Gluten-Free STRAWBERRY CAKE

Strawberry Compote

2 ½ Cups of Frozen Strawberries

⅓ Cup of Sugar

1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice

1 Tablespoon of water

Steps:

In a food processor blend the frozen strawberries and the tablespoon of water. Blend to the consistency of your choice.
In a small pot or saucepan, cook the blended strawberries on medium heat. Add the lemon juice and sugar once the strawberries are simmering. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken.
Remove from heat and let the mixture rest until it has reached room temperature. It will thicken further as it cools. Refrigerate until needed.

Cake

2 bags of Wegmans Gluten Free Golden Cake Mix ( see below for alternative option)

Follow the directions on the back. You will have enough batter to make two tall 8-inch round cakes. When done baking, rest on a wire rack.

Whipped Cream

4 Cups of Heavy Whipping Cream

1 ½ Cups of Powdered Sugar

1 ½ Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract

Steps:

In a large cold bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream until soft peaks form. This will take about 3-5 minutes depending on the speed and strength of your mixer.
Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Continue beating until the peaks have stiffened.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Assembly

Once everything has been cooled you can begin assembling the cake.

Steps:

Using a serrated knife, trim the tops of each cake to make it flat and even, and cut each cake into two layers. You should have a total of four cake tiers.
Spoon a layer of the strawberry compote on the first cake. This layer of strawberry compote shouldn’t be more than a ⅓ of an inch thick. Use the back of the spoon to spread evenly across.
With a spatula, put five large dollops of whipped cream on top. Using the spatula or a spoon spread the whipped cream evenly across. Take care not to mix the compote with it. The layer of whipped cream ½ inch to 1 inch thick.
Gently place the next layer of cake on top and repeat until you have 4 layers of cake stacked.
Optional: For additional support push a trimmed bamboo skewer, dowel rod, or cake support straw down the middle of the cake tiers to prevent them from sliding.
Refrigerate the cake overnight for best results.

Decoration

6-8 large strawberries

Glaze(optional)

1 cup of sugar

½ cup of water

Steps:

Place the sugar and water in a small pot or saucepan on medium heat. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved. When hot and slightly bubbling, turn off the heat.
Wash and cut the stems off the strawberries.
Place the strawberries standing upright on the top of the cake. Brush on the glaze. Try not to use too much as a little goes a long way.
Feel free to pipe some whipped cream around the border of the strawberries.

* If you do not have Wegmans Gluten Free Golden cake mix (which contains Cane Sugar, Corn Starch, Potato Starch, Tapioca Starch, Sorghum Flour, Whey Protein, Modified Corn Starch, Egg White, Baking Powder, Natural Flavor, Sea Salt and Xanthan Gum)

Ingredients for making a simple Gluten Free yellow cake

3.5 cups of gluten-free flour. I would suggest Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free 1:1 Baking Flour or the brand by King Arthur Baking Company.

Tip: Feel free to add Almond flour to this recipe for added texture and flavor- in which case I would add 1 cup of almond flour to 2.5 cups of the premixed flour of choice.

1 cup of white sugar

1 stick of butter

½ cup of vegetable oil

6 eggs

Zest one lemon

1 cup of milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon of baking powder

½ teaspoon of salt ( if not already contained in your flour mix)

Steps to make your gluten-free yellow cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease your cake pans with butter or cooking spray.
To a mixing bowl add your butter and sugar and cream well.
Add the wet ingredients: eggs, oil, vanilla, lemon zest, and milk slowly while you continue to mix well.
Sieve the flour and baking powder and along with salt add it to the mix one cup at a time. Mix the batter well for up to one minute. Gluten-free flour has the tendency to become very thick and dense, unlike typical wheat flour. If your mixture appears too thick feel free to add more milk.
Divide batter evenly into cake tins and bake for 20-25 minutes. The Cake is done if a knife or toothpick is inserted in the centre of the cake and it comes out clean.

Keep in mind a Gluten-free cake will often appear pale in color in comparison to a cake made with wheat flour so try not to overbake!

Before assembling your cake, follow the steps above to make the Strawberry Compote and Whipped cream.

I hope you enjoy this gluten-free strawberry cake as much as our family does. I know that it can be challenging to find tasty commercially made gluten-free desserts. There is nothing better than a homemade cake especially when you can control the ingredients and avoid all the extra artificial ingredients. Even those who are not required to eat a gluten-free diet will like the taste and texture of this cake.

Many thanks to our son Karim who has successfully made the cakes you see in the above pictures. Here is a video of him and the cake for my mother’s friend’s birthday.