This Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake is one of the easiest cakes that you will make. It is moist and tender, with the vibrant flavour of fresh strawberries, highlighted by the bright tang of orange zest. Almond flour added to the mixture ensures that the cake has great texture. It will be a fantastic addition to any gathering.
Thanks so much for this recipe, I made it for a lunch and it went down a treat. Everyone had second helpings, and commented on the great texture especially for a gluten free cake.
- Jessica
Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- This Strawberry Almond Cake is a must-try for those who want to enjoy an easy, delicious, gluten-free cake.
- You can confidently serve it to people who don’t need to avoid gluten; they will never know as we do not sacrifice flavour and texture to make this cake gluten-free.
- It is suitable for many occasions; serve it for morning tea, for dessert, take on a picnic or to a potluck. It is always popular!
- One of the great advantages of this cake is that you can make it a day ahead and it will still be deliciously moist.
- This is a great way to make the most of in-season strawberries.
- It’s so tender that it does not need frosting. A simple dusting is all the embellishment it needs. Serve as it is or with whipped cream or Greek yoghurt.
- If you want to dress it up for dessert, serve it warm with our Easy Strawberry Sauce and No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream.
Recipe Inspiration: adapted from our Gluten-Free Pear and Raspberry Cake - a reader favourite. This is a simple recipe but truly so good! We also love our Gluten-Free Fig Cake.
Ingredients and Substitutions:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
- Butter - we use unsalted butter. One of the most important roles that butter plays in baking is the flavour that it adds. In addition, it helps to give the cake a more tender texture.
- Caster/superfine sugar - it is finer in texture than regular granulated sugar and is easier to dissolve. However, you can use granulated sugar if you prefer.
- Orange zest – orange and strawberry are great flavour companions.
- Eggs - have an important role in baking. They provide structure, flavour and improved texture by adding moisture.
- Vanilla extract – for the best flavour, use vanilla which is naturally extracted from vanilla beans and not synthetically flavoured.
- Gluten-free plain/all-purpose flour - I have used a commercial gluten-free flour, made from a blend of naturally occurring gluten-free flours. Our gluten-free flour blends contain either xanthan or guar gum to stabilise and provide structure to our recipes. Not all gluten-free flour blends are equal. It may take trial and error to find one which you like.
- Baking powder - a leavening ingredient, it helps the cake to rise and give it a lighter texture. Check that it is gluten-free.
- Almond flour - I prefer to use blanched almond flour as it gives the cake a finer texture than we would get from whole almond flour.
- Fresh strawberries – this Strawberry Almond Cake is a great way to use in-season strawberries.
- Flaked almonds – add texture to the cake.
- Icing/powdered sugar - I use pure icing/powdered sugar to dust the cake when serving. If you use an icing sugar mixture, ensure that it is gluten-free as wheat flour is sometimes added.
Variations:
Orange zest – if you wish, you could use lemon zest.
Strawberries – this cake was developed for fresh strawberries, but you could use fresh raspberries or blackberries.
White chocolate chips – a few white chocolate chips scattered through the batter would be a great addition.
How to Make Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
1 – Cream the butter and sugar and add the eggs:
Start by preparing your baking tin and preheating your oven.
Add the butter, sugar and orange zest to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl with a handheld mixer. Beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla with the last egg.
2 – Add in the flours:
With the mixer on the lowest speed, gently add the flours and baking powder until just combined.
3 – Fold through the strawberries:
Add the strawberries to the cake batter and gently fold through.
4 – Put the cake batter in the tin:
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top. Distribute the remaining strawberries and top with flaked almonds.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Hint: for accuracy in baking, always weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale.
Tips for Success, Storage and FAQs:
Whilst it can be tempting to speed up the process and just combine the butter and sugar, you will obtain much better results with your cake if you beat it for about 3 minutes. You will see the butter and sugar change colour and texture, becoming smooth and a pale, creamy colour. The sugar will dissolve into the butter and the mixture will incorporate air, helping to make your cake lighter. In this recipe, we add the orange zest to the butter and sugar. The abrasive action of the sugar on the zest heightens the flavour as it helps release essential oils.
Yes, you certainly can. When it is cold, cover it with cling wrap or place in an airtight container. Store in a cool, dry location and dust with icing/confectioners’ sugar to serve.
