 Are you ready for the cake to end all cakes? Because it’s about to happen with this one! Plus, for everyone that is asking for GF recipes… here you go! A super light Almond Cake with Strawberries on top!
Typically I leave the GF baking to Heather who is also happens to be one of my favorite humans on this planet and my go-to for all things allergy free but it’s Mother’s day this weekend and I thought I’d roll out something special in honor of my mama. Mama Dalkin!! Love her! Today I’m celebrating her because she deserves it! Not only is she an incredible mom, but she puts up with my 2903482394 phone calls a day just to say hi, she’s always is there when I need a shoulder to cry on, is hands down my best friend and the one I can always count on for everything. So naturally I’m saying thank you for everything with food – it’s how I best express my love. We’re diving head first into an Almond Cake with sugar drenched strawberries on top! Pure brilliance if you ask me.
Be warned… make sure you have at least six people over to share it with, otherwise I can’t be blamed for consuming the entire thing by oneself (not that I speak from experience or anything like that!).
Gluten-Free Almond Cake with Strawberries
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 1/2 cup almond flour
- 4 eggs separated
- 1 lemon zested
- 1/4 teaspoon orange blossom water optional
- 1/2 cup white sugar divided
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
For the Topping
- 16 ounces fresh strawberries sliced
- 1/3 cup white sugar
For the whipped cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-inch spring-form pan, with non-stick baking spray and set aside. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Spread almond flour on to parchment lined baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet into the oven and toast for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until toasted and fragrant. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, beat together egg yolks, lemon zest, orange blossom water and 1/4 cup sugar until smooth.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the almond flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to egg yolk mixture and beat until smooth. This mixture will be very thick once incorporated.
- In a large stand mixer, beat egg whites on medium high speed until they start to increase in size. Once egg whites start to get fluffy, add a pinch of salt. Slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of white sugar to the egg whites and continue to beat until soft peaks form.
- Fold egg whites into the almond mixture 1/2 cup at a time. The batter will start to lighten as you add more egg whites and eventually become light and airy. Transfer batter to the prepared spring-form pan and place into the oven to bake for 30 – 35 minutes until the top is golden brown.
- While the cake is baking, mix together the sliced strawberries and 1/3 cup of white sugar. Let the strawberries marinate for 30-45 minutes until a strawberry syrup has formed.
- Make the whipped cream. Using an electric mixer or whisk, beat heavy cream and powdered sugar until medium-stiff peaks form. Cover and chill.
- Remove the spring-form pan from the oven and let cool before removing the cake from the pan. Transfer the cake to a serving dish. Once cooled top the almond cake with the entire strawberry mixture letting the strawberry syrup run down the sides of the cake. Sprinkle the slivered almonds on top and serve immediately.
BEAUTIFUL Gaby!!
Where can I get orange blossom water?
amazon!!!
This looks absolutely delicious!
Pretty cake!
this is beautiful, i am bookmarking it for my gluten free man!
Looks delicious. Thank you.
OMG this is my kinda cake!! And how perfect do those strawberries look!?!
this is GORGEOUS!!
I have some almond flour to use up!! Thanks!
Whoa!! My kind of simple, seasonal dessert. Gorgeous, Gaby!
Beautiful cake! And it looks so “simple”. Can’t wait to give it a try.
Oh yum,strawberries and almond cake… I have or used to have a recipe for a chocolate cake using ground hazelnuts instead of flour, just hinting at a new area of research here…
What a gorgeous cake, Gaby!! Love the strawberries!
I love that it’s berry week! What a stunning cake – pinned!
Such a beautiful cake, Gaby! I absolutely love this!!!
You had me at almond! I’ve never used almond flour, but this has inspired me to give it a try.
I am gf for health reasons so this is a welcome recipe! Always looking for good and yummy desserts!
Love strawberries on almost anything!! Can’t wait to try this!
This looks absolutely delicious. I made the cake. Do you think I should store it overnight in the fridge or on the counter (room temperature)? I will decorate with strawberries tomorrow, before serving. Thank you!
