This 100% from-scratch Strawberry Cake recipe has no Jell-O or artificial flavors! It’s a moist cake flavored with real strawberries, filled with a fresh strawberry jam, and covered with a whipped cream cheese frosting. Recipe includes a how-to video!
A Delightfully Fresh Strawberry Cake
I gave this strawberry cake recipe a makeover a few years ago, and I’m so excited to be sharing it with you again today! This cake is packed full of fresh strawberry flavor (none of that artificial stuff or Jell-O), from the cake itself to the jam filling. To finish, we’ll seal it all in with a whipped cream cheese frosting that’s not too sweet. Sounds heavenly, right?
I’ll give you a fair warning: this recipe requires quite a lot of steps and will dirty a few dishes. But it’s all worth it to get the BEST natural strawberry flavor (more on that below), a light, spongey texture (I took a few notes from my white cake for this) and a whipped, flavorful frosting (similar to what’s on my Chantilly cake!).
How Do You Get Strawberry Flavor Naturally?
So, how does my strawberry cake achieve its strawberry flavor without Jell-O or artificial ingredients? With fresh strawberries, of course!
If I’m being honest though, it’s not as simple as it sounds. In fact, it took a lot of attempts to get the flavor and texture of this strawberry cake just right.
Sure we could just blend our berries and add them to our cake batter, but too much pulp can weigh down the cake, making it too wet and spongey. To remedy this, we’ll take an extra step to strain out the juice from the pulp and use that in the cake instead. And we’ll even go one step further to cook down that juice to really concentrate the strawberry flavor.
However, there is still a lot of flavor in the pulp, and I didn’t want to just throw it away, so we’ll save it to make a homemade jam filling! We’ll spread this between our cake layers for an extra burst of strawberry flavor.
Side note: if you’re a total strawberry fiend, you could even try frosting this strawberry cake with my strawberry frosting–yum!
What You Need
Here are the key ingredients in today’s perfect strawberry cake recipe:
- Strawberries. Almost all of your flavor for this cake comes from the strawberries. Because of this, the more ripe, juicy, and flavorful your strawberries are, the better and more strawberry-like your cake will taste. Store-bought berries in the middle of December will work, but they will not yield as tasty of a cake as finger-staining, sun-ripened berries you picked yourself. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP I CAN GIVE YOU!
- Milk. I recommend using whole milk for a perfectly moist and soft strawberry cake. Several of you have asked if non-dairy milk can be substituted, and I haven’t tried this myself, so I can’t say for sure. If you do make my strawberry cake recipe with non-dairy milk, please let me know how it turns out for you!
- Cake flour. Because the strawberries can make this cake heavy, I recommend using cake flour for this recipe. If you don’t have it, you can still use all-purpose flour–just use the instructions in the recipe notes.
- Egg whites. Since egg yolks could also weigh down this cake, we’ll use only egg whites and make sure to whip them to stiff peaks before folding them into the batter. Note that I’ve included some recipes to use up the extra egg yolks in the recipe notes below.
- Food coloring. This is optional, but it makes your strawberry cake look nice and pink when it would otherwise be pretty dull. If you’re using food coloring, I strongly recommend using a few drops of pink gel coloring. If you use liquid food coloring, you will need to use red, and quite a lot of it.
- Cornstarch. This will help to thicken our strawberry jam.
- Lemon juice. A splash of lemon juice brightens the jam and keeps it from being too sweet.
- Cream cheese. We’ll beat this with some powdered sugar and vanilla extract until it is smooth and creamy. This creates a flavorful base for our frosting.
- Heavy cream. After its whipped to stiff peaks, we’ll incorporate our cream with the cream cheese mixture to make a beautifully light, airy, and flavorful frosting.
SAM’S TIP: If you’re not a fan of the frosting I’m using here, you can always try my standard cream cheese frosting, buttercream frosting, or Swiss meringue buttercream. Whichever type you use, make sure your cake is cooled completely before decorating, otherwise the frosting will melt.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Strawberry Cake
- Blend your strawberries, strain them, and cook the juice until it has reduced. Save the pulp for later.
