Strawberry-Shortcake Pancakes

Spring has only just begun, and it’s still pretty chilly, but I’m already seeing signs of life in my garden. My strawberry plants are back and they're about 3 inches tall! Looking at them the other day got me thinking about strawberries; ripe and red and sweet and warm from the sun.

Strawberry shortcake is my favourite strawberry dessert. I could eat it for every meal, all summer long. Alas, I feel this would set a bad example for my kids…. and my pants would get smaller. So I’ve decided to settle for a yummy breakfast substitute. I made a fresh strawberry purée and incorporated it into a batch of fluffy Bisquick pancakes and then topped them with a healthy dollop of cheesecake whipped cream with diced strawberries.

While this is delicious warm for breakfast, I discovered that it’s equally as yummy cold for dessert! A fresh, decadent dessert you can prepare in minutes when unexpected company pops over? Perfect!

Strawberry-Shortcake Pancakes
(makes 9 pancakes)

for the pancakes:

2 cups Bisquick
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered
2 tbsp granulated sugar

1. Mix the strawberries and the granulated  sugar and set aside for about 10 minutes.
2. Take half the strawberries and their juice and purée until there are no more chunks. Set the other cup of strawberries aside for the whipped cream.
3. In another bowl, mix together the Bisquick, milk, egg and the strawberry purée.
4. In a preheated frying pan set over medium heat, pour in 1/2 cup of the pancake batter at a time and cook the pancakes until you see bubbles in the batter and then flip over and cook through. Remove from the pan.
5. Cover and keep warm.

for the cheesecake whipped cream:

4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. In a small bowl beat the cream cheese with the milk and granulated sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla and stir.
2. Dice the remaining strawberries and add them to the cream cheese mixture.
2. In a separate bowl, whip the whipping cream with the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.
3. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until it’s incorporated.
4. Top each pancake with a generous dollop of the whipped cream and serve immediately.

Also delicious served cold for dessert!

Check out lifemadedelicious.ca for more recipes from my kitchen!