Hi Lana! You can wrap it up in plastic wrap before serving to keep it as fresh as possible! Fridge or counter works too!
Thank you, Gaby! We loved the cake. Absolutely delicious.
This is gorgeous! And the recipe looks great too.
My family would go crazy for this cake!
How many does this serve?
8-10!
Hi Gaby,
What an awesome recipe. Cant wait to try. I am just curious – You haven’t used butter or oil?
Megha
I just came across this recipe and it looked easy and fun! While preparing it the I noticed the dry ingredients mixed only with the yolks was too doughy! Looked more like a cookie batter… I added 2 table spoons of yugort and one extra egg (the eggs I was using were really small) I also added rum. It came out really good and moist! I’d tried it again with either just 4 eggs and 2 table spoon of yogurt or 5 eggs. Delish !
Can you make an egg free version of this? Can I sub flax?
I’m unsure – I haven’t tested it that way so I can’t say with any certainty!
I will be trying this recipe today! I was wondering about toasting the almond flour. Is it essential to baking this cake and does it affect the overall taste?
Thank you for all your amazing recipes
you can skip toasting if you want!!
I don’t think so. I’ve made it both ways and now I just make it with non-toasted almond flour.
I was tasked with making a healthy dessert for a dinner party, two words that don’t typically go together! When I first heard dessert – my mind went to the triple layer pumpkin cake, then I heard healthy and did an about face to this cake instead. I opted out of the blossom water, and used less sugar for both the cake and the topping, and because it was the size I had, I used a larger 10″ springform pan. Cara cara oranges are in season, so I substituted the orange zest for the lemon. It was a larger, thinner cake that baked for 20 minutes rather than 30. My fruit topping was the segmented cara caras combined with blackberries. It was sensational and loved -and appreciated -by all for a dessert everyone could feel good about. Toasting the almond flour was an interesting start and added a notable and wonderful toasty almond flavor to the cake. The dough is surprisingly tough when it is time to add the egg whites. I found the first few incorporations of the beaten egg whites are a challenge, so I used a big whisk to break up the mass and work in the whites. Soon after you are able to fold them in with a lighter hand than in the beginning. This will be my go-to dessert – I can see it adapting well to most every seasonal fruit beyond strawberries: peaches, blueberries, rhubarb…
Gaby, this cake is fabulous!!! I doubled the recipe and used a 9″ spring form pan and baked it for the same amount of time, it was perfect. I used 3 drops of wild orange essential oil in place of the blossom water. Also, I used parchment paper and butter instead of cooking spray. We used it for a birthday cake and didn’t put any fruit on it and it was delicious, but for Easter, we’re having whipped cream and fruit! Thanks so much!
Gaby,
Do I really have to use a springform pan? I’ve avoided buying one until now.
If I greased a bundt pan really well do you think it would work?
Thanks!
you can use a bundt pan!!! but I love my spring form
Maybe I should invest… I’ve never been able to do a real cheesecake, either.
looks perfect for Mothers Day!
GAHHH!! It’s just gorgeous! I bet I would eat the whole thing!
IT LOOKS DELICIOUS
what am I missing ? I do not see the ingredients for the vanilla whip,
Thanks
good call!! just fixed it
Almond. Gluten Free. Strawberries. Yes please!
This looks stunning, perfect for spring, will definitely try it!
I made this delicious cake for a spring brunch. It was a huge hit!
How would this cake be with halved prune plums placed on top (8-10 halves) before baking? And can vanilla and (a little) almond extract sub for the orange blossom water?
yes to vanilla and almond extract! no problem. And I bet it would be great with plums!
Beautiful looking cake but instructions don’t say what to do with the prepared whipped topping. Photos show whipped topping on top of cake UNDER the strawberries… is that what was intended? If so, the strawberry syrup won’t run down the sides if the cake. Please clarify. Thanks.
it’s intended to be served the way it was photographed. The strawberry syrup does run down the sides a bit, but it’s soaked up into the cake!