Gluten Free Strawberry Cake
We recently had a customer reach out and ask us to help adapt a recipe to make gluten free strawberry cake. Little did we know that the result of this request would become one of our favorite desserts. We call our strawberry cake version – Very Berry Delight. It is super moist, and maintains the integrity of the sweet-tart taste of strawberries with the addition of reduced strawberry puree. We’ve also made strawberry cupcakes out of this recipe, which we love to share with family and friends. One neighbor in particular seems to visit the mailbox area of our neighborhood around the same time as we do lately and wonders out loud if we have little cakes left to spare.
The Secret to our Very Berry Delight
Strawberry cake has a reputation for being difficult to make because the cake can turn out gummy. Thank goodness for Sally at Sally’s Baking Addiction. She reduces strawberry puree before adding it to her cake recipe and we embraced Sally’s tips. For this recipe, we reduce a pound of finely chopped strawberries by half over low heat, then cool the puree completely. The puree resembles a paste; it’s thick and viscous. This process takes time and patience. We allow the strawberries to cook for about an hour, and cool in a separate bowl for several more hours if making the same day or overnight in the refrigerator. Not to worry – you may bake cakes ahead of time and freeze. They thaw beautifully. Your effort will be rewarded!
Reduced Strawberry Puree Recipe
Ingredients: 1 lb stemmed strawberries, 1 tsp lemon juice. Yield: 227g (8 oz) This recipe yields more that what is required for the cake (4 oz). Make two cakes, or use the extra puree in frosting, on top of ice cream, or eat with a spoon! Store: Puree may be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 days.
Prep Strawberries
To make strawberry puree, wash and stem strawberries. Weigh out 1 lb (454g). Now, if you purchase strawberries in a 1 lb container, you may use that. No worries. We always buy more berries to have for garnish and to eat as we bake because who can resist eating ripe strawberries? Next, finely chop or pulse berries in a food processor. If you process them, do not make a smoothie out of them! Leave berries a bit chunky. Transfer to a saucepan and add 1 tsp lemon juice. Stir to combine.
Make Puree
Cook on medium low until the mix starts to gently simmer. Stir. If berries are sticking to the bottom, then the heat is too high. If the mix does not simmer a bit, then the heat is too low. Adjust the heat until berries slowly simmer. Continue to stir frequently – at least every ten minutes until you start to see the mix really thicken. At about the 50 minute mark, you will need to babysit the berries. Monitor to make sure they are still reducing, but not scorching. When the puree looks really thick, weigh it. You are aiming for 8 oz (227g). Transfer to a bowl and completely cool before using. If I make this ahead of time and refrigerate, I bring the puree to room temp before adding to the cake recipe. If I plan to add the puree to whipped cream, I chill before using.
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Please let us know how your gluten free Strawberry Cake turned out. Did you double the recipe to make two layers? Did you make strawberry cupcakes? Please leave a rating and a comment in the section provided below. We love to hear from you!
An important note: this recipe successfully uses Flour Farm Organic Gluten Free Flour Blend. If you choose to make this with another flour blend, please note that your results may differ.
Peace & LOVE – Teri
Photos by DuPree Productions
Teri’s Favorite Strawberry Cake
Strawberry Cupcakes
Gluten Free Strawberry Cake
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: single layer 8” cake 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This gluten free strawberry cake recipe is beautifully balanced. It’s lightly sweet, yet bright with the tangy taste of fresh strawberries. Take the time to make your own strawberry puree. The effort is worth every bite!
This recipe makes a single layer 8″ cake or 12 cupcakes.
Ingredients
Choose Gluten Free, Non-GMO & Organic Ingredients.
Substitutions: Do you need to swap out an ingredient? Click here for suggestions.
Note: If clicking the 2X or 3X scale boxes to the right, please know that weights listed in parentheses below may or may not change. Please take care to check amounts if increasing the recipe.