As this is a moist cake, I recommend that you store in an airtight container in a cool, dry location for up to 3 days. However, if the weather is hot and humid, store it, well covered in the fridge, and bring it to room temperature to serve.
Yes, you can. After it has cooled, wrap it well in cling wrap and then cover with aluminium foil or place into an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Ideally, defrost overnight in the fridge and then bring it to room temperature for serving.
Top Tip:
For the best result, always bake with room temperature ingredients. Cold ingredients do not incorporate and emulsify properly. If you forget to take your eggs out of the fridge, fill a small bowl with slightly warm water and add the eggs, leaving them there for about 5-7 minutes. This will help to bring them to room temperature. Do not use hot water – you may partially cook the eggs!
Serving Suggestions:
Our Gluten Free Strawberry Cake is delicious as it is. To keep it simple, I like a dusting of icing/powdered sugar to serve.
It is also delicious with:
- Greek yoghurt or whipped cream.
- Vanilla or Orange Ice Cream.
- Strawberry Sauce or fresh strawberries.
We love to share recipes for gluten-free cakes that have something in common - you would never know that they are gluten-free, and they can be enjoyed by everyone.
Simple to make and delicious to eat, this Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake is moist and full of flavour - it is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Be sure to let me know in the comments below when you have given it a try.
Alex xx
More Delicious Recipes For You To Try:
Stay in touch!
Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Flipboard and Instagram and subscribe to my newsletter.
Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake
Please note:
For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results. All oven temperatures listed are for fan forced.
Ingredients
- 75 g (½ cup) gluten-free all-purpose/plain flour See Note 1
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 125 g (1 ¼ cup) almond flour See Note 2
- 250 g (9 oz) strawberries
- 150 g (½ cup + 5 tsp) unsalted butter - at room temperature
- 160 g (⅔ cup) caster/superfine sugar
- 2 teaspoon orange zest
- 3 large eggs - at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract See Note 3
- 20 g (¼ cup) flaked almonds
For serving (optional):
- powdered/icing sugar
- whipped cream or Crème Fraîche
Instructions
- Grease and line the base and sides of a 22 cm spring-form tin.Preheat the oven to 170 C (340 F) fan forced.
- Combine the plain flour, baking powder and almond flour and set aside.
- Hull the strawberries and cut them into 1 ½ cm (½ inch) cubes. Set aside about 50 g (1.8 oz) of prepared strawberries to add to the top of the cake.
- Add the butter, sugar and orange zest to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl with a handheld mixer.On medium speed, beat together until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla with the last egg. The mixture may appear to separate but it will come together with the addition of the flours.
- With the mixer on the lowest speed, gently add the combined flours and baking powder.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a rubber spatula or large metal spoon, gently fold in the strawberries.
- Turn the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top.Distribute the remaining strawberries on the top of the cake batter and sprinkle with the flaked almonds.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.Remove the sides of the cake tin and finish cooling on a wire rack.
- When the cake is completely cool, carefully remove the base of the tin and the baking paper and transfer it to a serving platter.Dust with icing/powdered sugar and serve with lightly whipped cream and extra strawberries.
Video
Notes
- Flour: we use a good quality commercial gluten-free flour blend. The blend we use contains xanthan gum to stabilise and provide structure to the recipe. If your flour blend already contains xanthan gum, there is no need to add more.
- Almond flour: in general, almond flour is made from blanched almonds and almond meal from the whole almond, although sometimes the terms are used interchangeably. You can use either, they are both finely ground, but my preference in this recipe is for blanched almond flour as it has a finer texture.
- Vanilla: for the best flavour, use good quality vanilla extracted from vanilla beans, not one synthetically flavoured.
- Storage: as this is a moist cake, I recommend that you store in an airtight container in a cool, dry location for up to 3 days. However, if the weather is hot and humid, store it, well covered in the fridge, and bring it to room temperature to serve.
- Freezing: after it has cooled, the cake can be wrapped well in cling wrap and then cover with aluminium foil or place into an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Ideally, defrost overnight in the fridge and then bring it to room temperature for serving.
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
rima says
Hi can this be made with plainnon-GF flour?
