Gluten free Strawberry Rhubarb Spoon Cake
What I love about Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Spoon Cake
This delicious Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Spoon Cake is the ultimate summer dessert for sharing! I recently brought it to our annual Father’s Day BBQ and everyone was raving about it! The best thing about it though? You would never know it’s gluten-free.
To start, it’s made with my two favourite grain-free flours: almond flour and tapioca flour. Plus, the most delicious, homemade strawberry rhubarb compote. Moreover, once baked, these ribbons of strawberry rhubarb preserve throughout make for a beautiful presentation. The two together, with a few other ingredients, turn into a super moist and delicious spoon cake.
So, whats a spoon cake? Well, it’s just as it sounds! Instead of cutting it with a knife like a regular cake, you just spoon it out straight from the pan. It makes the serving process easy and without fuss. Additionally, this gluten free cake can be served on plates or in bowls. However you have it though, it must be paired with whipped cream! It’s simply the perfect pairing.
Recipe Notes
A few things to keep in mind:
- Almond flour – First of all, almond flour is always my go-to flour for baking because it is naturally gluten-free, grain-free and lower in carbs! Make sure you are using almond flour and not almond meal.
- Tapioca flour – Secondly, tapioca flour lightens up the entire flour mixture making it more ideal for a cake. It has a very fine texture, like cornstarch. You can find this at your local health food store or order online.
- Coconut flour – Alternatively, coconut flour helps give the right texture to the cake. It keeps it fluffy and prevents it from being gummy. You should also be able to find this at a local health food store.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar works best for this cake. If you want to lighten up the sugar, you can do half regular sugar and half xylitol! Xylitol taste just like sugar and measures the same.
- Greek yogurt – You will need either full-fat, plain greek yogurt or full-fat sour cream for this cake. This helps to keep it super moist.
- Rhubarb – You will need fresh rhubarb to make the preserve.
- Strawberries – You will also need fresh strawberries for the preserve. Try to find organic if you can. Strawberries are always on the dirty dozen list!
FAQ:
I don’t recommend substituting almond flour, tapioca flour and coconut flour with all purpose gluten-free flour blends unless you know the exact conversion. When it comes to gluten-free flours, they are all unique in their texture so typically they don’t measure 1:1.
Yes, you can use frozen fruit. You just may need to simmer it on the stove top for a couple minutes longer to release any excess liquid.
I recommend storing any leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge. They will keep fresh for about 4-5 days in the fridge. They can be reheated in the microwave and topped again with whipped cream to enjoy.
Any oven-safe skillet or baking dish works for this recipe, ideally round-shaped. If you are using a rectangular baking dish, I would recommend an 8″ x 10″ as opposed to 9″ x 13″ as the bigger the baking dish, the more it will alter the bake time and final result.
Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Spoon Cake
Equipment
- 1 10"- 11" Round Cast Iron Pan
- 1 Hand Blender
Ingredients
For the strawberry rhubarb compote:
- 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh rhubarb heaping
- 1 cup fresh sliced strawberries heaping
- 1/3 cup organic granulated sugar
- 1/2 lemon zested
- 1 tsp lemon juice
For the cake:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp organic granulated sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 1/4 cup full-fat plain greek yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup whole milk at room temperature
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
Make the strawberry rhubarb compote:
- Add the chopped rhubarb, sliced strawberries, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice to a small saucepan and heat on high until boiling.
- Reduce to a simmer and cook over low-medium heat for 15 minutes until reduced. Remove from the heat and let cool on the stovetop while you make the cake.
Make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 400F and grease a 10" – 11" round cast iron pan with butter. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla and beat again.
- Add the egg and mix to fully combine. Then, add the greek yogurt and milk and mix to combine again.
- To the same bowl, add the almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking powder and salt and fold in with a wooden spoon or spatula until full combined.
- Spoon half of the strawberry rhubarb compote into the bottom of the prepared pan in dollops not covering the entire bottom. Spread around slightly.
- Next, add the cake batter on top. Then, the remaining strawberry rhubarb compote in dollops on top of the cake batter, swirling again into the batter to make it look pretty!
- Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool 15 minutes before serving.
- Sprinkle the top with a little extra granulated sugar if desired and serve warm with whipped cream. Enjoy!
