Moist Gluten Free Strawberry Cake (from scratch)

This moist and tender gluten free strawberry cake is packed with natural strawberry flavor from a homemade berry syrup, topped with an easy strawberry buttercream for tons of flavor in every bite.

I took my favorite white cake and rebalanced all of the ingredients for a strawberry-lover's delight. And even though it has tons of natural flavor, you don't even need any fresh berries!

Why this recipe works

Strawberries, like pumpkin and zucchini, have a lot of natural moisture, but in varying amounts. They make fragrant and flavorful cakes, cupcakes and muffins, once you control for the extra moisture.

Here, we reduce the strawberries into a thick, jam-like syrup and use it like part sugar, part moisture, and all flavor. We use frozen strawberries, picked at the peak of freshness, because they're easier and less expensive.

This cake is ideal for a summer celebration of strawberry season, but is just as easy to make for a birthday celebration during the cold winter months.

Key cake ingredients explained

Here are the ingredients we use to make this really special berry-flavored cake, and the role each one plays:

• Strawberry syrup – A homemade smooth, jammy syrup made of strawberries and some sugar provides all the bright, strawberry flavor. We cook it down to control the moisture and avoid any gumminess in the cake.
• Milk – Adds richness, a predictable amount of moisture, and brings the cake batter together.
• Gluten free flour – Provides the cake's main structure, absorbs moisture and holds the rise. Choose a well-balanced all purpose gluten free flour blend with finely ground rice flour as the base, like Nicole's Best multipurpose or VitaCost gluten free multi-blend flour with added xanthan gum for binding, or Better Batter's classic gluten free blend (omit the xanthan gum, since the blend contains it). Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 should also work, but add another 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum since that blend contains too little.
• Baking powder & soda – Helps the cake rise in the oven and brown.
• Salt – Balances sweetness and enhances other flavors.
• Butter – Adds buttery flavor and richness, and adds some leavening to the crumb since we cream it with the sugar.
• Oil – Adds moisture and tenderness, even when the cake is chilled in the refrigerator for easier slicing. Keeps the cake fresh for longer.
• Granulated sugar – Adds sweetness, and locks in moisture for a tender crumb.
• Eggs – The whole eggs bind the cake together; the extra egg white helps stabilize the cake as it cools.
• Vanilla – Adds depth of flavor and some complexity to this sweet, tender cake.
• Gel food coloring – Deep pink or red gel food coloring keeps the cake from looking gray after baking. Avoid liquid food coloring, which isn't deeply pigmented enough to survive baking unless used in large amounts which add unpleasant flavor.

How to make gluten free strawberry cake

The full ingredient amounts and instructions are in the recipe card below. But here's an overview with images so you can imagine how you'll make this cake in your own kitchen:

1. Make the strawberry syrup

Cook frozen strawberries with some water to prevent burning and sugar to enhance their natural sweetness. Puree the mixture in a blender, strain out seeds, and cook them down into a super thick syrup.

Expect to reduce the mixture by about half to control moisture in the cake, which takes about 15 minutes. Let it cool, then, or you risk heating the rest of the batter prematurely.

2. Prepare wet and dry ingredients

Whisk together your best all purpose gluten free flour blend with added xanthan gum as necessary, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine everything well so the leaveners are fully distributed in the batter for an evenly risen cake.

Whisk the cooled strawberry syrup with the milk to avoid clumps of strawberry flavor in some parts of the cake. If the strawberry syrup is still a bit warm, use cooler milk to moderate the temperature of both ingredients.

3. Finish the cake batter

This cake has a lot of moisture, so it's especially important to cream the butter, sugar, oil and vanilla for a full 4 minutes. The mixture will lighten in color as you incorporate air into it, which will make the cake crumb lighter. Beat in 3 eggs and 1 egg white until creamy.

Add the whisked dry ingredients in 3 batches, and the combined milk and strawberry mixture in 2 batches to the batter. This ensures even distribution of all the ingredients.

Finally, beat in pink gel food coloring until the batter is pale pink to avoid a gray cake.

