Dairy-free and gluten-free
A delicious treat for the whole family to share, this simple showstopper of a cake is becoming our summer staple when getting together with family and friends. Use fresh strawberries if you can, the taste is incredible!
We went strawberry picking to a local Pick-Your-Own farm and came home with punnets full of ripe juicy strawberries. We’re careful with how many strawberries Clara can have in one go as they’re very rich – and she definitely gets tempted to go for more because they taste so good! Baking them into a cake felt like the perfect solution that let us enjoy the berries in a different way and meant we didn’t turn up empty handed to a family lunch the next day.
Highlights
- Makes 1 large 9″ cake
- 20 minute prep time
- 1hr 15 mins bake time
Ingredients
2 eggs
200g sugar
250g yogurt (we used soya)
105ml olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g gluten-free SR flour
1 tsp baking powder
A punnet of strawberries
(approx 350g)
A dusting of icing sugar
Method
Step 1
Heat the oven to 200C/ 180C fan
Prepare a 9″ cake tin with greaseproof paper
Step 2
Wash your strawberries and split into two even piles. Chop one half into small pieces. Only slice the second pile of strawberries into halves.
Step 3
Mix together the eggs and sugar and whisk until the batter is light and thick.
Step 4
Add in your other wet ingredients: yogurt, olive oil and vanilla extract. Mix until all are well combined.
Step 5
In another bowl, combine your GF flour with the baking powder. If you’re using all-purpose (plain) flour you’ll need to add a quarter of a tsp of salt.
Step 6
Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture – don’t over stir. Mix until the flour mixture is just about combined. Too much mixing here and the cake won’t be light and fluffy.
Step 7
Pour half of the cake mix into the prepared pan.
Step 8
Cover the batter in the cake pan with the diced strawberries. There should be enough to lightly cover the surface of batter.
Step 9
Carefully add the rest of the cake batter on top of the strawberry layer. You may find it easier to do this by adding large spoonfuls on top of the remaining cake mix and gentle blending them into an even layer.
Step 10
Gather up your halved strawberries and lay them face down. Whatever pattern you choose is up to you- I opted for circular.
Step 11
Bake at 170 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
(Every oven is different, your timings may vary. Trust your nose but try not to open the door too early. A skewer should come out clean i the inside is cooked).
If your top is browning but the inside needs longer, you can cover with foil towards the end or decrease your oven temperature slightly.
Step 11
Leave the cake to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes before removing.
Step 12
When your cake is completely cool, dust with icing sugar.
If you do this too early, the sugar will simply dissolve into the cake.
Enjoy!
We’d love to know what you think of this recipe. Leave a comment below:
Clara and the Gutcracker 
Leave a comment