This strawberry cake is pure magic. One bite and it shot us straight back to childhood memories of eating hot pink cake at birthday parties. It’s not only fresh and vibrant with strawberry flavor, but also incredibly fluffy and sweet, and each bite is like a flavor explosion in the mouth. We’re talking rainbows and unicorns and happiness on a plate. Whoa.
Plus, top with our Vegan Strawberry Buttercream Frosting (infused with real, ripe strawberries), and you’ll be in pure bliss! The best part? It’s undetectably vegan and gluten-free, SO easy to make, and just 9 ingredients and 1 bowl required (we know, it’s borderline sorcery). Let us show you how it’s done!
How to Make Strawberry Cake
This gluten-free, vegan strawberry cake relies on fresh strawberries to celebrate the season’s harvest and infuse it with strawberry flavor, naturally.
They’re blended into a purée and mixed with avocado oil for richness, organic cane sugar for sweetness, and vanilla extract for a subtle vanilla flavor. Using another granulated sweetener such as coconut sugar might also work, but we find cane sugar helps the cake retain a pretty color.
For flours, we relied on our trusty gluten-free mix of almond flour, potato starch, and cornstarch. This combination is perfect for cakes and cupcakes because it yields a light and fluffy texture. Find it in our vanilla cake, coffee cake, and vanilla cupcakes.
The remaining dry ingredients include baking powder for leavening and sea salt for flavor enhancement. Once mixed, it’s ready for baking!
Using two round cake pans will give you the prettiest two-layer cake, perfect for lathering with a batch of our vegan strawberry frosting.
Decorate it with more fresh strawberries for the most stunning and vibrant pink cake.
We hope you LOVE this strawberry cake! It’s:
Sweet
Light
Nostalgic
Comforting
& Vibrant with strawberry flavor!
It’s the perfect cake to bring to all your spring and summer gatherings. Bookmark this one for upcoming birthday parties, baby showers, and beyond!
More Gluten-Free Vegan Cake Recipes
- 1-Bowl Vegan Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
- 1-Bowl Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
- Gluten-Free Birthday Cake (Vegan)
- 1-Bowl Vegan Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Vegan Strawberry Cake (GF)
Ingredients
CAKE
- 1 cup strawberry purée (~1 ½ cups or 200 g of halved, fresh strawberries as recipe is written // blend until smooth // organic when possible and as ripe as possible for best flavor)
- 1/4 cup avocado oil (or other neutral oil)
- 2/3 cup organic cane sugar (you could try subbing natural sweeteners, but we haven’t tested any yet)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups almond flour*
- 3/4 cup potato starch* (not potato flour)
- 1/3 cup cornstarch* (or sub arrowroot, but we haven’t tried it yet)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F (176 C) and line a baking dish with parchment paper. This recipe will make one 8×8-inch square, one 9-inch circle, or two 6-inch rounds (adjust if altering batch size).
- To a large mixing bowl, add strawberry purée, oil, sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
- Add almond flour, potato starch, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated with no lumps remaining. The texture should be thick, like cornbread batter.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish, spread into an even layer, and bake on the center rack for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The center of the cake should be firm but springy when touched and the edges slightly golden brown.
- Let your cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully turning it out onto a cooling rack.
- Once your cake is completely cool, you can top it with vegan strawberry frosting, vanilla frosting, or a chocolate ganache!
- Best enjoyed the first day but will last, covered, at room temperature up to 3 days. Freeze up to 1 month (then thaw at room temperature).
Video
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without frosting.
Mari E. says
Hello, I would like to try and bake the Vegan Strawberry Cake (GF). I’ve looked in the comments that if not GF, I can substitute almond flour, potato starch, and cornstarch to 1.5cups of APF. And I can use the regular sugar. So technically, my recipe would be:
* 1 cup strawberry purée
* 1/4 cup avocado oil
* 2/3 sugar
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp sea salt
Is that correct? I’ve seen the comments, but I’d like to double check. I’m baking it for my almost 2yr old dairy and egg allergy son.
Thank you!
Yes, that’s correct :) We hope your little one enjoys it!
Lisa Larizadeh says
Wow I can’t believe how wrong this went! I’ve made your recipes for years and they’re all so easy and turn out well. I made this for my son’s birthday and before I even added the corn starch and potato starch the mixture was so thick I couldn’t move the whisk. I’ve worked with almond flour and almond meal before but I think the quantity is either off OR you mean almond meal instead of flour? The flour is much finer (and more expensive so that made this recipe a very expensive failure) so absorbs more liquid rather than a more coarsest ground almond meal which maybe doesn’t absorb as much liquid. All my ingredients were in date and I followed the recipe to the letter. Can’t think what else it could be but you may like to check the almond flour versus meal issue.
Hi Lisa, we’re so sorry the cake didn’t turn out well! We do mean almond flour, not almond meal. We find almond flour creates a more cake-like crumb texture. In our experience, it isn’t significantly more absorbent than almond meal. Would you mind sharing what brand of almond flour you were using?
