Homemade Strawberry Cake
We have a new favorite homemade strawberry cake to share with you!
This incredibly moist, fluffy cake would pair perfectly with a number of fillings and frostings, and has amazing strawberry flavor!
Today we have filled our moist strawberry layer cake with whipped cream and sliced strawberries, and frosted with a creamy strawberry cream cheese frosting.
We think that this will become your new favorite strawberry cake!
Table of Contents
What Makes this Strawberry Cake Different?
We have a few other strawberry cakes in our Recipes Section that we love, including our Strawberry Sour Cream Cake, Scratch Strawberry Cake, Strawberry Pound Cake, and Strawberry Cake Mix Recipe.
What makes today's Homemade Strawberry Cake different, is the cream cheese in the cake batter! We refer to these as our velvet cake recipes.
We love the amazing texture that it gives our cake as well as the added richness that it adds while still maintaining a fluffy, soft crumb.
Buttermilk and sour cream are two staples that we've often turned to for our cake recipes because the added acidity softens the gluten strands which makes for a moist, tender cake.
We are now adding cream cheese to this list of favorite ingredients as well!
More Cakes with Cream Cheese in the Cake Batter!
Just in the past couple of months, we've begun to use cream cheese in several of our new cake recipes including: Almond Cream Cheese Cake, Lemon Velvet Cake, Chocolate Velvet Cake, and Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake, and we are officially in love!
How to Make Homemade Strawberry Cake
You can find the full, printable strawberry cake recipe in our recipe card further down in this post, but here is a quick rundown of our steps!
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour three 8 inch pans. We like to line the bottom of our pans with circles of parchment paper.
- Puree fresh strawberries or frozen strawberries in a blender or food processor to make 1 cup. (You will also use an additional ¼ cup more for the frosting if you'd like to do this now). I used frozen, whole strawberries which I thawed and pureed for the cake batter, and used fresh strawberries for the filling and frosting.
The great thing about a strawberry cake recipe that calls for frozen strawberries is that you don't have to wait for strawberry season to enjoy it!
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for 30 seconds and set aside.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: In another bowl, combine the oil, 1 cup strawberry puree, and strawberry extract. Set aside.
- Butter & Cream Cheese: In the large mixing bowl of your stand mixer, add the butter and cream cheese and mix at medium speed until smooth.
- Sugar: Gradually add the sugar and mix at medium speed for 2-3 minutes.
- Eggs: Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, mixing until the yellow of the yolk disappears. As an optional step, we like to add a drop or two of pink color gel to make a prettier shade of pink batter.
- Adding Dry & Wet Ingredients: With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the strawberry mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture (We did 3 additions of the dry mixture, 2 additions of wet). Slightly increase the mixer speed just until combined.
- Fill the Pans: Divide the batter between the three prepared pans.
- Time to Bake! Bake at 325 degrees F for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached. The baking time may vary and so keep an eye on the layers as they approach the 28 minute mark.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack before turning out.
- This amazing strawberry cake recipe makes approximately 8 cups of batter and works for strawberry cupcakes as well (although there will be little to no dome).
Can Strawberry Cake Layers be Frozen?
Yes! Strawberry cake layers can be frozen- in fact, any cake layers can. We freeze cakes all the time and as long as they have been wrapped tightly, these moist cake layers will stay perfectly fresh.
After baking the strawberry cake layers, allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack before flipping out onto foil-lined cake boards.
Wrapping and Freezing
Allow to cool a bit more and then while still slightly warm, wrap in a layer or two of plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. Into the freezer they go.
If you are baking far in advance, make sure to label the foil with the cake name and date.
How Long Can Cake Layers be Frozen?
When wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and foil, cake layers can be successfully frozen for three months.
That leaves plenty of time for working well in advance, or taking advantage of leftover frozen cake slices ;0) The cakes will still taste amazing.
