Vegan gluten-free strawberry cake using only 6 ingredients. This flourless cake is packed with fresh strawberries and comes together in just a food processor or blender.
This easy recipe is based on my popular vegan gluten-free cakes including whole orange cake, whole lemon cake and flourless chocolate cake.
Why you'll love this vegan gluten-free strawberry cake
FLAVOR/TEXTURE: Packed with the most authentic strawberry flavor since we're using fresh strawberries rather than strawberry extract or freeze-dried powders. The cake is soft and moist with a tight crumb. Its texture is similar to a French financier or French almond cake.
WHOLESOME: Free from vegan butter or added oil which makes it a healthier alternative.
RELIABLE: Free from store-bought gluten-free flour blends which can be inconsistent.
This strawberry cake is perfect for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and for using up those extra ripe strawberries!
6 ingredients you'll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Ingredient notes
Almond flour gives this cake moisture and a tender melt-in-your-mouth crumb. Cakes without gluten can be dry but the almond flour prevents that.
Potato starch is our egg replacer and gluten-free binder. This can also be substituted with corn starch. I've tried other binders like chia/flax seeds and aquafaba but unfortunately, they don't work.
Strawberries, either fresh or frozen (and defrosted). I have tested this recipe with both and they both work well. Make sure you choose strawberries which are already quite sweet and flavorful as it's the main flavor.
Beetroot powder or food coloring (optional). Without any powder or food dye, this cake is a dull pink color.
Beetroot powder provides varying results, and your cake can be anywhere from vibrant pink to orange/brown. It will hugely depend on the brand and age of your powder. For the most reliable results, use red or pink food coloring.
Making the cake batter
This vegan gluten-free strawberry cake is easy to make! You don't even have to separate the dry ingredients from the wet ingredients.
First, add your fresh or defrosted strawberries to a food processor or blender. Blend until the strawberries form a puree. Make sure there are no chunks in the strawberry puree, though seeds are fine.
Next, add the rest of your ingredients to your food processor or blender. Blend the mixture until combined.
Your final cake batter should be very thick and almost like a paste rather than a typical runny cake batter.
For this vegan gluten-free strawberry cake, a thicker batter will lead to a fluffier cake with no dense spots. In contrast, a thinner batter will lead to a denser cake.
If your strawberries were extra juicy, your cake batter might be a little runny. In so, add a little more potato starch and blend the batter again.
Serving the cake
The cake is lovely by itself, but you can also serve the cake with:
- A dusting of powdered sugar. Make sure you dust it just before serving because the cake will absorb the sugar after a few hours.
- Strawberry buttercream frosting
- Strawberry cream cheese frosting
- Simple lemon sugar icing, such as the one I used in my lemon pistachio cake.
- A dollop of vanilla whipped cream, coconut yogurt or scoop of ice cream.
Expert tips and substitutions
Almond flour adds a lot of moisture to this cake so it can't be substituted 1:1 with all-purpose flour. You can try a blend of AP flour and light-tasting vegetable oil, but I haven't tested it.
Alternatively, my regular vegan strawberry cake and vegan strawberry cupcakes use all-purpose plain flour.
I'd only recommend reducing the sugar to 100g. Sugar doesn't only make the cake sweet but lightens the texture of the cake. Reducing the sugar will make the cake too dense.
The recipe should also work with coconut sugar. If you make the cake with coconut sugar, it'll be a brown-pink color.
This cake may also work with a granulated sweetener such as stevia or erythritol. I haven't tested it myself so I can't vouch for results. This recipe will not work with liquid sweeteners such as maple syrup as it will be too heavy.
You will still need a stick blender to puree the strawberries. Add them directly to a large bowl and puree as needed. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined.
This cake bakes very well in muffin tins and can be divided into smaller cake tins, of course with different baking times.
However, baking the whole quantity of the cake in a smaller tin (for example a 7 inch/15 cm tin) may cause 'dense spots' throughout the cake.
More vegan strawberry desserts
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Vegan Strawberry Cake (Gluten free + 6 ingredients)
Ingredients
- 250 g (1 ¼ cups) strawberries, fresh or frozen and defrosted, stems removed
- 250 g (2 ½ cups) almond flour / blanched almond meal, (note 1)
- 150 g (¾ cup) granulated sugar, (note 2)
- 110 g (¾ cup) potato starch, or corn starch, plus more if needed
- 15 g (3 heaped teaspoons) baking powder
- 12 g (3 teaspoons) beetroot powder, red or pink food coloring (to color, note 3)
Optional add-ins
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Note: For the best results, I recommend using grams for this recipe as it's difficult to accurately measure flour/starch and strawberries using cups. Alternatively, use the spoon and level method to measure the flour. Use a spoon to add the flour/starch to a measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Do not use the measuring cup to scoop flour out of your container as too much flour will result in a denser cake.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Grease or line an 8 inch (20 cm) cake pan with parchment paper.