Selina says
Hey! Can the potato starch be subbed with anything? The shops where I live only have potato flour of potato fibre. I’m open to any gluten free and vegan subs. Thanks xx
Hi Selina, it’s possible a gluten-free flour blend could work in place of the potato starch, or possibly a combination of more corn starch + tapioca starch, but the texture may vary! Potato starch is really unique in its ability to make gluten-free baked goods light and fluffy!
D says
I’m allergic to almonds and am gluten free/vegan can I substitute oat flour? Thanks!
Hi, oat flour would be too dense, unfortunately! Can you have cashew flour? That would be the next best option!
Elizabeth says
I made it as written and baked to time duration in the recipe, with 2-6″ round cake pans. I made this Friday, frosted and covered it and refrigerated until Sunday for Mother’s Day. The flavor was good, it rose and looked fine but was super dry enough to nearly choke on. Is that to be expected? Could dryness be the result of baking too long in smaller pans? What changes are advised for 2-6″ round pans next time? I hate to downgrade the rating. In this state I wouldn’t make it again.
Oh no! We’re so sorry it turned out too dry, Elizabeth. That definitely shouldn’t happen. We made it in two 6-inch round cake pans so that’s unlikely the issue. We think that storing in the refrigerator for a couple days likely dried it out too much, especially if it wasn’t in a sealed container. It is best the first day and then we recommend storing at room temperature to help it hold onto moisture.
Hannah says
Hey y’all! Thank you for creating this recipe. It looks delicious! I’m planning on making this for my daughter’s 3rd birthday. However, I noticed the recipe is for 12 pieces. I will have 15 people at her birthday party. Can you help me with scaling? Any tips/pointers would be appreciated! Have a great week!
Hi Hannah! There is a way to increase the servings in the recipe! Just hit the up arrow next to the serving box and it should increase to the correct amount! If you double the recipe you could make it into a layer cake with two 8 or 9-inch circle cake pans or maybe even a 9×13 sheet pan! The bake time will be similar. It might just take a few more minutes! Hope this helps and that you and your daughter enjoy! xo
Marie says
Tastes good but isn’t cake. Used Bob’s Red Mill almond flour. Followed the recipe word for word. It didn’t rise, it’s dense and more like cookies than a cake. So disappointed as it was made for my birthday, with no time to make another.
So sorry this one didn’t turn out, Marie! This recipe is usually a reader favorite. Is it possible the baking powder used was out of date? If not, what brand did you use? We have noticed certain brands are better than others in getting baked goods to rise.
Keely says
could I use oat flour instead of almond flour? Or would that change the texture too much
Hi Keely, that would change the texture too much. Almond flour is important for the cake crumb texture.
Brenda says
Can this be used as cupcakes? How long to bake?
Yes, we think so! We haven’t tried it ourselves but other readers have had success. We think it will make ~12-16 cupcakes, and should bake for 20-25 minutes. Let us know how it goes!
Suee33 says
Made this Vegan/GF Strawberry cake for my husband. It is EASY, it is quick to make and come out beautiful. It is not a real sweet cake – get ripe red strawberries and make this cake!! It ices beautifly, does not sink in the middle. Enjoy!!
I am making it again in two days for my youngest granddaughter who is turning 3.
We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe. Thank you so much for the lovely review! Happy belated birthday to your husband and upcoming birthday to your granddaughter! xo
John W says
I made this for the first time yesterday for a friend’s birthday, and it was great. Easy, and didn’t dirty very many dishes! I did not modify the recipe, except I used grapeseed oil instead of avocado. The grocery store only had Bob’s Red Mill super fine almond flour–other commenters below seem maybe to have had trouble with this product in the recipe, but it worked great for me. I paired the cake with the suggested vegan strawberry icing. Both were perfect, no issues, and absolutely delicious. Gonna make it again!
Amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, John!
Catherine says
The most delicious GF Vegan cake I’ve tried. We used coconut sugar instead of cane sugar, coconut oil in place of avocado oil and arrowroot in place of corn starch. The coconut sugar made it a rich caramel colour. Deliciously light, slightly crunch sides and perfect flavour. We definitely bake again,
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Catherine! Thanks so much for leaving a review! xo
Karianna says
Hi I’ve made this multiple times both GF and with regular flour and it comes out perfect every time. Huge family and friend favorite. I was wondering if you thought it might work with peaches instead of strawberries? Love this base recipe but trying to switch it up a little for the season. Thanks!
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Karianna! Though we haven’t tested with other fruits, we think peaches sound promising. We’d love to hear if you try it!
Hannah says
Hello! I am planning to make this today and I was curious if anyone has ever made it with the Thrive Superfine Almond flour? It appears to be similar texture to my open nature almond flour (which I am almost out of). I can tell there is texture to it and it does not seem to resemble regular flour. Curious on tips to ensure it does not come out too dense! Thanks!
Hi Hannah, we think that should be fine!