Thawing Frozen Cake Layers
- Remove the wrapped cake layers from the freezer and allow to thaw on the kitchen countertop still wrapped. Condensation will form on the foil rather than the cake which is a good thing!
- After at least 30 minutes , once condensation has formed, you can remove the wrapping at any time.
- Some decorators even prefer to assemble their cakes when they are still partially frozen since they are less fragile.
Filling for our Homemade Strawberry Cake
There are many fillings that would be perfect for this delicious strawberry cake! Here are just a few:
- cream cheese frosting
- cooked strawberry filling
- strawberry whipped cream cheese filling
- strawberry buttercream
We decided to keep things light and simple with sliced fresh strawberries and whipped cream, as we do with our Strawberry Shortcake Cake and Easy Strawberry Champagne Cake Recipes.
We often use homemade whipped cream as a filling for our fruity cakes- it is a simple combination of whipped heavy cream, powdered sugar, and a bit of vanilla.
This recipe can be whipped up in minutes. We like chill the bowl and beaters/whisk attachment in the freezer for 10 minutes before preparing the recipe.
For the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
I frosted the cake with a luscious Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting. This is such a flavorful recipe!
This strawberry frosting recipe is a cross between our usual cream cheese frosting and an American vanilla buttercream recipe as it uses one block of cream cheese frosting rather than two, and more butter.
This combination of recipes allowed me to add ¼ cup of strawberry puree for a boost of fresh strawberry flavor making it overly soft. I also love the tiny flecks of strawberry that the puree adds to the frosting!
You can still taste the light tanginess of the cream cheese, which perfectly complements the strawberry. The frosting is also flavored with a teaspoon of strawberry extract.
We added a touch of pink coloring gel (Americolor Deep Pink) to make a prettier shade of pink.
Cream Cheese Frostings are Softer
Cream cheese frostings like this one (as well as our chocolate cream cheese frosting, orange cream cheese frosting, and more) are a bit softer than other frostings.
The heat from your hands on the piping bag, or temperature of your kitchen can soften the buttercream, making it harder to work with.
Not to worry! If this happens, simply pop your bowl of frosting or piping bag in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to return it to it's proper consistency for decorating.
Assembling the Strawberry Cake
Place the first strawberry cake layer on the cake plate or pedestal. Using a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away, pipe a dam or strawberry cream cheese frosting about ¼-1/2 inch from the edge of the cake layer.
The purpose of piping a dam is to keep the soft whipped cream filling from escaping from the sides of the cake when the layers are stacked.
Fill the top of the layer with sliced strawberries, and follow with a layer of whipped cream (within the dam).
Top with the second cake layer, adding the dam, sliced strawberries, and whipped cream.
Top with the third cake layer and fill in any remaining gaps between the cake layers with more frosting. (I fill in the gaps with the same piping bag I used for the dam and then spread with an offset spatula. We want to seal in the filling!
Next, I crumb coated the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting and chilled it in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes to firm things up. (You could also chill in the refrigerator for a bit longer).
Next, apply the second coat of frosting and smooth with a bench scraper or offset spatula. (I like to heat my metal bench scraper under very hot water before gliding over the final coat of frosting to make it extra smooth.)
Decorating the Homemade Strawberry Cake
Decorate the strawberry cake however you like! I kept things simple and added a few fresh strawberries to the top of the cake and piped around them using a Wilton 6B french star tip. I love the look!
You can get a similar effect with any large star tip.
More Cakes with Strawberries!
We love strawberry cakes! We think of them most often when we need a great spring or summer cake recipe or birthday cake recipe , but strawberry desserts are popular no matter what the season!
In addition to today's homemade strawberry cake recipe, we have many more strawberry cakes to share with you- from strawberry doctored cake mixes to homemade cakes, and other delicious fruity strawberry cake combinations.
Some of our favorites are Strawberry Bundt Cake, Strawberry Lemonade Cake, and Strawberry Cake from a Box.
