This Strawberry Almond Cake is a super light and moist dessert that is perfect for afternoon tea in Summer. The easy almond cake is topped with fresh strawberries and slivered almonds, creating a deliciously fluffy gluten-free dessert!
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This recipe was originally posted in April 2018. It was edited (both the text, photos and recipe) in November 2021.
Why we love this recipe
Almond Cakes might be one of my favourite type of desserts, ever. They are so light, so fluffy and always have the most amazing flavours thanks to the ground almonds. And what a better way to elevate an almond cake than by adding fresh strawberries!?
This Strawberry Almond Cake recipe is perfect for afternoon tea or as a light dessert to finish off a meal in Summer. It is a rather quick and easy cake to prepare and will stay fresh for a few days, so you can prepare it in advance if needed.
It is a naturally gluten-free strawberry cake made entirely with almond meal or almond flour (no plain / all-purpose flour, no gluten-free flour, no baking powder!) and can also easily be made dairy-free if needed!
More Almond Cakes Ideas:
Ingredients
This Strawberry and Almond Cake is made out of 9 ingredients (scroll down to recipe card below for all quantities):
- Strawberries: Fresh Strawberries are preferred for this recipe. You can use more strawberries than noted in the recipe if you want a stronger fruit flavour.
- Eggs: medium size Eggs, with the egg yolk and whites separated into two bowls. The Salt is added to the bowl with the Egg Whites. The eggs can be used straight out of the fridge if that's where you store them. This recipe will not work without eggs or with an egg substitute.
- Sugar: Caster Sugar, or fine granulated white sugar. I have not tried this recipe with a liquid sweetener or sugar-free alternative.
- Oil: I used Canola Oil, but you can use any type of neutral flavoured cooking Oil. It can be substituted with melted butter, but the strawberry almond cake will dry out more quickly with butter.
- Greek Yogurt: or Natural Yogurt (unsweetened, unflavoured). See FAQs section below for dairy-free alternatives.
- Vanilla: I used vanilla extract, but essence or even paste will work as well.
- Almond Meal: Blanched (although unblanched will work as well). It is really important to sift the almond meal to aerate it and make sure there are no lumps.
- Slivered Almonds: optional, but a great way to add a bit of a crunch to the cake! It can be replaced with flaked almond, sliced almonds or chopped raw almonds too.
The almond flavours are quite strong in this cake but if you wanted to increase it even more, you could also add a dash of almond extract.
How to make Strawberry Almond Cake
This gluten free strawberry cake uses whipped egg whites to create a super light and fluffy texture. It's probably the only more "challenging" part of this recipe that is otherwise quite straight forward.
- Preheat your oven on 180'C/350'F. Prepare a 22 cm / 9 inch Springform Pan by lining the bottom with baking paper / parchment paper and greasing the edges with a little bit of oil or butter.
- Photo 1: wash, hull and slice the strawberries in half. Set aside.
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- Photo 2: Separate the Egg Whites and Yolks. Place the yolks in a large mixing bowl and the whites in the bowl of your stand mixer (or another large bowl if using a hand mixer).
- Photo 3: Add the Salt to the Egg Whites then beat with the whisk attachment until they reach stiff peaks. Start with a medium speed and slowly increase to high until you get the desired consistency. Set aside
Note: see the tips section below that explains why we beat the egg whites first.
- Photo 4: Add the Caster Sugar to the bowl with the Egg Yolks.
- Photo 5: Whisk for a couple of minutes; the mixture should get lighter in colour and you should see small bubbles. The more you whisk it, the more air you add to the cake batter and the lighter the cake will be.
- Photo 6: Add the wet ingredients: Oil, Yogurt and Vanilla. Whisk until combined.
- Photo 7: Lastly, add the Almond Meal.
- Photo 8: Mix until just combined and there are no lumps left.
- Photo 9: Slowly fold in the whipped Egg Whites in 4 or 5 times with a silicone spatula.
It is really important to be gentle when you add the egg whites as you don't want to deflate them. The whipped egg whites is what will make the cake rise and get fluffy, so you want to keep as much air them it as possible!
- Photo 10: You should get a very light mixture and don't see any bits of whipped egg whites anymore.
- Photo 11: Pour the almond cake batter into the prepared pan. Gently spread it around with a spoon or spatula if needed. Do not tap the cake pan or move it around too much to avoid deflating the batter.
- Photo 12: Top the almond meal cake with the sliced Strawberries (sliced side facing down) and finish with a sprinkle of slivered almonds.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the centre of the cake has set (it shouldn't wiggle when you move the pan) and a toothpick comes out mostly clean (you might still see a few very small crumbs). Take the strawberry and almond cake out of the oven and let it cool down at room temperature until completely cool before taking it out of the pan.
The flourless strawberry cake will sink a bit while it cools down - that's completely normal! It will be quite fragile when still hot so make sure to let it cool down completely before moving it out of the tin.
