Every year, for two glorious weeks, the reddest, sweetest, juiciest berries on earth make an appearance, causing a frenzied berry-picking extravaganza amongst the local populace. Even the “city folk” show up in white pants and wedge heels to carefully extract red gold from under the green leaves.

Yes, it’s strawberry season, and I’m not eating them unless they traveled less than 10 miles from plant to kitchen. My daughter had the fortune of being born during strawberry season. I’ve informed my curious 2-year old that it’s her fate to have strawberry shortcake for every single birthday. I tell her that’s just the way it has to be, and we can’t choose our destiny. I’m sure she understands.

This post contains affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy for more information.

Strawberry Cake

I set out to make a double-layer, strawberry country cake with filling in between, and ended up with something much better: a single layer Strawberry Short Cake piled high with whipped cream and sliced berries. Really, who needs two layers of cake when you can add another scoop of berries? (Also, I ran out of flour).

Everything in this cake is grain-free, casein free, and, of course, Plant Paradox approved. Let’s start with the most important ingredient.

Local Strawberries, Picked Ripe

You can probably only make this cake once a year (with the strawberries), so you must get this part right. None of those crunchy, white-on-the-inside, sour-tasting, picked-green “rawberries” from the grocery store (was that enough adjectives to turn you off to them?). Get your jean-bedecked legs into a farm field and pick the real thing (or at least buy them from the person who did). As soon as you bite into a juicy berry and discover that it’s red all the way through, your life will change for the better.

Gluten-Free Flours

After much experimentation and a discovery that I couldn’t eat almond flour, I have settled into using the same perfect two-flour combo for all of my baked goods. The flours are slightly sweet, they retain moisture, and together, they make fluffy–but not too airy–cakes and muffins. These two flours are coconut flour and tigernut flour. For this recipe, I also use arrowroot starch to get a cakier texture. See the brands I use below:

–> Read my entire series about the 12 best lectin-free flours HERE.

Golden Monkfruit Sweetener

I’ve tried many of the alternative sweeteners, and the best one, hands down, is the golden monkfruit sweetener from Lakanto. It has no bitter aftertaste, doesn’t taste “artificial,” and it’s a sweetener least likely to cause GI distress. (Read my list of all the pros and cons of the best alternatives sweeteners HERE.)

For the whipped cream, you can use honey (in phase 3) or yacón syrup. Since it’s topping for the cake, and you’re going to have strawberries with it, you can also cut the sweetener altogether.

Coconut Cream

Some brands that make coconut milk now make a thicker coconut cream that comes in the same type of can. Be sure to get unsweetened like this one.

Note About Butter & Eggs

Try to get butter that’s imported from France or Italy–it’s more likely than domestic butter to contain easily digestible milk protein. If not imported, grass fed or organic butters are still acceptable, because there is very little protein to begin with. Also, try to get pastured eggs or eggs that contain omega-3 fatty acids.

Time to stock your pantry

–> Read my post on how to stock your entire pantry lectin-free HERE.

The Recipe

PREP TIME 30 MINUTES     TOTAL TIME 1 HOUR     SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS

Cake

• 8 tablespoons unsalted French or Italian butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup golden monk fruit sweetener
• 3 large pastured or omega-3 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup coconut cream, well stirred
• grated zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/3 cup tigernut flour
• 3 tablespoons arrowroot starch
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Topping

• 1 cup grass fed or organic heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon raw honey or yacón syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

INSTRUCTIONS

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan, line with parchment paper, and wipe with another layer of butter and lightly sprinkled flour.

BEAT the butter and sweetener in a stand mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. With the paddle attachment on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time. Add the coconut cream, lemon zest, and vanilla and mix well, scraping down the contents, as needed.

SIFT together the coconut flour, tigernut flour, arrowroot starch, sea salt, and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture and combine on low speed until smooth.

POUR the batter into the pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and bang the pan a few times on the counter to settle the batter. Cook until a toothpick comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then flip onto a cooling rack and cool to room temperature.

WHIP the cream, honey/yacón syrup, and vanilla in stand mixer on high speed with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Move cake to a plate or platter and spread with whipped topping. Decorate with sliced strawberries.

Printable Recipe