Homemade Strawberry Cake From Scratch
Homemade Strawberry Cake – This scratch-made cake recipe is brimming with fresh strawberries, and is easy to make even WITHOUT a boxed cake mix or jello! Top the sweet and fluffy cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting for the ultimate summer dessert.
Why We Love This Strawberry Cake Recipe
Not too long ago I shared my favorite Lemon Buttermilk Cake Recipe. In the post, I discussed the concept of a true “southern cake” recipe… Southern cakes are cakes that are ultra moist, soft and delicate in texture, and sweet. They can be any flavor, yet they always have the same moist texture.
In my opinion, a good Strawberry Layer Cake is the epitome of the perfect “southern cake.” Its tender pink layers of pillowy strawberry sweetness and creamy frosting, taste of early summer days in the deep south.
Now, most easy strawberry cake recipes call for boxed cake mix and a box of strawberry jello to add flavor and color. Although there’s nothing wrong with cake mix or jello, the strawberry flavor does taste artificial… So today I’m sharing a Homemade Strawberry Cake recipe that has the same appealing texture, yet with that fabulous fresh strawberry flavor of summer nights in the south… AND it is still wonderfully easy to make, even without a box of cake mix!
Ingredients You Need
For the Strawberry Cake –
- Cake flour – for the most soft and tender cake crumb
- Baking powder and baking soda – this pair makes the cake ultra fluffy
- Salt – just a bit
- Sugar – granulated white sugar
- Butter – unsalted, softened
- Vegetable oil – or canola oil
- Vanilla extract and strawberry extract – both highlight the bright strawberry flavor
- Strawberries – either fresh pureed berries, or frozen and thawed sliced strawberries in syrup
- Buttermilk – check out our handy guide for how to make buttermilk at home
- Red or pink food coloring – optional
Pro Tip: You need fresh ripe in-season strawberries to make this cake really shine. Use berries that are so ripe they squish easily in your fingers.
For the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting –
- Cream cheese – I suggest the block (not tub),softened
- Butter – unsalted, softened
- Strawberry jam – store bought or homemade jam
- Vanilla extract – to balance the sweet ingredients
- Powdered sugar – sifted to remove any clumps
- Salt – just a bit
- Red or pink food coloring – optional
Butter Cake vs Oil Cake
I’m going to go against the grain of culinary thinking and state that the reason I believe “southern cakes” are superior to all other cakes is that they are primarily made with oil (or “ol” if you live in the south) instead of butter.
What is the difference? It’s true, butter does taste better than oil. Therefore cakes made with butter have a deep rich buttery flavor that is very enticing. However, butter makes cake batter heavier than oil, so the texture is denser, and not quite as light and airy.
Although both taste and texture are very important, with cake, I feel that texture trumps flavor.
You can skip the butter altogether and try to make up for the missing richness with other flavor-enhancing ingredients. Or you can compromise, by adding half butter and half oil. That’s what I do here with my easy strawberry cake recipe… This provides the decadence of a butter cake and close to the texture of a pure oil cake with moist crumbs.
How To Make Homemade Strawberry Cake
First, Make the Strawberry Cake from Scratch –
Line the pans. These delicate cake layers will break when you flip them out of the pans if you don’t line the bottom of the cake pans with parchment paper. This simple step will save your cake every single time.
Use an electric stand mixer to beat together the butter, sugar, and oil. Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate large mixing bowl. Mix the wet and dry ingredients separately. It’s extremely important to follow the directions so that the batter is evenly mixed… The dump-all-and-stir method does not produce light airy cakes.
Puree the strawberries. Whether you are using fresh or frozen berries, puree them in the blender, so the strawberry puree can blend evenly into the cake batter.
Mix in the remaining ingredients per the recipe card. Don’t over mix!
Pour the batter evenly into two pans, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness, and if needed continue baking for another 5-10 minutes.
Cool the cake in the pans for 10 minutes before flipping them out onto a wire rack. Let the cool completely to room temperature before making and adding the frosting.