Mindy says
One of the easiest/simplest cake recipes EVER, and the crumb was wonderfully soft and strawberry-like. I made the AP flour version, and “lightened” it up with slight modifications (used only 1/3 cup sugar, and a combo of 1 tbsp oil + 3 tbsp applesauce). Served it as is without any frosting, and it was perfectly sweet and tasty! Thanks so much for yet another great recipe, will be making this again tomorrow as it’s already almost gone! 🍓
We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Mindy! Thank you for your kind words and lovely review! xo
Keith Smith says
Hi
Is it possible to use an all purpose GF flour mix instead of individual ingredients ? Like Cup4cup ?
Thanks.
Keith Smith
Hi Keith, we wouldn’t recommend that. The specific combination of flours used is what gives it a great texture.
Maria says
This recipe came in handy during strawberry season and for my party where I had both vegan and celiac guests. I made this recipe as a sheet cake and I made it with the strawberry vegan frosting. Out of this world delicious! My guests without food allergies and the non-vegans also loved it so much. I sprinkled the frosting with dried unsweetened coconut flakes and hemp seeds for sprinkles.
We’re so glad everyone enjoyed it, Maria! Thank you for sharing! xo
Joe says
Mine turned out delicious but super dry! We follow the instructions to the letter :(
How you ensure is moist? Any homemade juice or something you can add after?
Sorry that happened, Joe! Is it possible it baked too long? That could cause it to dry out. You could serve cake slices with a strawberry compote to add moisture!
Paula Globerman says
I made this today. Very disappointed with the results. It fell apart out of the cake tin-broke into many pieces. It tastes good but a had a pile of broken cake. I managed to put it in some semblance of cake with frosting but there is something missing to hold things together. I have made many vegan ,gluten free cakes -not a winner! Your recipes are usually reliable. Not this one.
We’re so sorry you had a negative experience with this recipe, Paula! Being too crumbly can be caused by it being too dry. Did you make any modifications? How long did it bake?
Bre Murphy says
If you can’t do almond for an allergy, what would you suggest instead?
Hi Bre, If not gluten-free, you can sub 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour total to replace the almond flour, potato starch, and corn starch. For a gluten-free version, almond flour is pretty key for the crumb texture. You could try a blend of coconut and oat flour in place of almond, but we can’t guarantee it will turn out quite the same. Since oat and coconut are more absorbent, you’ll need less of them than almond flour. Hope that helps!
Lesley says
Hi!
Any almond flours I’m finding are fine ground, but almond meal is more coarse like you are recommending for this cake.
Would almond meal work?
Hi Lesley, if it says “finely ground” that should be fine, as long as it’s not the texture of like all purpose flour or chickpea flour. You can reference the second image on this page for texture! Almond meal isn’t ideal because it won’t have the same light texture/flavor.
Alysia says
I’ve made this recipe so many times and I love it. I want to make it for my toddler’s birthday. Do you think it would be as delicious if I swapped in blueberries instead of strawberries? He loves the color blue and wants a blue themed party.
Hi Alysia, we haven’t tried that but we think it could work! Let us know how it goes if you try it!
Karrin says
Can you sub in regular flour and have good results? I don’t need gluten free stuff so curious if that would work out with the baking powder?
Hi Karrin! You can sub 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour total to replace the almond flour, potato starch, and corn starch.
Ronni says
Since I don’t need a gluten free cake, I simply substituted all purpose flour for the potato flour and the result was delicious. Wonderful crumb, yummy flavor.
Woohoo! Thanks so much for the great review and for sharing your modifications, Ronni!
Nikki Antony says
Is there a substitute for potato starch? I can’t find it at any of my local grocers or co-op.
Hi Nikki, it’s possible that an all-purpose gluten-free blend could work in place of the potato starch, or possibly a combination of more corn starch + tapioca starch, but we haven’t tried either!
Brooks A McAdam says
I suggest you get rid of this note:
*If not gluten-free, you can sub 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour in place of the almond flour, potato starch, and corn starch.
It turned out terrible with so much all-purpose flour. I should have just bought and used almond flour.
Hi Brooks, we tested 1 1/2 cups total all-purpose flour in this recipe and it worked well. If you added more than 1 1/2 cups total you might have had different results?
Lydia says
I unfortunately had the same result just now. Also 1 and 1/2 cup all purpose flour. Cake turned out very doughy, unlike the cake you’d normally achieve with the vegan buttermilk batter. :(
Hi Lydia, did you sub 1 1/2 cups only in place of the almond flour or for all three flours (almond flour, potato starch, and cornstarch)?
Lydia says
For some reason my original comment and your reply aren’t showing up at all, so I’m replying here instead: yes, it was 1.5 cups flour total in place of the almond flour, potato starch, and corn starch :(
And you’re using regular all-purpose flour? NOT gluten-free all-purpose flour? Gluten-free won’t work!
Lydia says
Correct. Regular flour. I didn’t want gluten free that’s why I made the swap. I don’t have any gluten free products at home.
Got it! Other things that could cause it to be doughy would be if the batter was overmixed, your baking powder is old/expired, or if your strawberries had a higher moisture content.
