When two birthdays roll around in the same week, you berry well pull out all the stops–especially when it’s for your husband and your lovely mother-in-law! With our in-laws in town, it felt like the perfect excuse to revisit (and seriously glow-up) my strawberry cake recipe from earlier this month (you can tell I take my taste-testing seriously). I gave it the full birthday treatment: gold cake toppers, extra glam, and roses cut straight from strawberries…because nothing says “I love you” like hand-carved fruit flowers, right (as long as the chef doesn’t prick their finger on said carving knife)? Sweet, fresh, and made with lots of care (and buttercream), it was a delicious way to celebrate two very special people in our lives, because you can’t spell “family” without cake…or at least that’s what I tell myself.
Since this was no ordinary celebration, I gave my original recipe a little birthday glow-up. I dialed up the strawberry flavor with a touch more extract in the batter (because more berry = more merry), and I added real butter instead of Greek yogurt to the frosting for that extra indulgence–a little buttery sunshine to balance the sweet. For the finishing touches, I used minimal piping and went full-on fruit florist: I sliced strawberries into delicate little rose shapes that turned out unbeleafably cute and a strawberry border. Add a few gold cake toppers, some edible sparkle, and boom: birthday magic, no fondant fuss required.
Here’s everything I used for this cake:
- 1M Piping tip
- Fresh strawberries
- Birthday cake toppers
Follow along with the photo tutorial below, and I’ve also included a video of how I cut the strawberry roses below.
Recipe and Instructions
Gluten free strawberry cake with protein cream cheese frosting
A lush strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting and the cutest daisies ever!
Ingredients
CAKE*1 box of gluten free yellow cake mix (I used Whole Foods 365 GF cake mix)
*1 packet of sugar free strawberry Jell-o powder (0.3 oz)
*3/4 cup + 2 TBS fat free or skim milk
*113 g (1/2 cup) unsweetened applesauce
*2 eggs
*1.5 tsp strawberry extract
FROSTING
*1/2 cup butter, softened (can use a light butter to cut calories)
*8 ounces 1/3 the fat cream cheese at room temp
*12 ounces Lakanto powdered monkfruit
*4 ounces Quest vanilla milkshake protein powder (cuts the sweetness of the monkfruit and makes a nice, stiff, spreadable frosting; omit and use all monkfruit if desired)
*1 TBS clear vanilla
*3-4 TBS milk
*1/4 tsp citric acid if you like less sweet frosting
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease two 8-inch pans.
- Whisk cake ingredients together in a stand mixer on low for 60 seconds before switching to medium-high for two minutes.
- Pour batter evenly into pan and bake for 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean from the center.
- Allow cake to cool fully before frosting.
- To make frosting, whisk cream cheese and butter for 3 minutes before adding in half the powdered monkfruit, protein powder, vanilla, and milk.
- Add in remaining monkfruit mix fully. If too stiff, add an additional TBS milk.
- While your cake cools, cut tops off of strawberries and then cut the sides vertically into thin strips to decorate the base of the cake; set aside.
- To make the strawberry roses, use a small pairing knife to cut thin slices at the bottom of the strawberry, cutting and rotating around the bottom. In the middle, cut at opposing sides so your petals will not overlap with the base layer cuts. Finish by cutting small slices into the top of the berry. Use your fingers to carefully peel back each cut/petal.
- Once fully cooled, frost your cake and place sliced strawberries around the bottom.
- Use remaining frosting into a piping bag with a 1M tip to pipe a shell border on top.
- Place cake toppers and roses on top as preferred.
- Keep cake covered and in the fridge. It is best served at room temp, so remove from fridge 30 minutes before eating. Enjoy!
Kate Bakes Cakes 