Optionally, dust it with a little bit of powdered sugar or icing sugar before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, Almond Flour will work as well but will slightly change the texture of the cake. Because almond meal is more coarse, you will feel its texture when you eat the cake.
I have only tried this recipe with fresh strawberries. If you want to try if with frozen strawberries, I recommend thawing them completely then drain and pat them dry to remove as much water/moisture as possible.
If there is too much moisture in the frozen strawberries, it will release all the water while it bakes and make the cake super soggy.
The only dairy ingredient is greek yogurt, which can be easily replaced with a dairy-free natural yogurt. Just make sure to go for an unflavoured and unsweetened yogurt. Alternatively, you could use a flavoured yogurt like coconut yogurt but it will change the flavours of the dessert.
This cake will be delicious served on its own (simply topped with a little bit of powdered/icing sugar), with a simple whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or even a Strawberry Coulis or Mixed Berry Compote.
Tips for Success
- Why we whip the egg whites first: once the almond meal is added to the cake batter, it will start absorbing the liquids and make the batter thicken. If we waited for the cake batter to be finished to start whipping the egg whites, the batter would be quite hard by the time we start folding in the egg whites. That would make it much harder to incorporate the egg whites - and increase the chances of deflating all the air contained in them.
- Make sure to gently fold in the egg whites and add it in 4 or 5 times. Since the cake relies on the whipped egg whites to rise and get its super light texture, it is essential to keep as much air bubbles into them as possible.
- Use a different type of berries or Summer fruits - this cake can so easily be customised! It will be just as delicious with blueberries or peaches for example. Or go for a Winter version like this Apple Almond Cake or Pear Almond Cake.
Storing & Freezing
This strawberry almond cake is best eaten fresh within 24 hours, but will stay moist for quite a while. I recommend eating it within 2 days for the best texture. It can be kept at room temperature for a day but should be kept in the refrigerator after that for a few more days.
Because the cake crumb is quite soft and tender, I do not recommend freezing it.
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Recipe
Strawberry Almond Cake (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 250 gr (9 oz) Strawberries, fresh
- 4 Eggs, medium size
- 1 pinch Fine Table Salt
- 110 gr (1/2 cup) Caster Sugar, or fine white granulated sugar
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) Canola Oil, or neutral flavoured cooking oil
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) Greek Yogurt, or natural yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 250 gr (2 1/2 cup) Almond Meal, or almond flour
- 25 gr (1/4 cup) Slivered Almonds, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven on 180'C/350'F. Prepare a 22 cm / 9 inch Springform Pan by lining the bottom with baking paper and lightly greasing the edges.
- Wash, hull and slice the strawberries in half. Set aside.250 gr (9 oz) Strawberries
- Separate the Egg Whites and Yolks. Place the yolks in a large mixing bowl and the whites in the bowl of your stand mixer (or another large bowl if using a hand mixer). Set the egg yolks aside.4 Eggs
- Add the Salt to the Egg Whites then beat with the whisk attachment until they reach stiff peaks (see note 1). Set aside1 pinch Fine Table Salt
- Add the Caster Sugar to the bowl with the Egg Yolks. Whisk for a couple of minutes; the mixture should get lighter in colour and you should see small bubbles (see note 2).110 gr (1/2 cup) Caster Sugar
- Whisk in the Canola Oil, Greek Yogurt and Vanilla Extract then mix in the sifted Almond Meal until no lumps remain.120 ml (1/2 cup) Canola Oil, 120 ml (1/2 cup) Greek Yogurt, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 250 gr (2 1/2 cup) Almond Meal
- Slowly and gently fold in the whipped Egg Whites in 4 or 5 times using a silicone spatula (see note 3).
- Pour the almond cake batter into the prepared pan and gently spread it around with a spoon or spatula if needed (see note 4). Top the cake with the sliced Strawberries (sliced side facing down) and sprinkle with the slivered Almonds.25 gr (1/4 cup) Slivered Almonds
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the centre of the cake has set and a toothpick comes out mostly clean (see note 5). Leave to cool down at room temperature until completely cool before taking it out of the pan.
- Optional: dust with powdered or icing sugar before serving.
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Notes
- Start with a medium speed and slowly increase to high until you get the desired consistency. This will get you more "stable" air bubbles.
- The more you whisk the mixture, the more air you add to the cake batter and the lighter the cake will be.
- It is really important to be gentle when you add the egg whites as you don't want to deflate them. The whipped egg whites is what will make the cake rise and get fluffy, so you want to keep as much air them it as possible!
- Be careful with the cake batter at this point; do not tap the cake pan or move it around too much to avoid deflating the batter.
- The centre of the cake shouldn't wiggle when you move the pan, but you might still see a few very small crumbs on the toothpick or skewer.
