This gluten free strawberry rhubarb cake is a whole mess of goodness, and it may look like an actual mess but it’s so worth making this spring/summer/whenever you happen to have fresh or frozen strawberries and rhubarb around. It’s made with a lightly sweet gluten free browned butter vanilla cake, layered with heaps of pillowy soft ricotta + whipped cream, and piles of roasted strawberries and rhubarb. It’s happiness in a bowl (or plate, though it’s a bit of a challenge with this one) and despite it’s aesthetic, it’s a brilliant and easy cake to make for guests or your favorite people (including yourself!). If you aren’t a fan of overly-sweet desserts, this is THE cake for you.
When I first dreamed up this recipe and flavor mix, I didn’t take quite the time to think through the structural integrity of all of the pieces fit together (maybe you could make a trifle version of it! Structural integrity intact within a beautiful glass trifle bowl!), but it turned out to be one of the best cakes I’ve made.
If you want to try other strawberry or rhubarb themed desserts, check out my gluten free strawberry rhubarb tart, filled with vanilla pastry cream, or these gluten free strawberry rhubarb muffins, OR these gluten free strawberry rhubarb cupcakes! It’s one of my favorite fruit pairs and I’ll be hitting the baking train again soon after we fully move over to our new place and it’s top of my list for new recipe ideas!
Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Cake
Equipment
- Two 9-inch round cake pans
- Electric mixer
- Cookie sheets
- Parchment paper
- Two cake pan strips (optional)
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 Cup salted room temp butter
- 1 Cup white sugar 236g
- 3 large eggs
- 2 ½ tsp vanilla extract 12.5ml
- 3/4 Cup sour cream 190g
- 3/4 Cup milk 200g
- 1 ½ Cup gluten free flour 1-1 mix with xanthan gum added 245g if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1/2 tsp now (1g teaspoon xanthan gum)
- 1/2 Cup arrowroot starch 70g
- 1/2 Cup packed blanched almond flour 80g
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 7g
- 1 tsp baking soda 5g
- 1/2 tsp salt 3g
- ½ tsp ground ginger 1g
For the whipped ricotta cream:
- 375 g whole milk ricotta
- 550 ml double/heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For the roasted strawberries and rhubarb:
- 8 Cups peeled chopped rhubarb into 1 inch pieces
- 4 cups chopped hulled strawberries into 1 inch pieces
- 1 1/2 Cup white sugar 192g
- ½ tsp salt 3g
- 1 ½ Tbsp lemon juice 22.5ml
- 2 tsp vanilla extract 10ml
- ½ tsp ground ginger 1g
- 1/4 Cup packed brown sugar 56g
Instructions
- First, brown the butter. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt all of the butter and stir constantly until melted and simmering. Continue to simmer, on medium heat, for at least a few minutes, until the popping and hissing sounds have completely subsided (this is the water in the butter burning off – you’ll know once it’s silent). Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the butter reaches a deep amber color and smells nutty or caramelly. Once it reaches that color, immediately take off the burner and let sit until cool or put in the fridge until it is solid.
To make the roasted strawberries and rhubarb:
- Make your roasted fruit. Line two cookie sheets with a large piece of parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit (180 C no fan). In a large bowl, combine your peeled and chopped rhubarb and strawberries and all other ingredients until the fruit is coated in the other ingredients. Dump fruit onto the prepared cookie sheets and spread so that you have a single layer of fruit in the juice/coating per pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the fruit is soft and juicy then let fruit cool completely before constructing the cake.
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, start soaking your cake pan strips in cold water (this is optional). Lightly grease your two 9-inch round cake pans, then line the bottom with a round piece of parchment paper, and lightly grease the parchment paper, then set aside.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the room temp/solid browned butter with the sugar sugar until lighter and fluffy (3-5 mins), then add the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and milk and beat until smooth. Finally, add in the flours, starches, baking powder and soda, ginger and salt and beat until fully combined.
- Set batter aside, and then fasten your now-saturated cake pan strips around the outside of the cake pans (I turn the cake pans upside down to do this). Then pour the cake batter into the two prepared 9-inch pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool completely before turning out.
To make the whipped ricotta cream:
- Make the whipped ricotta! Whip the heavy cream (or double cream in the UK) in a medium bowl until medium peaks form. Add in the ricotta, powdered sugar, and vanilla and whip to combine until stiff, then set aside.
To construct:
- Place one cake layer on a plate or cake stand, and spread half of the whipped ricotta cream on the layer (don't spread it too thin). Then spoon about 1/3 of the roasted fruit on top evenly. Finally, repeat with the second cake layer, the remaining whipped ricotta cream, and the remaining roasted fruit. Serve immediately!
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cookies!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
