Strawberry Cake
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This Strawberry Cake Recipe is full of fresh, summery strawberry flavor. The best part is that it uses only real ingredients. There's no boxed gelatin, strawberry extract, or food coloring here. Freeze-dried strawberries are blended right into the batter and frosting for true strawberry taste.
The result is a soft, tender pink cake with a sweet, slightly tart berry flavor. It's great for birthdays, spring events, summer parties, baby showers, or whenever you want a special dessert.
Table of Contents
- Here's Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients You'll Need
- In Photos: How To Make Strawberry Cake
- Recipe FAQ
- More Spring & Summer Recipes
This strawberry cake recipe is absolutely bursting with real strawberry flavor. I'm talking intense, punch-you-in-the-mouth strawberry flavor. If the bright, berry-pink color doesn't get the point across, the taste most definitely will. This is the best strawberry cake recipe out there, by virtue of taste alone.
But best of all, it's also all-natural. This recipe has no artificial color or flavor. There's no Jello mix. There's no strawberry extract, even (although that might be a nice addition if you have it on hand and don't mind using it). All of its bright, summery flavor and gorgeous pinky-red color comes from real strawberries.
It's also super easy to make in just one bowl. And it can be done as a towering triple-layer beauty, as seen in the pics and video here, or as a double-layer 8-inch cake, a 9x13 sheet cake, or even cupcakes.
The texture is moist as can be, with a fine, velvety crumb and a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth quality. It pairs perfectly with strawberry buttercream, but it can work equally well with other fillings and frostings. So read on for everything you need to know about the best strawberry cake EVER!
Here's Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This cake uses real strawberries in the form of freeze-dried strawberry powder. This gives you a strong berry flavor without adding extra moisture to the batter.
- Cake flour, sour cream, and the reverse-creaming method make the cake soft and fluffy.
- You can easily customize the frosting. Try Swiss meringue buttercream, American buttercream, or cream cheese frosting.
- The cake is naturally flavored and colored, with no artificial strawberry flavor.
- This recipe is versatile. You can make a 3-layer cake, a 2-layer cake, a sheet cake, or cupcakes.
Ingredients You'll Need
The recipe card at the bottom of the post contains the full list with all of the amounts. Refer to that when you're cooking.
For the Strawberry Cake
- Cake flour: Keeps the cake soft, light, and tender. It gives the crumb a delicate bakery-style texture.
- All-purpose flour: Adds just enough structure so the cake layers hold together nicely.
- Granulated sugar: Sweetens the cake and helps create a moist, tender crumb
- Baking powder: Helps the cake rise and gives it a light texture.
- Baking soda: Works with the sour cream to create lift and balance.
- Kosher salt: Enhances the strawberry flavor and keeps the cake from tasting flat.
- Freeze-dried strawberries: The key ingredient! They add concentrated, natural strawberry flavor and a pretty pink color.
- Unsalted butter: Adds richness and a soft, buttery flavor. Make sure it's softened before mixing.
- Eggs: Provide structure and help bind everything together.
- Sour cream: Adds moisture, tenderness, and a subtle tang. Plain Greek yogurt or buttermilk can be substituted.
- Milk: Loosens the batter and helps create a soft cake. Any kind of milk you have on hand will work.
- Lemon zest: Brightens the strawberry flavor and makes the cake taste fresh.
- Vanilla extract: Rounds out the flavor and adds warmth.
For the Strawberry Frosting
- Plain frosting: Use your favorite. Swiss meringue buttercream, American buttercream, or cream cheese frosting all work beautifully.
- Freeze-dried strawberries: Ground into a powder and folded into the frosting for natural strawberry flavor.
Allergy-Friendly Swaps
While I have not tested this recipe with any alternative ingredients, I do feel it could work well as an allergen-free recipe.
For gluten-free strawberry cake, look for a gluten-free flour blend that subs 1:1 for regular flour.
