for a “s’more” recipe.
Thanks Kaylin! š
Cooking school session!? HOW FUN! What better place for a food loving blogger to go. I JUST discovered vegan marshmallows at a store by my work…and everyone is posting s’mores recipes (naturally, it’s summer!) SO I think I am due for a treat! I love the shortbread idea.
They now sell vegan marshmallows?? That’s a dream come true! I can’t wait to see what awesome s’mores recipe you post on your blog Brittany! š
never tried smores with strawberries before, think im missing out on something seriously delicious. love it!
Thanks Thalia! This was the first time I added strawberries to s’mores, and I may never go back to plain again. It adds the perfect sweetness and juicy texture — absolutely phenomenal!
I can just imagine the warm gooey marshmallow and the strawberries together. It sounds heavenly!
It definitely was Julia! Seriously addictive. š
These sound incredible, and again, the photos are stunning!! I love the single marshmallow photo. Drooling over here! Pinning for sure!
Aww thank you Andrea, for both your sweet comment and the pin! I love working with the “new” metallic backdrop. I’m officially obsessed! š