This was inspired by yet another one of my wacky cravings.  There are recipes for both a two layer and three layer version of the cake below.

GFDF Strawberry Filled Yellow Cake (two layer version)

Cake:
1 ¼ cup organic granulated cane sugar
½ cup organic palm shortening (plus extra for greasing the pans)
1 tablespoon organic GF vanilla extract
3 large organic eggs
2/3 cup organic brown rice flour
2/3 cup organic tapioca starch
2/3 cup organic millet flour or almond meal*
2/3 cup sorghum flour
1.5 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon sea salt
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup organic rice milk

Filling:
1 pint fresh organic strawberries, diced (about 1.25 cups)
1/4 cup organic granulated cane sugar **
1/4 cup water
½ tablespoon organic cornstarch

Toppings:
8-10 organic strawberries
3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded organic coconut (optional)***

Icing or Frosting:
2 cups organic powdered sugar
About 2 tablespoons organic rice milk
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
¼ cup organic palm shortening

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Use some palm shortening to grease the bottoms and sides of two 8” cake pans.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, use a whisk or hand mixer to combine the sugar, palm shortening, vanilla extract, and eggs.  Add in all of the flours, xanthan gum, sea salt, baking powder and rice milk.  Use a mixing spoon to stir thoroughly.  Split the batter between the two cake pans.  Bake for about 28 minutes at 350F until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, and then invert onto plates or racks to cool.

While the cakes are cooking and cooling, places the strawberries and sugar into a small pot.  Mix the cornstarch into the water and add to the strawberries and sugar.  Heat over medium, stirring constantly.  Once the strawberries have softened and the mixture is thickened, remove from heat and set aside.  Allow to cool thoroughly.  Using an immersion blender or blender, puree the filling to a smooth-ish texture.

In yet another bowl, make the icing using an electric hand mixer, cream the shortening into the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, very slowly adding rice milk to get the right consistency.

Once the cakes have cooled completely, place one layer on the serving/storage dish.  Place a layer of the strawberry filling over the top staying about 1 cm away from the edges.  (If you have extra, it works well on toast.)  Place the second layer of the cake carefully on top of the filling.  Spread the icing evenly across the layered cake.

If desired, sprinkle shredded coconut across the top of the cake.  Cut the tops off the strawberries reserved for toppings.  Cut about 4-5 strawberries into slices lengthwise and make a circle around the top of the cake as pictured.  Cut another 4-5 strawberries into quarters or sixths (depending on the size) lengthwise and arrange around the bottom of the cake.

* If you use millet flour, there will be a stronger, nuttier flavor to the cake.  If you use almond meal, the flavor will be more neutral.  Almonds carry a cross-contamination risk from tree nuts, so be careful using them in food for the nut allergic.

** I was using early season strawberries which were not incredibly sweet.  If your strawberries are sweeter, you may want to cut the sugar back to 2 tablespoons.

***Do not use the coconut for a nut free cake.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com
GFDF Strawberry Filled Yellow Cake (three layer version)

Cake:
2 cups organic granulated cane sugar
3/4 cup organic palm shortening (plus extra for greasing the pans)
1.5 tablespoon organic GF vanilla extract
5 large organic eggs
1 cup organic brown rice flour
1 cup organic tapioca starch
1 cup organic millet flour or almond meal*
1 cup sorghum flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1.5 teaspoon sea salt
2.5 tablespoons baking powder
1.5 cups organic rice milk

Filling:
1 quart fresh organic strawberries, diced (about 2.5 cups)
1/2 cup organic granulated cane sugar **
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon organic cornstarch

Toppings:
8-10 organic strawberries
3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded organic coconut (optional)***

Icing or Frosting:
3 cups organic powdered sugar
About 3 tablespoons organic rice milk
1.5 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
6 tablespoons organic palm shortening

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Use some palm shortening to grease the bottoms and sides of three 8” cake pans.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, use a whisk or hand mixer to combine the sugar, palm shortening, vanilla extract, and eggs.  Add in all of the flours, xanthan gum, sea salt, baking powder and rice milk.  Use a mixing spoon to stir thoroughly.  Split the batter between the three cake pans.  Bake for about 28 minutes at 350F until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, and then invert onto plates or racks to cool.

While the cakes are cooking and cooling, places the strawberries and sugar into a small pot.  Mix the cornstarch into the water and add to the strawberries and sugar.  Heat over medium, stirring constantly.  Once the strawberries have softened and the mixture is thickened, remove from heat and set aside.  Allow to cool thoroughly.  Using an immersion blender or blender, puree the filling to a smooth-ish texture.

In yet another bowl, make the icing using an electric hand mixer, cream the shortening into the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, very slowly adding rice milk to get the right consistency.

Once the cakes have cooled completely, place one layer on the serving/storage dish.  Place a layer of about half of the strawberry filling over the top staying about 1 cm away from the edges.  Place the second layer of the cake carefully on top of the filling.  Spread the second layer with the remaining strawberry filling.  (If you have extra filling, it works well on toast.)   Place the third cake layer on top.  Spread the icing evenly across the layered cake.

If desired, sprinkle shredded coconut across the top of the cake.  Cut the tops off the strawberries reserved for toppings.  Cut about 4-5 strawberries into slices lengthwise and make a circle around the top of the cake as pictured.  Cut another 4-5 strawberries into quarters or sixths (depending on the size) lengthwise and arrange around the bottom of the cake.

* If you use millet flour, there will be a stronger, nuttier flavor to the cake.  If you use almond meal, the flavor will be more neutral.  Almonds carry a cross-contamination risk from tree nuts, so be careful using them in food for the nut allergic.

** I was using early season strawberries which were not incredibly sweet.  If your strawberries are sweeter, you may want to cut the sugar back to 2 tablespoons.

***Do not use the coconut for a nut free cake.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com