Strawberry Cake With Fresh Strawberry Filling and Frosting

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure for details.

Hi Bold Bakers!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: My easy Strawberry Cake Recipe gives you a mouthwatering dessert that’s an absolute stunner! Pretty in pink and bursting with fresh, sweet, juicy berry flavor, this cake will get you through the last weeks of winter, and is perfect for spring and summer too!

• Double berry flavor: I use the concentrated goodness of jam and fresh sliced berries for intense strawberry taste.
• Fast and fancy: It takes just 90 minutes to make this impressive, gorgeous cake.
• All-natural: There’s no strawberry cake using cake mix here! This recipe features fresh berries and jam; the optional drop of red food coloring is only there to amp up the color.
• Creamy, sweet, and tangy frosting: My luscious cream cheese frosting balances out this special dessert.
• Make any occasion special: Bring out a beautiful tiered cake on a stand, and watch how happy everyone gets!

Pink desserts are gorgeous attention-grabbers, but what matters is how they taste! Skip the supermarket baked goods (which typically contain artificial ingredients like strawberry flavoring) and enjoy my wholesome fresh strawberry desserts. These rosy treats are picture-perfect and absolutely delectable! You’ll love my Pink Velvet Cupcakes, Single Serve Funfetti Cheesecake, Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting, and White Velvet Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting!

Table of Contents

What is Strawberry Cake Recipe?

• My Strawberry Cake Recipe yields a filled, frosted, tiered cake with an all-natural strawberry flavor and a velvety crumb.
  • Whipped egg whites provide an irresistible lightness.
  • Instead of the typical frosting, a perfectly sweet macerated-strawberry filling adds an enticing new texture, fresh fruit taste, and an artisan bakery touch.
  • The strawberry syrup from the filling adds an incredible juiciness to every slice and additional moisture to the cake.
  • Velvety Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting complete this flavorful, beautiful cake.
• Tiered cakes have symbolized celebration since medieval times. In England, if a couple could kiss over a tall stack of cakes, it signified good luck. Queen Victoria’s 1840 elaborately layered wedding cake sparked a trend, and tiered cakes, with their eye-catching wow factor, remain popular today. They’re practical, too—layer cakes can blend complementary flavors and textures in one easy-to-serve slice.

Key Ingredients and Why

1 recipe Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

• Sweet, with notes of tanginess and saltiness.
• Lushly textured and wonderfully spreadable.

Cake

All-purpose flour

• All-purpose flour with 9 to 11% protein content gives the cake enough structure while still having the perfect tender, light texture.

Baking powder

• Baking powder is a combination of baking soda plus the addition of an acidic substance.
• When baking powder is activated, it creates carbon dioxide, which creates a rise in baked goods.
• Learn more in my guide, How to Make Baking Powder and Baking Soda Explained.

Salt

• Salt enhances the individual ingredients, elevating the overall flavor.

Strawberry jam

• For exceptional flavor, make your own strawberry jam with my simple recipe
  • In the cake: Strawberry jam is an easy way to bring luscious, concentrated flavor from strawberry puree or strawberry reduction to recipes like this cake without adding too much liquid.
    
  • In the filling: Strawberry jam enhances the fruit flavor and thickens the filling.

Sour Cream

• Sour cream gives this cake a lovely tang, perfectly balancing the sweetness in this homemade strawberry cake. It also adds moisture.
• Additionally, sour cream is acidic, so it tenderizes the cake.
• It’s easy to make your own sour cream.
• Substitution: You can use the same amount of yogurt instead of the sour cream.

Vanilla extract

• Vanilla extract gives the cake a warm, subtly sweet flavor.
• Vanilla extract enhances the strawberry flavors.
• Substitution: You can add an equal amount of Vanilla Bean Paste.

Butter

• Butter coats the flour, inhibiting gluten formation and giving the cake a wonderfully tender texture.
• Butter gives this cake creamy, rich flavor.
• Use salted or unsalted butter.
• Using room-temperature butter gives your cake the best texture. Learn how to quickly soften cold butter the correct way.

