When you end up baking the same cake two days in a row, two things you can be sure of – One, the cake is really good! And two, the recipe is a keeper! Yes! I first made this cake last Friday evening when my daughter was going to a friend’s place for sleepover (after 3 months of being in lockdown!). I had very little time and very few ingredients. I opened the refrigerator and saw this large pack of strawberries and decided I would make a dessert with strawberries! I came across a traditional strawberry pound cake recipe that looked gorgeous and that was it! After ogling at that cake for 10 mins, I decided to make a gluten free and dairy free version of that recipe. The cake went literally straight from the oven into the car. I had maybe two mins to decorate it. I drizzled some melted chocolate over it and topped it with strawberries and off I dashed with it to the slumber party. When my daughter came home the next day, she said ‘Mom, Stella liked your cake so much she wants you to bake this same cake for her wedding!’ OMG! I was like ‘Wow! The cake must be really delicious for a 13 yr old to already be thinking about her wedding cake!’ LOL!
And then my daughter complained that she hardly ate much of the cake there. And so I decided that I will bake it again soon so that the rest of the fam could have it too. But the opportunity to bake again came really quickly since that same afternoon our friends called to say that they would like to stop by and maybe we all could have tea in our backyard? I said ‘Of course, that would be great! And I will bake a cake to go with the tea!’ 🙂 And not surprisingly, the cake got rave reviews the second time around too!
I shared the cake pic on my instagram story and so many folks direct messaged me asking for the recipe! So had to post the recipe for you guys! Enjoy! And do share your pics on insta and tag me if you make this!
So this cake is not Paleo and AIP but can be easily made Paleo by using cassava flour instead of the gluten free flour mix that I used. I modified the original recipe to make it gluten free and dairy free. Here are the key things you need to make this cake:
- I used my favorite gluten free mix (King Arthur’s Measure for Measure gluten free blend ). You could also use cassava flour in this recipe.
- I used coconut milk but you could also use coconut yoghurt and / other nut milk
- I used a combination of raw unrefined cane sugar and maple syrup in this recipe to keep the color of the cake light. The maple syrup also gives it a nice flavor. You could also substitute honey for the maple syrup.
- Eggs are essential in this recipe to get the light and spongy texture. You could substitute a gelatin egg but the texture won’t be as soft and spongy.
- 1½ cups King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten free flour mix (or you can use cassava flour for Paleo)
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¾ cup coconut milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ¾ cup unrefined cane sugar (powdered - see notes)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup chopped strawberries (about 6-8 whole)
- One 4 oz dairy free dark chocolate bar
- fresh strawberries 4 sliced
- fresh strawberries, 2 whole
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 by 8 square inch baking pan or a 9-inch loaf pan with coconut oil and dust lightly with the flour. Keep aside.
- In a parchment sheet, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and the salt. Mix using a spatula or using a sieve.
- In a small bowl, mix the coconut milk and the apple cider vinegar and keep aside.
- In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), add the sugar, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla extract and the oil. Mix well using an electric mixer( or in a stand mixer). Add the coconut milk and vinegar mixture too and mix again.
- Next stir in the flour mixture into the mixing bowl and mix until well blended. Mixture will be slightly loose.
- Now fold in the chopped strawberries and pour batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for about 45-50 minutes at 350 F or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes, then slowly flip onto a serving dish.
- Place sliced strawberries on top of cake.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 sec intervals for about 1 - 2 mins or until melted.
- Drizzle melted chocolate over the top of the cake.
- Dip whole strawberries in the melted chocolate and place them on the center of the cake.
