Let's make a gluten-free strawberry cake to celebrate the start of strawberry season!
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About This Strawberry CakeRecipe
This cake is a modified version of the Fresh Strawberry Cake recipe from Once Upon A Chef. The cake looked wonderful, so I decided to modify it to be gluten-free with fresh strawberries from our CSA. It's a great summer dessert, perfect for a 4th of July or Memorial Day barbecue, or just if you want to have something special right at home!
It has a delicious, fluffy consistency, and a great sponge cake taste. Combined with fresh strawberries and a sprinkle of sugar on top, it's seriously good. While it's tasty on its own, you can also add some fresh whipped cream for extra decadence!
Ingredients You Will Need
- Gluten-Free Flour (See below for my recommendations)
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Granulated Sugar: I reduced the sugar from the original recipe.
- Unsalted Butter
- Vanilla
- Egg
- Milk - I used cow's milk and this turned out fine. You could also substitute with non-dairy milk.
- Strawberries: fresh strawberries work best here!
Gluten-Free Flour Blend
For the best results, use Cup4Cup Multipurpose GF Flour. This has been my favorite flour for pastry since 2014. Thanks to it, I've successfully made gluten-free croissants, empanadas, naan, and bagels. Please be aware this blend contains milk powder so it is not dairy-free. You can also substitute whatever gluten-free flour blend you prefer.
How To Make Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake
The recipe is straightforward. After whisking the gluten-free flour, salt, and baking powder with a whisk, you cream the butter and sugar. After that, the egg and vanilla are mixed in, followed by the flour mixture and milk until the batter forms. It will be very thick, so make sure to spread it evenly in your pan. After, you top the cake with freshly chopped strawberries and sprinkle sugar on top.
Can I Make This Cake Dairy-Free?
Yes, but I haven't tried it. The gluten-free flour blend I recommend for this recipe contains milk powder. So if you were to modify the recipe to be dairy-free, you'd need to use a different gluten-free flour blend, such as GF Jules or King Arthur Measure For Measure. You would also need non-dairy milk and dairy-free butter. I can't speak to your results, but please feel free to leave a comment if you need help troubleshooting.
Tips For Making Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake
Strawberry Size: As the notes suggest in the original recipe, make sure to not make your strawberries too big, or it can cause the cake to sink. This happened to me when making it one or two times, and by making the strawberries smaller, it turned out much better.
Storage: Store the cake at room temperature covered in foil for 2-3 days. Gluten-free baked goods tend to harden quickly, so it's best eaten with in a few days. You can also freeze the cake for up to 3 months: just wrap it thickly in aluminum foil. Thaw it overnight before serving.
Looking for more 4th of July/Memorial Day recipes?
Make this fruit galette in a star shape for another patriotic dessert.
Use up fresh berries in a gluten-free crisp. You can substitute other fruit too!
Bring a no bake pie everyone will love - gluten & dairy free key lime pie.
Go for a classic - Apple pie! This one is gluten-free with a lattice design so you'll look extra fancy.
Here's how to make gluten-free strawberry cake!
If you love this recipe, please leave a comment! Thank you so much!
Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
- 1-½ cups gluten-free flour blend, like Cup4Cup
- 1-½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pan (or you can use your favorite oil to grease the pan instead)
- ¾ cup of sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk of choice
- ½ to ¾ pound strawberries, hulled and halved
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9-inch circular or square cake pan with butter or oil of choice.
In a medium bowl, add the gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and ¾ cup of sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, and then the vanilla, continuing to beat on low speed until well combined. Slowly, alternating with the milk, add the flour mixture, beating on low speed until smooth and incorporated, until all of the milk and flour mixture is added. The batter will be very thick!
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Again, the batter will be thick! Arrange the strawberries on top, cut side down, in a circular pattern. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar all over the strawberries.
Bake the cake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, then lower the heat to 325 degrees and bake for 1 hour. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Serve it with fresh whipped cream for extra decadence!
Notes
Storage: Store the cake at room temperature covered in foil for 2-3 days. Gluten-free baked goods tend to harden quickly, so it's best eaten with in a few days.
You can also freeze the cake for up to 3 months: just wrap it thickly in aluminum foil. Thaw it overnight before serving.
Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 394Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 63mgSodium 364mgCarbohydrates 63gFiber 2gSugar 28gProtein 7g
The nutrition information on each recipe card is provided as a courtesy and for your convenience. The data is calculated by Nutritionix. You are encouraged to make your own calculations based on your ingredients and preferred nutritional facts calculator. While I try to make sure they are accurate, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of these calculations.
What's your favorite way to enjoy fresh strawberries?
Do you have a strawberry recipe to share?
Let me know in the comments below!
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