gluten-free vanilla stack cake + strawberry buttercream

The only thing my mom loves more than me is cake.   

It's no wonder at all I turned out the way I did.  To my biggest cheerleader, my most honest voice of reason & my very best girlfriend in the world...Happy Mother's Day!  

This cake is an absolute dream come true.  It's paired with a fresh strawberry butter-free-buttercream and stacked high to allow for extra frosting layers.  You know...priorities.  

 Here's to sharing something sweet with your mom today!  Lordy knows she deserves it.

Pretty Mom & my niece-baby, Ellie!  

gluten-free vanilla stack cake + strawberry buttercream 

For gluten-free cake:

* Yields three 6" layers
1 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons Earth Balance butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature

Adapted from King Arthur 

For dairy-free frosting:

3 sticks Earth Balance butter, at room temperature
4 ½ cups confectioners sugar
½ cup fresh, ripe strawberries, washed, stemmed, and hulled
1 ½ tsp vanilla

1. To prepare cake, preheat the oven to 325°F.  Lightly grease a 9" round cake pan.
2. Whisk together the flour or flour blend and xanthan gum.
3. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the sugar, soft butter, salt, baking powder, and vanilla until smooth. Add 1 egg, and beat for a minute or so at high speed, until fluffy.
4. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Still using the mixer, beat in the other egg; the mixture should become quite fluffy. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl again.
5. Continuing to use the mixer, beat in the milk, at low speed, alternately with the dry ingredients, adding about 1/3 of each at a time, and ending with the dry ingredients.
6. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for about 25 minutes, about 3 to 4 minutes past the point where the cake springs back when touched lightly in the center, and a cake tester (or toothpick) inserted into the middle comes out clean. 
7. Remove from the oven, and cool for 5 to 10 minutes before turning out of the pan to cool on a rack.
8. To make the frosting, start by pureeing the strawberries in a food processor. Set aside.
9. Cream butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the confectioners sugar about a cup at a time and beat until just blended.
10. Add strawberry puree and vanilla and beat until the buttercream is light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes).  Frost your cake!