4. Bake the cake

The cake batter should be smooth and silky. Divide it evenly between 2 8-inch round greased and lined cake pans for even layers. They will be quite full. Bang the pans firmly, flat on the counter to break any large air bubbles in the batter which could form tunnels in the cake.

Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes, then rotate the pans in the oven. To finish baking the cakes all the way to the center without burning the outside, lower the oven to 325°F for another 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before inverting the cakes onto a wire rack and removing the pans.

6. Decorate

Be sure to cool the cakes completely before decorating, or the warmth from the cakes will melt the frosting. Trim off any dome on the baked cakes to level them for an even cake.

You'll need 5 to 6 cups of frosting for an 8-inch layer cake. Place 1/3 of the frosting between the layers, and turn each layer upside down for a flat, uniform layer cake.

I made a classic white buttercream with 16 tablespoons of butter and confectioners' sugar, and added freeze-dried strawberry powder for flavor. You can also just Betty Crocker gluten free strawberry frosting, or add the same strawberry powder to a can of white frosting.

Expert tips

Keep the cake red

Baked goods made with strawberries tend to look gray when baked because the pigment that makes them red becomes inactive when the cake isn't acidic enough, and during baking. To preserve color and avoid a gray cake, add some pink or red gel food coloring. Otherwise, try adding some fresh lemon juice to the puree during cooking to help preserve the color.

Make the syrup ahead

The strawberry syrup takes some time to cook, strain, and reduce. I like to make it up to 1 week ahead of time and store it in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator. It makes the cake baking process so much faster. Let it come to room temperature before baking with it.

Avoid regular dried strawberries

Dried strawberries are like raisins, which are partially dehydrated fruits. We use whole strawberries (fresh or frozen) to make the strawberry syrup, and freeze-dried strawberries for the frosting. Freeze-dried fruits are crunchy and dry after having their moisture entirely removed by that process. I buy them at Trader Joe's, and they're also available in a store brand at Target and Whole Foods, and under various brand names on Amazon.

Consider store-bought frosting

Even though I'm a from-scratch baker all the way and homemade buttercream is delicious, canned frosting tastes great and is so easy. Duncan Hines and Simple Mills both make excellent gluten free strawberry-flavored frosting, and it saves you the trouble of sourcing and preparing the freeze-dried strawberries.

? Ingredient substitutions

If you need to avoid allergens other than gluten, or you'd like to make a variation on this cake, here's my best advice on how:

Dairy free

Instead of butter in the cake batter, try block-style vegan butter, like Miyoko's Creamery, Melt, or Country Crock brand. Avoid the tub-style, which you can't cream and is mostly oil. For the milk, use a plain, nondairy milk with a similar texture to cow's milk, like soy milk or coconut milk in the carton.

For the butter in the frosting, I recommend butter-flavored Crisco or Spectrum brand shortening for a more authentic taste than vegan butter, but vegan butter should still work.

Egg free

In place of the 3 whole eggs, I recommend adding 1/3 cup (47 grams) additional gluten free flour bend, 1/3 cup added (80 grams) plain yogurt (nondairy is fine), 1 more teaspoon baking powder, & 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar. For the egg white, try 25 grams liquid aquafaba, or the brine from a can of chickpeas.

Xanthan gum

In place of 1 teaspoon xanthan gum if your flour blend doesn't already contain it, try 2 1/2 teaspoons guar gum, 1 1/4 teaspoons konjac powder, or 5 teaspoons cellulose (or Perfect Gluten Replacement). For details on these replacements, please see our post on how to use a xanthan gum substitute.

Strawberries

If you'd like to make this cake with another fruit flavor, I'm sure raspberries or blueberries would work just as well. Make the fruit syrup with frozen or fresh berries, preparing it in the same way, and the frosting with freeze dried raspberries or blueberries.

Storage suggestions

This is a very moist cake that you can store in the refrigerator as a whole cake, covered or as individually wrapped slices for for up to 3 days.

For longer storage, freeze the frosted cake or slices uncovered for 1 hour, then wrap tightly and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost in the refrigerator, still covered.

To make the cake ahead of time, I recommend freezing the cooled individual baked cake layers unfrosted. Wrap tightly in freezer-safe wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature, then frost and serve.

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