Fresh Gluten Free Strawberry Cake
This gluten free strawberry cake is so easy to make, naturally dairy free and made with real, fresh strawberries. It’s finished with a strawberry cream cheese frosting and perfect for Spring!
Spring has sprung and this gluten free strawberry cake is the perfect recipe (next to my gluten free peach cobbler). It is made with fresh strawberry puree, no weird dyes or artificial flavorings. Just like my strawberry sugar cookies!
The cake itself is incredibly moist with a tender crumb, fresh strawberry flavor and is finished off with a strawberry cream cheese frosting.
This gluten free cake is made of a base of gluten free all purpose flour, sugar, eggs, greek yogurt, oil and strawberry puree. The oil, eggs, greek yogurt, milk and strawberry puree will keep it very moist, so I promise there are no dry cakes here!
This gluten free cake tastes no different than a classic and I promise you won’t miss the gluten or dairy one bit! Try my gluten free cheesecake or gluten free crumbl cookies next!
Before we get started…
- You need fresh strawberries for this recipe. I do not recommend frozen here. We’ll blend them up and then reduce the mixture to help enhance that strawberry flavor since we aren’t using anything artificial for this cake.
- You can make this recipe in either two 8 or 9 inch cake pans, one 9×13 cake pan or three 6 inch cake pans. Just note that bake times vary for all of these!
How to make gluten free strawberry cake
Make strawberry puree. Add some sliced strawberries to a blender and blend until smooth. No need to add any liquid here, just fresh strawberries! Reduce the mixture on the stove until you get 2/3 cup. This will help enhance the flavor!
Whisk wet ingredients. Whisk the puree with all remaining wet ingredients until smooth and the eggs have been fully incorporated.
You can definitely add fresh fruit to a boxed cake mix or homemade cake, but the issue with that is you end up with a simple vanilla cake with chunks of strawberry. Using pure strawberry puree ensures every bite has delicious flavor.
Whisk dry ingredients. Whisk the dry ingredients into the batter which includes the all purpose flour, baking soda/powder and salt.
Bake. Add to two greased and lined 8 inch cake pans and bake for about 45 minutes. The bake time on this cake is a bit longer than usual because of the fresh strawberry puree.
Frost. Once the cake has cooled, frost it with the cream cheese frosting and enjoy. I chose to decorate with just fresh strawberries, but you can also leave it as is or add some sprinkles. Try my lemon pistachio cake or gluten free chantilly cake next!
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Different frosting options
While I absolutely love the fresh strawberry frosting on this cake, you have a few options here! Lemon is a flavor that goes very well with strawberry cake, so my lemon buttercream is an option.
You can also use cool whip or another type of whipped cream for a lighter option. This makes it almost more like a strawberry shortcake flavor.
Substitutions
Eggs. Unfortunately, there is no substitute for eggs in this recipe. The eggs are key to helping the cake rise (in addition to the baking powder) and binding everything together. Without eggs, this cake will be very dense and gummy.
Dairy. For the milk, butter, greek yogurt and cream cheese, you can use either dairy or dairy free versions. I used real butter in the frosting, but dairy free milk (I used almond) and cream cheese. Works with either option. For a dairy free greek yogurt, I like the Kite Hill Greek style yogurt.
Sugar. Regular old white sugar works best here! I do not recommend any swaps as this can change the color and consistency of the cake. Same with my gluten free strawberry shortcake!
Flour. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour, which I recommend for all of my cakes including my gluten free coconut cake. King Arthur 1:1 is another great option. I have not tested this recipe with other blends.
Does it need to be refrigerated?
You can store this gluten free strawberry cake either in the fridge or at room temperature. Once it is frosted, it will keep for about 3 days, or up to 5 in the fridge. Same with most of my cake recipes like my gluten free almond cake.
I recommend keeping it covered with either a cake stand cover or with foil if you’re keeping it on a plate. The cream cheese frosting will end up seeping into the cake over time, so it will keep it naturally very moist.
More gluten free cake recipes!
