One-Bowl Gluten Free Strawberry Cake {Dairy Free}
Light, fresh and delightfully sweet, this gluten free strawberry cake is the kind of cake that’s stunning and impressive but incredibly easy to make! It’s the perfect cake for birthdays, potlucks and special celebrations or just an ordinary weekday treat!
“I’ll have another slice please!” (This is a phrase you’ll hear all the time when this cake is on the dessert menu!) And between you and me… it’s an incredibly easy cake to make. Even the fluffy strawberry frosting is easy. And aside from the frosting, it’s a one bowl cake recipe. Just one mixer bowl is all you need to mix this glorious cake. In the instructions I mention a stand mixer bowl, but you could easily use a hand mixer too – just use a large enough bowl to hold the batter.
Mix it up and portion it in the cake pans – you’ll have strawberry cake with strawberry frosting in about an hour and 15 minutes!
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Love cake? Check out these almond flour chocolate cupcakes, vanilla flourless cake and even these red velvet cupcakes.
Why this recipe is the best!
I absolutely love this one-bowl gluten free strawberry cake recipe because it's the perfect sweet summertime dessert. This cake comes together so beautifully and will impress all of your guests, but it's actually super simple to make! Here are some other great things about this recipe:
- It's easy to prep in just one bowl
- It is both gluten and dairy free
- The texture is incredibly light and fluffy
- It's perfect for any celebration or get-together
Pro tips for making this cake
There are a few tips that will give you the best results with this gluten free strawberry cake:
1. Use room temperature ingredients
As with other gluten free baking recipes, make sure to allow all ingredients to come to room temperature before combining or mixing.
2. Measure ingredients by weight
Use a digital scale to measure your ingredients for the best result. Weight is a much more accurate measurement than cups.
3. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes
Letting the batter rest before baking allows time for the starches to fully absorb the liquid ingredients, keeping the texture of your cake soft and light.
4. Helpful tools
These are some useful tools that will make prepping your one-bowl gluten free strawberry cake quick and easy:
- Digital scale
- Stand mixer
- Rubber spatula
- 2 round 8-inch cake pans
- 2 wire cooling racks
- Frosting knife
- Serving plate
How to make this recipe
Ingredients & substitutions
- Gluten free flour mix - This recipe has been tested and retested several times with this gluten free flour mix. It works beautifully in this recipe. Other flour mixes may work, but I just haven’t tested them.
- Xanthan gum - Xanthan gum acts as a binder in this cake and also contributes to the overall structure. Check out these tips if you'd like to substitute the xanthan gum.
- Granulated sugar - Swerve granular sweetener is a good sugar free alternative that works well in this recipe.
- Baking powder - There is no substitution for baking powder in this recipe.
- Salt - There is no substitution for salt in this recipe.
- Vegan butter - This recipe was tested using Earth Balance vegan butter. Regular butter also works really well here.
- Vegetable oil - The vegetable oil in this cake can be replaced with melted coconut oil if desired.
- Almond milk - The almond milk in this recipe can be substituted with regular dairy milk or another dairy free milk.
- Eggs - For a plant-based egg substitution, JUST Egg brand has an egg-free alternative that works great in this cake.
- Strawberry Jello - There is no substitution for the Jello in this recipe.
- Powdered sugar - Swerve confectioners sweetener is a great sugar free substitution that works well in this recipe.
- Strawberries - There is no substitution for the strawberries in this recipe.
Mixing
I said one-bowl cake and I mean it! Use either your stand mixer bowl or a large bowl for a hand mixer for your gluten free strawberry cake batter. Add the dry ingredients first and mix (step 1 above), then add the butter and oil (step 2), then add the rest of the cake ingredients (step 3). And that’s it!
Rest time
Another thing to add to the list of important tips for gluten free baking is the rest time for batters. After mixing together the ingredients, it’s important to let the batter rest for a period of time before portioning it into the pans and baking. That period of time in this recipe is about 30 minutes (step 4 above).