Make the strawberry cake:
- Add the strawberries to a food processor or blender. Blend until it forms a smooth puree and there are no chunks of strawberries.
- Add the rest of the cake ingredients to the food processor. Process until the mixture is combined. The batter should be like a thick paste which holds shape when you scoop it. If your strawberries were extra juicy, your batter may be a little runnier than needed. If so, add 15-30 grams (2-4 tablespoons) more potato starch and blend again.
- Scoop the cake batter into your cake tin. Smooth the top with a spoon or spatula.
Bake the strawberry cake:
- Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes or until you can insert a skewer or toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. If the cake is cooking too quickly on the outside and unbaked inside, cover the cake pan with aluminum foil or an oven-safe plate (as long as it doesn't touch the cake).
- Allow the cake to completely cool in the cake tin.
- To serve, dust the cake with powdered sugar (Note 4 for alternatives). The cake is lovely served with whipped cream, dairy-free yogurt or ice cream.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
- For a nut-free cake, substitute the almond flour with 1 cup (125g) all purpose flour and ½ cup (125g) of any light-tasting oil. We have to add oil to compensate for the natural oils normally found in almond flour. Alternatively, check out my regular vegan strawberry cake recipe.
- This amount of sugar creates a mildly sweet cake, depending on the sweetness of your strawberries. The sugar can be reduced to 100g but it makes the cake more dense and the cake may be more sour, depending on your strawberries. I've listed some sugar alternatives in the post above.
- Different brands of beetroot powder vary in color and intensity so you may need more or less than 3 teaspoons to color the cake. If you use pink or red food coloring, start with a just few drops and add more until you reach your desired color. The amount of food coloring will depend on the brand and whether you use a liquid or gel.
- This cake is packed with flavor and sweet enough without any icing or buttercream. However, you can also top the cake with a vegan strawberry frosting, strawberry cream cheese frosting or a simple icing, such as from my pistachio avocado cake. Wait until the cake is completely cool before you frost the cake.
Nutrition
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Paulina says
Hi!
How can I measure the strawberries, while fitting in the 1 1/4 cup or when they’re already puréed? Thanks
Anthea says
It's about 1 1/4 cups of chopped strawberries or a little over 1/2 cup of pureed strawberries. Hope that helps!
Sheela M Unnikrishnan says
Can I cover with aluminium foil in the beginning itself as I dont want to get the browning on the surface and want to maintain the vibrant pink colouring of this cake? Hope I can get your kind prompt reply as want to bake it today.
Thank you for your kind sharing
Anthea says
Hi Sheela, yes you can cover it with aluminium foil at the beginning of baking. I find that the colour really depends on the brand of food colouring that you use. I hope that helps!
Autumn says
Is this recipe for a single layered cake?
Anthea says
Yes, the recipe is for the size of the pictured cake.
B. Kime says
Super easy recipe, we made cupcakes out of them and topped with butterceam frosting with lemon zest, and little lavender buds- chef's kiss
Anthea says
Ooh, they would have looked so beautiful! I'm so glad that you enjoyed them, and thanks so much for the review!
ziva says
The cake is delicious! However, it was very sticky to cut and although I dipped the knife in water, it was still sticky and didnt cut nicely. Any suggestion? Thank you!
Anthea says
Hi Ziva, glad that you enjoyed how this cake tasted! However, the cake isn't meant to be sticky. Try baking the cake for a little longer or cutting the cake when it's completely cool. Hope that helps!
ziva says
Thank you. It was cut a day after baking and baking time was longer then the recipe calls for, until a toothpick came out dry. I'll try again at even a longer baking time.
Anthea says
That's interesting. There are so many factors that can affect baking, such as if your oven runs cooler, strength of your baking powder, brand of ingredients and even the humidity of where you live. If the cake was just sticky to cut, but not sticky to eat, it might be worth using freshly sharpened knife. I noticed that if I cut this cake a few days after with a blunt knife, it would leave more crumbs on the knife. Hope that helps!
Avelino says
I made this with a few alterations and it still turned out amazing. I substituted GF flour, and noting the author’s comments about almonds bringing a lot of moisture to the recipe, I also substituted an egg for a portion of the starch.
It baked up really fluffy and was heavenly to eat.
Anthea says
Hi Avelino, I'm so glad that they worked with your substitutions, and I know other readers would appreciate knowing this!! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave your feedback here 🙂