Strawberry Shortcake

I utilized my favourite oat dough, combining it with strawberry puree to get a moist and fruity crust. I then topped it, simply, with the same puree, raw preserve and sliced fresh berries. After some time in the dehydrator, the dough happily hardened on the outside and stayed nicely moist in the middle. All the while, the topping thickened, concentrated, and turned into a ruby jam.

Strawberry Shortcake
(Makes about two standard sized half-sheet pans)

Dough
Same as here
3 cups chunky fresh strawberry puree

To make the puree, pulse fresh strawberries in a food processor until you end up with a slightly chunky puree. Mix the oat dough with the puree. Divide it between two sheet pans covered with parchment paper (or you can use any smaller individual dishes if you’d like) and press into the pans to achieve a uniform layer.

Topping
For the top I used a combination of raw strawberry preserve and fresh chunky strawberry puree. The preserve makes the mixture a bit thicker, and less runny, but I believe that you can get away with using just the fresh puree. You can just dehydrate it by itself for a couple of hours to thicken it up more. You can sweeten the puree/preserve mix to your taste with your favourite sweetener, or just leave it as is. I didn’t measure the proportion, or the combined amount. The more berry puree you use, the sweeter and more moist your cakes will be.

Assembly
Divide the strawberry puree between the two pans, or other dishes, and spread evenly on top. Sprinkle with oat flour or ground nuts and decorate with sliced fresh berries.
Dehydrate at 115F for about 20 hours. Remove from pans, peel away the parchment paper, and dehydrate on the mesh screens for another 6 hours or until your cakes are firm enough for you to cut them into desired shapes. Cut or leave as individual cakes, depending on the dishes you are using. After this step, dehydrate for another 2-3 hours or more. The time of dehydration depends on the thickness of your strawberry puree layer. It should be dry to touch, but moist and chewy on the inside.
I noticed that these cakes become increasingly tastier after some time in the refrigerator. Usually, they are the best at the end of a batch, when the crust becomes moist and full of the topping flavour throughout.