When certain fruits are in season, I get a little obsessed. Strawberries are plentiful here in Ontario and I think I'm on my fifth or sixth basket. Did you see my Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins or my Strawberry Rhubarb Grain-free Crisp ? I hope my recipe inspires you to pick up some strawberries at your local farmers' market this weekend!
Unfortunately, strawberries are listed as number one on the dirty dozen list, which means they have the highest pesticide residues according to the Environmental Working Group, so it's best to choose organic. This is because all those little seeds provide teeny tiny spots for pesticides to hide and it's impossible to wash it all off. Don't beat yourself up for eating local strawberries on occasion, but if you're eating them regularly and feeding them to children , organic is your best option.
There's a lot to love about these ruby red summer berries, including the fact that strawberries rival citrus fruits for vitamin C content and they're packed with antioxidants, too.
Strawberries are packed with nutrition!
- Strawberries get their bright red hue from anthocyanins, antioxidants that help reduce inflammation (a major symptom in many chronic diseases) and may also curb the growth of cancer cells.
- They also boast plenty of potassium, which can help keep your blood pressure in check.
- Strawberries contain the ellagitannins, antioxidants and effective cancer fighters, particularly against colon and cervical cancers.
- Studies have shown promising results for blood-sugar regulation, given the low glycemic index (GI) value of strawberries as compared to other fresh fruits.
- Nurses Health Study (conducted jointly by Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard School of Public Health) has shown a reduced cognitive loss in women who consumed at least 1–2 servings of strawberries per week.
This cake was an absolute delight!!
It has the texture of a coffee cake and it's hearty and dense enough to be a perfect snack, too.
The coconut flour provides plenty of fibre and some protein. The strawberries provide tons of moisture so the cake is nice and moist. Walker, Vienna and I enjoyed our cake with a scoop of vanilla coconut milk-based ice cream. As you can see, Vienna loved it!!
The best part about this cake is how easy it was to make. And, of course, I had my little helper in the kitchen with me happily measuring and stirring.
This wonderful cake is gluten-free, dairy-free and refined-sugar-free! I used the same formula for this recipe as the Peach Blueberry Cake with a few minor changes.
Here's the recipe:
Desserts
Strawberry Banana Cake
Print
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup of real maple syrup
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups chopped strawberries
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 banana, sliced into rounds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Grease a 9 inch springform or tart pan with coconut oil.
- In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients: flours, baking powder, soda and cinnamon.
- In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients: vanilla, maple syrup, olive oil and eggs.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Do not over-mix. The batter will be a bit crumbly but you shouldn't see any dry bits. Fold in the chopped strawberries.
- Spoon the mixture into the pan and smooth out the top. Decorate the top with banana slices.
- Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a fork inserted comes out clean. Check cake at around 25 minutes. If it is starting to brown on the top cover with tin foil so it doesn't burn.
- Remove from oven when done and set on a cooling rack for 20 to 30 minutes before slicing. Serve with coconut yogurt or coconut ice cream!
Notes
Serves 8-10. If you don't have coconut flour, this cake works with brown rice flour too.
This cake is the texture of coffee cake.
I highly encourage you to enjoy this with some yummy coconut yogurt or ice cream! And top with even more strawberries if you like.
Let me know if you make this, please tag me on social media #joyoushealth. I absolutely love when you make my recipes and share with your friends and family.
Be joyous,
Joy xo
Hi joy what other flours use instead brow rice? Almond?
ReplySpelt (if you don't mind it containing gluten), quinoa, buckwheat etc. You could try almond flour but it's such a different texture I'm not 100% sure it will work. It might be very crumbly.
My daughter has coconut allergies- what other would you recommend as a substitute?
ReplyYou could use all brown rice flour if you like!
What can you substitute for coconut due to coconut allergies?
ReplyYou could just do all brown rice flour if you like!
What can I substitute the eggs with? My daughter can’t have eggs, please
ReplyYou can try chia eggs. Here's an egg substitution chart: https://www.joyoushealth.com/3-download-egg-substitution-chart
Hi Joy. This cake looks delicious! Could chia eggs or another egg substitute be used as a vegan alternative?
ReplyHi Joy. This cake looks delicious! Could a chia egg or another egg alternative be used to create a vegan option? Thanks!
ReplyI haven't tried it but you can try it out and let me know how it turns out! I have seen some people posting about it on social media so I'm pretty sure it works.
Thanks Joy! Will do!
ReplyThis is in the oven right now. My 3 year old loved folding the strawberries in and loved stealing them off the cutting board too.
ReplySo sweet! Hope you all love it!
Loved the cake and how easy the recipe was to make. I think I will make it a few times this summer.
ReplyHappy to hear that!
This cake is super moist and not too sweet. So delicious. I think it would be great with rhubarb too. We picked tons of fresh berries yesterday so I was anxious to use them in some baking.
ReplyGlad you love it Maria!
I'm so happy to hear that Maria!
Hi joy, you mentioned adding strawberries twice. Is that a misprint? Do we add it to the wet ingredients or just fold in the end? Thankyou
ReplyYes it's a mistake. I've fixed it. You only need to add the strawberries once :)
Hi Joy, Do you add both baking powder and baking soda 1tsp each? Instructions have only baking powder?? Also, wondering why your blueberry peach cake does not have baking soda and only 1/2 tsp baking powder. I was running out of coconut and rice flour so I substituted quinoa flour as you suggested in previous comments. And added 1 tsp of both baking powder and soda in peach cake. The cake had strong flavour of baking soda. I baked this strawberry cake last time and it turned out delicious but don't remember if I added baking soda that time. Thanks Joy!
ReplyOoops! Yes totally, I will update. What brand of baking soda did you use? I don't think I've ever experienced that before. I assume you mixed it well? That is key. You could get away with only using one of them because the flours are so dense you don't get a ton of rise anyway. Both cakes are more like a coffee cake if that make sense.
Hi Joy, would you substitute the maple syrup to decrease the sugar with anything?
ReplyYes, you can definitely do that. You can half the amount and then add water in because you'll need it for moisture. Hope that helps!
Perfect! Thank you!
ReplyI used fresh blueberries and raspberries instead of strawberries and it turned out great. Loved it with some coconut yogurt. Thanks Joy!
ReplyFantastic! Glad you enjoyed it Laura!