With the holidays around the corner, it is time to start baking up a storm and the holidays wouldn’t be complete without some cake.

Gluten-free cake is a treat for anyone who lives with Celiac disease since most regular cakes are not gluten-free and contain wheat flour. Finding a bakery that can make a gluten-free cake is a timely task but making a homemade cake from scratch can be an inexpensive, fun activity.

During the holidays, strawberry cake does not seem like a traditional cake to make but a sweet strawberry cake can be delicious during any time of the year.

Adding ingredients including artificial food coloring can give a pretty pink color to a strawberry cake but this one isn’t complete without fresh strawberries. Strawberries will give the cake a distinctive shade of strawberry pink and a sweet, strawberry flavor.

This delightful, moist strawberry cake will put a smile on anyone’s face after the first bite.

This recipe is adapted from the cookbook “The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free” by Anne Byrn.

Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake

Vegetable oil spray, for misting the pans

2 teaspoons rice flour, for dusting the pans

1 package (15 ounces) yellow gluten-free cake mix

1⁄2 cup sweet white rice flour

3 tablespoons strawberry gelatin

3⁄4 cup strawberry puree

1⁄2 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 large strawberries for garnish

Two 9-inch round cake pans

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1 large strawberry

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 stick butter, at room temperature

3 1⁄2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

With the vegetable oil spray, mist two 9-inch round cake pans. Sprinkle the rice flour onto the pans. Shake out any excess flour and set pans aside.

To make the strawberry puree: wash and pat dry two cups of strawberries. Set aside six large strawberries to use for garnish. Cut off the tops of the strawberries, place in a blender and puree strawberries for 30 seconds. This should make about 3⁄4 cups of strawberry puree.

In a large mixing bowl, combine yellow cake mix, sweet white rice flour and strawberry gelatin. There are many different kinds of gluten-free cake mixes in supermarkets and some of the best ones to use are from Betty Crocker, 1-2-3 Gluten Free and Namaste Foods. For this recipe, I used a gluten-free yellow cake mix from Betty Crocker because it was easy to find and inexpensive.

Add in the eggs, oil, vanilla extract and strawberry puree to the mixture and mix until all ingredients are combined.

Divide cake batter evenly into the cake pans and place side by side in the oven. Bake for 18-25 minutes until golden brown or if the cake springs up when you touch it.

Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cool down for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan and shake the layers out carefully. Turn the layers upside down onto the wire rack and turn layers upside down again so the layers are right side up.

Let the cake layers cool down for 20 minutes until completely cooled.

While the cake layers cool down, make the strawberry cream cheese frosting.

Rinse and pat dry the strawberry and cut off the top. Mash the strawberry in a small bowl or mix in a blender until pureed. Add the cream cheese and butter and mix for 20 seconds.

Add the confectioners sugar and mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Mix until frosting is fluffy, which should take about two minutes. You can refrigerate the frosting for up to a day but let the frosting get to room temperature before frosting the cake.

Garnish the cake with strawberries by placing them around the cake or slicing the strawberries and placing the slices in the middle of the cake to look like a fan or a flower.

This cake is perfect for any occasion and will be a smash hit with friends and families.

Brittany Lambert can be reached at [email protected]