Are strawberries seemingly available all year round now or is this just me? It seems for months now strawberries have been in season. The supermarkets are selling them at super low prices (which I always feel for the farmers) but great for us because there are yummy recipes to make such as this sweet strawberry slice.
Strawberries only have a 2-3 day shelf life and quite often there are bruised ones hiding in your punnet. Stewing them up and serving as a jam or baking addition is the perfect answer…even though this slice only lasts approx 20 hours in my house before it ‘s all gone.
This super low FRUCTOSE berry slice is high fibre, nutrient-rich and packed with antioxidants. Other benefits of include promoting eye health, mopping up free radicals, an anti-inflammatory, lowering blood pressure and even fighting wrinkles. Teeth whitening is even on their resume with malic acid, acting as an astringent to remove surface discolouration.
This recipe can be made as sugar, dairy, gluten-free or substituted with wheat flour and sugar.
Sweet Strawberry Slice – No Added Sugar
Ingredients
+ 2 cups strawberries, chopped
+ 1/2 cup water
+ 2 tbs stevia
+ 1/2 lemon, juiced
+ 1/2 tsp of vanilla bean paste (or vanilla essence)
+ 1/2 tsp ginger powder
+ 1/4 cup chia seeds
+ 1/4 cup dried goji berries (optional)
For the crumble
+ 1 cup almond meal
+ 1 cup brown rice flour (or wholemeal if not worried about gluten)
+ 2 large apples, chopped and pureed (may have to add a tiny bit of water or juice to puree)
+ 2 tbsp stevia
+ 1/3 cup rolled oats
+ 1/3 cup shredded coconut
Method
+ Preheat oven to 180 degrees
+ In a medium pot over low-medium heat, combine strawberries, water, stevia, lemon juice, vanilla and ginger. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the strawberries are cooked down and can be mashed with a fork or spoon.
+ Remove from the heat. At this point, check the sweetness of the mixture. If it is not sweet enough, add more stevia.
+ Add in the chia seeds and goji berries, and allow to thicken. Here you will have to play by ear, and give the seeds time to absorb the excess juice. If it is still too watery just add more chia seeds until it is a thick consistency. It is best it is kept a little runny as it tends to dry out more in the oven.
+ Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, coconut, apple puree and xylitol. Mix until a crumbly consistency is reached.
+ Spoon 2/3 of the mixture into an 8×8 pan (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) and press mixture onto the bottom to form a crust.
+ Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.
+ Add the rolled oats to the remaining 1/3 of the mixture and stir until combined. Set aside (this will be your crumble topping).
+ Once the crust is browned, pour the thickened filling on top and spread evenly.
+ Add the crumble topping, evenly distributing.
+ Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is browned
+ Allow cooling for about 1 hour in the pan.
+ Cut into squares and enjoy!
