Strawberry & Cream Cake (vegan, gluten free)

Healthy eating isn't about depriving yourself, or giving up all the foods you love. Most of the time, it's just about looking for new ways to enjoy them.

So what if we told you that Strawberry & Cream Cake could be healthy, too?

We're still struggling to believe it ourselves, but this Strawberry & Cream Cake recipe contains no gluten, no grains, no refined sugar, no eggs, and no butter. It's 100% vegan, and tastes even BETTER than the real thing!

Don't believe us? Here's how you can make it for yourself.

Strawberry & Cream Cake (Vegan, Gluten Free)

INGREDIENTS:

For the cake:

• 400g ground almonds
• 150g buckwheat flour
• 2 flax 'eggs' (2 tbsp flaxseed mixed with 6 tbsp water)
• 8 tbsp cashew butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 tbsp maple syrup
• 380ml almond milk
• Coconut oil, for greasing

Coconut cream frosting and toppings:

• 2 cans coconut milk (with no added ingredients)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 12 strawberries
• 1 tbsp desiccated coconut

METHOD:

1) Place the cans of coconut milk in the fridge overnight so the cream separates from the liquid

2) Preheat your oven to 180C. Mix your flax 'eggs' and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken up.

3) Mix the almonds and buckwheat flour in a bowl. Add your cashew butter, maple syrup, vanilla and thickened flax mixture. Slowly add the almond milk, mixing as you do so. Make sure everything is well combined.

4) Grease two 7 inch cake tins with a little coconut oil, and separate the mixture evenly between the two. Place the cake tins in the oven for 30 minutes, or until you can poke a knife through the middle and it comes out clean.

5) Set the cakes aside to cool completely.

6) Remove the coconut milk cans from the fridge and open them up. You should see the cream has risen to the top. Scoop this part out into a bowl and discard the water (or keep it for smoothies!)

7) Add the maple syrup to the coconut cream and whisk until fluffy. If it becomes too runny, this is when you add the coconut flour.

8) Make sure the cakes are completly cool, then spread half the coconut frosting on top of one of the cakes. Then, chop the strawberries into slices and place on top of the frosting.

9) Add a little cream to the base of the second cake, then place it on top of the first cake you just frosted. It should hold well.

10) Spread the remaining frosting on top of the cake, and add more strawberry slices and a sprinkle of desiccated coconut.

11) Your cake is now ready to enjoy!

Want another amazing dessert recipe like this one? Check out these tasty Chocolate Walnut Caramel Bars for an extra sweet treat that has quite the health protein kick to it too!