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Home » Cakes

Easy Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake Recipe

May 8, 2019 · 37 Comments

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This one-bowl gluten-free strawberry cake is so easy to make! Its moist and tender crumb makes it a favorite for birthday parties and other celebrations. Frost with cream cheese frosting or vanilla buttercream. 

Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake on a white platter. Frosted with cream cheese frosting and decorated with pink and green mini-marshmallows.

How to Make Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake

  1. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Don’t rush this step. You want the baking powder evenly mixed throughout the batter. (If you’re using a stand mixer, fit it with the paddle attachment. It works well to combine the ingredients.) 
  2. Add very soft butter and a little oil. Most of the time, you don’t want to bake with butter that’s too soft. Not this time. Use butter that’s squishable-y soft but not melted. 
  3. Add milk, eggs, and strawberry gelatin. This is a retro-style strawberry cake. The flavor comes from strawberry gelatin. Be sure to use regular strawberry gelatin, not sugar-free.  
  4. Mix the batter until thick and fluffy. This takes about two minutes. And you don’t want to rush! At first, the batter will seem thin. After a minute of mixing, it thickens and gets fluffy. 
  5. Divide between two greased pans. I prefer 8-inch cake pans because they make a high cake. But if you only have 9-inch cakes on hand, use them. 
  6. Bake until set. This cake takes about 30 minutes to bake. It’s done when a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  
  7. Cool the cake completely. The cakes are very delicate when they first come out of the oven. Allow them to cool in the pan for five minutes and then invert them onto a wire rack to cool completely. 
  8. Frost when cool. To avoid a “baking fail”, wait until the cakes are completely cool to the touch before frosting.
Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake Slice on Plate. Frosted with cream cheese frosting and decorated with pink and green marshmallows.

FAQs: Easy Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake

Do I have to use strawberry gelatin?

Yes. If you want this recipe to make a strawberry cake, you’ll need to use a packet of strawberry gelatin.

Can I add strawberries to the batter?

Maybe. I haven’t tested the recipe with added strawberries. If you decided to try it, I would not add more than ½ cup of mashed strawberries. More than that might overwhelm the batter and cause the cake to sink.

What’s the best frosting for strawberry cake?

I like cream cheese frosting and included my favorite recipe below. Fluffy vanilla buttercream also works really well. And, if you like chocolate-dipped strawberries, frost the cake with chocolate icing. Yum!

 

Strawberry cake with white frosting and pink and green marshmallows sits on a cake stand.

Other Gluten-Free Cake Recipes You’ll Love

  • Gluten-Free White Cake
  • Gluten-Free Yellow Cake
  • Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
  • Gluten-Free Confetti Cake
Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake Slice on Plate. Frosted with cream cheese frosting and decorated with pink and green marshmallows.
4.58 from 7 votes
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Easy Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake

One Bowl Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake Recipe. Easy to make. Perfect for Birthdays! 

Servings 12

Ingredients

  • nonstick cooking spray
  • 2 ½ cups Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour
  • 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, very soft
  • 1/8 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 ¼ cup milk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 (3-ounce ) package strawberry gelatin
  • Cream cheese frosting or vanilla buttercream

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese room temperature
  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • 3 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake

  1. Preheat the oven and prepare the pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray.

  2. Make the Batter. Mix together gluten-free baking flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl. Run the mixer for 30 seconds to combine the ingredients. 

  3. Stop the mixer. Add softened butter and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until combined. The mixture will look crumbly, about 30 seconds.  Stop mixer. Add milk, eggs, and strawberry gelatin. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase mixer to medium-high and mix for two minutes.

  4. Bake the Cake. Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Spread batter evenly into pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

  5. Cool and Frost. Remove pans from oven and place on a wire rack. Allow cakes to cool in the pan for five minutes. Invert cakes onto the wire rack to cool completely.

  6. Prepare the frosting. Frost cooled cake. Store cake, covered, on the counter for up to three days.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

  1. Combine cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl. Beat on medium low speed until smooth. Stop mixer. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed until smooth.