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake
- Red Velvet Cake
- Birthday Cake
- Gluten Free Sheet Cake
- Gluten Free Apple Cake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
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Gluten Free Strawberry Cake
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup oil I used refined avocado oil
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 pound fresh strawberries
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dry
- 3 cups gluten free all purpose baking flour see notes
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Strawberry Buttercream
- 8 ounces plain cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup ground freeze dried strawberries
- ⅓ cup strawberry jam
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Grease and line two 8 or 9 inch cake pans and set aside. I used 8 inch.
- Wash and cut the tops of the strawberries and add to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Transfer to a pot on the stove and simmer over medium/low heat until it reduces to 2/3 cup. This will take around 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Measure out 2/3 cup of puree and add to a bowl with all wet ingredients.
- Whisk really well until well combined.
- Add in the dry ingredients, making sure to spoon and level the flour, don’t scoop from the bag.
- Whisk until well combined. You can add in a few drops of pink food coloring if you want to give the cake a more pink color, otherwise leave as is.
- Transfer to the prepared pans, trying to keep each as even as possible.
- Bake for 42-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 45 is usually perfect in my oven, but all ovens are different.
- Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then flip onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Meanwhile, add the butter and cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for 2-3 minutes on low spead.
- While the mixer is running on low, add in the powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time.
- Add in the strawberry jam, ground freeze dried strawberries (just pulse in your blender until you get a fine powder), salt and vanilla and beat until smooth. If it’s too thick, add in a tablespoon or so of milk until creamy.
- Once the cake has cooled, frost and enjoy!
Notes
Comments
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Hi there – what is your favorite brand of dairy free cream cheese (preferably nut free). Thanks!
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I have only tried Kite Hill but I believe they use almonds! I would try to find a soy based one.
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Can you make the frosting ahead of time and let it in the fridge?
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Yes! Just let it come to room temp before using.
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Hey I just wanted to ask would this recipe work with either cassava flour or tapioca flour?
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No, you need a gluten free all purpose here!
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Made this as a cake and it was amazing. I’m looking to make it into cupcakes now. Would it make 12 or 24?
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Should make 24 standard cupcakes!
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In the directions it states “if the almond flour is lumpy, quickly sift it”, but nowhere in the ingredients list does it mention almond flour. I need clarification, please!
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That was in there by mistake – there is no almond flour in this recipe. Sorry for the confusion!
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Question, what kind of oil vegetable? What kind of Greek yogurt question is it nonfat
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I usually use full fat greek oil and refined avocado oil, but canola oil or a vegetable oil is fine.
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Looks beautiful. Does it really say 53g of sugar per serving?
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It is a cake, so naturally, yes, there is a lot of sugar!
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Would this work as a cupcake recipe?
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Yes! I’d try baking for about 18 minutes to start.
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Would this turn out well in a 9×13 pan and if so, how long would I bake it for?
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It should! I’d add about 10-15 minutes of bake time and go from there.
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I baked it in a bundt cake pan, adding about 10 minutes to the baking time. I made half the frosting recipe and it was just the right amount to frost it with. I haven’t tasted it yet since it is for a family Mother’s Day dinner tomorrow. It rose very nicely and looks great. I just wanted to share that baking it in a bundt pan was successful.
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Oh amazing! I bet it looks gorgeous!
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It looked gorgeous and was delicious. . .lots of compliments! I will make again!
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Would coconut sugar work instead of white sugar?
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You can, but the color will be way off and the texture may not be as fluffy.
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How many packages of the freeze dried strawberries will you need to make the ground 1/2 cup?
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Just one bag should be fine!
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Baked up nice and even. Not sure of the taste because it is for someone else. Great directions. East to follow.
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Looks delish! Do you recommend salted or unsalted butter for the buttercream frosting?
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Unsalted!
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Excellent recipe … made with no changes or substitutions and it came out perfect. Sooo delish!
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Thank you Michelle, so happy to hear that!
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Can you use maple sugar instead of white sugar?
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Maple sugar should be ok, but not maple syrup!
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