Here are a few good options:
- King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour
- Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour
- Cup4Cup Multi-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
If you'd like to make this dairy-free, use dairy-free butter & milk products that can sub 1:1 for regular dairy.
For an eggless, vegan version, try using a flax egg or chia egg. For each egg, mix 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed or chia seed with 2 tablespoons of water and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until gelled.
In Photos: How To Make Strawberry Cake
This recipe, like so many of my other cake recipes, utilizes the reverse-creaming method. So it starts with the dry ingredients, then the butter is worked in, then the liquid ingredients. It may look a little unusual to you, but I promise the results are phenomenal. This method really takes the guesswork out, so it's practically foolproof.
Step 1: Mix Dry Ingredients
Start by measuring cake flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a big mixing bowl.
I like to use a combination of cake flour and all-purpose flour because cake flour provides lightness and all-purpose flour gives structure. You can read more about cake flour here: Why Use Cake Flour?.
Next comes the magic ingredient. This right here is responsible for all that fantastic strawberry flavor!
Freeze-dried strawberries.
I love these because you get all of the flavor with zero sogginess. These berries are distilled down to their absolute essence!
I haven't had any trouble at all finding them in my regular grocery store. They're right in the same aisle with raisins and other dried fruits. And I've used a couple of different brands (Trader Joe's and Natierra) and they both seem to work equally well. (Although the Trader Joe's brand seems to impart more of a bright pink color, while Natierra is more reddish.) If your store doesn't carry them, here's a link to order them online: Freeze-Dried Strawberries.
Using a food processor, mini-chopper, or blender, grind them to a fine powder and add them to the other dry ingredients.
Then just give everything a quick whisk to combine.
Step 2: Add Butter
Now comes the butter. Work in softened, unsalted butter until the mixture resembles damp sand.
Step 3: Add Wet Ingredients
Eggs go in, one at a time. Allow each egg to fully incorporate before adding the next. This way you won't have any lumps.
Finally, add the liquid ingredients. Sour cream and milk will add moisture to the cake, vanilla gives a lovely aromatic sweetness, and lemon zest brings out the bright flavor of the strawberries.
Beat the batter for a minute or so, to develop the cake's structure and aerate it, then transfer it to the greased, lined pan(s).
Step 4: Bake
You'll want to bake the layers until they feel springy when pressed, and when a toothpick is inserted in the thickest part, it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Allow them to cool completely before filling and frosting. (I actually like to wrap mine and refrigerate or freeze them overnight. It makes them so much easier to frost without shedding crumbs!)
Step 5: Frost
My absolute favorite frosting for this cake is strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I love it because it's so satiny-smooth and it doesn't crust over, which makes it really easy to work with and get a smooth, even finish. It's also very stable.
You can read lots more about Swiss meringue buttercream here: Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
Frosting Alternatives
More great frosting options for this cake include:
To add that gorgeous pink color and intense strawberry flavor to any of these, just fold in another packet of ground freeze-dried strawberries.
You could also whip yourself up a chocolate-covered strawberry situation by frosting this cake with chocolate frosting or whipped ganache, or by coating it with chocolate glaze.
Filling Options
For what you see here, I frosted and filled it with strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream. But you could totally mix things up with a different kind of filling!
Here are some of my best ideas:
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- Grind the freeze-dried strawberries very finely. Large pieces can create pockets in the cake batter or frosting.
- Use butter that is softened but not melted. It should be soft enough to press but still hold its shape.
- Scrape the bowl often to prevent dry ingredients or butter from staying at the bottom.
- Don't overbake. Pull the cakes when a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting. If the cake is warm, the frosting may melt, and the layers could slide.
Recipe FAQ
Can this recipe be made in advance?
This strawberry cake recipe can definitely be made ahead. In fact, I would recommend it.
Start by making the cake layers. They need a while to fully cool. Once they're there, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. They'll keep in the fridge for several days, or in the freezer for a couple of months.