Christy says
After reading comments, is using Blue Diamond almond flour that says “Finely sifted” not a good idea? The only other one I have is the Kirkland brand from Costco that others said made it dense.
Hi Christy, we haven’t tried Blue Diamond. We’d suggest looking at the ingredients photo on this page (second image) to see how the texture compares to the brand we use (Wellbee’s). Hope that helps!
GlutenFree&Happy says
Hello,
Are there any substitutes for the nut flours? I have a nut allergy. I have not had success with gf and egg free cakes. Any help is appreciated!
Thanks!
Almond flour is pretty key in this recipe for the crumb texture. For a nut-free version, you could try a blend of coconut and oat flour in place of almond, but we can’t guarantee it will turn out quite the same. Since oat and coconut are more absorbent, you’ll need less of them than almond flour. Hope that helps!
GlutenFree&Happy says
Thank you for replying! I can’t eat coconut or oats. So I think I’ll keep looking. But I appreciate it so much. ☺️
KeRi says
Making this for my 1 year old’s birthday party – found this since we have an egg allergy coming. If I sub all-purpose flour I saw that can take the place of the almond flour/potato starch and corn starch. But what if I sub regular sugar for the cane sugar – will that make any difference? I want these to be light and fluffy and not too dense, but I don’t want to go out and buy new flour or sugar if I don’t have to. Thank you! Excited to try it.
If your not gluten-free, you can definitely sub 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour in place of the almond flour, potato starch, and corn starch. Regular sugar should work well here! Let us know if you try it!
DANA POWELL says
I have made this recipe twice (not as GF) and both times it has turned out great. The strawberry flavor is on point. It is a fairly simple recipe which I liked. The second time I used thawed from frozen berries and it turned out just as good as fresh. I used whole wheat pastry flour following the note on the recipe for the amount to swap. Texture turned out perfectly. The second time I did it as cupcakes and it was ~22 min bake time for me.
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Dana!
Madison says
Hi, I only have super fine Almond flour… wondering what I should do instead? I have Bob’s 1:1, coconut flour, and oat flour. Should I try some kind of Frankenstein combo of all 3?
Hi Madison, we’d suggest using your super fine almond flour and just starting with about 1/2 the amount. Add more as needed and reference the batter texture in the photos and video. Hope this helps!
J says
One of the worst gf cakes I’ve ever made tbh. Very disappointed.
We’re so sorry you didn’t enjoy it! Did you make any modifications? Could you tell us more about what you disliked about it? We’d love to be able to help troubleshoot, if possible!
Carly says
Would Pamela’s gf baking mix work in place for the almond flour, cornstarch, potato starch, & baking soda/powder?
Hi Carly, we’re not familiar with Pamela’s GF baking mix and think using only gluten free flour might make the cake too heavy, but possibly mixing a gluten free flour blend with almond or cashew flour could work here. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try! xo
Neha says
Ok! After reading sooo many mixed comments on this cake yesterday, I finally gave it a test trial. The flavors were definitely hit the note, however the cake was very dense in texture. I’m not sure if it’s the almond flour itself or if I over-mixed the batter. Can you please help…
Hi Neha, so glad you loved the flavor, did you use superfine almond flour?
Neha says
No, I did not use superfine almond flour. However used coconut sugar. And maybe have over-mixed. But not sure if GF flours have an over mixing issue to give out a dense cake. How can I make it better next time, any tips?
Hi Neha, cane sugar does provide a structural element, so we’d guess the coconut sugar made an impact. Over-mixing could also be an issue, but less likely. We’d suggest trying cane sugar and also make sure your baking powder isn’t old/expired. Hope that helps!
Neha says
Yes, reading all the comments I made sure about the almond flour and baking powder, however took a try with coconut sugar and added color for the look. But ya, let me order cane sugar and try again. Thank you soo much for your print replies. Really appreciate it.
Kelli H says
Love! Made this for Britton’s 2nd birthday and it was a tad dry so I took it out the 2nd time for Camryn’s 5th birthday at 23 minutes and it’s perfect! The strawberry frosting is so good too. Everyone loved it. Definitely an easy keeper
Aw, yay! We’re so glad to hear it, Kelli! Thank you for sharing! xo
Deborah says
Can you share what you did different the second time please?
Thank You
Max says
I’ve made this four times now, and it consistently comes out perfect! I made a strawberry glaze for topping the first time, but the cake part is so yummy, that I’ve been just making it muffin-style. In fact, I tested out how perfect this recipes is by swapping out strawberry puree for blueberries (since they’re in season now). It turned out amazingly! Last time, I brought them into to work, and they were all gone before I was able to grab one myself (no one needed gluten free/vegan; which is always a huge compliment). Thanks, Dana & Team, for being awesome (and my go-to for all recipes)!
Thank you so much for your kind words and lovely review, Max! We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe! Love your creative modifications too!
