During the height of summer strawberries are abundant and there’s no better time to take advantage of the summer bounty than by eating plenty of strawberries. Strawberries are naturally rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, which keeps our immune system healthy.
Apart from eating strawberries fresh, one other way that I’ve been enjoying them is in the form of this Lazy Strawberry Cake, that I’ve adapted from the New York Times.
I’ve made a few tweaks to the original recipe and “healthified” it, reducing the amount of oil and sugar used and also adding more fresh fruit. I’ve also used gluten-free all-purpose flour in place of wheat flour, and replaced whole milk with non-dairy milk, making this a gluten-free cake that even those with gluten and dairy intolerances can enjoy.
In short, this is an impossibly easy-to-make cake – which is why it’s called a “Lazy Strawberry Cake”. There’s very little hands-on prep, you probably already have all the ingredients required to make it, and it’s oh-so good. It’s best served warm and eaten with a spoon straight from the baking dish.
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- ⅓ cup olive oil plus more for greasing
- 1½ cups (heaping) organic strawberries (8 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup plant-based milk such as almond or oat milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup gluten-free flour (I use Bob Redmill’s 1:1)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8-inch baking dish (it can be round or square) with olive oil.
- In a medium bowl, place the strawberries, add sugar, sea salt and vanilla extract. Lightly press the strawberries to release their juices (but not too hard, so that they retain their shape), using your hands or the back of a fork. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and brown sugar, milk and salt. Add the flour and baking powder and continue whisking just until the batter is smooth. Transfer the batter (it’s not much) to the greased baking dish, and spread evenly into corners (otherwise the strawberry juice will seep out when baking).
- Spoon the strawberries and all their juices over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or just when a toothpick comes out clean in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 to 5 minutes before spooning into bowls.
• Please note, if you would like to incorporate less sugar, feel free to cut the amount down to ¼ cup.
Find more hormone-balancing recipes in Overcoming Estrogen Dominance
In Overcoming Estrogen Dominance, my goal is to empower and give you the tools to take control of your hormones and health.
More than 70% of women experience estrogen dominance. The symptoms range from lumpy and fibrocystic breasts to thyroid nodules, hot flashes, fibroids, uterine polyps, painful, heavy or irregular periods to infertility and miscarriages, from mood swings to insomnia, weight gain to fatigue.
In Overcoming Estrogen Dominance, I give women a roadmap to reverse estrogen dominance using food, herbs, supplements and natural protocols to rebalance hormones. You’ll also find easy, hormone-balancing recipes that are free of gluten, dairy, soy, corn, eggs, and nightshades. These recipes are highly anti-inflammatory, low in sugar, and made with powerful medicinal ingredients to help heal your body naturally.
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Why wii I yes you use refined sugar in your baking if you are trying to reduce inflammation???
if you’re trying to reduce inflammation, don’t eat fruit; it’s high in sugar.
It’s a dessert recipe, inevitably it contains sugar. I refuse to use artificial sweeteners. If you have inflammation, don’t look at dessert recipes.
Can’t wait to try this! I’ll use avocado oil instead. Olive oil has a strong taste you can’t hide, especially if it’s good quality
Good idea. I actually like the EVOO taste in this recipe, did it on purpose :-).
Why aren’t you using organic ingredients, especially the strawberries which tend to be heavily sprayed? And the almost half a cup of sugar makes this recipe rather unhealthy!
Oh no! Baking soda or baking powder? It says soda in the list of ingredients and powder in the instructions…..
Thank you for spotting it. It’s corrected now – baking powder is correct.
The strawberries are stated as organic. The recipe uses 2 tablespoons of sugar, not 1/2 cup.
This sounds delicious! Going to make it this week with a couple of tweaks. Might also try using other fruits. Appreciate your sharing this with us.
Looks good, can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing.
The recipe says mash the strawberries, but the picture looks like the strawberries are not mashed. Has anyone tried this yet , which is correct ?
Smash gently don’t mash.
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So much sugar…