Celebrate! What’s a birthday party without cake and candles? Our granddaughter Caitlin just turned 2 years old and I wanted to bake a cake for her party. The challenge was two fold for me. First off, I’m not a big sweet eater or baking genius. Secondly, one whole side of the family has varying degrees of gluten intolerance. Being family, we all jump on the gluten free train when we are together. I know it makes me feel better too! Wheat flour is a perfect creation in nature so to have the same effect without gluten is truly an art! So what did I do?
I called on the professionals! They have perfected the right combination of ingredients for a cake with lovely texture and flavor. Baked goods need structure and strength to rise; eggs and xanthan gum do great things for structure.
If you live in the San Diego area, I would highly recommend taking a drive over to Starry Lane Bakery in Santee. They have a very large selection of baked goods from cupcakes, pastries and bread to biscotti, filled cookies, shortbread and macaroons. But what really saved the day for me was the gluten free cake batter they sell in classic vanilla and devils food chocolate. They’ll even make special flavors if you give them two days notice. I stored it in the refrigerator for a day before I baked off my layer cakes and it was a snap!
At Starry Lane Bakery, they have created the ultimate indulgences without animal products or the six most common food allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, egg, gluten, and soy). At the bakery they do not make any products which contain any of these ingredients, therefore there is no opportunity for cross contamination. But best of all, they taste great! My husband and I had to sample a few of the cookies while we were there and we were very impressed!
If you are feeling a little more daring and have the time, check out the King Arthur Flour website, Flourish, for gluten free recipes. King Arthur Gluten Free Flour makes it all so much easier to bake gluten free. But they do tell you making a recipe gluten free is more than just changing the flour!
Let’s build a dream cake!
Keeping with the gluten free mode of no flour, trace around the bottom of each cake pan on parchment paper for the perfect fit. Line the bottom of each pan with a piece of parchment paper.
Cut around the penciled circles just inside the lines so no lead is on the paper. Not a great bonus ingredient!
Bake the 2 layer cakes according the package instructions and allow to cool. This batter is very thick and needs to be cold when you put it in the cakes pans. So when I mooshed it into the pan it was a little lumpy.
I thought it would level out once it heated up in the oven, but the top remained a little uneven. No worries, it will all be concealed by the most amazing frosting ever! Oh my, wait until you taste it! Cool those cakes well before frosting them.
For best results, use a chilled metal bowl and beaters and very cold whipping cream. Place the bowl and beaters or wire whip in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before whipping the cream.
Combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, orange zest and juice in a medium mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until smooth and combined.
Place 1 cup of diced strawberries and 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar in a small bowl and mash the berries. Set aside until ready to assemble the cake.
Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Don’t over whip the cream or it will turn to butter. And that’s a whole different taste treat!
Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. This is the dreamy part. The flavors are like a super light and airy cheese cake. I had some leftover “frosting” and we used it for topping on a bowl of fresh fruit. Seriously a killer dessert all on it’s own!
Place one cake on a cake stand, flat side up. Spread with a thick layer of orange whip cream mixture.
Using a slotted spoon to remove the strawberries from the juice, spoon the berries over the cream layer leaving a space around the edge to place strawberry slices. You want to make sure there is a minimal amount of juice from the strawberries so the cake doesn’t get soggy.
Add sliced strawberries around the edge of the cake so that a little of the berry is extending over the edge. You want the strawberry to show a little when the second cake is placed on top.
Place the second cake, flat side against the strawberry layer, and spread a thick layer of orange whip cream on top.
Arrange sliced strawberries around the edge of the cake in the whip cream to decorate the top. They look like little hearts when they are sliced this way 🙂
Tip ~ If you are using a gluten free cake, it is not recommended to refrigerate the baked cake. Refrigerating the cake after it is baked may result in a dense mealy texture.
Tip ~ The whipped cream frosting will hold up in a room temperature setting nicely. No need to refrigerate if served during the same day, 4-6 hours.
Happy 2nd Birthday Caitlin! So much fun blowing bubbles with you! We love you sweet girl! ♥
- 2 -36 ounce containers of Vanilla Gluten Free cake batter (2- 8 x8 cakes)
- OR
- 1 box of regular vanilla cake mix
- 1 (8 ounce) package Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups heavy cream
- Zest of one large orange
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 Pint of Organic Strawberries, divided
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Bake the 2 layer cakes according the package instructions and allow to cool.
- For best results, use a chilled metal bowl and beaters and very cold whipping cream. Place the bowl and beaters or wire whip in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before whipping the cream.
- Combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, orange zest and juice in a medium mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until smooth and combined.
- Place 1 cup of diced strawberries and 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar in a small bowl and mash the berries. Set aside until ready to assemble the cake.
- Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Don’t over whip the cream or it will turn to butter.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
- Place one cake on a cake stand, flat side up. Spread with a thick layer of orange whip cream mixture.
- Using a slotted spoon to remove the strawberries from the juice, spoon the berries over the cream layer leaving a space around the edge to place strawberry slices. You want to make sure there is a minimal amount of juice from the strawberries so the cake doesn’t get soggy.
- Add sliced strawberries around the edge of the cake so that a little of the berry is extending over the edge. You want the strawberry to show a little when the second cake is placed on top.
- Place the second cake, flat side against the strawberry layer and spread a thick lay of orange whip cream on top.
- Arrange sliced strawberries around the edge of the cake in the whip cream to decorate the top.
- Tip: If you are using a gluten free cake, it is not recommended to refrigerate the baked cake. Refrigerating the cake after it is baked may result in a dense mealy texture.
- Tip: The whipped cream frosting will hold up in a room temperature setting nicely. No need to refrigerate if served during the same day, 4-6 hours.