Recipe Notes

The Flour

For this recipe, I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour. I have not tested this recipe with another flour blend. Using a different blend will affect the final cake.

The Butter

For the cake, be sure the butter is very soft. It should blend easily into the flour mixture. 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Valerie says

    June 23, 2019 at 4:31 pm

    I am so glad I came across your website! My daughter and I love strawberry cake so much but the pain that follows with eating gluten is not really worth the indulgence.

    My question is: can this be portioned out into cupcakes?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      June 29, 2019 at 8:32 am

      Yes! This recipe can be made into cupcakes!

      Reply
    • Julie Lewis says

      April 01, 2023 at 3:23 pm

      5 stars
      I made birthday cupcakes with your recipe o or son’s 2nd birthday. I switched the strawberry gelatin for berry blue. We got green cupcakes instead of blue or pink, and the taste was amazing! Didn’t know if anyone else had thought about other flavors of gelatin and wanted to tell y’all my experience.

      Thank you again for the recipe!

      Reply
  2. Retha says

    June 28, 2019 at 9:36 pm

    Can this be baked in 9×13 pan?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      June 29, 2019 at 8:31 am

      Yes! This recipe works in a 9×13 inch pan.

      Reply
  3. Bridget says

    July 19, 2019 at 6:08 pm

    Just put them in the oven as according to directions. Added 1/2 cup of dressy Strawberries. Only thing is the cakes have been in nine minutes they don’t look so high. It mixes just like you sId it would.

    Reply
  4. Sophie says

    August 11, 2019 at 9:02 pm

    Are you supposed to make the jello before mixing it in or just putting the powder packet straight into the batter?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      August 12, 2019 at 8:42 am

      The powder goes right into the batter.

      Reply
  5. Bonnie Johnson says

    August 26, 2019 at 11:44 am

    My daughter has other allergies .can we use coconut milk in place of the milk .

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      November 04, 2019 at 4:08 pm

      You should be able to use coconut milk. However, I wouldn’t use full-fat. I think that would be too rich.

      Reply
  6. court says

    August 27, 2019 at 7:18 pm

    Do you know how many cupcakes this recipe would make? do you think it would be the original 24 cupcakes? Im making a small smash cake for my son with this as well as cupcakes for about 40. I’m just trying to get an estimate of how many times i need to double the recipe.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      August 27, 2019 at 7:55 pm

      I believe this would make between 20 to 24 cupcakes, depending on how much you fill each pan.

      You’re making a smash cake? I believe that means someone is turning one! Happy Birthday to your son. (And happy day to you!)

      Reply
  7. Mari says

    September 04, 2019 at 3:13 am

    5 stars
    Can it be stored covered with the cream cheese frosting recipe used at the bottom?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      September 05, 2019 at 4:09 pm

      Yes!

      Reply
  8. glenda turlington says

    September 05, 2019 at 1:17 pm

    Can I use Almond Milk in lieu of regular milk?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      September 05, 2019 at 4:09 pm

      I’m not 100% sure,as I haven’t tested it, but I believe that would work.

      Reply
  9. Faith says

    November 16, 2019 at 11:21 am

    I can’t wait to try this for my daughter as her best friend is Gluten free. If one used cherry jello would that change it to a cherry cake? Or just make everything awful?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      November 16, 2019 at 11:42 am

      That’ll work just fine! It will taste like cherry and not strawberry but if that’s okay with you, then you’re good to go. ?

      Reply
  10. Melinda says

    May 22, 2020 at 7:57 pm

    Help!!! I made this strawberry cake for my husband ‘s Birthday. It didnt turn out good. It was hard . I follower the direction. I’ve read some comments on cooking gluten free and they said you have to let the cake sit 20 or 30 minutes before baking . I didn’t let it sit . Please any advice would be appreciated.

    Thank you.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      May 22, 2020 at 8:16 pm

      I’m not sure what you mean by “hard.” There’s no need to let this batter rest before baking. So no worries about that.

      What type of flour did you use?

