Everyone knows that I love to bake for my friends and family, you can not pop round to my house for a coffee without being offered cake, it is just against the rules ! Sometimes this does set me a few challenges, friends on diets, friends with nut allergies and my lovely friend of 27 years Lynette is a coeliac, now back in the day I had never heard of this, gluten free products were unheard of and trying to bake something nice for her was impossible, but now all that has changed and I seem to be putting together a rather nice collection of gluten free recipes.
There is now such a vast array of gluten free products available, one of which is a really good flour from Dove Farm, it is lighter, the cake is a little crumblier but really, you just do not notice the difference, my brood finished off this cake and never noticed. Lynette’s favourite cake that I make for her is this gorgeous light as a feather lemon cake it is fabulous, completely gluten free but a sod to make, sometimes you just want something quick, easy, but still a bit of a show stopper and this is where this gluten free strawberry cake comes into its own.
All I have done is taken a very simple Victoria sponge recipe and used gluten free self-raising flour instead of the normal flour! See, so simple and it works 😉
As it was such a glorious summers day and we planned to enjoy our cake in the garden with copious amounts of tea and as Lynette and I are both trying to watch our weight, I gave this cake a very light summer feel just by topping it with a fat free coconut Greek yoghurt and fresh strawberries, if you can afford a few extra calories why not add a drizzle of wildflower honey, just to finish the cake off nicely.
I know I say this time and time again, this cake isn’t 100% virtuous, but again with a few carefully chosen ingredients you can make very simple, but still fabulous looking and very tasty healthy treats, that are not filled with chemicals, colours, or E numbers, that are lower in fat, and in this case has one of your five a day on and anything gluten free will always digest better in your stomach, helping to avoid that bloated feeling you sometimes get after eating bread and other gluten filled products.
So buon appetito, you really can have you cake and eat it 😉
175g English butter (unsalted)
175g caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
175g gluten free self-raising flour
400g fresh strawberries (or fresh fruit of your choice)
200/250g fat free coconut Greek yoghurt (2 small pots// or fat free yoghurt of your choice)
Grease and line an 8 to 9 inch loose based baking tin, I like to make the circle larger than the bottom of the tin and push it into the bottom of the tin, creasing the paper to fit, the reason for this is that I fell in love with how rustic and gorgeous it makes the cakes look when I saw it in a tea shop in Tunbridge Wells !!!
Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Fold in half the flour, using a metal spoon, then fold in the rest.
I always sieve the flour and I must admit that I don’t fold the flour in two parts, just all in one go.
Place the mixture into the tin and level gently with a spatula or knife.
Bake in a preheated oven at 190c, 375f, gas 5 for about 20 minutes, until the cake is well risen, lightly golden and coming away from the sides. This will depend obviously on what size tin you are using, just keep an eye on it and remember, don’t open the oven door until near the end of the cooking time.
A good test is, if you touch the sponge gently it should bounce bake.
I always leave my cakes in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.
Once cool, place the sponge onto your chosen stand or plate, slather with your chosen yogurt and top with your prepared fruit, drizzle with honey if you wish and decorate with edible flowers for that WOW affect.
Note : Dove Farm gluten free flour can be found in my shop under ‘Ingredients I Love’.
Comments (0)