The Best Strawberry Cake

The Best Strawberry Cake recipe you’ll ever need! A fluffy vanilla cake packed with fresh sweet strawberries and topped with a rich cream cheese whipped cream. It’s the perfect summer treat for any celebration or gathering.

Experience the pure joy of summer with every bite of this Strawberry Cake. Bursting with the natural sweetness of ripe strawberries, this cake is a celebration of simple, fresh ingredients that come together to create a moist, tender crumb. The juicy strawberries infuse the cake with their vibrant flavor, making it a perfect dessert for warm weather gatherings or a sweet ending to any meal. Topped with a light, fluffy whipped cream or a delicate cream cheese frosting, this cake is as visually stunning as it is delicious.

To elevate your dessert experience, serve the Strawberry Cake with a side of homemade strawberry compote or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. For a refreshing contrast, pair it with a crisp glass of sparkling rosé or a chilled lemonade. Whether enjoyed at a picnic, a barbecue, or a family dinner, this cake captures the essence of summer in every delicious slice.

Ingredients:

To make a fresh strawberry cake, you’ll need cake flour, baking powder, salt, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, whole eggs and egg yolks, milk, and vanilla. For the whipped strawberry frosting, gather heavy cream, powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and fresh strawberries.

Faqs

Could I Use All-Purpose Flour Instead of Cake Flour?
Cake flour is ideal for this strawberry cake recipe with fresh strawberries. It makes the vanilla cake lighter and gives it the best texture.

Could I Use Frozen Strawberries Instead of Fresh?
For the best flavor, use fresh strawberries. Defrosted frozen strawberries won’t work as well in this recipe.

Tips for the Best Strawberry Cake
Allow the vanilla cake layers to cool completely before adding the frosting.
You can add a few drops of red food coloring to the frosting to give it a lovely pink color if you like.
If you only have salted butter, use less salt in the cake batter.

 

Love cakes? Be sure to check out these other delicious cake recipes!

• Carrot Cheesecake Bundt Cake
• Lemon Raspberry Cake
• Strawberry Upside Down Cake
• White Chocolate Almond Raspberry Cake

The Best Strawberry Cake

The Best Strawberry Cake recipe you’ll ever need! A fluffy vanilla cake packed with fresh sweet strawberries and topped with a rich cream cheese whipped cream. It’s the perfect summer treat for any celebration or gathering.

Cake

• 3 cups (370grams) cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cup (390grams) granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cups milk (anything but skim)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Strawberry Cream Cheese Whipped Cream

• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup (125grams) powdered sugar, divided
• 8 oz cream cheese, left at room temperature until partially softened (around 20 – 30 minutes)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 lbs strawberries, hulled and cut into pieces slightly under 1/2 inch
• Sliced strawberries to decorate

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 3 9-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Grease the parchment paper and lightly dust the pans with flour, shaking out any excess. Set the pans aside.

Make the cake:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, sift the cake flour. Add the baking powder and salt, then whisk for about 20 seconds. Set this mixture aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (if your mixer doesn’t have a paddle that scrapes the bowl while mixing, pause occasionally throughout the mixing process to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl), beat together the butter and sugar until they’re pale and fluffy.
3. Mix in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time, adding the vanilla with the last egg yolk. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture at a time to the butter/egg mixture, alternating with 1/2 of the milk. Mix on low speed just until combined after each addition. Remember to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and gently fold the batter several times.
4. Divide the batter among the prepared baking pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Cool the cakes in the pans for about 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cakes to loosen them, then invert them onto wire racks to cool completely. I recommend transferring them to gallon-size resealable bags after about 25 minutes of cooling to prevent them from drying out. Let them finish cooling in the bags.
6. Once the cakes are cool, frost them with Strawberry Cream Cheese Whipped Cream. Store the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

For the topping:

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Occasionally scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
2. Add 1/3 cup of powdered sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Make sure the peaks are stiff; otherwise, your topping will be runny. It should reach a point where it doesn’t have a wet sheen. Scrape the whipped cream out into a separate bowl.
3. Add the cream cheese to the bowl of the stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and whip the cream cheese until it’s smooth and fluffy.
4. Mix in the remaining 2/3 cup of powdered sugar and vanilla. (Tip: For a better pink color, you can add a few drops of liquid red food coloring at this point.)
5. Add the strawberries and mix until the mixture is uniform in color. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, add the whipped cream, and gently fold it into the mixture.
6. Frost the cooled cake with this mixture.

Notes

• Recipe source: inspired by Cooking Classy
• You can enhance the frosting’s appearance by adding a few drops of red food coloring to achieve a lovely pink color.
• If you only have salted butter available, it’s best to reduce the amount of salt you add to the cake batter.

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