      It might just be a little firmer than you’re used to with a wheat-based cake. Buttercream frosting softens cake. Perhaps that will help?

      I’m sure we can get to the bottom of this!

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        July 27, 2020 at 9:07 pm

        The same thing happened to my cake and it was tasty and amazing. The cake itself was amazing. The frosting was amazing. As days went on it went dry , drier in the inside. Like rock hard.

        Reply
        • Elizabeth says

          August 10, 2020 at 11:05 am

          Hmmm….it sounds like it’s getting stale. How were you storing it?

          Reply
      • Cassie says

        September 29, 2023 at 2:20 pm

        5 stars
        Always the family favorite. The kids ask for this one all the time!
        Thank you!!!

        Reply
  11. Judy says

    June 20, 2020 at 3:06 pm

    I have trouble using vegetable oil. Can I use olive oil?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      June 22, 2020 at 9:57 am

      As long as you’re okay with the flavor olive oil brings to a cake, it should work!

      Reply
  12. Dawn says

    August 24, 2020 at 10:06 am

    What are the little marshmallows you used for decorating and where is the recipe?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      August 24, 2020 at 4:05 pm

      Those are Kraft’s mini fruit marshmallows. I snipped them in half and only used the pink and a few green. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  13. Sally says

    October 07, 2020 at 10:29 am

    Can I make this sugar free? I’d like to substitute swerve for the sugar, has anyone tried this?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      October 07, 2020 at 11:22 am

      Hi Sally,
      I haven’t tested the recipe with swerve. If you do, let us know how it goes!

      Reply
  14. Arielle Arizpe says

    August 12, 2021 at 9:08 am

    5 stars
    I made this cake for my niece’s 7th birthday yesterday and it was absolutely perfect! I made the recipe exactly as written and it turned out exactly as I’d hoped. Thank you for sharing this! I’ll make it again and again!

    Reply
  15. Kathy Broughton says

    March 23, 2022 at 7:27 pm

    I used your gluten free strawberry cake recipe for a cake that called for a strawberry cake mix. Delicious!! Thank you!!

    Reply
  16. Kate says

    May 23, 2022 at 10:13 pm

    Cake baked beautiful but when took out of oven and as it cooled it fell. Cake become very dense…and overnight become dry and gummy. I baked until toothpick came out clean. Will not try again…super disappointed.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      May 27, 2022 at 2:55 pm

      That’s so disappointing! What brand of gluten-free flour did you use? Some folks have this issue and I’m trying to solve it.

      Reply
  17. Kim says

    June 20, 2023 at 1:54 pm

    5 stars
    I was skeptical of the mixing method, but this cake turned out perfect! Will use again!

    Reply
  18. Elizabeth says

    March 02, 2024 at 8:21 pm

    4 stars
    The center of the cake didn’t completely bake after 30 minutes even though the cake tester came out clean. I used King Arthur Measure for Measure, but I’m not sure if that is the problem. I used an 8″ round pan, but I think I will try my 9″ round pan the next time.

    Reply
  19. Lisa S says

    May 04, 2024 at 6:38 pm

    3 stars
    Comments from family: gluten free daughter said it was rubbery, husband said it was dense, I thought it was chemical taste (probably because of jello and being off sugar and grain for over a year). It made a nice 3 tiered 6″ cake. My daughter isn’t a fan of Bob’s Redmill gluten free 1 for 1 flour. So maybe a different flour might work better for our family.

    Reply
  20. Crystal says

    May 18, 2024 at 4:19 pm

    Made this in heart shaped pans to make a strawberry shaped cake. I thought my pans were the equivalent of 9inch rounds, but it think they may have been bigger. The 30 minute bake time was too long for my pans so they were over baked (my mistake). The flavor was great and I will make again but check it after maybe 25 minutes next time. Filled with strawberry lemon curd, and frosted with strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream.

    Reply

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Elizabeth Barbone

I'm Elizabeth. Welcome to GlutenFreeBaking.com --- a judgment-free baking space. Here you'll find easy recipes, product reviews, and other good stuff that makes gluten-free living easy and a lot more fun!

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