Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cake with Strawberries and Coconut Cream

You have my son to thank for this gluten free chocolate chip cake recipe. He went berry picking with his girlfriend and came home with a lovely basket of strawberries. The bounty of fresh berries seemed like a good excuse to develop a gluten free, dairy free version of strawberry shortcake. 

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cake

I figured a variation of my chocolate and blueberry snack cake recipes was a good place to start. These snack cakes are easy to make because you mix and bake them in the same pan. They are also vegan and gluten free.

While I love the combination of chocolate and strawberries, a chocolate cake is too removed from traditional strawberry shortcake. The mini chocolate chips are a good compromise. They add a hint of chocolate without overpowering the strawberries and coconut cream.

Of course you can enjoy this gluten free chocolate chip cake on its own or with some other kind of topping… But it pairs brilliantly with strawberries and coconut cream.

Coconut Whipped Cream

I was getting ready to search for a good coconut cream recipe when one of the food bloggers I follow of Facebook shared a wonderfully detailed “How To Make Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream” post. Marly of NamelyMarly.com explains exactly what you need to do to achieve stiff peaks – complete with pictures.

She recommends Trader Joe’s as the best coconut milk for making coconut whipped cream. Alas, I live nowhere near a Trader Joe’s… And just as Marly warns, the fat in my can of coconut milk was not as solidified as it could have been. Thus, my coconut whipped cream did not achieve the prized peaks, but it was still creamy and delicious!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cake with Strawberries and Coconut Cream

This recipe was a big hit with my family. I believe my fourteen-year-old daughter told me she loved me, and my husband said, “It’s a keeper!”

The moist vegan and gluten free chocolate chip cake blends beautifully with the lightly sweet flavors of strawberry and coconut cream without becoming too rich.

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Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cake with Strawberries and Cream

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 9

Ingredients

• coconut whipped cream - see recipe
• 4 cups sliced strawberries mixed with ½ Tbsp. maple syrup

Cake

• 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. fine sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. grape seed oil - plus enough unsweetened apple sauce to equal ⅓ cup
• ½-2/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ¾ cup water
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup miniature dairy free chocolate chips

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat toaster oven or conventional oven to 350 degrees.
• Add dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) to an ungreased 8x8 baking dish and mix with a fork until well blended.
• Add wet ingredients and continue to mix with a fork – making sure to scrape along bottom and edge of the baking dish – until well combined.
• Add chocolate chips and stir until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
• Bake approximately 30 minutes (if using convection setting on toaster oven) or 35-40 minutes (if using conventional oven) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool in pan on wire rack for at least one hour prior to cutting.

To Serve

• Slice cake into 9 servings.
• Place slices on individual plates and top with 2-3 spoonfuls of sliced strawberries and 1-2 dollops of coconut cream.

 Note: I do not include nutrition information with my recipes because I subscribe to the theories presented in the book Whole and believe we should focus on eating a variety of whole foods instead of counting calories or keeping track of individual nutrients.