Dragonfruit and Strawberry Cake with Ombre Frosting

Dragonfruit and Strawberry Cake with Ombre Frosting

Description

dragonfruit strawberry cake | pink ombre cake | naturally pink frosting | glutenfree strawberry cake

Ingredients

3 cups Bob's Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour (or sub regular all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour)
3 teaspoons Baking Powder
3⁄4 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 packages frozen dragonfruit puree* (~approx 7 ounces, divided)
4 fresh strawberries (diced)
1 cup avocado oil (or sub extra virgin olive oil)
1 1⁄2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3⁄4 cups unsweetened cashewmilk
5 Eggs
3⁄4 cups Coconut Sugar
3⁄4 cups raw cane sugar
4 cups organic powdered sugar (for the frosting)
1 cup Vegan Butter (I use the Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (for the frosting)
2 tablespoons cashewmilk (for the frosting)
1⁄2 tablespoon beet powder (for the frosting - optional)

Notes

*I like buying the dragonfruit / pitaya smoothie packs from Whole Foods in the frozen fruit section. It looks like this.

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Thaw the frozen dragonfruit puree in a small bowl of warm water. Once thawed, reserve 1 Tbsp in a small bowl (to be used for the frosting later!)
  3. Get out 3 large mixing bowls.
  4. In the largest mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Stir and then set aside. 
  5. In a smaller mixing bowl, combine the thawed dragronfruit puree and then add in the diced strawberries, avocado oil, vanilla, and cashewmilk. Stir and then set aside. 
  6. In a third bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Using a hand mixer, mix on medium-high for 2 - 3 minutes. 
  7. Then, pour the egg mixture into the dragonfruit mixture. Stir. Then, pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Do not overstir. 
  8. Divide the batter into a two greased 9" round cake pans, then bake for 45 minutes. 
  9. Once the cakes are finished, let them cool on the counter for 20 minutes. Then, flip them out onto parchment to cool completely.
  10. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Use a hand mixer to beat the vegan butter, vanilla, and cashewmilk until smooth. Then slowly add in the powdered sugar. Texture should be creamy. Not too thick, not too thin. You can add more cashewmilk or powdered sugar until the desired consistency is reached. 
  11. Once the cakes are cooled, you can spread the frosting on. If you want to make the ombre colors, divide the frosting into three small bowls. Leave one as is (white). In the second bowl, stir in 1/2 tbsp of dragonfruit puree. In the third bowl, stir in 1/2 tbsp dragonfruit puree plus 1/2 tbsp beet powder. 
  12. Put one cake on a cake stand. Then spread a thin layer of frosting on top. Then put the second cake on top of that... to create the layered cake. 
  13. Use a frosting spatula to cover the full cake with frosting (I put the darkest shade on the bottom, then lighter, then lightest), and then scrape vertically around the cake to smooth the frosting. 
  14. The last step: slice the cake and enjoy!

Yields 10 Servings