Vegan Strawberry Cake (gluten-free + 6 ingredients)
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 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
- 250g (1 ยผ cups) strawberries, fresh or frozen and defrosted, stems removed
- 250g (2 ยฝ cups) almond flour / blanched almond meal, (note 1)
- 150g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar, (note 2)
- 110g (3/4 cup) potato starch, or corn starch, plus more if needed
- 15g (3 heaped teaspoons) baking powder
- 1๏ปฟ2๏ปฟg (3 teaspoons) ๏ปฟbeetroot powder, ๏ปฟred 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 170ยฐC (340ยฐF). 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 ยฝ 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.ย 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.
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Can I use dragonfruit or blueberry juice powder if I donโt have beet powder?
The cake turned out great, thanks for the wonderful recipe. For me, I wish there was a tad of more flavor like cardamom or sth. But I added acai powder as I didn’t have a beetroot one so it only didn’t add color but more flavor.
Divine!! So simple, I just stirred it all up in a bowl by hand, after blending my berries in the blender. Doubled the recipe and filled 6 little 4″ springform pans for mini cakes. Slit in two when cool and frosted with my homemade cashew lemon frosting!! This is a very moist and light cake that’s just perfect the way it’s written.
Beetroot power, can be sustituted by cooked beetroot??
Hi Sofia, I don’t think so. Beetroot powder is completely dry whereas cooked beetroot has a lot of moisture and will change the texture of the cake.
Could you use egg substitutes powder Or applesauce to replace the eggs in this recipe?
Hi Gillian, there are no eggs in this recipe so you don’t need any additional egg replacer or applesauce.
Can you use strawberry ๐ juice ๐ฅค Or strawberry ๐ soya powder milk instead of fresh or frozen strawberries ๐ to make the strawberry almond cake?
Hi Gillian, I don’t think strawberry juice or strawberry milk will work by themselves as they’re just liquid whereas strawberries have pulp and fiber in them. Sorry!
We love this cake and it’s amazing for my daughter’s many many allergies. I want to make this into cupcakes for her birthday. How long would you recommend baking for cupcakes?
Hi Andrea, I’m so glad you enjoyed this cake and that it’s suitable for your daughter! For average-sized cupcakes, I’d bake them for around 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out completely clean. If you’d like smaller cupcakes, try 18-20 minutes. The cupcakes should dome a little too. I hope that helps!
If I want to replace the potato starch with eggs, how many eggs I should use in this recipe?
Hi Goldoon, sorry I’m not sure as I don’t cook with eggs. You would need to experiment with the recipe.
Must try this recipe, itโs very easy to make and delicious. I didnโt have beetroot powder or food colouring but still was very tasty. Will definitely bake it again with the beetroot powder ๐ซถ๐๐คค
That’s great to hear Dani! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the cake!
Goal: Vegan, Gluten and Almond Free. Can you substitute the flour mix with GF Oat instead?
It may work if you substitute the almond flour with 50% oat flour and 50% oil (check out note 1 in the recipe box). For vegan cakes, oat flour usually needs to be combined with a starch so I’d keep the potato/corn starch in the mix. Let me know how you go!
Could this be used to make cupcakes or mini cakes ?
Yes! The cake turns out a little fluffier when baked as cupcakes/mini cakes ๐
Have you ever tried this recipe with frozen raspberries in place of strawberries?
Once I made this cake with 50% frozen raspberries and 50% strawberries and it worked well! I imagine it’ll work with only raspberries. Raspberries have less moisture than strawberries so it’ll just make the cake fluffier!
Just tried this for my daughters 8th birthday and it came out perfect and she said this was the best cake she ever tasted. Thank you for the simple, healthy and most of all a vegan cake.
Aw that’s so so sweet! I’m so glad you and your daughter enjoyed this cake. Thanks so much for your lovely feedback!
Hello,
Can I use arrowroot instead of potato starch?
I haven’t tested this recipe with arrowroot so I’m not sure to be honest! I know that arrowroot can’t always be substituted 1:1 with potato starch so the quantities may need some tweaking. Sorry I couldn’t be of any more help!
Perfect recipe for everyday preparation. Cake is very tasty and also the preparation was quick and easy.
That’s lovely to hear Teresa! Thanks so much for your feedback!
This is absolutely DELICIOUS!!! I want to get some beet root powder because I didnโt have any and white itโs amazing it didnโt get that beautiful red color it was suppose to. I also exchanged vanilla extract for almond and it was amazing. I would make this again and againโฆ
Aww I’m so happy you enjoyed this cake Stephanie! Love that you added almond extract too (I have to try that next time, haha). Thanks so much for your kind feedback Stephanie, I really appreciate it!
So yummy. Easy to make. Fluffy !!
That’s lovely to hear, thanks for your comment Tzipi!
Hello Anthea, this looks great, can’t wait to try it. My kids have nut allergies. Any suggestions for replacing the Almond flour? ๐
Hi Elizabeth :). Yes, you can replace the almond flour with a combination of plain all-purpose flour and oil! The exact measurements are in the notes of the recipe card. Hope that helps!