- Combine the strawberry reduction with the milk and food coloring. Cream together the oil, butter, sugar, and vanilla in a separate bowl, and combine the dry ingredients in another separate bowl.
- Gradually alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk mixture into the butter mixture. Stir on low speed after each addition until just combined.
- Whip your egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold them into your batter. Divide the batter between greased, floured, and lined baking pans. Bake for 28 minutes at 350F or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Whisk together the reserved strawberry pulp, ⅓ cup of sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a saucepan. Bring this mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens. Transfer the jam to a heat-proof bowl and let it cool completely in the fridge.
- Prepare your frosting by combining the cream cheese, ½ cup of the powdered sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. In a separate (preferably chilled) bowl, whip your cream and remaining powdered sugar, then combine both mixtures until fully incorporated.
- Once your cake and jam have cooled, assemble your cake, using your frosting as dam to hold in each layer of jam filling. Top the assembled cake with your remaining frosting, decorate, and chill it in the fridge until you’re ready to enjoy.
SAM’S TIP: This strawberry cake can be baked in 9 inch pans instead, but it will cook faster, so keep an eye on it if you use them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can use frozen strawberries here–but remember, almost all of the flavor comes from the berries you use, and there’s no telling how flavorful your frozen berries will be. I highly recommend using in-season, fresh berries.
This strawberry cake recipe will work as cupcakes, but just know they won’t have nice domed tops. It will also work as a 9×13 cake.
Yes! Because the icing has both whipped cream and cream cheese, this strawberry cake needs to be refrigerated. Make sure you keep the cake covered in an airtight container to prevent it from drying out.
The jam and frosting can both be made a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. The cake could be made a day in advance as well; allow it to cool completely then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and store it at room temperature.
Enjoy!
More Recipes You Might Like
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
CAKE
- 1 ¼ lbs (570 g) strawberries remove stems and quarter
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- ½ cup (118 ml) Avocado, vegetable or canola oil
- 4 Tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¾ cup (350 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (330 g) cake flour¹
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 large egg whites² room temperature preferred
- Food coloring optional (I use two chocolate chip-sized drops of americolor gel “electric pink” food coloring).
FILLING
- ⅓ cup (70 g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
FROSTING
- 2 cups (475 ml) cold heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups (190 g) powdered sugar, divided
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese softened
Instructions
CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare two 8” round cake pans by spraying with baking spray and lining the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place quartered strawberries in blender and puree until smooth. Run through a fine mesh sieve over a measuring cup until you have 1 – 1 ¼ cups of juice. Do not discard berry pulp, set this along with any remaining pureed berries for the jam filling.1 ¼ lbs (570 g) strawberries
- Pour strawberry juice into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced to ⅓ cup (pour into a measuring cup to check, if it’s not reduced enough, return to the saucepan and continue to cook until it is). This usually takes about 10 minutes.
- Once reduced, add ⅔ cup milk to the strawberry reduction and whisk together. If using food coloring, whisk that in here as well. Set aside.⅔ cup whole milk, Food coloring
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer or in a stand mixer, beat together oil, butter, sugar, and vanilla extract until completely combined.½ cup (118 ml) Avocado, vegetable or canola oil, 4 Tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, 1 ¾ cup (350 g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.3 cups (330 g) cake flour¹, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- With mixer on low speed, gradually alternate adding the flour mixture and strawberry/milk mixture to the butter mixture, stirring until just combined after each addition. (I start and end with the flour and add the flour mixture in 4 parts and the milk mixture in 3 parts.)
- Place egg whites in a separate clean, dry bowl, and beat on high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.6 large egg whites²
- Using a spatula, gently fold egg whites into cake batter until completely combined (don’t use your electric mixer at this point or you will over-beat the batter). Divide cake batter evenly into prepared pans and bake on 350F for 28 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes then run a knife around the edges to loosen cakes from pan and invert onto cooling rack to cool completely. While cooling, prepare the jam filling.
