Strawberry Basil Cake {gluten-free}

A beautiful gluten-free Strawberry Basil Cake with a fresh strawberry jam and basil filling and a light swiss meringue buttercream

Prep Time1 hr

Cook Time35 mins

Total Time1 hr 35 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Servings: people

Calories: 716kcal

Author: Georgina Hartley

Ingredients

Cake

400 g caster sugar
zest of 1 small lemon
225 g unsalted butter room temperature
4 eggs medium sized, about 60g each
240 g whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
120 g sweet rice flour glutinous rice flour
85 g oat flour
70 g millet flour
35 g potato starch
35 g tapioca flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt

Strawberry Basil Honey Jam

200 g strawberries
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped basil
2 teaspoons ground chia seeds
1 teaspoon freeze-dried strawberry powder optional

Sweet Pesto

60 g basil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
15 g pine nuts
15 g parmesan

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

4 egg whites (120g)
200 g caster sugar
300 g unsalted butter room temperature
1 tablespoon freeze-dried strawberry powder
sweet basil pesto (as above)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Cake

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan assisted oven / gas mark 4 and line and grease 2 x round 8 inch cake tins.
In a large bowl or food mixer whisk the lemon zest into the sugar until fragrant.
Add the butter one cube at a time and beat into the lemon sugar until pale, light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating on a low speed.
Then mix in the vanilla extract.
Whisk together the flours, baking powder and sea salt in a separate mixing bowl until completely combined.
Add the flour mix alternately with the milk, adding the flour in three additions and the milk in two (begin and end with the flour), scrape down the sides of the bowls as needed and mix until just combined.
Divide the batter between the cake tins and bake for 35-40 minutes when the sponge is coming away from the sides of the tin and an inserted cocktail stick comes out clean.
Leave in the tins for 5 minutes to rest then gently turn out onto cooling racks and leave to cool completely.

Strawberry Basil Honey Jam

Place everything but the chia seeds and strawberry powder in a pan and turn on the heat, crushing the strawberries gently with a wooden spoon into the rest of the ingredients.
Bring the jam to a low boil, then simmer for a couple of minutes.
Stir in the chia seeds and strawberry powder, cook for a further minute then remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Sweet Pesto

Place everything in the food processor and whizz together until smooth.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Heat egg whites and caster sugar in a bain marie, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the temperature has reached 71°C.
Remove the egg whites and sugar from the heat and pour into a stand mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
Change the attachment to a paddle attachment. On a low speed add the butter slowly cube by cube. When you have almost added all the butter the mixture will look curdled. Do not fret – this is supposed to happen and just means you are nearly done. Just continue to add all the butter. Once the butter is totally incorporated the buttercream will miraculously become a smooth velvety consistency.
Divide the buttercream so you have ¾ of the buttercream in one bowl and ¼ in another.
Mix the strawberry powder with the ¾ amount of buttercream and the sweet pesto with the ¼ amount.

Assembly

Place one of the cake layers on a cake board or stand.
Pipe one circle of strawberry buttercream on the top at the very edge of the sponge. This will act as a dam for the strawberry jam.
Spread the strawberry jam evenly on the top of sponge to the edges of the buttercream dam.
Place the second sponge on top.
Cover the strawberry buttercream over the top and the top half of the cake sides using a palette knife.
Cover the bottom half of the sides with the sweet pesto buttercream. Use the palette knife to gentle blend the two flavours of buttercream together where they meet.
Decorate the top of the cake with strawberries and basil leaves.

Notes

Make in advance

The gluten-free vanilla sponges can be made up to 2 days in advance of assembling the cake. Keep at room temperature in an airtight tin.

How to store

The cake can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days once it is completely assembled.

How to freeze

Whole cake. Freeze the whole cake for 1 hour(unwrapped) once it has been assembled. Then wrap the cake well in plastic wrap and aluminium foil to ensure there is no freezer spoilage. The cake can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before unwrapping. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

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 16 servings.

Nutrition