Granulated sugar

• Sugar sweetens the cake.
• Importantly, sugar also adds moisture to the cake.

Egg whites

• Egg whites are whipped to add air bubbles to the batter, giving the cake a light, delicate texture.
• Substitution: You can use aquafaba (chickpea liquid) as a substitute for the eggs whites. Use 2 tablespoons of aquafaba for each egg white. See my Complete Guide to Aquafaba for more info.

Red gel food coloring (optional)

• A drop of red gel food coloring creates the perfect pink color without interfering with the cake’s texture or taste.

Fresh strawberries

• Sweet, bright strawberries bring juicy flavor and lovely color to the filling.
• Maceration softens the berries in fresh strawberry desserts and intensifies the flavor.
• I recommend using fresh strawberries, but you can also use sliced, thawed frozen berries. Drain their liquid before using.

Lemon juice

• Lemon juice enhances the strawberry flavor and keeps the color bright.
• Additionally, lemon’s acid helps break down the berries, so they soften and release juice that thickens into a syrup.
• Substitution: You can also use orange juice.

How to Make Strawberry Cake Recipe

Prepare to bake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter and line two 8-inch (20 cm) pans and set aside.

Mix the batter

2. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: whisk flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine jam, sour cream and vanilla extract. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together for 5 minutes on high speed, until light and fluffy.
5. Slowly whisk in the egg whites one at a time until blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice to ensure even blending.

6. Mix in 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by ½ of the sour cream mixture. Continue alternating until the cake batter is just combined. Finally stir in food coloring if using.

Bake the cake

7. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a tester or toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring the layers to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the filling

8. Stir the strawberries, jam and lemon juice together and let macerate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Assemble the cake

9. If the layers are domed, first slice to tops to make them flat.
10. Place the bottom layer on a serving plate and spread a thin layer of frosting on top, creating a small dam around the edge to hold in the filling.
11. Scoop on the macerated strawberries, leaving as much of the liquid behind in the bowl as you can. Then place on the top cake layer, bottom side up.
12. Cover the top and sides of the cake with a thin layer of frosting to create a crumb coat and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the frosting harden.

13. Finish with a second, decorative layer of frosting to cover the crumb coat and serve right away or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips

• Be sure that all ingredients are at room temperature for the best results.
• The cake will be tan-colored from the jam. Red food dye is needed if you want a pink cake, or to get a natural pink color for the cake, you can add 1-2 teaspoons of beetroot powder.
• Macerating the strawberries softens them and intensifies their flavor. Be sure to only macerate for 30 minutes so they don’t soften or liquefy too much.
• The leftover syrup from macerating the strawberries is delicious – try drizzling it over yogurt or ice cream!
• This cake can also be frosted with plain Cream Cheese Frosting or Strawberry Buttercream.
• You can substitute yogurt for the sour cream, no problem.

Storage and Make Ahead Instructions

Make ahead tips:

• The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
• The Strawberry Cream Cheese frosting can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated or frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and re-whip briefly before using.

How to store leftovers:

• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

FAQs

Can I make this strawberry cake gluten-free?

• Yes, you can make this strawberry cake gluten-free.
• Use my Easy Almond Flour Baking Mix instead of the all-purpose flour. You can also use another 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose blend.

Is it possible to make this homemade cake egg-free?

Are there other ways to make this pink without using food coloring?

• After baking, the cake will be tan-colored from the jam.
• One drop of red gel food coloring is needed if you want a pink cake, and it won’t affect the taste or texture of the cake.
• If you’d like to give your cake a pink color naturally, you can add 1 to 2 teaspoons of beetroot powder or 2 to 3 tablespoons of ground, freeze-dried strawberries (sieve the powder first to remove the seeds).

More Spring Cake Recipes