Enjoy the Recipe!
Thanks so much for stopping by! Don't miss our full collection of delicious Cake Recipes, including cakes from scratch and cake mix recipes.
We also have a wonderful collection of velvet cake recipes- each one is so moist with a velvety soft texture.
Have you made this? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!
Homemade Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened (We used one 8 oz package, full fat.)
- 1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter, softened.
- 2 cups (400g) sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature (to save time you can warm them in a bowl of very warm water for 5 min)
- 3 cups (342g) cake flour See notes if you need a substitution.
- 2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- 1 cup (243g) strawberry puree (you can use fresh or frozen strawberries)
- 2 teaspoons (8g) strawberry extract or baking emulsion (We used McCormick. You could also use 2 tablespoons strawberry jello powder if you don't have extract.)
- ¼ cup (54g) vegetable oil (we used canola oil)
- A touch of pink coloring gel optional
Sweetened Whipped Cream
- 1 cup (240g) heavy cream
- ¼ (29g) cup powdered sugar
- 1 (4g) teaspoon vanilla
- Sliced fresh strawberries- approximately 8-10 to be used along with the whipped cream in the filling
For the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- 3 sticks (339g) Unsalted butter, softened.
- 8 oz Cream Cheese, softened We used one 8 oz package. Full fat.
- 6-7 cups (690-805 g) Confectioners Sugar (Adjust amount to your liking.)
- ¼ cup Strawberry Puree 3-5 strawberries, pureed in blender or food processor
- 1 Teaspoon (4g) Strawberry Extract
- A small amount of pink coloring gel optional
Instructions
- For the Strawberry Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour three 8 inch pans. We like to line the bottom of our pans with circles of parchment paper.
- Puree fresh or frozen strawberries in a blender or food processor to make 1 cup. (You will use ¼ cup more for the frosting if you'd like to do this now).
- In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for 30 seconds and set aside.
- In another bowl, combine the vegetable oil, 1 cup strawberry puree, and strawberry extract. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your mixer, add the butter and cream cheese and mix at medium speed until smooth.
- Gradually add the sugar and mix at medium speed for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, mixing until the yellow of the yolk disappears. Add a touch of pink coloring gel if you'd like.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the strawberry mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture (We did 3 additions of the dry mixture, 2 additions of wet). Slightly increase the mixer speed just until combined.
- Divide the batter between the three prepared pans.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Let cool for 5-10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack before turning out.
- This recipe makes approximately 8 cups of batter. Works for cupcakes also (although there will be little to no dome).
- For the Whipped Cream Filling
- We like to make the whipped cream just before it's time to assemble the cake.
- Chill the mixing bowl and beaters/ whisk attachment in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Pour the whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla into the chilled mixing bowl, begin beating on low speed gradually increasing to medium high speed.
- The cream begins to thicken (approx. 1 ½ minutes) and soft to-stiff peaks form- peaks that hold their shape or slightly bend over. Watch closely as this happens quickly. Do not over beat.
- (When assembling the cake, we will also use sliced strawberries between the cake layers)
- For the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- Put the softened butter in the bowl of your mixer and mix until smooth.
- Add the pieces of softened cream cheese to the mixing bowl. The cream cheese should be soft enough that it combines easily into the butter/powdered sugar mixture. Beat on low/medium speed about 1 minute or until the cream cheese is blended in.
- Add the powdered sugar, strawberry extract, and ¼ cup strawberry puree. Add a touch of pink coloring gel if you'd like.
- Beat on Medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes (a bit longer if using a hand mixer). Scrape the bowl mid-way through. Do not over beat. You can add more powdered sugar if you'd like to thicken it up more. Refrigerating it for 10-15 minutes will also thicken the consistency.
- This frosting should be refrigerated.
- Assembling the Cake
- Place the first strawberry cake layer on the pedestal or cake plate. Pipe a dam of the frosting around the edge of the cake (about ½ inch from the edge) using a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away.
