Strawberry Honey Cake with Honey Buttercream {gluten-free}

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This Strawberry Honey Cake is a simply stunning loaf cake made with fresh strawberries and sweet local honey baked into the sponge. The texture is moist and full of flavour. Made with a delicious blend of gluten-free flours and finished with a cloud of honey buttercream and fresh strawberries.

this recipe

If you want to capture the delights of fresh ripe seasonal strawberries then this Strawberry Honey Loaf Cake is a wonderful testament to the most flavourful berries.

A lovely tea-time loaf cake which feels a little bit special thanks to the gorgeous whipped honey buttercream and the dazzling mound of fresh strawberries adorning the top.

This cake is delicious all throughout the season. As Spring moves into Summer the taste of the strawberries evolve meaning you get a little bit of something different as the seasons progress.

The flavour combination of the strawberries and honey is a joy. I collect local honey from all the little farm shops and farmer’s markets I visit so I have quite the larder full. I love a light clear floral honey in this cake which is baked into the batter along with sour cream to add density and offset the sweetness. The cake is then topped in the same way, a simple buttercream imbued with more honey and sour cream.

A perfect teatime treat, eaten out in the garden with the distant sound of a lawnmower buzzing in the background.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Real taste of strawberries - using fresh strawberries and not strawberry jam in the cake.
• Real taste of honey comes through in the sponge as it’s baked into the batter and mixed into the buttercream.
• Sour cream is used in the cake mixture for a deeply flavoured sponge and in the buttercream for an ultra creamy tangy flavour that works so well with the sweet honey.
• Gluten-free but no xanthan gum needed.

Watch the video to see how to make it

Gluten-free flours required

This Honey Strawberry Cake uses my favourite Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend. This is a great blend to use as it negates the use of xanthan gum due to the balance of starchy and wholegrain flours in the blend.

READ MORE >>> Why I don’t bake with xanthan gum.

I do not recommend using an alternative gluten-free flour as the blend of flours will not be the same and will not achieve a successful cake.

If you do not already have this blend to hand then allow me to break down the ratio of this specific blend:

• 34% (58g) sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour / mochiko)
• 24% (41g) sorghum flour
• 22% (37g) oat flour
• 20% (34g) tapioca flour

I have detailed the various substitutions you can make for the flours in this blend in the original post READ MORE >>> Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend

Alternative gluten-free flour choice

There is an alternative suggestion I can make for this cake and that is to use 50% gluten-free flour (brand of your choice. Doves Farm or Bob’s Red Mill work well) and 50% almond flour/ground almonds.

You do not need xanthan gum with this flour route but the recipe will be fine if your branded blend already contains it.

You can also make this cake using (non-gluten-free) plain all purpose flour using a 1:1 substitution.

List of ingredients for cake needed

• Fresh strawberries
• Honey
• Butter, unsalted is best
• Caster sugar (white baking sugar)
• Eggs. This recipe uses UK medium sized eggs – about 60g each with shell.
• Homemade gluten-free flour blend (sweet rice flour, sorghum flour, oat flour, tapioca flour)
• Sour cream
• Vanilla extract
• Baking powder
• Bicarbonate of soda

What kind of honey to use

You can use any runny honey you have to hand for this cake. Do bear in mind that local honey can be much more flavourful than the generic shop bought honeys. So if you want an authentic complex honey flavour then do choose your favourite local honey.

How to make a fresh strawberry cake

This cake uses fresh strawberries baked into the batter for an authentic strawberry flavour.

We achieve this by cooking the strawberries down to a thick puree (almost a paste) which intensifies the strawberry flavour and eliminates the excess strawberry juice. The puree is swirled throughout the cake mixture creating a sponge which is still light and fluffy with remarkable pockets of sweet strawberry flavour.

Making the puree sounds faffy but I assure you it’s an incredibly easy 2 step process and takes your cake to strawberry heaven.

This method is also used in this incredible Gluten-Free Fresh Strawberry Cake if you are looking for a beautifully layered strawberry cake.

How to make the strawberry puree: step-by-step instructions

1. Blend strawberries and honey.
2. Pour the puree into a saucepan and heat until reduced to a thick paste (about 20-25 minutes).
3. Chill the puree until ready to use.

Tips for puree

• The fresher and more flavourful the initial strawberries the better and more intensely flavoured the puree will turn out. So choose the best strawberries you can.
• You can use either an immersion hand held blender or a stand blender to combine the strawberries and honey.
• Make ahead. The puree can be made up to 3 days ahead of making the rest of the cake if you want to break down the tasks into manageable jobs.

How to make the cake: step by step instructions

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post. 

1. Cream the butter and sugar.
2. Add eggs and beat to combine.
3. Pour in honey and vanilla and mix again.
4. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together.
5. Add the flour and sour cream alternately to the rest of the cake mixture until well combined.
6. Spread ¼ of the cake mixture into the bottom of the baking tin. Dollop ⅓ of the strawberry puree over the cake mixture and swirl with a skewer. Repeat twice more, finishing with a smooth layer of cake mixture.
7. Bake for 55 minutes and cool.

Tips for cake

• All ingredients should be at room temperature, including the eggs.
• Beat the butter and sugar for a couple of minutes so they cream together properly.
• Add the sour cream and flour in alternately to ensure the ingredients get throughly mixed together.

