Gluten Free Strawberry Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream

There’s something about cream cheese frosting. For all of you lactose/dairy-free folk out there, I feel your pain – as a weird and twisted side effect of Celiac disease, I also lost the ability to digest lactose for years before and after diagnosis, so I’m quiiiiite familiar with the array of nut, rice, and soy mylks and cheeses out there, and Kendra, the younger taller sister of Sisters Sans Gluten, is still dairy free to this day! (she makes a mean dairy free cheesecake too). This cake, however, is definitely heavy on the dairy. Gotta love swoops of silky, slightly-tangy cream cheese buttercream wrapped around summery strawberry cake layers, billowy whipped cream, and perfectly-sweet sliced fresh strawberries. And while I didn’t get to cut into this cake to see all that layered into a strawberries ‘n cream tower, I definitely tasted every ingredient along the way! As we’ve both learned in the last year, making custom birthday/engagement/anniversary/graduation cakes means “testing” a WHOLE lot of buttercream, cake scraps, ganache, and fillings. Not that we’re complaining! I think we may just be used to eating deconstructed collages of cake bits more so than actual real slices.

And for those of you looking at this and thinking – WAY too complicated for the next socially-distant birthday party – you can always just make these into cupcakes! Or make the cake layers and then slather them with cream cheese frosting and toss some fresh strawberries on top and call it a day! As we’ve learned through the course of 2020, do what makes you feel your best, no matter what the cake ends up looking like. I’m diving headlong into spring and summer bakes with complete disregard for what season we’re still in, so go for whatever sounds good.

If you’re into trying other layered cakes like this one, check out our dark chocolate raspberry layer cake, or our fancy carrot and almond cake (with more cream cheese buttercream), or this chocolate hazelnut layer cake, or these pistachio raspberry rose layer cake, or this vanilla raspberry layer cake with vanilla bean buttercream, or this coffee fudge walnut cake (HEAVENLY), or this chocolate mousse layer cake, or this vanilla lavender layer cake, OR this strawberry lemonade layer cake!

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5 from 2 votes

Gluten Free Strawberry Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream

This is the ultimate strawberry shortcake layer cake! Strawberry cake filled with strawberries and cream, topped with cream cheese buttercream!

Prep Time3 hours hrs

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Chilling time:2 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: birthday, birthday cake, buttercream, cream cheese frosting, drip cake, gluten free, layer cake, strawberries and cream, strawberry cake, white chocolate

Servings: 10 people

Calories: 500kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Four 6-inch round cake pans
• Electric mixer
• Piping bags and tips
• Cake scraper

Ingredients

For the cake layers:

• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 Cup canola oil
• 3/4 Cup sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Cup white sugar
• 1 Cup pureed fresh strawberries
• pink food coloring optional
• 1 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum)
• 1/2 Cup sweet rice flour
• 1/2 Cup arrowroot starch
• 1/2 Cup packed blanched almond flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 Cup sifted powdered freeze dried strawberries

For the cake filling:

• 1 Cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• fresh sliced strawberries
• 1/2 Cup pureed fresh strawberries

For the frosting:

• 1 1/2 Cups salted butter room temperature
• 2 8 oz packages cream cheese
• 3-4 Cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping:

• 1/3 Cup heavy cream
• 1 Cup white chocolate chips
• pink food coloring
• 10-11 fresh strawberries
• 1/2 Cup white chocolate chips for dipping

Instructions

To make the cake layers:

• First, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and grease four 6-inch round cake pans with butter or cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, sour cream, vanilla, sugar, pureed strawberries, and food coloring. Add in the flours, starches, baking powder and soda, salt, and sifted, powdered freeze dried strawberries. Whisk everything until smooth, then scoop batter into each of the four pans to ensure each pan has an equal amount. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool completely before turning out and slicing off any round tops of the cake (cakes should be flat).

To make the filling:

• Beat the heavy cream in a medium bowl until thicker, then add the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until medium peaks form. Set aside for filling. Then slice 4-5 strawberries for layering in between each cake layer. Puree remaining strawberries and set aside.
• Then make the cream cheese buttercream. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter for 4-5 minutes until whiter and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth, then scoop frosting into a piping bag and prep your cake decorating materials.

To construct the cake:

• Place one cake layer on a cake board or tray, and start by piping a ring of cream cheese buttercream and spread to cover the layer. Place a layer of sliced strawberries on layer, topped by a spoonful of pureed strawberries, and 2-3 tablespoons of whipped cream. Add the second cake layer and repeat until stack is complete. Then crumb coat the cake with more cream cheese buttercream. Freeze entire cake for 1-2 hours before removing and frosting the cake with the final layer of cream cheese buttercream. Freeze entire cake again while you prep the topping.
• To make the drip: in a heat proof bowl, heat the 1/3 cup of cream until hot, then add the 1 cup of white chocolate chips and let sit for 2-3 minutes until melted. Stir together until ganache forms, and add food coloring until desired color is reached. Pour into a piping bag and chill for 5-10 minutes before piping on the cake as a drip.
• Once the drip has been piped onto the top of the frozen cake, return to freezer for 30 minutes. Finally, melt remaining white chocolate chips in a mug, stir until completely melted, and dip the 10-11 final strawberries in the chocolate and place on waxed paper and freeze for 10 minutes.
• Remove cake from the freezer and pipe dollops of cream cheese buttercream in a ring around the top of the cake, then place a white chocolate covered strawberry on each dollop. Then serve!

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cake!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber