Egg Free, Dairy Free Summer Strawberry Cake

*This post was sponsored by Hockley Valley Spelt Flour, available at Loblaws, Fortino’s, Zehrs, and Real Canadian Superstore, and more (visit their website to see a list of grocers).

Welcome to this light, fluffy, and FLAVORFUL cake recipe! I love a cake that is intensely flavorful, and not just super sweet. When I was devising this cake recipe I knew that I wanted it to look and smell and taste like a basket of strawberries from the farmer’s market. That’s why there is strawberry in every layer of this recipe - the cake, the filling, and the frosting.

If you are looking for recipes with spelt flour, an ancient grain form of wheat flour, then be sure to check out my recipe for Black Cherry Chocolate Cake, Spiced Spelt Flour Carrot Cake, Simply Spelt Flour Olive Oil Cake, or Autumn Apple Spelt Flour Cake.

You can find all of my Hockley Valley Spelt Flour recipes in one place on the Hockley Valley website!

Egg Free, Dairy Free Summer Strawberry Cake

Not only is this cake rich, fluffy, and super flavorful, but almost unbelievably it is egg free and dairy free too! I LOVE baking with spelt flour for free-from recipes. Spelt flour really shows up, both in taste and texture. When you are baking free-from recipes I think it’s important that every ingredient used be very intentional.

Tips for making a layer cake:

• Bake the cake ahead of time and allow it to come to room temperature before moving forward with filling or frosting.

• Use a round of parchment paper on the bottom of your cake pan to prevent sticking

• Don’t jump while the cake is in the oven! It can actually cause your cake to bake unevenly. I learned this the hard way many years ago.

• Tuck pieces of parchment or paper towel around the edge of the cake before frosting. If there is any dripping or crumbs they will be easily cleaned up when you remove the pieces of parchment/paper towel.

• Have all of your ingredients and tools ready when you start frosting. This is called mise en place, and it means everything in its place.

• Always read the full recipe before you begin baking. In this recipe, the strawberry puree should be made ahead of time so that it can cool. It is then added to both the cake and the frosting recipe, and the remainder is used as filling. This means that the strawberry puree portion of the recipe should be made in advance. You can even make it the night before and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

What to read next? Visit my CAKES AND CUPCAKES landing page where you can scroll through a list of mouth-watering allergy friendly recipes. Click the image below.

Egg Free, Dairy Free Summer Strawberry Cake

Ingredients for Egg Free, Dairy Free Summer Strawberry Cake

The Strawberry Puree Ingredients

• 32 oz or 900 g of fresh strawberries

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

The Cake Ingredients

• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup lemon juice

• 2 cup powdered sugar

• 2/3 cup your preferred allergy safe dairy free butter

• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce

• 1 1/2 cups strawberry puree

• 4 cups Hockley Valley Light Spelt Flour

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 3 tsp baking powder

• 2 tsp baking soda

The Frosting Ingredients

• 3/4 cup your preferred allergy safe vegan butter or solid coconut oil

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 2 tbsp. lemon juice

• 5 tbsp. strawberry puree

• 4 cups powdered sugar

• Fresh strawberries for the top

How to make Egg Free, Dairy Free Summer Strawberry Cake

1. Remove the stems from the strawberries and add them to a pot with the water and sugar. Mix well, then cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes on medium low heat. Remove the lid, turn the heat up to medium, and let reduce for 15 minutes, stirring often.

2. Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until it is smooth. Transfer to a dish or container and let come to room temperature, then cover and store in the fridge until cooled and ready to use.

3. Next, make the cake. Preheat the oven to 375F and line 2 standard 8 inch round cake pans with parchment paper.

4. Cream together the vanilla, lemon juice, powdered sugar, and allergy safe butter alternative until creamy and smooth, using an electric beater or standing mixer. Add the applesauce, half at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Add the strawberry puree and beat well.

5. In a separate bowl whisk together the Hockley Valley Light Spelt Flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat well, for about one minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat until everything is evenly combined.

6. Divide the batter evenly between the two lined cake pans and smooth out with a knife. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before assembling.

7. Next, make the frosting. Add all of the frosting ingredients to a large mixing bowl and beat until fluffy and smooth using an electric beater. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.

8. When you’re ready to assemble, first cut each cake in half using a large smooth knife. Avoid serrated blades as they will cause too much crumb to form.

9. Lay down the first layer of cake, then spoon on half of the remaining strawberry puree and smooth it out evenly, and layer the next piece of cake on top. Then spread that layer with frosting. Add a layer of cake on top of that and cover it with the remaining half of the strawberry puree, then cover with the final layer of cake. Frost the cake to your liking. I swirled 1 tbsp. of strawberry jam into the top of my cake to add some dimensional colour, but that is entirely optional. Add fresh strawberries to the top.

10. Cover the cake and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Makes 1 cake, or 8 - 10 slices.

For extra dimension and colour I swirled 1 tbsp of strawberry jam into the top of my cake before serving

Egg Free, Dairy Free Summer Strawberry Cake