Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake {without xanthan gum}

5 from 2 votes

Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake {without xanthan gum}

This easy Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake is made with fresh strawberries baked into the cake using a vibrant strawberry reduction. The same reduction is used in the gorgeously creamy Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream making every bite taste of hazy lazy summer days.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 45

Course: Cake

Cuisine: British

Servings: people

Calories: 612kcal

Author: Georgina Hartley

Ingredients

Strawberry Purée

900 g fresh strawberries hulled

Strawberry Cake

225 g unsalted butter
350 g caster sugar
4 eggs medium
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
160 g sweet rice flour
140 g gluten-free oat flour
40 g tapioca flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
75 g whole milk
75 g strawberry purée
Extra strawberries for decoration

Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream

350 g unsalted butter
400 g icing sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250 g cream cheese
75 g strawberry purée

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Strawberry Purée

Prepare the strawberry purée by placing all the strawberries in a blender. Blend until smooth.
Pour the strawberry purée into a medium/large saucepan and turn the heat on.
Bring the strawberries up to a gentle simmering boil and keep at that heat, making sure it doesn’t boil too fiercely.
Simmer the strawberries for 25-30 minutes until the strawberries have completely reduced. The purée will be very thick so that you can dollop it off a teaspoon and it’s barely runny. It should weigh about 150g. Half the amount is for the cake and half is for the buttercream.
Place the strawberry purée reduction in the fridge to cool completely before using. It will thicken up even more as it cools. Either leave in the fridge overnight or place in the freezer for 15 minutes to speed up the process.

Strawberry Cake

Pre-heat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan assisted oven/gas mark 3/320°F and line and grease 2 x round 8 inch cake tins.
Beat together the sugar and butter until pale, light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating on a low speed, followed by the vanilla extract.
Whisk together the flours, baking powder and sea salt in a large mixing bowl until completely combined.
Add half of the flour and mix in until well combined.
Pour in the milk and mix again.
Add the rest of the flour and combine, scraping down the sides so that every
Finally add 75g of the strawberry purée. Mixing until completely combined.
Divide between the cake tins and bake for 45 minutes or until an inserted cocktail stick comes out clean.
Remove the sponge cakes from their tins and leave to cool before filling and covering with strawberry cream cheese buttercream.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream

To make the cream cheese buttercream, cream the butter until soft then add the icing sugar and mix for about 10 minutes until very light and fluffy.
Add the salt and vanilla and mix again to combine.
Finally add the cream cheese and strawberry purée. Mix thoroughly until just combined.

Assembly

To assemble the cake place one of the sponge cakes on a serving plate or cardboard cake board round.
Spread about a third of the buttercream evenly over the top of the cake.
Add the second sponge layer and then use the rest of the buttercream to cover the top and sides of the cake.
Decorate with extra strawberries.

Notes

This cake is best made with strawberries that are in season.
You can use a strawberry huller for removing the stems of the strawberries – it’s a great little gadget.
Keep an eye on your purée and keep stirring from the bottom of the pan every so often. It will burn if left unattended.
Leave the purée overnight to cool in the fridge or put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes. The purée needs to be chilled before using.
You can substitute sorghum flour for oat flour if you are intolerant.
In the UK only spreadable cream cheese is available (unlike the US where you can buy it in blocks) so for the buttercream use full fat Philadelphia which has a lower water content and will be much easier to work with.
The cake is best served straightaway but you can make ahead of time and keep in the fridge.
It will keep up to 3 days.
The cake can be frozen whole or in slices.

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 cake is cut into 16 servings.

Nutrition