Strawberry Cake: an Easy Summer Cake Recipe

Strawberry Cake is a relaxed one layer cake full of fresh strawberries. Topped with Buttercream Cream Cheese frosting!

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When fresh strawberries are in season there is no better way to enjoy them than in homemade Strawberry Cake.

This simple one-layer cake is an easy recipe full of fresh strawberries, lightly sweet, moist and a satisfying dense texture.

Topped with an easy, sweet, tangy frosting you’ll love!

What is Strawberry Cake?

This type of cake can vary from recipe to recipe.

Our recipe is one layer cake making it an easy, relaxed dessert. No fussing with multiple layers or lengthy frosting.

With one and a half cups fresh ripe strawberries it’s brimming with natural strawberry flavor.

Rather than a light, airy cake ours has a slightly denser consistency making it satisfyingly filling.

If you are a cake mix baker, make this just once and you’ll be convereted!

Recipe Ingredients

• All-Purpose Flour (regular or gluten-free measure-for-measure flour blend)
• Salt
• Baking Powder
• Unsalted Butter
• Granulate Sugar
• Eggs
• Milk
• Fresh Strawberries

Pro Tip: How to Sweeten Fresh Strawberries

In the summer fresh strawberries are at their peak season.

This means most strawberries are fresh, ripe and deeply naturally sweet.

Sometimes strawberries look great but either don’t have much flavor or aren’t very sweet.

If you find yourself with unsweet strawberries you can ‘macerate‘ them to improve their sweetness.

Macerating berries is a process of adding just a bit of sugar and allowing that to release some of the strawberries own natural juice and absorb the sugar as well.

How to Macerate Strawberries 

This is only needed if the strawberries you choose are not very sweet!

1. Put the diced strawberries in a bowl.
2. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and stir to full combine.
3. Allow to sit for 30 minutes. 
4. Add to the strawberry cake recipe as indicated in the recipe (along with any released juices).

Buttercream Cream Cheese Frosting

This cake is light in flavor. Topping it with Buttercream Cream Cheese frosting is adds a creamy sweet tang for a perfect dessert.

Frosting Ingredients

This frosting combines the best of a creamy buttercream frosting with a cream cheese frosting!

• Unsalted Butter
• Cream Cheese
• Confectioner’s (powdered) Sugar
• Vanilla Extract
• Heavy Cream

More Frosting Options

Buttercream Cream Cheese Frosting is delicious but it’s not the only way to top the cake!

• Sift powdered sugar on the top of the cake. Serve it with fresh strawberries too.
• Serve with homemade or store-bought whipped cream
• Strawberry Whipped Cream adds in fresh easy strawberry puree for a light frosting option
• Strawberry lovers will love Real Strawberry Buttercream Frosting made with fresh strawberries
• Just top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

How to Make it Gluten-Free

Use gluten-free measure-for-measure flour. That’s the only change needed!

Gluten-Free Flour Recommendation

I prefer Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. Using measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blends is the easiest way to get a great baking result.

How to Make Strawberry Cake – Step by Step

STEP 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. 

STEP 2: In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

STEP 3: In the bowl a mixer cream together butter and sugar until smooth (photo 1).

STEP 4: Add eggs, one by one, and beat until fully mixed in (photo 2). 

STEP 5: With the mixer running on low, alternate adding the dry ingredients (flour mixture) and the milk until fully combined. DO NOT OVERMIX.

STEP 6: Fold in diced strawberries to the batter (photo 4).

STEP 7: Spoon batter into the prepared pan and evenly distribute. NOTE: the batter will be thick.

STEP 8: Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.

STEP 9: Cool in pan for 5 minutes then on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

To Make the Buttercream Cream Cheese Frosting recipe

To make the frosting:

• Cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. 
• Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy cream; beat until smooth.
• Frost cooled cake with cream cheese frosting and garnish with fresh strawberries if desired.

Variations

Using Frozen Strawberries

Sometimes finding good fresh strawberries isn’t possible. Frozen thawed strawberries can be substituted.

Toss in a small amount of flour before adding to the batter so they do not stick together.

Making Cupcakes

If you’d rather makes cupcakes:

1. Line a muffin pan with baking liners for 12 cupcakes
2. Prepare the batter as described.
3. Fill the muffin tins 2/3’s full of batter
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
5. Cool before frosting.

Making Muffins

Without frosting the cake batter makes a delicious muffin batter.

Follow the instructions for cupcakes above. Do not frost.

Throw in a 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips for a special treat!

More Strawberry Recipes You’ll Love!

• Fresh Strawberry Pie
• Strawberry & Blueberry Shortcake Biscuits
• 3 Ingredient No Bake Strawberry ‘Tart’
• Strawberry Lemon Custard Trifles
• Strawberry Salad
• Summery Strawberry Muffins
• Strawberry Shortcake

Try these Cake Recipes too!

• Hummingbird Cake recipe
• Italian Cream Cake
• Chocolate Zucchini Cake
• Espresso Wacky Cake with Coffee Frosting

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Recipe

Strawberry Cake

Strawberry Cake is an easy one layer cake full of fresh strawberries, perfect for a taste of summer.

5 from 69 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cooling Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 serves 8-10

Calories: 441kcal

Author: Toni Dash

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Ingredients

Strawberry Cake

• ▢ 2 cups All-Purpose Flour (regular or measure-for-measure Gluten-Free Flour blend)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ▢ 10 tablespoons Unsalted Butter room temperature
• ▢ 1 1/3 cups Granulated Sugar
• ▢ 2 large Eggs
• ▢ ¾ cup Milk (whole, 2 % or non-fat all work)
• ▢ 1 ½ cups Strawberries chopped, plus more for garnish

Buttercream Cream Cheese Frosting

• ▢ ¼ cup Unsalted Butter room temperature
• ▢ 4 ounces Cream Cheese room temperature
• ▢ 1 1/4 cups Confectioner's (powdered) Sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Heavy Cream

Instructions

Strawberry Cake

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. See notes for my preferred cake pan prep.
• In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl or bowl of a standing mixer cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
• Add eggs, one at a time, and beat just until incorporated.
• With the mixer running on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk gradually, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until just combined; do not overmix.
• Fold diced strawberries into the batter.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan and baking for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
• Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. NOTE: Cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream Cream Cheese Frosting

• Cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
• Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy cream; beat until smooth.
• Frost cooled cake with frosting and garnish with whole or halved strawberries.

Notes

Substituting Frozen/Thawed Strawberries

Frozen, thawed strawberries can be substituted. Toss them in a little bit of flour before adding them to the batter (this helps them not stick together).

Making Cupcakes

Prepare the batter as described. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Fill 2/3's full. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Frost after they are fully cooled. Approximate yeild: 12 cupcakes.

Making Muffins

This batter is not overly sweet and could be used to make muffins too. Prepare the mix as directed and baking instructions above for cupcakes. Do not frost.

Flour

This recipe has been tested with regular all-purpose (gluten) flour and gluten-free measure-for-measure flour. It's delicious both ways.

Nutrition

Calories: 441kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 164mg | Potassium: 170mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 589IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 1mg

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Originally published: July 7, 2019