Alexandra Cook says
Hi Rima,
You can certainly use a non-GF flour for the plain flour portion, but I recommend still using the almond flour also for the best taste and texture 🙂
Thanks! Alex xo
jessica says
Thanks so much for this recipe, I made it for a lunch and it went down a treat. Everyone had second helpings, and commented on the great texture especially for a gluten free cake. I used Bob’s red mill 1 to 1 baking flour and almond meal and halved the sugar, and made the whole thing in my magimix (with a whip attachment) and then just stirred in the strawberry pieces by hand. I really appreciate how simple this was to make.
Alexandra Cook says
That's lovely to hear, Jessica 🙂
I am so happy that it was such a success with everyone! Also great to know about halving the sugar, as that is a question I have been asked before.
I appreciate you taking the time to let me know! Alex xo
Marcel says
Hi there, thank you so much for getting back to me! I had some extra time on hand and made your cake. It was absolutely delicious! Although I had trouble removing it from my springform pan without splitting. I went ahead allowed it to cool and set in the further in the refrigerator and still had some trouble with the center not splitting. Any suggestions? Maybe baking longer than the suggested 45 minutes? I also wasn’t sure if the quantity amount for both flours should be swapped. I believe I read somewhere that adding 1/2 cup almond flour to your 1 1/4 cup 1-1 gluten free all purpose blend produces a better cake? Not sure if maybe I am doing something wrong. Only change is that I used vegan butter sticks. Your thoughts and or suggestions are appreciated!
Alexandra Cook says
Hi Marcel,
I am so happy that you found this cake delicious!
It sounds as though you may have needed to bake it for an extra couple of minutes.
All ovens run differently, so it may be that yours is not as hot as mine. I do recall you querying the oven temperature - did you end up baking the cake in a fan forced oven?
Also, did you weigh your ingredients? Although we provide both measurements, we strongly recommend weighing your ingredients for the most accurate result.
No, the flour quantities shouldn't be swapped. I have used this quantity for many years, including in my Pear and Raspberry Cake.
When removing the cake from the base, I find it easiest to place a cooling rack or something else stable on top of the cake to help support it as I remove the base, before turning it up the correct way.
Gluten-free baked goods are fragile, so this can be helpful. If it is too fragile to take off the base, I would just leave it on there 🙂
Having not tried vegan butter in this recipe before, I cannot comment on whether this would have made a difference at all. I did a quick search, and some websites do say it can alter texture, whilst others say the swap shouldn't. I guess, like everything, all brands will vary.
Hope that helps, and thanks for trying this recipe 🙂 Alex
Marcel says
Sounds Scrumptious! Would you be able to bake in a regular oven at 350 degrees F?
I’m not sure if my oven is fan forced or would that be convection?
Alexandra Cook says
Hi Marcel,
This cake was baked in a fan forced/convection oven. If baking in a regular oven, it may take a little longer. If you have a fan forced oven, there should be a fan symbol on the front and I suggest that you refer to the manufacturer's instructions. I hope this helps.
Kate says
This cake is absolutely wonderful.
In the words of my adult daughter-‘I could eat this ‘till I look like it’!. She loved it; and although not a GF consumer, to her it was ‘the best!’
I often make this for guests on special occasions. Cut cold with each piece lightly warmed and served with fresh pouring cream or strawberry coulis makes a special desert cake. Thanks Alex
Alexandra Cook says
Hi Kate,
Thank you so much for your fantastic feedback on the GF Strawberry Cake. I love your daughter's comment and the fact you have served this cake to guests. I really appreciate your lovely comments.
Best wishes, Alex
Brigette says
This is delicious! I even used vegan butter and it turned out great.
Alexandra Cook says
Thank you so much for sharing, Brigette!
Alex xo
Alice says
Made this for my Bday as my 3 yo daughter wanted me to have a strawberry cake. This cake was so delicate and delicious, yet sophisticated. I enjoyed making it and enjoyed eating it even more. I just wish that it lasted a bit longer as my hubby demolished it pretty quickly. Thanks for such a great recipe!
Alexandra says
Hi Alice, thank you so much for your fantastic feedback on our GF Strawberry Cake. What a great suggestion of your daughter; I am so pleased that it was popular. 🙂