Get the Complete (Printable!) Homemade Strawberry Cake Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Next, Make the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting –
- Once the cakes are room temperature, beat the cream cheese and butter in a clean stand mixer until fluffy.
- Scrape the bowl and turn on low. Mix in the strawberry jam, vanilla extract, and salt. Then beat in the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Turn the mixer up to beat out any clumps.
- Check the consistency of the frosting. If it is too loose, add another 1-2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add food coloring if desired.
Lastly, Assemble the Cake –
Move the bottom layer of cake to a cake stand or large platter. Use a large flat spatula to smooth 2 cups of strawberry frosting evenly onto the cake.
Center the second layer of cake on top of the first. Scoop the remaining frosting on top of the cake and smooth evenly on top.
Bring the frosting down the sides of the homemade strawberry cake to frost all around. Turn the cake stand and make smooth “whoosh”-ing motions to get that lovely natural Southern cake look.
Top Recipe Tips
- Add food color, if you’d like. This cake does not naturally turn out as neon pink as a strawberry cake made with powdered jello. Therefore, if you want a pink cake, you will need to add some red food coloring. How much you use is completely up to you. I used just a few drops in the cake batter and just 1 or 2 in the frosting. If the color doesn’t matter to you, you can completely skip the food coloring!
- Don’t overbeat the batter. Once all the ingredients are in the mixer and the batter looks smooth, stop mixing. Beating your batter too long makes the cake tough.
- Bake undisturbed. I know it’s tempting to open that oven door… But don’t do it! This causes a light delicate cake batter to fall, therefore creating a dense texture. Set your timer and walk away.
- Cool before frosting. Yes, you must let the strawberry cake layers cool completely to room temperature before slathering on the luscious cream cheese frosting. Even the slightest bit of warmth will make the frosting slide off! I suggest cooling them at room temperature for at least 2 hours, and then placing them in the fridge while you make the frosting, just for extra measure.
Frequently Asked Questions
For cupcakes, I would increase the heat to 375 (for a higher dome) and bake for 20-24 minutes. This recipe would make about 18-24 cupcakes.
Yes, you can! Bake it at 350 for 30-35 minutes.
You can let it sit out 3 days at room temperature, or it will last 7-10 days in the refrigerator. Make sure to wrap it well.
Yes! Wrap the cake well with a layer of plastic wrap, then foil. Keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. Then thaw at room temperature.
To preserve the best possible appearance on the outside, you can “flash freeze” the cake, unwrapped, for about an hour so the frosting hardens. Then wrap well and freeze.
Looking for More Amazing Cake Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Best Lemon Buttermilk Cake
- Southern Hummingbird Cupcakes
- Layered Banana Pudding Cake
- Strawberry Yogurt Bundt Cake
- Layered Jello Mousse Cake
- The Best Carrot Cake Recipe
- Orange Blueberry Upside Down Cake
- Chocolate Banana Coconut Cake
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread with Lemon Recipe
- Perfect Southern Caramel Cake Recipe (with Salted Caramel Frosting)
Check out A Spicy Perspective on YouTube!
Get the Complete (Printable!) Homemade Strawberry Cake Recipe Below. Enojy!
Homemade Strawberry Cake from Scratch
Video
Ingredients
For the Fresh Strawberry Cake:
- 3 cups cake flour, sifted (or 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour + ¼ cup cornstarch)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 teaspoons strawberry extract
- 3/4 cup fresh pureed strawberries (about 1 1/2 cups whole ripe berries) or sliced frozen strawberries in syrup
- 3/4 cup full fat buttermilk
- 4-8 drops red food coloring, optional (I used 4 drops)
For the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup strawberry jam
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 3-5 drops red food coloring, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Cut out 9-inch parchment paper circles, and press them down in the bottom of each pan. (Trace the pan for perfect circles.)
- For the Strawberry Layer Cake: In the bowl on an electric stand mixer, cream the butter and 1 3/4 cups sugar together for 1 minute. Then add in the oil and beat until the mixture is very smooth. (Cream: Beat on high to break down the sugar crystals.)
