Vegan Strawberry Cake
You guys! I have found the best strawberry cake and it’s VEGAN!! Recently my husband and I have gone plant based (I’m down almost 40 lbs!) and we are feeling great! I’ve been cooking A LOT and its been quite the tasty journey trying to make some of our favorite dishes without meat/dairy. But the one thing that I hadn’t tried yet was baking. I am a dessert girl, sugar and spice and everything nice for me! I even used to have a baking side gig when we lived in Vegas, so I was a little nervous on how things were going to turn out without using eggs and dairy. Luckily I found this Strawberry Cake recipe from Nora Cooks and let me tell you, it is delicious!! I added a few adjustments and it was a hit with everyone! Literally- neighbors, friends, kids, I wanted to get lots of feedback! Turns out both vegan and non vegans love it!
Check out the video of me making this amazing cake HERE!
And if you’re wondering where all of the beautiful cake stands and bake wear (from the video) are from- almost everything is from my favorite local home store Tampa Bay Interiors.
A few notes:
- One thing I have learned in the last few months is that you can make vegan buttermilk with almond milk and apple cider vinegar! And it does the trick! Who knew?
- Reducing strawberries for a puree takes some time and finesse but it’s worth it to get that real strawberry taste. I didn’t cook it down long enough the 1st time and the cake did not have much of a strawberry taste- it was still delicious but I wanted it to be much more strawberry, so took my time reducing the strawberries the next round.
- Make sure your butter is softened!
- Freeze dried strawberries are the trick to a delicious strawberry frosting!
- Always make extra frosting! Especially if you are layering your cakes!
- Rule for all baking vegan or not- let your cakes cool before frosting or your going to have a melted mess!
Vegan Strawberry Cake
Made with real strawberries! Vegan and oh so tasty!
Ingredients
Strawberry Cake
- 1 Pound Fresh Strawberries - Reduced to 1/2 cup cooked puree
- 1 1/4 CUP Almond Milk- Unsweetened
- 2 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 Cup Vegan Butter - Softened
- 1/2 Cup Canola Oil
- 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 Tbsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 Tsp salt
Strawberry Frosting
- 1 1/2 Cups Freeze Dried Strawberries
- 1/2 Cup Vegan Butter - Softened
- 1/2 Cup Vegetable Shortening
- 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 2-3 Tbsp Almond Milk - Unsweetened
Instructions
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Reduce the strawberries- Take either fresh or frozen strawberries and puree them in your food processor. Add to pot on Medium- Low heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes. The bright pink color should slowly turn to a dark red color and reduce to about 1/2 cup. Don't rush this! It's so much more flavorfull when fully reduced! Allow to cool (I put mine in the fridge).
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Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease and lightly flour two 9 inch cake pans
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Make the Vegan Butter Milk- Whisk almond milk and apple cider vinegar together and set aside.
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With your mixer, cream together the softened vegan butter, the canola oil, and the sugar until smooth. Slowly add in the vanilla.
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In another bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
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With the mixer on low, slowly alternate adding in the vegan buttermilk and the flour mixture to the butter mixture.
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Add in the cooled reduced strawberry puree to the mixture.
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Add the cake batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes. You'll know its ready when you can insert a toothpick and it comes out dry.
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Let cakes cool for 15-20 minutes then invert to a cooling rack. Make sure to let them completely cool before frosting!
Strawberry Frosting
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Using a food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a powder.
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In your mixer- cream the shortening and softened vegan butter until smooth. Slowly add in the powdered sugar.
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Once smooth, add in the freeze dried strawberry powder.
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Add in your vanilla and 2-3 tbsp of almond milk until you get to the consistency of your liking.
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Time to frost! Make sure your cakes are cool so frosting doesnt melt!
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EAT and enjoy 🙂
Stay tuned for more plant based and vegan recipes!