Anna says
I am glad I read the comments and learned to avoid the *superfine* almond flour. As a result, I did my best to buy the one almond flour at my local store that didn’t say superfine. (It was Open Nature, by the way.) As to the cake, the directions stated that the batter would feel like cornbread, which was helpful because the cake texture was more like cornbread than a typical cake. I loved it this way. It made the cake unique. I could see this cake served as a tea cake or coffee cake. Lastly, I loved the fresh strawberries in this. It was delicious. I made 12 cupcakes with the batter and cooked them for 23 minutes.
Woohoo! Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Anna. We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Darcie says
I made this recipe for my Dad’s 70th birthday and it was a bit hit! I used 1 1/2 cups wheat flour in place of the almond flour, potato starch, and corn starch and it worked perfectly. The recipe made 9 cupcakes baked for about 23 minutes. My Dad LOVED them (especially with the icing). Thanks!
YAY! We’re so glad he enjoyed it, Darcie! Thank you for sharing! xo
Sam says
I have attempted this recipe twice with no success. The cake turns out great but I keep getting strawberry soup for icing. Nothing seems to thicken it
Not Corn starch, not more vegan butter and not more icing sugar.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks
Hi Sam, sorry to hear that! What brand of vegan butter are you using? Are you in a hot climate?
Chef Matteo says
Made this cake for our son’s 4th bday party as he loves everything strawberry. Turned out great. Subbed arrowroot for the cornstarch and used coconut sugar (finely ground) instead of can sugar. Still very good. I made a strawberry chia jam for the filling and toped with a strawberry-infused macadamia nit buttercream.
Will make this cake again. Thank you for having well tested recipes available to your followers.
Ooo yum! That sounds delish. Thanks so much for the great review and for sharing your modifications, Matteo!
VICKY says
So disappointed in this one! I made this cake for fathers day, I followed the recipe but the cake turned out pretty hard…This is my second time making it and the same happened to me a while back, but I thought I must have missed something. Now with this second experience I don’t know… if you have any input, much appreciated!
Oh no! We’re so sorry that’s been your experience, Vicky! Is it possible that you’re using superfine almond flour? Or modifying the flours at all?
VICKY says
Omg that could be it! I just checked the bag and it is the kirkland costco almond flour, on the top it says superfine :(
I use this flour for all your recipes that call for almond flour..never had an issue, I guess it is huh? When is it ok or not to use this flour? And what brand do you use? Thank you!
Ugh, sorry about that! It seems like maybe it’s a new product that’s becoming more available lately and we’re not sure why! Most brands of almond flour used to be similar in texture to the brand we use – Wellbee’s. We haven’t experimented much with the superfine version and would recommend avoiding it for now. It’s on our list to experiment with and troubleshoot for readers!
CB says
This link shows the almond flour to be Super Fine as well. I’m inquiring because my cake was also dense and not moist at all. I used Bob Red Mill Almond Flour. It states it’s superfine but, the link you provided to the brand you use states it’s also superfine. Can you clarify?
In our experience, the Bob’s superfine product is more finely ground – almost like all purpose flour in texture. The Wellbee’s is more crumbly and not as fine.
Neha says
Ok! Sorry, but I’m confused. So the Kirkland superfine will not work for this recipe you mean?
We haven’t tried it with the Kirkland superfine almond flour and would recommend avoiding it for now. It’s on our list to experiment with and troubleshoot for readers!
Angelina says
Would this recipe work instead for cupcakes?
Hi Angelina, yes, we think so! We haven’t tried it ourselves but other readers have had success. We think it will make ~12-16 cupcakes, and should bake for 20-25 minutes. Let us know how it goes!
Liz says
What is the difference between the potato starch and corn starch?
Hi Liz, potato starch is key for making gluten-free baked goods light and fluffy. Corn starch is similar, but not quite as light and fluffy and more prone to crumbling. Hope that helps!
Mary Beck says
Hi! I made this cake for a special birthday celebration at work. While it was in the oven, I began scrolling through others’ comments, and I was surprised to see so many people had trouble–actually, those comments made me really nervous, and I was uneasy about how the cake would taste.
I followed the instructions precisely with no ingredient substitutions. It was wonderful! Lovely strawberry flavor and the frosting is deliciously sweet. I decorated the cake with strawberries and flowers as shown, and it was very pretty. Thank you for another wonderful recipe. I will absolutely make this cake many more times!
Yay! We’re so glad it turned out well, Mary! Thank you for sharing your experience! xo
TomFam says
I made a test cake for my daughter’s upcoming birthday. I used everything except sub arrowroot for cornstarch. The cake taste really good. However it came out very dense. I am pretty sure that is my fault. Would you have advice on what to do to make it more fluffy like the pictures? I am hoping the cake for her party turns out a little better.
Hi there, in our experience corn starch is much more light and airy than arrowroot, we’re not positive that this is making the cake more dense, but it could be part of the issue. If you can’t use/find corn starch, we’d suggest using more potato starch instead of arrowroot for the final cake. It could also be good to make sure your baking powder is fresh and not expired. Let us know how it goes!
