This super moist strawberry shortcake cake recipe features tender vanilla cake layers filled with juicy fresh strawberries and a light, not-too-sweet chantilly whipped cream. It’s fresh, perfectly balanced, and the perfect mix of a classic strawberry shortcake and a celebration cake!
Why you’ll love this Strawberry Shortcake Cake
If you love light, fresh desserts that aren’t overly heavy, this strawberry shortcake cake is going to be right up your alley. It’s simple, beautiful, and lets the strawberries really shine!
Soft and fluffy vanilla cake layers
The vanilla cake layers (based on my 5-star rated vanilla cake recipe) are incredibly soft and tender with a fine crumb that stays moist thanks to the perfect balance of butter, oil, and buttermilk.
Light Chantilly cream that isn’t too sweet
Instead of a heavy buttercream, this cake uses a light Chantilly cream that’s smooth, creamy, and perfectly balanced in sweetness. It complements the fresh strawberries beautifully and gives the cake that signature strawberry shortcake flavour without feeling too rich.
Fresh strawberries in every bite
The macerated strawberries add natural sweetness and juiciness, giving you that fresh, classic strawberry shortcake taste. If you’re looking for a more traditional version, you can also check out my classic strawberry shortcake recipe which uses a more traditional shortcake-style base.
A stable whipped cream frosting that’s easy to work with
Thanks to the mascarpone and cream cheese, this homemade whipped cream frosting is much more stable than traditional whipped cream, which means it’s easier to frost, pipe, and decorate while still staying light and fluffy.
Perfect for celebrations or everyday baking
This is one of those cakes that looks impressive but is actually very straightforward to make. It’s perfect for birthdays, gatherings, or just when you want something a little special during strawberry season!
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake Cake
You can find the full list of ingredients for this strawberry shortcake cake recipe in the recipe card at the end of the blog post (for easy navigation, hit the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of the blog post). Here is a quick visual breakdown of the recipe (video tutorial is also provided in the recipe card below).
Vanilla Cake
IMPORTANT: For the vanilla cake recipe, I would highly recommend using gram measurements, especially for the flour, for accurate results. It has a high fat/liquid ratio, so slight adjustments to the quantities can throw off the balance of the cake 🙂
Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) conventional and grease and/or line two 8-inch cake pans (I use my homemade cake release).
In a bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add in butter, vegetable oil, and sugar. Using an electric mixer (a hand or stand mixer is fine), cream together for 2 minutes until light and creamy.
Add in eggs one by one, mixing well in between each addition (about 10–15 seconds between eggs).
Add in vanilla, vinegar, and half a cup of the buttermilk (112 g), and mix until well combined. Now set your mixer aside, as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
Finish off by adding half of your premixed dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and gently fold it in with a spatula until just combined. Then add in the remaining 1 cup (225 g) of buttermilk and fold it in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8-inch cake tins. Drop the cake tins lightly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles and bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Once baked, allow the cake layers to cool in the cake tins for 20 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once they are completely cool and ready to assemble, begin preparing the strawberry filling and frosting.
Strawberry Filling
Combine sliced strawberries and sugar and stir until the strawberries are well coated.
Allow to sit for 10 minutes to macerate while preparing the whipped cream frosting.
Chantilly Whipped Cream
In a large bowl, combine the mascarpone, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Using a hand or stand mixer, mix on a low speed for about 10 seconds, then turn the speed up to medium-high and mix until well combined and smooth. If using a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment.
Add in the heavy cream and mix on a low speed for about 10 seconds (to allow everything to combine without the cream splattering), then turn the speed up to medium-high and whip until you reach stiff peaks. Keep a careful eye on the mixture as you don’t want to overwhip the cream.
Assembly (see video for demonstration)
Trim off the tops of the cake layers with a serrated knife so that they’re nice and flat.
