Off and on over the last year, we’ve tried to adhere to the Paleo way of eating, no grains, dairy, etc. We did great the first time, except we stopped for some reason or another. I tend to burn through my meals quickly, and turned to soda (instead of juice- eek) for quick sugar to fix low blood sugar, and in frustration (and grumpy sugar lows), turned back to my very much-loved bread and heavy carbs.

This time around, we’ve done great, we are maintaining healthy eating, and feeling fabulous, except for this recipe. Can we include it in our 15 of the 85/15 rule?

Diary is a no-no, either for Paleo, or Vegan people, but I do love some whipped cream sometimes, and cheese. I love cheese. I’ve been so good.

I’ve made this several times now, and everyone loves it, the kids gobble it up, my father loves how light it is, and fiance and I split the extra serving(the recipe makes 6 servings)

So, without further chatter.

I give you:

Gluten Free Almost Paleo Honey Ginger Mango Shortcake

Nom.

What you’ll need:

1/2 cup crumbled White Stilton Cheese with Dried Mango and Crystallized Ginger (Paleo alternative: you can use chopped dried Mango, and crystallized ginger)

Almond Shortbread:

1 cup  Almond Flour

3 tbsp Coconut Oil

2 tbsp Honey

Whipped Topping:

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream (Or, a paleo alternative)

1/8 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1/8 tsp Ground Cloves

1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Honey

Mango Puree:

1 Mango (I prefer the Honey Mango for this recipe)

1/2 Banana

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Powdered Ginger

To make the shortbread:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix almond flour, coconut oil, and honey until thoroughly combined. Spread on a parchment covered cookie sheet, to 3/8th thick, into a rectangle about 6″ by 9″.

Cook for 1-15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Watch it after the first ten minutes, be sure it just gets crispy and golden, not crunchy and burnt. Almond flour can burn quickly if you aren’t careful. Eek.

Let cool for 15 minutes before putting the whipped cream on top.

While the shortbread is in the oven:

Make the Whipped Topping:  

In a bowl, combine the whipped topping ingredients(cream, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla extract, honey). Whipping on medium for 2-3 minutes, or until it is pretty and you have to stop and dip a spoon in to test it.  Chill for 10-15 minutes.

Make the Mango Puree:

In a blender, purée your mango and banana, and mix with the ginger and cinnamon. Remember, if you like ginger, all measurements are very low, you can easily double them for a little more bite.

Set aside.

Assembly:

Now for the fun part, because after this, we can eat it. If you are in a rush to eat your creation. Just throw everything in a bowl and shoo everyone away. I won’t tell.

Or you can do it pretty.

Top the almond shortbread with a dollop of whipped cream, drizzle with mango purée, top with your Stilton cheese, sprinkle with powdered ginger and ground cinnamon. Enjoy.