Alfie Selnick says
Hi, I’m planning on making this for my daughter’s birthday this Saturday (in addition to other desserts but I want to make a 3-layer 9” or 10” round cake…can you give me an idea how many times to make the posted recipe? Also, one of the attendees has a nut allergy so if it needs to be gluten-free, would you recommend a mixture of gluten-free flour, potato & corn starch? Or just gluten-free flour?
Thanks so much!
Hi Alfie, we can’t guarantee it will turn out the same without the almond flour, but we do think a mixture of GF blend, potato starch, and corn starch will yield better results than GF blend on its own. Keep in mind that GF blend will be more absorbent than almond flour, so you won’t need as much of it. You might want to start with a smaller test batch to be on the safe side. For a 3 layer 9-10″ cake, we’d say a triple batch would be about right. Hope that helps!
Alysia says
I loved this recipe, I used it to make my mom a birthday cake. I want to use it for my baby’s birthday, how many cupcakes would this make?
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Alysia! We’d estimate about 16 cupcakes. Hope that helps!
Lisa says
Made this cake for my partner’s birthday and everybody loved it!!! I was scared the sugar would overpower the taste of the strawberries, but not at all. I could very well taste the fresh strawberries in it and I loved how moist it was. It was so good that I made another batch to finish the frosting. :)
Yay! Thanks for the lovely review, Lisa, so glad you enjoyed!
Michelle says
Hi! I followed this recipe as written, except I doubled it to make a double layer 9″ cake. I have made MANY recipes from this blog and it’s usually my go- to, so I didn’t feel like I needed to test this recipe before making it for my daughter’s birthday. Oops. I don’t know what happened, but this turned out crumbly and the taste was disgusting. The avocado oil was overpowering, it’s all I could taste. I don’t often use avocado oil for baking, so I’m not sure if it always tastes that bad or what. I also measured my strawberries with a scale and used a little over 400g, but the strawberry did not come through at all in the cake. I also made the strawberry frosting recipe from this blog, and that was actually delicious. But when even your kids don’t eat your cake, you know something went terribly terribly wrong.
Hi Michelle, we’re so sorry that was your experience! What brand of avocado oil did you use? Is it possible it was old/rancid? Avocado oil should be very neutral in flavor.
Michelle says
I used Primal kitchen extra virgin avocado oil. Like I said, I never use avocado oil- and I actually purchased it just to make this cake. The date says 2023 but I guess maybe it spoiled in transit? No idea. I may have to give this recipe another try with a different type of oil and see if it yields a different result.
Other options would be sunflower or safflower oil. As for the strawberry taste not coming through, we’d suggest using as fresh and flavorful of strawberries as possible. Keep us posted if you give it another try!
Jade says
Avocado oil in Australia is often cold pressed and a very strong flavour and is a greenish colour. This could be what happened here, I have found a brand of processed avocado oil that is low flavour to use for baking
Thank you for sharing, Jade!
Suzanne says
I doubled this recipe and made it with peaches instead of strawberries. It was delicious! Very moist & flavorful. All who ate it felt it was their favorite gluten-free, vegan cake ever. The only other change I made was to substitute olive oil for avocado oil since I am allergic to that. Oh, and I ran out of corn starch so I finished off that ingredient’s measurement with extra potato starch.
Yum – peaches sound so lovely! Thank you for sharing, Suzanne! xo
Kelsey says
Would Strawberry jelly work in place of strawberry puree?
Hi Kelsey! We haven’t tried that so we aren’t sure if it would work. We suspect it might add too much sweetness and not enough liquid. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Maxine says
In the notes it says *If not gluten-free, you can sub 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour in place of the almond flour, potato starch, and corn starch.
Q1. Is that supposed to be 3.5 cups flour, not 1.5 cups?
Q2. Can I just replace the almond flour, potato starch, and corn starch with 3.5 cups gluten-free flour mix? Nut allergy
Thanks
Hi Maxine, 1 1/2 cups is correct. All purpose flour is much more absorbent than almond flour, which is why the amount is so much less. The texture won’t have the same crumb without the almond flour, but it might be worth a try if nut-free is needed. It may be helpful to scan the comments for other nut-free ideas! Hope that helps!
Ashley says
Can this cake be made with another GF flour instead almond to make it nut free? We usually use Bob’s Redmill GF 1 to 1 Baking Flour.
Hi Ashley, almond flour is pretty key in this recipe for the crumb texture. For a nut-free version, you could try a blend of coconut flour and oat flour in place of almond, but we can’t guarantee it will turn out quite the same. Since oat and coconut are more absorbent, you’ll need less of them than almond flour. Hope that helps!
Lisa Chambers says
The flavor and texture of this cake is wonderful! We used the regular flour as my daughter is vegan but not gluten free. She missed the texture of real (pre-vegan) cake and this comes out like what she remembers. Intense strawberry flavor, sweet enough to eat without the frosting.
Aw, yay! We’re so glad you and your daughter enjoy it! Thank you for sharing, Lisa! xo
Tammy Adams says
Hello,
can I use vegetable oil for this recipe? I am allergic to avocados and that includes avocado oil. Let me know.
