Healthy Strawberry Cake (made with oats)

This healthy strawberry cake is made with fresh strawberries and ground oats, then topped with a light strawberry cream cheese frosting. It's perfectly sweet, moist, and tender- the perfect spring dessert!

You would never guess that this cake is healthy and gluten-free. It's made with wholesome ingredients such as ground oats and fresh strawberries. The base of the icing is made with a combination of light cream cheese and Greek yogurt.

You can also make this cake sugar free. Personally, I choose to replace some of the sugar with granulated erythritol and it turns out fantastic. Everyone loves this cake!

Even better- It's really easy to make! So let's talk ingredients...

Healthy Strawberry Cake Ingredients

For healthy Strawberry cake, you will need the following ingredients:

• Strawberries- 8 ounces of fresh strawberries makes about ½ cup of strawberry pureé that we will incorporate into the batter.
• Oat Flour-  Oat flour is sold in stores, but it’s also super easy to make at home. Simply blend old-fashioned oats in a high-speed blender until the oats become a fine powder (about 30 seconds to a minute). Store your oat flour in an air-tight container for up to three months. 
• Tapioca Flour- Tapioca flour keeps this cake light and airy. I use this brand and it’s pretty easy to find.
• Granulated Sugar of Choice- You can use regular granulated sugar or granulated erythritol for sugar free. To save on calories and sugar, I use a 50/50 combination of both regular sugar and erythritol.  Please note that compared to sugar, granulated erythritol is about 70 percent as sweet, so you may want to add a couple extra tablespoons or to your preference. 
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda- To help the cake rise.
• Salt-  Don’t forget the salt. It helps to bring out the other flavors of the cake.
• Eggs- You need 2 large eggs and be sure that they are at room temperature.
• Coconut Oil- I use melted refined coconut oil, but feel free to substitute a different vegetable oil such as canola.
• Strawberry Extract- I've used this brand and this brand and they worked worked beautifully.
• Vanilla Extract- Pure vanilla extract is best but imitation will work as well.
• Pink Gel Food Coloring- Food coloring is optional, but I recommend it so that you get that beautiful pink color. I bought the Americolor brand mine at my local craft store for just a few dollars. You can also purchase it from Amazon.

For the Frosting you will need:

• Light Cream Cheese-  I use reduced fat cream cheese, also called Neufchatel cheese. You can go with full fat if you prefer.
• Greek Yogurt- Be sure to use a thick yogurt like Fage or Chobani, and be sure it’s unsweetened.
• Powdered Sugar of Choice- For the frosting, you can use regular confectioners' sugar or powdered erythritol for sugar free. Or a combination of both (like I do). Another sugar free option is powdered monkfruit sweetner. 
• Lemon Juice- Be sure to use fresh lemon juice.
• Strawberry Extract- I've used this brand and this brand and they worked worked beautifully.
• Vanilla Extract-Pure vanilla extract is best but imitation will work as well.
• Pink Gel Food Coloring- Food coloring is optional, but I recommend it so that you get that beautiful pink color. I bought the Americolor brand mine at my local craft store for just a few dollars. You can also purchase it from Amazon.

How to make Healthy Strawberry Cake (made with oats)

Follow these instructions and you will be eating strawberry cake in no time:

Prepare the cake

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper and spray the parchment with non stick spray.
• Wash your strawberries and remove the hull. Puree them in a food processor or blender until smooth and no chunks remain. You should have ¾ cup of puree. Set aside.
• Sift the oat flour, tapioca flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Whisk together the eggs, coconut oil, strawberry pureé, strawberry extract, vanilla extract, and pink food coloring.
• Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix together with a large spoon until well incorporated. Do not overmix.
• Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30-34 minutes (mine is perfect at 32 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out (mostly) clean.
• Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting

• With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and Greek yogurt together until light and fluffy. Add in the confectioners' sugar or powdered erythritol, the lemon juice, strawberry extract, vanilla extract, and pink food coloring. Beat on medium speed, stopping to scrape down the bowl as necessary, until smooth.
• Cover and refrigerate the frosting for 30 minutes or until ready to use.

Tips and Storage

• Aluminum cake pans work best for baking cakes. Aluminum heats up quickly and evenly, ensuring that your cakes come out perfectly every time.
• Line your cake pans with parchment and grease the pan and the parchment paper. Parchment paper rounds guarantee the cakes won’t stick.
• Cover your cake with plastic wrap after it's completely cooled and refrigerate for a few hours. This makes it much easier to frost.
• The cake and frosting can be made a day in advance. Cover your cake tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. Store the frosting covered separately in the refrigerator.
• Store the prepared cake in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Want more healthy dessert recipes?

Check these out:

Light Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits (vegan)

Healthy Carrot Cake

Skinny Lemon Cheesecake Mousse

Healthy Protein Brownies

5 best Oat Flour Cake Recipes

Please let me know how you like the healthy strawberry cake in the comments! I love to hear from you and your star ratings encourage others to give the recipe a try.

Enjoy!

Crystal