- In a separate bowl, mix the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Place the ripened strawberries in the blender with 2 tablespoons sugar. Puree until smooth. (Or use an equal amount of thawed sliced strawberries in syrup. Drain and puree. No need to add sugar.)
- Once the butter and sugar are well creamed. Scrape the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula. Then turn the mixer on low and beat in the eggs, vanilla extract, strawberry extract, strawberry puree, and buttermilk.
- Scrape the bowl again. Turn the mixer back on low and slowly add the flour mixture until well combined. Beat in the food coloring if desired, then turn off the mixer.
- Pour the batter evenly into the two prepared pans. Bake on the middle rack, undisturbed for 30 minutes. If the center of the cakes are puffed up, check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, take them out of the oven. If the toothpick has batter on it, bake another 5-10 minutes and recheck.
- Allow the cakes to cool 10 minutes in the pans. Then carefully flip them out on a cooling rack. Remove the parchment paper and cool completely.
- For the Frosting: Once the cakes are room temperature, place the cream cheese and butter in a clean stand mixer bowl. Beat until fluffy. Then scrape the bowl and turn on low. Mix in the strawberry jam, vanilla extract, and salt. Then add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating to incorporate. After adding 4 cups of powdered sugar, turn the mixer up to beat out any clumps. Check the consistency of the frosting. If it is too loose, add another 1-2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add food coloring if desired
- To Assemble: Move one cake to a cake stand or platter. Scoop about 2 cups frosting onto the cake. Use a large flat spatula to spread the frosting out evenly.
- Set the second cake on top of the frosting, being careful to center the cake. Gently press the cake a little to level the top. Then scoop all remaining frosting on top of the cake. Use the spatula to work the frosting over the top and down the sides.
- Turn the cake stand to smooth out the sides with the flat edge of the spatula. Once you are satisfied with the sides, use the spatula to make swooping marks on the top of the cake. Use a wet paper towel to clean up the cake stand. Top with whole fresh strawberries, or sliced strawberries if serving on the same day.
- Cover and keep the cake at room temperature for up to 4 days, or refrigerate for up to a week. When ready to serve, make sure the cake is at room temperature… All classic layer cakes taste best at room temperature.
Notes
- Spread a thin “crumb coat” layer of frosting over the cake to catch and seal in the crumbs. Then spread on the final “pretty” layer of frosting on top.
- Or you can wrap the cakes in separate pieces of plastic and freeze them. Then a few hours later, you can unwrap, level, and frost the cake with a lot of added stability. Just be sure to do this at least 6 hours before serving so the cake layers have time to thaw.
The best strawberry cake I’ve made and tasted. I cut the frosting recipe in half, used reduced fat cream cheese, and frosted only the middle and top layers. Simply elegant and delicious!
Can I make it in a Bundt pan?
What a beautiful cake can’t wait until strawberry season to give it a try.
This cake is amazing, I made it with a thickened reduced strawberry sauce and added sour cream and heavy cream for extra moisture which sounds extra but omg the most moist flavorful cake ever.
The Strawberry Cake recipe is AWESOME!!!! I never made a cake with cake flour. I followed this recipe to the tee; for my daughter’s birthday. and it was a hit. It actually tasted like Strawberry Ice Cream. The frosting was ooh la la. Thank you very much. Now I’m going to try the Lemon Cake.
Can’t comment yet. In the oven now. Smells wonderful while baking. I have a question. Can you freeze it with frosting on for a few days?
My 1st try was amazing! Followed the recipe to the letter and got flavor, light moist texture, for a result I’d been chasing for a long time! It doesn’t get better than this- thanks so much!
This was just the most perfect summer cake. My kids loved it.
I can’t get strawberry extract where I live. If I don’t put it in I asume it won’t taste very strawberryish
Hi Marie,
Yes, it will have more of a delicate strawberry flavor without the extract. :)