Gluten Free Strawberry Cake

To begin, I want to welcome everyone who, over the past few months, has liked my recipes. I hope you have found many recipes that you are enjoying, no matter what your dietary preferences may be.

I must apologize for not posting for a few months. I have had an excessively busy life since the Virginia Renaissance Faire. I have a bakery stand at the Faire (yes, I am under state inspection), so my weekdays during Faire are spent baking almost 20 hours a day. (I have built a considerable reputation and following at Faire, and consistently sell out within 5 hours of opening gate.) Then, on weekends, I have a friend sit at my booth so I can be cast and have fun dancing the Rufty Tufty, the Gay Gordon, interact and play with our patrons, and HAVE FUN!

Every year I get my gardens ready and planted before Faire starts. Unfortunately, by the time Faire ended this year, my vegetable gardens were dead because they were buried under foot tall weeds. Between Faire, gardens, fruit trees and bushes that went into hyperdrive (I finally told friends to come over and pick, with the understanding that “you keep what you pick”), travel, and a play, life has been excessively busy. I barely had time to bake once Faire ended, and no time to type anything! Happily, life is beginning to slow down, and I finally have time to sit at the computer and do some typing. Which is good, because I have a 6″ stack of recipes to type. Before I start the fall recipes, I want to present my Gluten Free Strawberry Cake. Strawberries are typically considered a Spring/Summer fruit, but they are most definitely “good anytime” fruit. Plus, If I don’t get this recipe up on my webpage, I may lose it!

THE INSIDE SCOOP

When both volumetric and weight measures are provided, the volumetric measures should be considered approximations. The standard measure for a cup of sugar is 192 grams. By volume, this measure will typically be less than 1 cup. When baking, it is always best to use a food scale to measure dry ingredients.

This recipe was made using My Gluten Free Flour Mix. Due to the varying characteristics of gluten free flours, other gluten free flour mixes are not guaranteed to work.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER!

When strawberries are baked, that amazing strawberry flavor becomes very faint. I tried boosting the strawberry flavor with strawberry-flavored gelatin, but that left a very gummy taste. Baking with just strawberry puree didn’t give enough flavor and baking with cut up strawberries left an uneven taste or a very heavy-bottomed cake. Then I tried concentrating the strawberry flavor by reducing the strawberry puree and I finally had the strawberry flavor I wanted! The reduced puree didn’t add excessive moisture, which had caused earlier attempts at the cake to collapse, but it added flavor. To create more strawberry flavor, I also used strawberry extract. And a touch of lemon extract enhanced the strawberry flavor to perfection!

Fortunately for everyone who ever gets the chance to enjoy my bakes, I don’t stop at perfection. I try to make perfect even better! And I did. I found some freeze-dried strawberry powder. Wow! Just a couple tablespoons of dried, powdered strawberries gave the strawberry flavor an incredible boost! The use of strawberry powder is not essential, but it is definitely worth adding.

DON’T LET YOUR CAKE BE A CLING-ON.

This is a very moist cake and tends to stick to the cake pans. To prevent this, line the bottom of the cake pans with parchment paper. To do so, place the cake pans on the parchment paper. Use a permanent marker to trace around the bottom of the cake pans. Cut out the circles by cutting inside the pens marks. Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray and then place the parchment paper on the bottom of the cake pan. If you prefer to make cupcakes, cupcake paper liners should also be sprayed so that the cake doesn’t stick to the paper liners.

FEELING MIXED UP?

Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on LOW or DEFROST until butter is melted. Set aside to cool slightly. Cooling the butter is very important so that it does not cook the eggs. However, if the butter begins to solidify when the reduced strawberry puree, ½ & ½, lemon juice, strawberry extract, and red food coloring are added, return it to the microwave on LOW for a few seconds until the mixture is melted again. This is also why it is important that all ingredients be room temperature- to reduce the likelihood of the butter solidifying when the other ingredients are added.

Red food coloring is added to the batter to make a more eye-appealing color. Add as much or as little as you like!

I’m Eggcited About Eggs! Be sure eggs are at room temperature. Cold eggs can result in a lumpy batter and heavy texture. To quickly bring eggs to room temperature before cracking, place eggs in a bowl of very warm (not hot) water for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk the room-temperature eggs; set aside. Whisking the eggs before adding them to the batter makes it easier to get the eggs distributed evenly throughout the batter.

