Strawberry Bliss Cake Bites

Delightfully sweet and irresistibly fruity, these strawberry cake bites are the perfect treat for any occasion. Bursting with fresh strawberry flavor and nestled in a moist, tender cake crumb, each bite-sized morsel is a miniature celebration of summer. Get ready to savor the essence of strawberries in every bite of these adorable treats. Now let’s get to baking!

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1 1/4 cups gluten-free 1 to 1 flour*
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup vegan butter, softened at room temperature
• ¼ cup plant-based milk
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup strawberry puree (about 1 cup frozen/fresh strawberries)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Plant-based red food coloring, optional

Frosting

• 1/2 cup vegan butter (1 stick), softened at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Plant-based red food coloring, optional

Coating

• 32 oz of vegan white chocolate**
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil

Instructions:

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a round 8-inch cake pan.
2. In a small bowl mix the plant-base milk and lemon juice. Gently stir and let sit for 2 minutes to make buttermilk.
3. Puree the strawberries using a blender or food processor. Strain the puree if you’d like to avoid clumps and seeds in the cake batter.
4. In a stand mixer or large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter for 3-5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Sift in the dry ingredients, whisking gently to combine.
5. Add the buttermilk, strawberry puree and vanilla. Mix on high speed for 30 seconds until fully combined.
6. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake fully cool before proceeding.

Frosting & Coating

1. With a handheld or stand mixer, beat the vegan butter for about 2-3 minutes. Now add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and food coloring and beat until smooth and creamy, for about 3 minutes.
2. Once the cake has cooled, crumble it into the bowl with the frosting. Turn the mixer on low speed and beat to combine, the mixture should be crumbly.
3. Place the mixture in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up. Then scoop out one tablespoon at a time and roll into balls. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and chill them back in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
4. Melt half of the white chocolate with half the vegetable oil in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. When you are nearly out of melted chocolate, melt the other half of chocolate and oil.*** 

1. Remove a few cake balls from the freezer at a time and individually dip them into the chocolate until completely coated then place back on the parchment paper.
2. Place the coated cake balls in the freezer or fridge to set before serving.

Notes:

*Can substitute with regular flour

**Can substitute with regular white chocolate

***Half at a time works best because the chocolate starts to firm up after a while. Pro Tip: Use lollipop sticks before the chocolate coating to turn these into cake pops!

Go to maddimadevegan.com for more recipes and make sure to tag @parentingocmag on social media when you post how your own ice cream turned out!