Gluten-Free Japanese Strawberry Cake

I have always been a fan of anime, and part of what always caught my attention while watching it has always been the food. Food in anime looks lovely, especially desserts. That was why last year for my birthday I wanted to make the classic Japanese strawberry cake that's often shown in several anime shows and movies. The only problem? I don't tolerate gluten and the recipes I found were not gluten-free. So, after much trial and error, that's where this recipe came from. So let's get it started, shall we?

Step 1: What You Need

This cake is a layered one, so we will need ingredients to prepare the cake, the frosting and a syrup we will add to moisten up the cake.

For the cake:

• 130 grams of caster sugar
• 65 grams of 1-to-1 gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 65 grams of almond flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons of xantham gum
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of sweet Marsala wine
• ¼ cup of whole milk
• 40 grams of butter

For frosting & filling:

• 1 ½ cups of heavy whipping cream
• 50 grams caster sugar
• Strawberries or berry marmalade

For the syrup:

• ½ cup of warm water
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of your favorite liquor (it can be rum, amaretto, irish cream, etc.)

Step 2: Let's Make the Cake!

1. Preheat the oven to 170 C (approximately 340 F).
2. Grease a cake pan, then line it with parchment paper. Grease again and dust lightly with flour.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the xantham gum with the all-purpose and almond flours. Set aside.
4. In a saucepan, heat the milk lightly. Remove from heat and add the butter. Stir until butter has melted completely. Set aside.
5. In another saucepan, pour some water to create a makeshift double boiler. Put the pan on the stove and bring the water to simmer.
6. In a heat-resistant bowl, mix the eggs with the caster sugar. Then, place the bowl over the simmering water. Using an electric hand mixer, whip the mixture just until the sugar dissolves. Do not let it get too hot, or the eggs will cook through. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and resume whipping, until the mixture is light and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
7. Fold the eggs and sugar mixture in the bowl where you previously made the xantham gum and flours mix.
8. Nexy, fold in the vanilla extract, the Marsala wine, and the mixture of the milk with the melted butter, until you have an uniform batter.
9. Now that the batter is done, pour it evenly into the cake pan. You can even hit it lightly so there won't be any bubbles or uneven parts.
10. It's time to bake! Put the cake pan in the center of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is slightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

11. Take the cake out of the oven and hit the pan lightly twice so the cake won’t deflate. Flip the cake, along with the cake pan so it won't dry out, over a cooling rack and let it cool completely.

Step 3: Let's Make the Frosting!

1. Use an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cream is light and fluffy. Set apart.

Step 4: Let's Make Syrup!

1. In a bowl, dissolve the caster sugar in the warm water (make sure it's warm enough or the sugar won't dissolve completely). Let it cool. Then, add the liqueur.

Step 5: Let's Finish It Up!

1. When the cake has cooled down completely, cut it in half lengthwise.
2. Moisten each half of the cake with half of the syrup, and cover one half with whipped cream and either sliced strawberries or berry marmalade, whichever you chose.
3. Cover that half with the other one and cover it with whipped cream and decorate with the rest of the strawberries or more marmalade.

And you are finished!