“I used to serve my family Strawberry Cake before I became gluten-free,” said Alice. Any chance you could create one like that?”
I told her I had seen a bunch of recipes. Some used Jell-O and others used real strawberries. What did she have in mind?
“Not the one with Jell-O. Mine was like a white cake with pureed fruit in it,” she told me.
“I know how to make a gluten-free cake and I’m a sucker for strawberries,” I told Alice. I mean, I’ve been known to plan vacations to coincide with the local strawberry crop, I explained. I was eager to give this a try. But, as it turns out, our local crop of berries has gone by and the fresh strawberries come from across the United States or South America this time of year. I ended up using frozen, whole, unsweetened strawberries. They were easier and tastier. The flavor was more concentrated and more consistent. So, you’ll see that my recipe calls for frozen berries. Unless your local berries are in season, I suggest you do the same. Use fresh berries for garnish and even dip a few in chocolate for an added touch.
And use a good gluten-free cake flour blend, one that includes sorghum and cornstarch. Sorghum is light and less grainy than rice flour. Plus it has nutrients and fiber. Cornstarch lightens the texture and adds structure to the cake. If you are able to have corn products, use it in this recipe. Otherwise, tapioca or potato starch are okay, but a distant second. If you can’t tolerate dairy products, Earth Balance products work well.
Now about color. That’s a matter of preference. I’ve seen versions of strawberry cake that are bright red. That’s not from the berries, I’m afraid. Rather, it’s from red food coloring. If you like that stuff and that color, by all means, add a drop or two to the batter. I prefer the subtle pink and don’t really like food dyes.
So, here’s a really, truly completely from-scratch, fresh strawberry cake. No Jell-O, food coloring, or artificial flavors! Using frozen strawberries makes this easy and means you can celebrate strawberry season anytime of the year.
Strawberry Cake
1, 16-ounce bag frozen, unsweetened whole strawberries
1 cup white rice flour, more to dust pans
¾ cup sorghum flour
½ cup cornstarch
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons xanthan gum
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
1 ¾ cup sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk or milk of choice, at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil 2, 8 or 9 inch round pans. Dust with rice flour. Set aside.
Slightly thaw strawberries. Puree in a food processor. Transfer to a mesh strainer and set over a bowl large enough to set the strainer over the opening. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the puree through the strainer, then scrape the underside of the strainer, catching the puree in the bowl. Repeat until just seeds and pulp remain in the strainer. You should have about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups of puree. Set aside and discard the seeds and pulp.
Combine rice flour, sorghum flour, cornstarch, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, and baking soda. Mix well.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add dry ingredients and beat to combine. Fold in ¾ cup strawberry puree. (Reserve remainder for frosting.) Add milk and beat until smooth. If you would like a deeper pink color to the batter, add a drop or two of pink or red food coloring here.
Divide the batter evenly among the pans and smooth tops.
Bake for about 23 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto wire racks. Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 ounce) package of low-fat cream cheese, softened
½ stick of butter, softened
½ cup pureed strawberries from above
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon milk (if needed)
Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth.
Slowly add the sugar in 1 cup batches until desired sweetness and consistency is achieved.
Stir in puree and vanilla. Add milk slowly if you need a looser consistency.
Frost cake and garnish with sliced or halved fresh strawberries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
You can also make 24 cupcakes from this recipe.
Categories: Recipes | Tags: cake, dessert, dessert recipes, Gluten-Free. Desserts, recipes, strawberry desserts, summer dessert recipes | 16 Comments »
16 Comments
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About This Blog
Baking guru, Beth Hillson, transforms favorite foods into recipes that are safe for your gluten-free diet.
Angel says:
July 12, 2012 at 11:47 am /
This looks fantastic. My only question is this: do you have any recommended substitution for the 12 tablespoons of butter? I can’t bring myself to make a recipe with this much butter in it. If you have any recommendations, I would love to try it.
Beth Hillson says:
July 12, 2012 at 9:30 pm /
Hi Angel, That is a lot of butter, but keep in mind the recipe serves 10 to 12 people. Nevertheless, I often replace up to half the butter with the same amount of unsweetened applesauce or pureed banana. In this case, I think banana would be terrific. You might need to bake the cake a little bit longer. Just keep checking for doneness. All the best, Beth
Nancy says:
July 30, 2012 at 11:44 am /
“this looks so good, I will have to try this!”
Beth Hillson says:
July 30, 2012 at 4:13 pm /
Enjoy. I make this for every summer get together these days. Beth
S. Ruder says:
May 31, 2013 at 2:35 am /
I just made this recipe in the form of cupcakes. You know the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter ads from yesteryear? This is a I Can’t Believe It’s Not Gluten recipe. Delicious.
For a desert and a treat, the butter makes it amazing. The strawberries, the vanilla and the sweet cream butter are the primary flavors. It’s amazing.
Thank you!
Paula Dumas says:
April 23, 2014 at 2:41 pm /
Hi Beth – My 20 year old son found your recipe online and baked it for my birthday. I shared the cake with a group of women at a brunch today, and they RAVED about it, so I’m sharing your recipe with them.
Those who weren’t GF said it was the best Strawberry Cake they’d ever had, period.
Thanks for sharing!
Paula
Beth Hillson says:
April 24, 2014 at 3:07 pm /
That is SO NICE. Thank you for letting us know. Enjoy. Beth
Holly says:
May 29, 2014 at 11:39 am /
Hi Beth – I’m excited to try this cake! Do you know if I can use brown rice flour instead of white? Thanks!
Beth Hillson says:
May 30, 2014 at 4:19 pm /
Hi Holly, You’ll love this cake. But I would only use brown rice flour if you are able to use a finely ground flour. Otherwise, I think it will be a bit gritty and will not absorb the fat and liquid properly. Hope that helps. Best, Beth
Juli Thompson says:
June 5, 2014 at 10:23 pm /
We made this cake recently. It was good but it left me wanting more of a strawberry flavor…maybe more pureed strawberries?
Beth Hillson says:
June 10, 2014 at 9:40 am /
Dear Juli, I would not add more strawberries. I think the cake will sink in the middle if you do. But I do think the lack of intense flavor might be related to the crop of strawberries themselves. Use vibrantly red berries that are very fresh and very ripe. These should be available locally this time of year. Hope that helps. Beth
Madeleine C. says:
February 5, 2016 at 11:27 am /
Would “Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Sweet White Sorghum Flour” be okay to use for the sorghum? I am baking a cake for my coworker and her bday is valentines day. Also I do not have a food processor, could I use my magic bullet?
Thank you in advance
Madeleine C.!!
Beth Hillson says:
February 8, 2016 at 5:10 pm /
Hi Madeleine, Yes, Bob’s is the brand of sorghum I use most often. Although I am not familiar with the magic bullet, I would have to say that anything with a name like that has got to work! Enjoy. Beth
Sharo says:
April 14, 2017 at 3:10 pm /
My daughter to be turns 30 today. After reading all the reviews I decided this was the elusive gluten free strawberry cake to celebrate with. I followed the recipe to the letter…at 23 minutes the cake was not done, went a bit longer & both cakes fell/sunk in ☹️. The cake will be delicious but it has fallen apart. I’d love to leave a photo, but don’t see where to do so
Sharon says:
April 14, 2017 at 6:28 pm /
The cake was so flavorful. We call it the molten strawberry flow. The only thing I used different was Bob’s Red Mill arrowroot in place of the corn starch. Do you think that would have made a difference? My little 30 old daughter-to-be loved it. I had extra strawberry purée & icing for anyone that wanted more. A real winner here. I just don’t know why it sank & didn’t want to hold together. I’d attempt this recipe again