JAM FILLING
- Combine remaining strawberrry pulp, ⅓ cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt in a small saucepan and whisk to combine.⅓ cup (70 g) granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, ⅛ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and the whisk leaves a trail through the jam (this takes about 5-10 minutes).
- Remove from heat, transfer to a heat-proof bowl, and place in the refrigerator to cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare your frosting.
WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- Combine cream cheese, ½ cup (65g) powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat together until creamy and smooth.1 ½ cups (190 g) powdered sugar, divided, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl (preferably a chilled metal bowl), combine remaining (1 cup, 125g) powdered sugar and cold heavy cream. Beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.2 cups (475 ml) cold heavy cream
- With mixer on low speed, stir together the cream cheese and whipped cream until completely combined.
ASSEMBLY
- Once cake and jam are completely cooled place one layer of cake on serving tray. Use a piping bag fitted with a round tip (I use an Ateco 808) to pipe a dam around the layer. Fill with your jam filling.
- Top with second layer of cake. Cover the entire cake with frosting.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!
- Cake will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Rachel
Hello,
Do you know how to convert this to a sheet cake? I was thinking of just doubling the recipe and keeping an eye on it once it is in the oven.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Rachel! As is, this strawberry cake should make enough batter to fill a 9×13 pan. Your bake time will be different though, so just keep an eye on it. Hope that helps! 🙂
Sarah D.
Will this frosting hold up if I use a star tip to pipe a character design onto the cake?
Sam
Hi Sarah! It’s a little bit softer than say a buttercream would be, but you can see the little decorations I piped on top of the cake. They hold their shape, unless it’s really warm. 🙂
Sarah D.
Thanks, Sam! Would adding more cream cheese or more powdered sugar help stabilize it a bit more? Or even some gelatin to the whipped cream? Or would that totally mess up the frosting? A better approach being to use the frosting while it’s cool and put it in the fridge immediately following decorating to hold it up?
Sam
The powdered sugar or gel would probably work here. You could also take a look at my stabilized whipped cream frosting or cream cheese frosting. 🙂
Sabre
Can you use frozen berries for the cake?
Sam
Hi Sabre! I actually talk about how to do this in the post. 🙂
Dzenana
Can this cake be frozen after it is done? Like decorated and all… Idk how will this frosting behave in after thawed.
Sam
Hi Dzenana! I honestly have never frozen this cake but I do think it would freeze fine, including the icing. Let me know how it turns out for you!
Sarah
Any recommendations for baking times in 9” pans instead?
Sam
Hi Sarah! I would just watch the cakes, they’ll need a bit less time in the oven.
az.teacher
Look back at your recipe and I think you will see that you never specifically said when to add the sugar /oil mixture to the flour mixture. Bad form.
Sam
Hi teacher! It’s there, I think you missed step 7 😉
Nichole
Is this recipe for high altitude?
Sam
Hi Nichole! It is not, I am not sure precisely how to change it for high altitude but maybe someone else who has tried it can chime in.
Dana Scully
I’ll definitely make this again! I’m not a huge fan of fruity cakes, but my boyfriend asked for a strawberry cake for his birthday and this was the one I picked based on reviews. It is a little time consuming, but totally worth it! The only thing I would criticize would be the amount of dishes needed and the time it took (almost 2 hours from start to finish). It really is better chilled!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Dana! 🙂
Samantha
Is this easy to do into cupcakes?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Samantha! While we haven’t tried making this recipe as cupcakes, we think they should turn out fine! They may not get nice little domes on top of them though. This recipe should yield somewhere between 24 and 30 cupcakes. Hope that helps! 🙂
Jonnieann
Going to try this in a mini cupcake form. I’m going to make a compote with the leftover berries as well as some fresh to top them. Any advice on adjusting baking time? Also, any estimate on how many minis this will make?