- Fill the top of the layer with sliced strawberries, followed by a layer of whipping cream (within the dam).
- Top with the second layer and repeat above steps. Then top with the third layer.
- Fill in any remaining gaps between the cake layers with frosting using the piping bag with tip snipped away. Crumb coat the cake with a thin layer of frosting. Chill in the freezer for 10-15 minutes (or longer in the refrigerator) to firm things up.
- Apply second coat of frosting, smooth with bench scraper or spatula. Decorate to your liking- I applied a few strawberries around one side of the cake on top, surrounded by french tip stars (Wilton 6B or similar larger star tip/french tip)
Hi Melissa,
Thank you for the wonderful recipe. Can you please mention how you made the strawberry puree for the cake?
Hi Ann, you can just puree/liquify the strawberries in a small blender or food processor. (We have a bullet blender).
You could use fresh or frozen strawberries- I used frozen whole strawberries which I allowed to thaw, then cut into smaller pieces for the puree that I made for the cake batter. For the buttercream, I used a few fresh strawberries.
How do I make this into cupcakes?
Hi Jilly, For cupcakes, make the cake batter as written and frost with the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting. For standard size cupcakes bake at 350 degrees F. for 18 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool and frost. The frosting is perishable so keep refrigerated until about 1 hour before serving. Cupcakes will bake without a dome.
Thanks Melissa..
Do you not put any milk or Buttermilk in this recipe?
Hi Kimberlee, No, there is no milk or buttermilk in the recipe. The cream cheese in the recipe will add a lot of moisture as well as giving the cake nice texture. I hope you will give it a try.
Would this work if I subbed the purée for a reduction?
Looks very pretty! :-)
This was an excellent cake recipe that I will definitely make again. I used frozen strawberries and made it as cupcakes. I didn't have pink food coloring and it still had a nice pink natural coloring. This cake was very moist. I've never used cream cheese in a recipe, however I will be using it again. Everyone I baked this for, gave a great review and compliment of it.
Hi Deborah! Thanks for the review, I'm so glad that you enjoyed the recipe!
First, I would like to compliment you on your photography, AND that you don't overdue the initial portion of the blogpost so that it's too long and contains too many photos of the same thing. (I believe this is why most people I know hit the 'jump to recipe' button.) Your blogpost was thoughtful and just the right amount of description, and with beautiful images. Thank you for that.
Regarding the frosting, I might use freeze dried berries instead of puree so that it doesn't affect the texture. Did you also try this?
Also, do you use any props for your photos such as extra lighting, white boards, etc.? Your images are really just super.
Hi Ginny! Thanks so much for your kind words. I would love to learn more about photography- no special props were used here- I have a nice camera but I often just grab my iphone- that's what I did for this post ;0) The freeze dried strawberries are a good option too for flavoring the frosting- When we've experimented with this in the past, we never found a brand that we loved the flavor of- let us know if you try it! ;0)
I was wondering how long can you make this cake before serving. And does it travel well . Like 4 1/2 hour travel time .
Hi Maria, The cake layers can be made in advance and frozen. Wrapped individually in plastic wrap and aluminum foil they can be frozen for 2 months. You can completely decorated the cake a day before serving. The filling with fresh strawberries and cream cheese frosting are perishable and must be refrigerated. Traveling with the cake could be difficult because it would need to be kept cold for the 4 1/2 hours. Plus with a whipped cream filling the layers could slide during the trip.
This recipe is amazing my favorite cake is strawberry cake I have been looking for a good recipe and this is the best I made these into cupcakes for a birthday BBQ for my husband and there wasn’t any left. Your recipes are the best I recommend them to everyone I mainly make just your recipes because every single one is delicious.
Hi Crystal! Thank you so much for your kind words and for your review of the strawberry cake. Your cupcakes look great! Happy that you enjoyed them ;0)