Strawberry Shortcake - GF

My dad's favorite dessert during the summer is Strawberry Shortcake so for Father's Day we gave him one entire cake just for him. I also made a gluten free version for those of us that are GF. It turned out great! It is a little time intensive, but worth it.

Gluten Free Angel Food Cake

12 egg whites, at room temperature
1 C GF flour blend (I used this one)
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C agave nectar
1 TB GF vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Separate egg whites in a stainless steel bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let them come to room temperature. This takes about an hour. If you’re in a time-crunch, put your egg whites in a zip-lock bag and place the sealed bag in warm tap water for about 10 minutes. This will bring them to room temperature quickly.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Position a rack in the lower middle portion of the oven.

Triple sift the flour. Set aside.

Beat the egg whites on low speed until they are beginning to break up and are frothy. Add the cream of tartar and salt, increase speed to medium and continue to beat until the egg whites are billowy mounds. Pour the agave about one tablespoon at a time into the egg whites until all agave is incorporated and the eggs are at the soft peak stage. This means that the peak will form and then fold over on itself. Beating the eggs to stiff peaks will make it difficult to incorporate the flour without deflating the whites. Pour in vanilla and lemon juice. Mix until just incorporated.

Sift the flour over the egg whites about 3 tablespoons at a time and fold in very gently, making sure to cut down into the bottom of the batter and lift it up over the rest of the whites. Resist the temptation to move quickly or stir.

Pour batter into angel food cake pan (or two loaf pans) and cut through batter with a knife, going around pan, to remove any large air bubbles. Smooth top of batter with a spatula. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes (0r about 40 minutes if you use loaf pans) until golden brown and cake springs back when firmly pressed. Check cake after 50 minutes as oven temperatures vary.

When cake is finished, remove from oven and immediately invert on a cake platter. Let cake cool completely, 2-3 hours. To remove cake from pan, place pan on it’s side on the countertop. Use a long, thin, flexible spatula to cut around the edge of the cake, always pushing against the pan. Pop the bottom of the cake pan up. Use a long, thin boning knife to cut around the core. Use the long thin spatula to release the angel food cake from the bottom.

Strawberry Sauce

2 lbs fresh strawberries

agave to taste

Mash strawberries and use agave to sweeten to taste.

Agave Sweetened Whip Cream

2 C Heavy Whipping Cream

1/3 C agave
1 TB pure vanilla extract

Whip cream until thickens. Gradually add in agave and vanilla and beat until soft peaks form.

* Recipe adapted from a recipe over at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free