Strawberry Cheesecake Cake

This beautiful and delicious Strawberry Cheesecake Cake consists of a creamy cheesecake layer sandwiched between to moist homemade strawberry cake layers, fresh strawberries, and cream cheese frosting. If you love strawberries and cheesecake, this dessert it for you!

Why we Love It

• This dessert is perfectly decadent without being overly heavy. The cheesecake layer is fairly thin but has wonderful flavor!
• For cake and cheesecake lovers, it is the best of both worlds.
  Perfect birthday cake recipe, anniversary cake, holiday cake, and more!
• Can be made year-round as the sliced fresh strawberries in the filling are optional.
• It looks impressive but is not a difficult recipe. The cheesecake layer is super easy to make!

How to Make a Strawberry Cheesecake Cake

Today's Strawberry Cheesecake Cake recipe combines our homemade Strawberry Sour Cream Cake and a simple, flavorful cheesecake layer.

Start with the Cheesecake Layer

Since the Cheesecake Layer has to chill for several hours, it is best to make it first. This is a very simple recipe.

• Water Bath: Some bakers wrap the bottom of the springform pan in foil and bake it in a water bath. However, this alternate method works very well!:  Place a 9x13 or roasting pan filled with about an inch or so of water in the oven on a lower rack and preheat to 300 degrees F. Doing this step helps to promote even baking and prevents cracking.
•  Line the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan with a circle of parchment paper.
• Mixing Ingredients In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer (or handheld), mix softened cream cheese until smooth. Mixing at low speed, add the sugar, salt, flour.
• Add vanilla extract and sour cream. Mix at low speed until smooth and incorporated. Add eggs one at a time. Mix until well combined.
• Time to Bake: Next, pour the cheesecake batter into the parchment lined 9-inch springform pan. 

• Place pan in the oven on the rack just above the pan of water.
• Bake cheesecake layer for 45 minutes. The cheesecake will be set at this point and only jiggle slightly.

• Next, turn off the oven and leave cheesecake inside for 30 more minutes with the oven door slightly open. Gradually lowering the temperature of the cake this way allows the cake to cool without cracking.
• Cooling and Chilling: Next, allow the cheesecake to cool on the countertop. Place foil over the pan and chill in the freezer for 2-3 hours or if you're not in a hurry, you can chill it in the refrigerator until firm (at least 5-6 hours).

For the Strawberry Layers

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans (ours were 9x2 inch). 
• In a medium sized bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Whisk to blend for 30 seconds.  Set aside.
• In another bowl combine the sour cream, strawberry puree, strawberry extract and vegetable oil, blend and set aside.

• In the bowl of your mixer, mix the softened butter until smooth. Gradually add the white sugar and mix on medium speed 3 to 5 minutes until fluffy and lightened in color.
• Add the eggs one at a time mixing after each addition until the yolk is blended
• With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture alternately, beginning and ending with the flour mixture (3 additions of dry ingredients, 2  additions of wet ingredients.) If adding a little pink coloring gel, you can do so at this time.
• Mix just until combined. Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans.

• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. The surface of the cake should bring back when lightly touched. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes, then turn out. Baking times can vary.

Cream Cheese Frosting

We used our go-to cream cheese frosting for this recipe. It is a combination of softened cream cheese, butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt.

It is creamy and delicious, pipes great, and is the perfect complement to our Strawberry Cheesecake Cake.

Assembling the Cake

• Place the first cooled strawberry cake layer on the cake plate or pedestal. Spread with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting. As an optional step, you can also add a layer of thinly sliced strawberries on top of the frosting. Keep them from the edge of the cake so that the juices don't escape.

• Cheesecake Layer: Run a thin knife (I like to heat it with hot water) between the cake and side of the springform cake pan to help prevent sticking.
• Release the sides of the springform pan.
• Carefully place the cheesecake layer upside down onto the first cake layer. Remove the bottom of the springform pan. If it sticks at all, use a thin, hot knife to slide between the pan and the cake to release.
• Remember to remove the parchment if you haven't already!!

• Spread the top of the cheesecake layer with another thin layer of frosting. Add sliced strawberries to this if you'd like (as we did).

• Top with the second strawberry cake layer.

• If your cheesecake layer is slightly wider than your cake layers, just trim away the excess with a hot knife.
• Frost the cake as usual with cream cheese frosting. If at any time the frosting becomes too soft, or the layers are sliding, just pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm things up. (You can refrigerate the bowl of frosting also as needed.)

We decorated the cake very simply, using a small offset spatula to add texture to the frosting.

Look at this pretty slice! We love how it looks on a plate.

Recipe FAQs

More Strawberry Cakes

We've made so many strawberry cakes over the years! Some of our most popular have been our homemade strawberry cake, strawberry shortcake cake, strawberry pound cake, and strawberry lemonade cake.

Thanks so much for stopping by! We hope that you enjoy this Strawberry Cheesecake Cake recipe. Don't miss our full collection of favorite cake recipes, which include cake recipes from scratch as well as cake mix recipes!

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