Gluten Free Chocolate Strawberry Cake
This chocolate cake with sweet strawberry buttercream frosting is the easiest and tastiest recipe you’ll make for a long time. This cake is so light and fluffy and topped with cute little red hearts. This cake is perfect to make for everyone you love on Valentines day or literally whenever you want cake. No one will even believe that the entire cake is gluten free and dairy free too, trust me.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1/3 cup avocado oil
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup fresh strawberries (for in between the layers)
For the Frosting
- 4 oz dairy free cream cheese
- 1 cup vegan butter
- 1/4 cup freeze dried strawberries
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and lining your circular cake tin with parchment paper. I cut out a circle for the base and oiled the sides with a little avo oil to prevent sticking.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your wet ingredients. These include: eggs, applesauce, oil, maple syrup, vanilla, almond milk, and lemon juice. Mix the ingredients well and be sure to break apart any clumps.
- Then, add in your dry ingredient into the same bowl. Mix in the almond flour, tapioca starch, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Be sure to mix until any and all clumps are removed.
- Pour the cake batter into your lined cake dish and smooth out the top. Bake at 350 for about 50 to 60 minutes. TIP: poke a toothpick into the center, if it comes out clean, your cake if fully baked.
- While the cake is baking, prepare your frosting or be sure your store bought frosting is ready to go! If you want to use my vegan frosting recipe, do as follows: In a large bowl, cream together your softened butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Add the freeze dried strawberries at the end and continue to whip until only small pieces remain. I used my hand mixer, but if you have a stand mixer, use that! If you find that the consistency is too thick to spread, add a dash of almond milk and continue to mix until you reach desired consistency!
- Slice your strawberries! Simply remove the green and cut in half down the center.
- Once the cake is baked, remove from the oven and let cool completely. It is super important that your cake is cool before cutting or frosting! If it’s not, the cake could break while cutting or the frosting could melt when placed on top.
- Once cool, cut your cake into thirds or even half if you prefer! I just used a knife and cut as evenly as I could, or you can use toothpicks and floss to create smooth, even layers.
- Spread a thick layer of frosting on each layer and press on a few strawberry slices to cover each layer. Once the layers are stacked, add the rest of your frosting on top of the cake. I used a spatula to spread a thin layer on the sides for a cool effect (see image below). Once frosted, let set in the fridge!