Thanks,
Tammy
That should work!
Heather Laughlin says
Hello. I made this once before, using all of the required ingredients. All store bought flours/starches. I also used the suggested cake pan sizes. It turned out rather dry and dense. Should I adjust the flour amounts?
Also, I am planning to make this mix again today but in 24 mini cupcakes.. should the bake temp and time be adjusted for the smaller sizes? As well as the flour amounts?
I appreciate your help!
Hi Heather, sorry to hear it didn’t turn out right! Is it possible you were using potato flour instead of potato starch? Or that the baking powder was expired or old? For mini cupcakes, we’d suggest checking on them at 20-25 minutes with a toothpick. Hope that helps!
Heather Laughlin says
Hey, it was definitely potato starch and the baking powder is within date. I have also tried baking the Vegan GF Cornbread as well as the Best GF Bread recipes a few times each and they have all three turned out dry, dense and too crumbly. I’m not sure why? Since I usually use all store bought flours and starches, should I be regularly parring down the flour amounts?? Also, when mixing am I good to add more water as needed? Even if it ends up being somewhere around 1/4-1/2 cup more water? I’m trying! I really want to get baking down and I like y’all’s recipes! Thanks for your help!
Hi Heather, a couple other ideas – are you at elevation? Or in a humid climate where your baking powder could go bad before the expiration date? Or are you using the metric measurements instead of US customary? You could try using less flour to see if that helps. We wouldn’t recommend adding more water as it could actually make it more dense.
Jessica says
Hi Heather!
Are you spooning and leveling the flour into your measuring cups? It’s been a huge game changer for my muffins and cakes. Google if you’re not familiar!
Deanna says
I made this recipe for my daughters birthday and it was a huge hit.
I’m making a treat for my friends blessing way(in place of a baby shower) she’s craving these dragon fruit donuts I can’t get. I thought maybe making dragonfruit purée instead of strawberry, this cake recipe might work? Do you have thoughts?
Hi Deanna! We haven’t tried this with any other fruit purees, but we think it could be worth a try! Let us know how it goes!
Emily says
Very yummy and light flavor. I made it last summer as written (with the AP flour instead of GF flours) and into cupcakes. I just made it again but with dark cherries (from frozen) and it is delicious and a beautiful color! My son has requested/suggested we try blueberries next :)
Ooo YUM! Love your creativity, Emily! Thank you for sharing! xo
Zilan says
I made the cake as a birthday cake with cream cheese frosting in the middle and covered with chocolate ganache.
IT
WAS
DELICIOUS!!!
However the cakes didn’t rise as much as I was expecting :(
I couldn’t taste the strawberries, probably because the chocolate sauce sad outweighing from the taste perspective (next time I would do the sauce with less chocolate). The only subs were that I used canola oil instead of avocado and all purpose flour instead of the gf version products :)
Thanks so much for the great review and for sharing your modifications, Zilan!
Juliet says
In the notes are you saying for the almond flour, corn starch, and potatoes starch to sub 1 1/2 cup regular flour for each of them? thanks!
Hi Juliet, use 1 1/2 cups in place of all three flours combined. That’s because all purpose flour is much more absorbent. Hope that helps!
Martina says
Should I use fan or static oven? Thanks
Hi Martina! To our knowledge, a fan oven is what we might call convection, and static is most conventional. We developed this recipe using a regular oven, with no fan on! Hope this helps!
Belinda Tan says
How long should I bake the cake for if I use 2 6 in round cake tins?
Hi Belinda, you can make it as written if using two 6-inch pans!
Jules says
I made cupcakes and they turned out great! The recipe made 12 cupcakes and they baked for 25-30 minutes. Delicious and easy! 🍓
Yay! Thank you for sharing, Jules! xo
Jessica says
So disappointed with this cake. It came out like a brick. It was so hard we struggled to cut it with a knife as I made this for my sisters birthday. It was dry but so incredibly dense it was inedible.
The strawberry frosting is absolutely delicious but the cake was sadly a waste of time :(
Hi Jessica, we’re so sorry to hear that was your experience! Did you make any modifications? Especially to the flours? Or is it possible your baking powder was expired?
Sophie Fleming says
Can you use frozen strawberries? If so should they be defrosted first?
Hi Sophie, You can use frozen strawberries, but we would suggest thawing them fully and draining off any excess liquid before puréeing them. Let us know what you think if you give it a try! xo
Sophie Fleming says
Thank you so much for the quick response! I’ll let you know how it turns out 🍓
Chelsea Kissiah says
Could I use coconut sugar instead of cane?
Also, butter instead of avocado oil?
Hi Chelsea! We haven’t tried this with coconut sugar, it should work but it might affect the color and flavor slightly! We would suggest another oil, like olive oil, as we think that butter might affect the final texture. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Patty says
Absolutely fantastic! Made it for a birthday and it was gorgeous and delicious. Super easy and not at all heavy. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks!