In a large bowl, whisk together My Gluten Free Flour Mix, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar, and strawberry powder if using. Whisking the dry ingredients ensures a more even rise. Make a well in the middle of the flour mix; set aside.

Add the whisked eggs to the butter mixture; whisk together.

Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the flour mixture. Gently fold together until just combined. Do NOT use a mixer or stir rapidly. Although rapid mixing made a smoother-appearing texture, it incorporated more air than the cake could support, and thus caused the cake to deflate.

Cover the mixing bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Since gluten free flours do not contain gluten, refrigeration time is essential to allow flours to absorb moisture and eliminate the gritty “gluten free” texture and taste. Although the “grittiness” can be mostly eliminated after 30 minutes of refrigeration, I find longer refrigeration times continue to improve the texture, taste and rise of gluten-free baked goods.

A layer cake that has domed can be the downfall for a baker who wants a multi-layer cake. Domed cakes do not sit evenly, obviously, can rock, and even slide apart. To keep the layers level, soak 2 cake wraps, if available, in ice water for at least 15 minutes, then squeeze out the excess water and wrap around the cake pans. The cold cake wrap prevents the edge of the cake from baking before the center of the cake, thus producing a more level cake. Of course, if you don’t have cake wraps, you’ll just have to cut off the excess dome and enjoy your treat!

Distribute the batter evenly between the 2 cake pans. This is easiest to do if you use a food scale to measure the amount of batter in each pan.

If possible, use a metal cake tester (I use a metal kebab skewer) to test for doneness. Metal cake testers are more accurate that toothpicks, especially with gluten free baking..

Sliced strawberries in the middle add a delicious touch to this cake. Be sure strawberries are sliced thinly and are partially “buried” in the frosting so that the top later does not slide around.

After the top layer is added, an easy way to ensure that crumbs do not get into the frosting is to begin by covering the cake with a “crumb coat.” This is a very thin layer of frosting that keeps crumbs next to the cake and prevents any crumbs from showing. Crumb coats are most effective if the cake is refrigerated for at least 15 minutes or until the crumb coat is set. Then it’s time to add the finishing frosting!

However you decide to finish your cake, everyone will agree: It’s YUMMY!

I’m including a couple pictures for your enjoyment. (Anyways, I hope you enjoy them.) At the Virginia Renaissance Faire this year, I got to do the opening skit a few times. Another towns folk and I had an “argument” that resulted in a “noogie war.” So fun!

I also mentioned above about being in a play again this year. I have been doing the yearly play at historic Rippon Lodge, in Woodbridge, Virginia, for several years, now, and it is always fun! Sometimes the plays are re-enactments of actual events, more-or-less. And sometimes the plays are just meant to be October fun, i.e., another installment of “Murder at Rippon Lodge!” This year, the play started with a “seance.” And yes, I was the medium conducting the seance. I am happy to report that I was not murdered and I was not the murderer!

Print Recipe

Gluten Free Strawberry Cake

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By Connie Teunis – Serves: 12-16

A super moist cake, packed with strawberry flavor and strawberries. And it's gluten free! but don't tell your friends-they'll never know.

Ingredients

• 256 g./ 9 ounces Hulled Fresh Strawberries, reduced to 128 g.
• 168 g./ 1 ½ Sticks Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 9 T. + 1 t. ½ & ½, at room temperature
• 2 t. Lemon Juice, at room temperature
• 2 T. Strawberry Extract
• 6-12 drops Red Food Coloring, or as many as needed to achieve desired color.
• 200 g./ 4 Large Eggs, at room temperature
• 388 g./ 2 ½ c. My Gluten Free Flour Mix
• 2 t. Xanthan Gum
• ½ t. Salt
• 1 t. Baking Powder
• ¼ t. Baking Soda
• 384 g./ 2 c. Granulated Cane Sugar
• 40 g./ 4 T. Strawberry Powder (opt.)
• For the Frosting:
• 226 g./ 2 Sticks Unsalted Butter
• 96 g./ ½ c. Shortening
• 600 g./ 5 c. Powdered Sugar
• 2 t. Vanilla or Strawberry Extract (if a strawberry flavored frosting is desired)
• 20 g./ 2 T. Strawberry Powder, if a strawberry flavored frosting is desired.
• 1 t. Salt (opt.)
• 0 – 1 T. water to achieve desired spreading consistency.
• Fresh Strawberries, hulled

Instructions

1

For the Cake:

2

Reduce the strawberries:

3

Hull 256 grams fresh strawberries. Working in batches, place strawberries in a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth.

