We love Spring and Summer, and we LOVE fresh berries. Especially strawberries. We always have a few containers of strawberries either from going berry picking or grabbing a flat of them from the farmer’s market during berry season. They’re so fresh and sweet and juicy! But every now and then the strawberries start to turn before we get to them. That’s what I tend to use them for baking in things like this delicious strawberry cake, Strawberry Shortcake, or Strawberry Scones. Kind of like when bananas go mushy, I make Banana Bread or Banana Bars. The moral of the story is: when life gives you an abundance of fruit, make dessert! This is a beautiful cake that’s perfect for Easter or Valentine’s Day, birthdays, bridal or baby showers, or just about any special occasion. For more celebration cakes, check out my Chantilly Cake, this decadent German Chocolate Cake, or my Classic Funfetti Cake! This fresh strawberry cake recipe makes a fluffy and moist cake that is packed with fresh summer strawberry flavor! While a lot of strawberry cake recipes use a box mix, I prefer this from-scratch strawberry layer cake. I’m not against a boxed cake mix, but the intense flavor of strawberry you get by using fresh strawberries compared to freeze-dried strawberries or strawberry extracts in cake is far superior. No strawberry will go to waste in this deliciously sweet treat, thanks to homemade reduced strawberry puree. The reduced strawberry puree is basically a condensed puree, which means it’s less watery and way more flavorful. That’s ultimately the trick to making fresh strawberry cake light and fluffy while also full of fresh flavor! The reduced puree also gives the cake its fabulous pink color, though you can add a drop or two of red food coloring (affiliate link) to make it even more vibrant if you want.
Why We Love This Recipe
Full of fresh strawberry flavor made with real, juicy strawberries. Makes two thick layers or three regular layers. It’s a perfect celebration cake for Valentine’s Day, birthdays, or baby showers!
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Strawberry Puree – Use homemade reduced strawberry puree for the best flavor. You can use store-bought in a pinch but it won’t taste exactly the same. Butter – Use salted butter to enhance the flavors in the cake and the buttercream frosting. Granulated Sugar – Granulated white sugar will give the cake just the right amount of sweetness. Eggs – You’ll need the egg whites from the eggs, at room temperature, before you begin. Vanilla Extract – To add that sweet subtle warmth to the cake layers and frosting. Buttermilk – Use buttermilk to make the cake moist! Flour – Use cake flour for the best results with this cake. You can use all-purpose flour in a pinch but your cake may not be as soft and fluffy. Rising Agents – Use baking powder and baking soda to make the cake super fluffy. Salt – To enhance all the sweet and tart flavors. Strawberries – Use fresh strawberries, chopped, for adding to the cake layers for bursts of fresh strawberry in each bite! Freeze-Dried Strawberries – When powdered, they give the frosting their lovely pink color, as well as an intense strawberry flavor. Cream Cheese – The base of our creamy buttercream frosting. Powdered Sugar – Use confectioners’ sugar to make the buttercream frosting more solid and very sweet! Coconut Extract – For a subtly sweet coconut flavor in the frosting, if you wish it. Milk or Cream – To thin the buttercream to the right consistency. I tend to use whole milk or heavy cream, depending on how much thinner I need the frosting.
How to Make Strawberry Cake
Cake Layers
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
Assemble The Cake
Tips for Success
Use salted butter for this recipe. If you only have unsalted butter, then add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the cake batter, and also ¼ teaspoon of salt to the frosting. Make the reduced puree the day before and chill it in the refrigerator overnight for it to set slightly for a fuller flavor in your cake. Check your cakes near the end of the baking time to make sure they don’t burn. Every oven is different, so use the baking times as a guide. Refrigerate the cake before slicing into it to allow it to set slightly, resulting in a less crummy slice!
Substitutions and Variations
Decoration. Use frosting in a piping bag with a decorative tip to make decorative swirls around the edge or in the center of the cake. Then add strawberry halves or sprinkles to the swirls. Frosting. Use my Fresh Strawberry Frosting instead of the strawberry cream cheese frosting, or use my Vanilla Buttercream Frosting or even Chocolate Frosting for a different flavor variation. Cupcakes. Try my recipe for Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes for a similar cupcake version of this summery cake!
More Delicious Celebration Cake Recipes
Classic Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting Vintage Cherry Cake The BEST Carrot Cake Momofuku Milk Bar Birthday Cake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake Devil’s Food Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
Harry Potter Birthday Cake
Flourless Chocolate Cake
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