when i was a little girl, my grandma made us the most amazing cake, layered with sugar-laden strawberries, softened, frozen whipped topping, and i think, angel-food cake. besides long days in the shade of the the porch reading nancy drew and sipping iced tea, and afternoons standing over the sink eating warm-from-the-garden tomatoes with my grandpa, that cake is one of my sweetest (pun intended!) memories from that season of life.
time passes, and i still crave the sweet treats (and now it’s my boys who will read all day if they can). with strawberries at their sweetest in our area and our annual picking day with friends under our belt, i’ve been dying to try my hand at a gluten-free cake recipe that was also, grain-free, low–to-no-refined-sugar summery cake. this one fit the bill, and more. to be honest, it was more filling than many a breakfast recipe; i served it just this morning the mamas in my homeschool circle with tea and coffee.
inspired by a yellow cake recipe from Comfy Belly, i set to work to create a moist cake filled with strawberries that would rival any junk-filled recipe i could find.
Ingredients
- • 6 large eggs
- • 6 tablespoons honey (may use agave)
- • 3 teaspoons baking soda
- • 2 tablespoons of lime juice
- • 1/4 cup coconut oil
- • 1 tablespoon of vanilla
- • 2 cups of almond flour
- • 2/3 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
- For Strawberry Buttercream:
- • 1 cup salted butter
- • 1 teaspoon almond extract
- • 2/3 cup Swerve or alternative sweetener
- • 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
- For Maple Whipped Cream:
- • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- • 1/4 cup maple sugar
Instructions
- Make Maple Whipped Cream:
- Combine ingredients in the large bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand-held mixer), and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Be careful not to overbeat, or you'll "break" the whipped cream and create butter.
- Refrigerate until needed.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment.
- Separate the egg yolks and whites.
- Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
- Place the yolks in a separate mixing bowl, and add the honey, baking soda, oil, vanilla, and whisk to blend well.
- Add the lime juice to the egg yolk batter and whisk to blend well.
- Working a third of the egg whites at a time, gently fold beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture.
- Add the almond flour and the strawberries to egg mixture and gently fold until combined.
- Bake in preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until top springs back and center is fully cooked.
- Be careful not to over-bake - almond flour can brown and burn very quickly.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool. **See note below.
- Meanwhile, make Strawberry Buttercream:
- Combine ingredients in the large bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand-held mixer), and beat until light and creamy.
- *Note: I find it best to allow Swerve to "macerate" with strawberries for up to one hour to allow sweetener to dissolve.
- Otherwise, you will end up with a grainy frosting that may be unpleasant to some.
- To serve:
- Place one cake layer on serving platter.
- Frost with Strawberry Buttercream.
- Place second layer on top of Strawberry Buttercream.
- Frost with Maple Whipped Cream.
**if you like, when removing cakes from oven, invert pan onto cooling rack to help cakes keep their height and lightness. special thanks to Comfy Belly for the recipe inspiration and for this great tip!
do you have a favorite summer treat that reminds you of sweet memories? have you made over a decadent recipe to make it more happy-health-friendly? please share below!
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Jordyn
April 5, 2014 at 12:03 amUmm the styling in these images?!?! Love.
admin
April 6, 2014 at 11:35 pmWhy, thank you, my amazing foodie-friend!
admin
May 12, 2014 at 2:03 pmthank you jordyn; can’t wait to see you blogging again, girl!!
Amy
July 31, 2014 at 1:19 pmI have made this cake so many times and it’s amazing! Thanks for a awesome go to recipe.
admin
August 5, 2014 at 12:45 amOh, Amy – that’s awesome! So glad you liked it. I think I need to make it again this week! 🙂
lash2001
September 21, 2014 at 4:12 amWhen I made this cake it turned out terribly! It was runny in the middle after fifteen minutes so I left it in for another 10 the top looked fine but the base was burnt. It was granularly and tasted of baking soda. The strawberry cream was weird and brown and mushy and NOTHING like the pictures. I didn’t make the maple cream and so have no idea wether it was good or bad. This is the first cake I have gotten off the web and been disappointed with. It may just have been me as the other comments were positive- first thing I checked- but if it happens to you please post a comment so it doesn’t happen to too many people.
admin
September 22, 2014 at 1:35 pmOh, no, that sounds awful! I will definitely let you know if I ever have this problem! It was a huge hit when I made it for some girlfriends. It is very easy to burn cakes made with nut flours, but I’m not sure what could have made the strawberry cream turn brown. Thanks for sharing, and I hope you have better results with your next cake!
Anahi
April 25, 2015 at 12:51 pmHi. I really want to make this recipe, but almonds are super expensive where I live. Can I replace almond meal with peanut meal? Thankss and kisses from Argentina.
admin
July 14, 2015 at 6:25 pmhi, anahi! i’m sorry for the delayed reply! i’ve never used peanut meal, but i would think it would have similar qualities as far as baking goes. here in the states, i would try hazelnut flour as an alternative… pecan meal might also work, but it would have a bit oilier, more grainy texture.