Baking and Cooling
While the batter is resting, it’s time to preheat the oven and prepare the pans. A simple butter coating helps these cakes bake beautifully and not stick to the pans. The key is to really coat them well with butter (step 5 & 6).
Bake the cakes for between 35 and 40 minutes and then let them cool on a wire rack. After they’ve cooled for about 20 minutes, turn them out of the pans and let them finish cooling.
Frosting
While the cakes are finishing their cooling process, prepare the delicious frosting that will take this cake over the top!
Softened butter is the key here – it needs to be soft enough that squeezing it easily leaves an indention. Not melted, but soft. And you can either sift your powdered sugar ahead of time or sift it directly into the bowl with the butter.
Then mix to combine the first cup (Make sure to use a large, deep bowl as the powdered sugar may fly everywhere).
Add in the next cup and a half and mix again.
Finish off with the last portion of powdered sugar and add the milk too. Start with the lower measurement of the milk and add more as needed. Then mix in the strawberries.
Take a taste!
Serving
Frosting cakes can be as simple as frosting the top layer, then adding the other layer, frosting the top and serving. (Which is what I did with this cake) Or you can double the frosting recipe and really coat it well and even decorate it. Either way, the cake frosts easily and cuts well, so they’ll be rave reviews regardless of how fancy or simple you make it.
FAQ's about this recipe
Yes! Just follow the instructions as written all the way down to preheating the oven. They’ll bake at the same temperature but you’ll portion the batter into 24 cupcake cups. The baking time will be reduced to about 25 minutes (check the middle one with a toothpick though).
You may have looked at the frosting ingredients and wondered why there is a range for the powdered sugar and the milk… that’s because it may vary depending on where you live, even the conditions in your kitchen. And even personal preference. I like my frosting to be a bit thinner, fluffier and easy to spread. So using the lower end of the powdered sugar and the higher end of the milk, produces this consistency perfectly. If you are looking for frosting that’s a bit more solid, use the full 3 ½ cups of powdered sugar.
If you have any cake left over, the easiest way to store it is to slice it into individual slices and place them in a plastic storage container. Then refrigerate these pieces for up to 3 days.
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Recipe
One-Bowl Gluten Free Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
Method
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour mix, xanthan gum, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds or until completely combined.
- Add the butter and oil and mix again on low speed for 30 seconds.
- Add the almond milk, eggs and Jello. Mix for another 30 seconds on low, stop mixer and scrape the bowl down. Turn the speed up to low medium and mix for 2 minutes.
- Let batter rest in the bowl for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare two 8 inch round baking pans by buttering them well with a vegan butter stick. Set aside.
- After oven has preheated, portion batter equally into the pans, smoothing the tops out.
- Bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Place 2 wire racks on the counter for cakes to cool on.
- Once cakes test done, place them in the pans on the wire racks to cool for 20 minutes.
- Turn the cakes over on the wire racks, out of the pans, and allow them to cool completely.
- Place one cake layer on a serving plate and frost the top with 1 ½ cups frosting.
- Carefully place the other layer on top and lightly press down.
- Frost the top with another cup to 1 ½ cups frosting.
- Refrigerate until serving. Serve straight from the refrigerator or let warm up for 20 minutes.
- Add butter to a large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar to the bowl.
- Mix on low speed until combined.
- Add another 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, mix well.
- Add the final amount of powdered sugar and mix well.
- Add milk and mix on low just until spreadable consistency.
- Mix in the strawberries and frost the cooled cake.
Video
Notes
- Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.
- Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
- Butter the baking pans well to prevent cakes from sticking.
- The frosting recipe makes enough to frost the middle and top of the cake. If you'd like to cover the entire cake, double the frosting recipe.
- Cake is delicious when served at room temperature. It can be served cold, but room temperature is best.
- Refrigerate leftover cake in plastic containers.
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Sounds yummy... Making it!