List of ingredients for Honey Buttercream

• Butter (unsalted)
• Icing sugar
• Honey
• Sour cream
• salt

Honey buttercream: step-by-step instructions

1. Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
2. Pour in honey, sour cream and salt until well combined.
3. Using a palette knife spread the buttercream thickly on top of the cake.
4. Decorate with strawberries, drizzled honey.

Tips for buttercream

• Beat the butter and sugar together for about 3-4 minutes. The buttercream should look pale, creamy and fluffy.
• Due to the sour cream and the honey this is a very malleable buttercream. It is best to make the buttercream and decorate right before serving.

Shop the recipe

Sweet Rice Flour (glutinous)

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Sorghum Flour

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Gluten-Free Oat Flour

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Tapioca Starch

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2lb Loaf Tin

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Immersion Blender

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More strawberry recipes you’ll love

• Strawberry Gooseberry Crumble
• Strawberry Basil Cake
• Strawberry Pink Peppercorn Cheesecake
• Fresh Strawberry Cake
• Strawberry Redcurrant Jam
• Strawberry Stem Ginger Sangria

I urge you to give this Strawberry Honey Cake a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.

Strawberry Honey Cake with Honey Buttercream {gluten-free}

Georgina Hartley

This Strawberry Honey Cake is a simply stunning loaf cake made with fresh strawberries and sweet local honey baked into the sponge. The texture is moist and full of flavour. Made with a delicious blend of gluten-free flours and finished with a cloud of honey buttercream and fresh strawberries.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 55 minutes mins

Course Cake

Cuisine British

Servings 10 people

Calories 491 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Strawberry Puree

• ▢ 250 g fresh strawberries
• ▢ 25 g honey

Strawberry Honey Loaf Cake

• ▢ 170 g unsalted butter - room temperature
• ▢ 100 g caster sugar
• ▢ 2 eggs - medium sized*
• ▢ 120 g honey
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 270 g homemade gluten-free flour blend*
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 125 g sour cream

Honey Buttercream

• ▢ 100 g unsalted butter - room temperature
• ▢ 165 g icing sugar
• ▢ 50 g honey
• ▢ 50 g sour cream
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ▢ Fresh strawberries to decorate

Instructions

 

Strawberry Puree

• Blend the strawberries and the honey until a very thin liquid puree has formed.
• Pour the puree into a saucepan and heat on a medium simmer for 20-25 minutes until the mixture has reduced by ⅔. Keep an eye on the puree and stir every so often to stop it from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. The puree should be thick and not pourable. It should weigh between 90-100g.
• Place in the fridge to cool whilst you prepare the cake.

Strawberry Honey Loaf Cake

• Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4 and line and grease a 9 inch loaf tin.
• Cream the butter and sugar together for a couple of minutes until pale and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time until fully combined.
• Pour in the honey and mix well, then the vanilla extract.
• In a separate mixing bowl whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together.
• Add ⅓ of the flour to the rest of the cake mixture, mixing well. Then follow with half the sour cream, mix it in then another ⅓ of the flour, the rest of the sour cream then the last third of the flour. Mix until the batter has just combined.
• Spread ¼ of the cake mixture into the bottom of the baking tin. Dollop ⅓ of the strawberry puree over the cake mixture and swirl with a skewer. Repeat twice more, finishing with a smooth layer of cake mixture.
• Place in the oven and bake for 55-60 minutes.
• Cool the cake on a wire rack completely before decorating with the buttercream.

Honey Buttercream

• Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy – about 3-4 minutes.
• Pour in the honey, sour cream and salt and mix until completely combined.
• Use a palette knife to spread the buttercream thickly on top of the cake.
• Decorate with extra strawberries and a drizzle of honey.

Video

Notes

Eggs

This recipe uses UK sized medium eggs (60g each with shell). These are often classified as large eggs in the US.

Gluten-Free Flour

• This recipe was developed using this >>> Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend <<< 
• Either use 170g of this blend or you can break down the ratios as follows: 58g sweet rice flour, 41g sorghum flour, 37g oat flour, 34g tapioca flour.
• Do not use any other gluten-free flour otherwise this recipe will not work.
• Substitutions for individual flours are given in the original post for this blend >>> Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend.

How to store

• If you want to make the cake ahead of time I recommend making the loaf sponge and keeping in an airtight tin in a cool dark place at room temperature. You can make it up to 2 days before decorating.
• After the cake has been decorated it is best stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

How to freeze

This cake can be frozen before you add the buttercream. Wait until it’s fully cooled then wrap in plastic wrap and aluminium foil to ensure no spoilage. The cake can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Defrost overnight at room temperature before unwrapping and decorating.

Ingredient measurements

• Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.
• US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups

Nutrition information

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
• Please seek a professional nutritionist’s advice for further clarification.
  The nutrition serving is for 1 slice of cake, assuming the pie is cut into 10 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 491kcalCarbohydrates: 63gProtein: 4gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 223mgPotassium: 130mgFiber: 3gSugar: 45gVitamin A: 834IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 68mgIron: 1mg

Have you tried this recipe?Head to the comment section and let me know what you think!