Place the first cake layer onto a serving plate/cake stand and spread out a generous amount of whipped cream. Using a large piping tip (I used a 1M), pipe a dam of frosting around the edges of the cake layer. Fill the middle with half of the strawberries.
Place the next cake layer on top and spread out more whipped cream on the top and sides of the cake.
Using a 1M piping tip (or any large piping tip), pipe a border around the top edge of the cake. Place the remaining strawberries on top of the cake. Slice and enjoy!
How to store Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Because this strawberry shortcake cake is made with fresh strawberries and whipped cream frosting, it should be stored in the refrigerator.
Store the cake in an airtight container or cover it well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. For the best texture, allow slices to sit at room temperature after removing from the fridge for about 15–20 minutes before serving so the cake can soften slightly.
If possible, I also recommend adding the fresh strawberries on top the day you plan to serve the cake for the freshest appearance.
Moist Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
- 2½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour - regular all purpose (see note 1 if you want to use cake flour)
- ¼ cup (25 g) cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- ½ cup (105 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola
- 1⅔ cups (332 g) white granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 1¼ tbsps vanilla extract/essence
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1½ cups (337 g) buttermilk - room temperature. See note 4 if using a homemade buttermilk substitute
Strawberry Filling
- 2 cups (300 g) strawberries - hulled and sliced thinly
- 1 tsp (38 g) white granulated sugar
Chantilly Whipped Cream
- ½ cup (113 g) mascarpone - cold
- ½ cup (113 g) cream cheese - cold, use a firm cream cheese (not the spreadable type).
- 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar - also known as icing/confectioners' sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract/essence
- 2 cups (460 g) heavy whipping cream - cold
Instructions
- IMPORTANT: For the vanilla cake recipe, I would highly recommend using gram measurements, especially for the flour, for accurate results. It has a high fat/liquid ratio, so slight adjustments to the quantities can throw off the balance of the cake 🙂
Vanilla Cake
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) conventional (see note 2 if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease and/or line two 8-inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release).
- In a bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add in butter, vegetable oil, and sugar. Using an electric mixer (a hand or stand mixer is fine - see note 3), cream together for 2 minutes until light and creamy.
- Add in eggs one by one, mixing well in between each addition (about 10–15 seconds between eggs).
- Add in vanilla, vinegar, and half a cup of the buttermilk (112 g), and mix until well combined. Now set your mixer aside, as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
- Finish off by adding half of your premixed dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and gently fold it in with a spatula until just combined. Then add in the remaining 1 cup (225 g) of buttermilk and fold it in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8-inch cake tins. Drop the cake tins lightly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles and bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once baked, allow the cake layers to cool in the cake tins for 20 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once they are completely cool and ready to assemble, begin preparing the strawberry filling and frosting.
Strawberry Filling
- Combine sliced strawberries and sugar and stir until the strawberries are well coated.
- Allow to sit for 10 minutes to macerate while preparing the whipped cream frosting.
Chantilly Whipped Cream
- In a large bowl, combine the mascarpone, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Using a hand or stand mixer, mix on a low speed for about 10 seconds, then turn the speed up to medium-high and mix until well combined and smooth. If using a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment.
- Add in the heavy cream and mix on a low speed for about 10 seconds (to allow everything to combine without the cream splattering), then turn the speed up to medium-high and whip until you reach stiff peaks. Keep a careful eye on the mixture as you don't want to overwhip the cream.
Assembly (see video for demonstration)
- Trim off the tops of the cake layers with a serrated knife so that they're nice and flat.
- Place the first cake layer onto a serving plate/cake stand and spread out a generous amount of whipped cream. Using a large piping tip (I used a 1M), pipe a dam of frosting around the edges of the cake layer. Fill the middle with half of the strawberries.
- Place the next cake layer on top and spread out more whipped cream on the top and sides of the cake.
- Using a 1M piping tip (or any large piping tip), pipe a border around the top edge of the cake. Fill the centre with the remaining strawberries. Slice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