4

In a large saucepan, cook pureed strawberries on LOW heat until reduced by 40%-50%, stirring frequently. Do not allow strawberries to boil. Pureed, reduced strawberries will have a consistency about half-way between tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cool completely. Measure out 128 grams of strawberry puree; set aside.

5

To Make the Cake:

6

Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on LOW or DEFROST until butter is melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

7

In a small bowl, whisk the room-temperature eggs; set aside.

8

In a large bowl, whisk together My Gluten Free Flour Mix, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar, and strawberry powder if using. Make a well in the middle of the flour mix; set aside.

9

In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, reduced strawberry puree, ½ & ½, lemon juice, strawberry extract, and red food coloring. If the butter mix begins to solidify, return it to the microwave on LOW for a few seconds until the mixture is melted again.

10

Add the whisked eggs to the butter mixture; whisk together.

11

Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the flour mixture. Gently fold together until just combined.

12

Cover the mixing bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

13

To Bake:

14

If cake wraps are available, soak 2 cake wraps in ice water for 30 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water. Spray two 9” cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the cake pans with parchment paper. Wrap cake wraps around pans and pin tightly in place; set aside.

15

Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

16

Pour approximately 24 ounces of batter into each cake pan. (Batter will be thick.)

17

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-42 minutes, until a metal cake tester, when inserted into the middle of a cake layer, comes out clean, or an instant read thermometer registers 210 degrees.

18

Place the cake pans on cooling racks for 15 minutes. Run the flat side of a knife around the edge of each cake pan to loosen the cake from the pan. Tip out the cake, with parchment paper still attached, and place on cooling racks; cool completely.

19

To Make the Frosting:

20

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the unsalted butter and vegetable shortening on medium speed. Add the powdered sugar; mix on LOW speed, or by hand, until combined. Increase speed and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and salt, if desired, and beat until smooth. If a strawberry-flavored frosting is desired, add strawberry extract rather than vanilla extract, and strawberry powder, if desired.

21

To Assemble:

22

Cut strawberries in half, for small berries, or thirds or fourths, for larger berries, so that the berries can be placed level on top of the bottom cake layer. Reserve some whole berries for decorating the top of the cake.

23

Place one cake layer, top side down, on a cake plate or desired serving surface. Remove the parchment paper. Spread approximately ¾ cup of frosting on top of this layer; gently press the cut strawberries into the frosting.

24

Remove the parchment paper from the second layer and place, top side up, on top of the bottom layer. If desired, spread a very thin layer of frosting, called a “crumb coat” on the top and side of the cake; refrigerate for approximately 30 minutes until crumb coat is set. Reserve 2 tablespoons of frosting to hold the berries on top of the cake; spread the rest of the frosting evenly on the top and side of the cake. Place the reserved frosting in the middle of the top of the cake and “stick” the reserved strawberries in it to decorate the top of the cake. If desired, add piping and more hulled strawberries around the base of the cake.

25

Enjoy!

My Gluten Free Flour Mix:

70 g./ 7 T. White Rice Flour
35 g./ 3 1/2 T. Brown Rice Flour
24 g./ 2 T. Potato Starch
15 g./ 2 T. Millet
11 g./ 1 1/2 T. Tapioca Flour

This equals 155 g. per 1 cup.

To make a large batch at once, I multiplied the above amounts by 8:

560 g./ 56 T. White Rice Flour
280 g./ 28 T. Brown Rice Flour
192 g./ 16 T. Potato Starch
120 g./ 16 T. Millet Flour
88 g./ 12 T. Tapioca

This makes 1240 g./ 8 cups of Gluten Free Flour Mix

Please Note: Although both volumetric and weight measures are provided, the volumetric measures should be considered approximations. One cup is 155 g. by weight; it may not equal 1 cup by volume.