Perfect Strawberry Cake
Perfect Strawberry Cake- fresh strawberries are tucked inside of buttery vanilla cake batter and baked to golden perfection. So simple to make and perfect for summertime!
The first time I made strawberry cake was back when I lived in Texas. I followed a Paula Dean recipe because I really wanted to impress all of my butter and heavy cream loving friends at work.
Little did I know, after the first bite my pancreas packed up its bags and said, peace out y’all. It was so overloaded with sugar that I could barely taste the strawberries. Which is such a shame because there’s nothing I love more than fresh strawberries, especially when they’re in season.
Thankfully I’ve learned a lot since then and I know that you don’t need pounds of butter and sugar to make dessert taste good. This strawberry cake is the perfect example of that. The texture is rich and buttery like a pound cake with gooey sweet strawberries baked into the top. It is utter perfection.
Strawberry Cake Ingredients
I adapted this from my vanilla almond flour cake so you’ll find the ingredients to be very similar!
- Almond Flour- My long time readers know how much I love almond flour. It is essential to giving the cake its buttery flavor and delicate crumb. Unfortunately it cannot be easily substituted due to its high moisture content so please don’t attempt it!
- Oat Flour- I like to use oat flour for it’s nutritional properties and mild flavor but you can easily sub this one with brown or white rice flour. You could also use spelt or all-purpose if you don’t need it to be gluten-free.
- Baking Soda- This will leaven the cake and give its golden color. Make sure you’re using baking soda that’s fresh or has been well sealed otherwise it won’t do it’s job properly.
- Salt- I often get questions on why I add salt to my desserts and I personally think it’s necessary to balance out the sugar. I don’t recommend skipping it but if you try to avoid added salt then you are free to leave it out.
- Eggs- I have yet to perfect a vegan and gluten-free vanilla cake but once I do you’ll be the first to know! Until then we need eggs for this recipe to help the cake bind together and rise to fluffy perfection.
- Non-Dairy Milk and Yogurt- I haven’t tested this with dairy milk and yogurt because we don’t eat dairy in our house but my suspicion is that it would work the same. My favorite non-dairy yogurt is Kite Hill almond milk yogurt and I know for sure it works great here.
- Liquid Sweetener- I’ve made this with recipe with agave, honey and maple syrup and they all work well. Just be sure to mix the honey well with the other wet ingredients as it tends to be a little thicker than the other options.
- Vanilla Extract- Do I really need to explain this one? Vanilla makes everything better. End of story.
- Coconut Oil- Unrefined coconut oil is best to avoid any coconut flavor. If you’re not into coconut oil, any neutral flavored oil will work in its place.
- Fresh Strawberries- The sweeter the better! The key to great strawberries is buying them when they’re in season and NOW IS THE TIME. And yes, we’re using a full pound of them in this recipe.
- Whipped Cream- You can whip up homemade coconut whipped cream or buy So Delicious CocoWhip which is my personal favorite.
How to Make Strawberry Cake
Like I said before, it is SO SIMPLE.
- Whisk together dry ingredients.
- Whisk together wet ingredients.
- Add the dry to the bowl with the wet and fold together.
- Transfer to a greased cake pan.
- Top with strawberries.
- Bake until your house smells like a delicious strawberry festival.
I’m not kidding either. It is like the best strawberry fragrance you will ever smell in your life. Good luck waiting for it to cool!
Looking for more delicious ways to use strawberries?
- Light and Easy Strawberry Pie (pictured below)
- Kale Salad with Tempeh Bacon
- Strawberry Oatmeal Crisp
- Strawberry Almond Ricotta Toast
- Fresh Strawberry Mango Margaritas
The Perfect Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 cup almond flour, from blanched almonds
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 pastured eggs
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk
- ½ cup non-dairy yogurt
- ⅓ cup honey or pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup melted and cooled unrefined coconut oil
- 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
- coconut whipped cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch cake pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (oat flour to salt). Be sure to whisk out any large lumps then set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, yogurt, liquid sweetener and vanilla. Add the coconut oil last along with the dry ingredients. Fold everything together until a smooth batter forms.
- Transfer the batter to the cake pan and arrange strawberry halves on top. You may have to overlap a few to get them all to fit. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, reduce heat to 325°F and continue to bake for another 45 minutes. The cake should be golden brown and firm when done.
- Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting. Serve with coconut whipped cream and enjoy! Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
This looks gorgeous and delicious!! I would totally make it but with Brittons egg yolk allergy I have to avoid it. Such a bummer! :(
Aw that is a bummer! Hopefully she outgrows it soon!
Looking forward to try this, I looove strawberries :)
What size cake pan did you use?
A standard 9-inch cake pan! :)
Do the strawberries get mixed in with the batter or just put on top?
Thankis
Just placed on top! :)
This is so good! It tasted just like strawberry shortcake! I topped mine with vanilla oat milk “ice” cream.
Yum! Sounds amazing! :)
Yum! I need to make double the size. Have you ever either stacked two 9” cakes or doubled the recipe in a 9×12 or bigger pan?
I haven’t tried this so not sure how it would work but let us know if you do or did!