Next, fill and frost the cake. Many of the frostings and fillings listed above will keep in the fridge or freezer, but they may need to be re-fluffed in the mixer first.
A filled & frosted cake should keep, refrigerated, for several days. Maybe even a week!
How long does this recipe last?
This cake can be left out at room temperature for several hours.
If you have any leftovers, wrap them tightly; they should be fine in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or in the freezer for a month or two. Thaw at room temperature or in the fridge.
More Spring & Summer Recipes
Baking isn't just for the winter holiday season! When the warm weather hits, I can't wait to bake my first cherry pie of the summer, make fruit pizza, and settle in with a bowl of rhubarb crisp. Here are some more of my favorite ways to celebrate the season.
More Cake Recipes
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Cake:
- 1 ½ cups (187.5 g) cake flour
- ¾ cup (93.75 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (4.93 g) baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon (3.7 g) baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon (3.7 g) kosher salt
- 2.4 ounces (68.04 g) freeze-dried strawberries
- ¾ cup (170.25 g) unsalted butter,, softened
- 2 (88 g) eggs, (large)
- ⅔ cup (153.33 g) sour cream, (plain Greek yogurt or buttermilk can be substituted)
- ½ cup (122 g) milk, (whatever kind you have on hand)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, (zest from about ½ a lemon)
- 2 teaspoons (9.86 g) vanilla extract
For the Strawberry Frosting:
- 1 batch (1 g) plain frosting*
- 1.2 ounces (34.02 g) freeze-dried strawberries
Instructions
To Make the Strawberry Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, mist three 6-inch cake pans** with non-stick spray, and line them with circles cut from parchment paper.
- Pulse the freeze-dried strawberries to a fine powder in a food processor, mini-chopper, or blender.
- Place the cake flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and strawberry powder in the bowl of an electric mixer, and stir on low speed to combine.
- Add the butter, mixing on medium-low speed until the mixture resembles damp sand (about 1 minute.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl to be sure all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Add the sour cream, milk, lemon zest, and vanilla.
- Mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, to aerate the batter and build the cake's structure.
- Divide the batter equally between the prepared pans, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool completely before filling and frosting.
To Make the Strawberry Frosting:
- Pulse the freeze-dried strawberries to a fine powder in a food processor, mini-chopper, or blender.
- Fold the powder into the frosting until well-blended.
Do you think this same recipe would work if I substitute freeze dried pineapple for a pineapple cake? Should I omit the sour cream?
I think it would but I would not omit the sour cream. Good luck!
Excellent recipe!This was the best strawberry cake I have ever had. This will become a staple in our dessert repertoire. We had two cake pans that were larger than what was recommended. Mine needed a bit more time in the oven because they were a bit undercooked.
Also, we made the cake dairy free as well as the icing. Delicious!
will this work in 9x13 pan don't have the 6 inch pans
Can I use this recipe for cupcake I like it more than the strawberry cupcake recipe but I am scared it won’t dome
Can I use this recipe for cupcake I like it more than the strawberry cupcake recipe but I am scared it won’t dome
Your recipes are always amazing. I am following you for the last 2 years and learned a lot from here. I run an online cake shop in India where I make a variety of cakes. Many of the times I use your recipes to make delicious cakes for my customers. Thanks a lot.
You're so welcome! I'm so happy to be able to contribute to the success of your business!
Hii i want to try to make this, but on the ingredients frosting, is it really only 1 gram of plain frosting? Or maybe you misstype ?
It doesn't say 1 gram it says 1 batch.
My cake tasted delicious BUT it turned a dingy shade of dusty pink, not bright pink like in your pictures! I used powdered freeze dried strawberries, I'm not sure what happened. It looked like it oxidized when I baked it. Any suggestions?
I'm sorry to hear that! It probably comes down to the brand. I've used Natierra brand and Trader Joe's brand and had good success with both, Trader Joe's being more of a bright pink and Natierra more coral-pink. If all else fails you could add a drop or two of pink gel paste food coloring?