This is the second  post in Discovering ways of eating what we like without upsetting the body.  

Cherries:   I pitted and halved a bunch of fresh lapin cherries, covered them in pineapple juice and marinated for a couple of hours.

Shortcake:

I used a standard baking powder biscuit recipe with these substitutes:

2 cups oat flour  (put raw oats into blender, process until flour consistency and then measure)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp soda 

1/2 cup unsalted butter 

3/4 cup (approx) milk soured with 2 tsp lemon juice  (I used soy)

Mix dry ingredients in bowl. I grate cold butter from the frig into the dry ingredients with the large side of a vegetable grater.  Blend well.  Add soured milk and stir until moistened and a soft dough is achieved (add more liquid or oat flour if needed).

Roll our to about one inch thick and cut into rounds or squares.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet in 400 degree F oven for about 15 – 20 minutes.

Whip some whipping cream until thick. Grate some cocoa mass - coarse and chunks. (Cocoa mass is the first processing of the cocoa bean – the essence of chocolate; sold in block pieces by weight; I use an awl and hammer to cut the piece smaller.)

Assembly:  I crumbled a biscuit into the stemmed bowl and drained part of the pineapple juice marinade (now a sunset crimson colour) over it, then a layer of the cherries, some chunks of the cocoa mass,  a mound of whipped cream, and topped with the coarsely grated cocoa mass, poured the rest of marinade over top. Took up spoon and …..

What a joy to, once again, be able to eat this dessert without an almost immediate digestive upset, without the cloying sweet taste, the sugar high followed by a low and the craving to fill unsatisfied hunger, the overly-full feeling and slight wooziness;  to be able to taste the fruit, the richness of the whipped cream, the  satisfying chocolate of chocolate without it being masked by sugar.