Aw, yay! That’s so great to hear, Patty! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Alison says
I replaced half the almond flour with ground hazelnuts and the flavour was incredible!
Ooo sounds amazing! Thanks so much for the review and for sharing that modifications, Alison!
Jen says
Such a good strawberry flavor (esp with the strawberry frosting). Fresh flavorings make all the difference! I made cupcakes instead. And just because of what I had on hand: I subbed coconut oil, used 1 cup wholewheat bread flour + 1/2 cup almond flour. The texture with my subs was more like a banana bread, which I love, so no complaints here :)
Wonderful! We’re so glad they turned out well. Thank you for sharing, Jen! xo
Lori says
What if I can’t find potato starch
Hi Lori, the potato starch is important for making this cake light and fluffy. We’d suggest ordering it online, if possible. Otherwise, you could try corn starch, but just know it won’t be quite the same. Hope that helps!
Rachel Lincoln says
I made the strawberry and we loved it! My husband wanted to try peach so I substituted peach purée for the strawberry and used all purpose flour, and my family went crazy over it. I used the strawberry buttercream frosting recipe and substituted the peach there as well and added a little cinnamon. My family didn’t even look up wile they were eating. Love this recipe!
Peach?! Woah – that sounds incredible! We’re so glad everyone enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing, Rachel! xo
Makayla Carlson says
Hi there! I was wondering if by chance this would translate well into cupcakes?
Yes! We’d suggest starting the bake time at 20 minutes so the cupcakes don’t get overbaked. Let us know how it goes!
Sara says
Im planning on making this cake for my birthday to share with a bunch of non vegans. I’m not GF but also not opposed to baking GF. Do you think it’s fluffier to make it the way the recipe is written or to sub all the GF starches with AP flour??
Thanks in advance!
Hi Sara! If you’re not GF we’d suggest doing the AP flour method, the cake will be a bit more tender and fluffy this way! We hope everyone enjoys!
Kwiyoung Baumgarten says
Turned out beautiful with a lovely strawberry flavor. Couple of things weren’t quite right. The texture was a bit crumbly like a cookie and seemed dry. Not fluffy like a moist cake. The frosting was too soft to hold its shape even after refrigerating it so it sort of oozed on the cake like a stiff sugar frosting on cinnamon rolls. What can I do to fix?
Hi Kwiyoung! This cake texture is a bit different than a typical cake, but if it was crumbling too much perhaps next time you can add a tablespoon or two of non-dairy milk to see if that helps it stay more moist while baking. For the frosting, you need to add 2 1/2- 4 cups of powdered sugar (other readers have had success using corn starch instead to balance the sweetness), you should keep adding until it is somewhat stiff, this should help it hold up at room temperature. Hope this helps!
Clarke says
Made this one last night, only swap was the strawberry puree & used Oat milk instead. Decided to make a strawberry rhubarb compote so adding the strawberry puree would be too much.
The flavor was amazing but not as fluffy as the picture eitherway it was a delicious “flatish” cake, lol
Hi Clarke, thank you for sharing! It’s possible the rhubarb was more dense/sticky, causing it to not be as fluffy. Or another idea would be if your baking powder is expired?
Sam says
beautiful color and subtle taste, but very strange texture. I subbed out the GF flour for 1.5 cups of all purpose flour per the suggested modification. For whatever reason my cake came out SUPER dense, wet and chewy. I’m going to scrap it and try over
Oh no! So sorry this happened to you, Sam. You used regular all-purpose, not gluten free all purpose, correct? Could your baking powder be expired? That is one possibility for why it didn’t work out… we also wonder if you swapped in the all-purpose for ALL of the gluten free flours? If you kept any starches in there it might make it denser. We’re here to troubleshoot further if you tell us more about your experience! We hope it works out well on the second round!
Alysia says
Hi, can you clarify. I would only need 1.5 C of all-purpose flour instead of 2 ½ cups almond flour, 3/4 cup potato starch, AND
1/3 cup cornstarch? It just seems like so much less. Thanks!
Hi Alysia, that’s correct! It does seem like such a small amount but we tested it and it worked beautifully. Another reader mentioned using 2 cups all purpose with success, so it seems to be pretty flexible. Let us know if you give it a try!
Hel says
This was a quick recipe to whip up! The flavor is delicate, it isn’t an in-your-face strawberry flavor but it is still nice. The color is lovely. I made these into cupcakes and adjusted my baking time to 20 minutes. This recipe made 12 regular-sized cupcakes.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Hel. Thank you for sharing!
Katja Gorter says
Hiii!
Could I do maple syrup instead of cane sugar? How much would you estimate for this recipe?
(and also; could I use the same batter then for muffin tins instead)
Hi Katja, we wouldn’t recommend replacing the cane sugar with a liquid sweetener because it will impact the balance of wet to dry ingredients, which will change the texture. If you’re wanting it to be refined sugar-free, the next best option would be coconut sugar. It should work great in muffin tins though! We’d suggest baking ~20-25 minutes. Hope that helps!
Katja says
Thank you so much, that’s very helpful!