Dry
- 136g (4.8 oz) Flour Farm Organic Gluten Free Flour Blend (1 1/4 C spoon & level)
- 2 T Tapioca Flour/Starch (15g)
- 1 tsp Double Acting, Aluminum Free Baking Powder (4g)
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda (1.25g)
- 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp Xanthan Gum (1.3g)
- 1/4 tsp Extra Fine Pink Himalayan Salt (3g)
Wet
- 71g (2.5 oz) Unsalted Butter, softened (5 T)
- 150g (5.3 oz) Cane Sugar (3/4 C)
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract (5 ml)
- 1 Large Pasture Raised Egg White (30g)
- 1 large Pasture Raised Egg (50g)
- 118 ml (4 fl. oz) Buttermilk (1/2 C) – we prefer whole milk buttermilk
- 114g (4 oz) Reduced Strawberry Puree (1/2 C) – see recipe notes below
Instructions
Equipment: Digital scale (preferred), 8″ cake pan or muffin pan for 12, Mixing bowls, Measuring cups and spoons, Electric mixer or Stand mixer, Rubber spatula, Cooling rack
Before You Dive In – Prep: Please read!
- Make Reduced Strawberry Puree (see recipe notes below or in blog)
- Bring eggs, butter, buttermilk and puree to room temperature
- Move oven rack to center
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 Celsius)
- Grease or spray cake pan/muffin pan or use liners. We like to use our non-stick Goop
Make a cake!
Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
Step 2: In a separate large mixing bowl, or the bowl that attaches to a stand up mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes.
Step 3: Turn the mixer to low and beat in the eggs. Turn the mixer back to medium and beat for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir.
Step 4: Turn the mixer to low and alternate adding half of the flour and half of the buttermilk until ingredients are incorporated. Do not over mix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir to incorporate.
Step 5: Fold in the reduced strawberry puree. Gently mix in with a rubber spatula until fully incorporated. Batter will be thick.
Step 6: Pour batter into an 8″ cake pan or evenly fill 12 muffin wells (about 2/3 full). Bake in the center of a preheated 350 F/177C oven. The cake will take about 30 minutes to bake. Muffins take about 18 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean when done.
Step 7: Remove cake/cupcakes from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Cool cake completely before transferring to a serving plate. Cool cupcakes for about 5-10 minutes before removing from pan. Cake and cupcakes should be completely cool before frosting.
Enjoy!
Notes
Good to know: Cake is best if eaten at room temperature within two days or refrigerated within three days. Freeze, unfrosted, for up to a month.
Best Strawberry Frosting: We like to frost our Strawberry Cake with a few chilled tablespoons of our Reduced Strawberry Puree added to either whipped cream, (add a touch of powdered sugar or vanilla,) or our cream cheese frosting recipe.
How to Make Reduced Strawberry Puree: Ingredients – 1 lb stemmed strawberries, 1 tsp lemon juice. To make strawberry puree, wash and stem strawberries. Weigh out 1 lb (454g). Next, finely chop or pulse berries in a food processor. If you process them, do not make a smoothie out of them! Leave berries a bit chunky. Transfer to a saucepan and add 1 tsp lemon juice. Stir to combine. Cook on medium low until the mix starts to gently simmer. Stir. Make sure the berries are not sticking to the bottom. If they are, then the heat is too high. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook while the berries gently bubble. If the mix does not simmer a bit, then the heat is too low. Adjust the heat until berries slowly simmer. Continue to stir frequently – at least every ten minutes until you start to see the mix really thicken. At about the 50 minute mark, you will need to babysit the berries. Don’t leave them. Monitor to make sure they are still reducing but not scorching. If your puree looks really thick, weigh the amount. You are aiming for 8 oz (227g). Reduce puree until you have that amount. When you do, transfer to a bowl and completely cool before using. Puree may be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 days. Note: you will have extra puree to make a double batch of the cake recipe or to add to frosting.
The nutrition information provided below is for the cake recipe as written without frosting. Each slice weighs about 85g (3 oz). Cupcakes: Serving size is one cupcake that weighs about 55g or 2 oz. 160 calories, 6g total fat, 2.5g unsaturated fat, 0g trans fat, 30mg cholesterol, 201mg sodium, 23g carbohydrates, 1g fiber, 14g sugars, 2 g protein.
Prep time does not include the time to prepare and cool reduced strawberry puree.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: cake
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 240
- Sugar: 19g
- Sodium: 320mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 35g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 45mg
Keywords: gluten free strawberry cake cupcakes
For more gluten free recipes by Flour Farm, visit our recipe page. Happy Baking!
I tried out a cake with the above recipe. The cake was very soft and tasty. Thank you.
Thank you – this recipe happens to be one of my favorites! -T
I really like the way you presented your blog. I would love to try this recipe for my girlfriend’s birthday that is next week and I am sure it will be a hit
★★★★★
Great strawberry delight cake recipe! Thanks for sharing the recipe with us.
★★★★★
Thank you! T & D