Sam
Hi Jonnieann! I have not tried this cake in a smaller pan so I’m not sure on a bake time. I would just be sure to keep an eye on them as they bake. Good luck! 🙂
Elena
I’m baking more
from scratch. This recipe was fairly easy to follow and the result was excellent.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Elena! 🙂
Tanisha Thompson
The best frosting recipe! Love it I may eat the whole bowl before the cake cools! The cake is in the oven as I type, it is my second attempt the first attempt I cooked it for 28 minutes as suggested and it was raw in the middle. Hoping 42 minutes isn’t dry and actually done.
Sue
This recipe looks amazing. I’m actually looking for a great stable cream cheese icing that I can pipe and that’ll the definition of my piping work (if that makes any sense!). Do you think your icing recipe would do the job?
I’m making cupcakes for a baby shower – in July!!!!! I just want to make sure they stay nice!
Sam
Hi Sue! The frosting here is actually a whipped cream based frosting so it’s going to be a little more fragile than a standard cream cheese frosting. You will be able to pipe it but I’m not sure how it will hold up in heat and humidity.
Bruce
I made 21 1/2 cupcakes from this batter. I definitely could have stretched it to 22. Fill the cups nearly full (up to about 1/8 inch from the top). The cake with the jam is an amazing combination! I didn’t need to impress anybody with the appearance, so I didn’t use any food coloring. To use up the 6 yolks, I made German buttercream, which is my favorite frosting anyway. This way I’m getting a “strawberries and cream” effect as well as using up the egg yolks. In a few hours, my sister will be enjoying these for her 59th birthday.
Sam
This sounds absolutely delicious (and I agree with you on the German buttercream, it’s delicious and I hope to share a recipe for it soon!). Thanks so much for letting me know how it turned out as cupcakes, Bruce! What a sweet gift for your sister 🙂
Bruce
They have been delivered. She, her granddaughter, the waitress and the manager of the restaurant where we met for lunch all enjoyed them immensely. I used a pastry bag to force the jam into the cupcakes, then put the German buttercream into the same bag, so I got a nice two-toned effect in the frosting on most of them.
Sam
That is awesome! 🙂
Nonabona
Yes, I made this for a birthday. Awesome work to do, it really needs the color for it will not look pink enough at all. Also the work with the cooking marmerlade was quite long to evaporate. The dough was perfectly heavenly awesome moist, the next day even way better! It just wasn’t rosy or strawberry flavour. Way too sweet all in all for Germany but I love US desserts I acutally ate the whole cake by myself. Perfect cream cheese frosting. Hard work to know this flavor. Hope to repeat this soon! Thank you and greetings from Lübeck at the Baltic Sea and Munich in Bavaria!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! No judgement made here for eating the whole thing yourself. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same. 🤣
Elli Gabel
I made this cake a few months back and i loved it. My sisters birthday is coming up and i was wondering if i could change out the strawberries for raspberries and the recipe would work the same. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Elli! I think the raspberries will work just fine. 🙂
Kenny
Hello 👋. Thank you for this recipe. I was wondering if this batter will be good for cupcakes. I’m thinking of making a dozen cupcakes, so I may need to halve the recipe?
Sam
Hi Kenny! I haven’t tried making this as a cupcake. It should turn out. The only thing is they may not get nice little domes on top of them. I think this recipe would yield somewhere between 24 and 30 cupcakes so halving it would work fine for a dozen. 🙂
Amy
Love your recipes, and I can’t wait to try this! I want to make a 3-layer cake with 6” pans. Do you think halving the ingredients would be OK? Thanks!
Sam
Thank you so much, Amy! I would recommend just making the recipe as is and discarding any excess. It won’t be very much. If you cut the recipe in half you won’t have enough batter. I hope this helps. 🙂
Mairlend
Hey I don’t have a fine mesh strainer. Can I used something else instead?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Mairlend! A colander with small holes might work–just make sure to save the pulp AND the juice!
Daniela
I used this recipe and your vanilla cake recipe to make a checkerboard cake for my daughter’s birthday. The result was out of this world! The cakes were moist, soft and full of flavour. Thanks Sam!
Sam
That sounds absolutely incredible, Daniela! I’m so glad you enjoyed them both so much. 🙂