If you’re looking for a strawberry cake that is bursting with fresh strawberry flavour, then this recipe is it! Super soft strawberry cake layers are sandwiched between a strawberry cream cheese buttercream and fresh strawberry filling – YUM!
Why This Strawberry Cake is Special
So this might be an unpopular opinion, but I feel like there’s two problems with regular strawberry cake.
Firstly, if it’s a recipe that uses only fresh strawberries, then it often lacks that strawberry flavour hit that you want, from well, a strawberry cake!
Secondly, if it’s a recipe that uses strawberry essence or extract only, then it often has this overwhelmingly artificial taste which just isn’t my cup of tea.
I really wanted to try and develop a recipe that had as much fresh strawberry as possible in the actual cake batter, but with the addition of strawberry extract/essence to really bump up the flavour. Hopefully in a way that simply amplified the natural strawberry flavour, but without it tasting artificial.
How did I achieve this? After MANY fails (the first version I made was SO BAD), I finally got the result I wanted by making a strawberry filling/reduction (which I adapted from my raspberry filling recipe), and that became the base of the entire cake.
I used the strawberry filling in the cake layers, cream cheese frosting and as a filling in the centre of the cake. To then amplify the strawberry flavour, I added additional strawberry essence/extract into the cake layers (it took me a few trials to get the amount juuuust right!) and frosting, and it really took the cake to the next level!
How to Make Strawberry Cake
So this strawberry cake has three elements:
- Strawberry filling/reduction (this is the base of the entire recipe and is made first. It can also be made the day beforehand to save time)
- Strawberry cake
- Strawberry cream cheese frosting
You can find the full quantities as well written directions in the recipe card at the end of this blog post 🙂
Strawberry filling/reduction:
Begin by placing strawberries, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice in a large fry pan and place over a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once the strawberries are soft, using a potato masher, mash the strawberries well. Allow the mixture to reduce for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine cornstarch with the water and mix until the cornstarch is no longer lumpy. Add it into the strawberry mixture while continuously mixing to avoid lumps forming.
Reduce for another few minutes and then take it off the heat. You should have about 2 cups. It’s okay if it’s not exact, but if you have a lot more than 2 cups, then you will need to reduce the mixture further.
The filling needs to cool before you move onto the cake. To speed up the process, spread the filling out onto a wide dish and refrigerate for 30 minutes. You can also make this the day beforehand to save time.
Strawberry Cake
Begin by preheating oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 4 on recipe card below if you don’t have a fan function) and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release).
In a bowl, sift together your flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
In a small bowl combine 3/4s of a cup (195g) of the strawberry filling, milk and gel food colour. Mix until well combined. Set aside for now.
In another bowl, add in your butter, vegetable oil and sugar. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer are both fine – see note 2), cream together for 3 minutes until light and creamy.
Add in egg whites in 3 batches on a low-medium speed, mixing well in between each addition (about 10-15 seconds between each batch).
Add in half of your strawberry/milk mixture from earlier, strawberry essence/extract, vanilla and white vinegar. Mix until well combined. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
Finish off by adding in 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 strawberry/milk mixture, and fold it in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold it into the mixture until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 3). If your batter seems a little dull in colour, then you can add another drop of red gel food colouring.
Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins, and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Once baked, allow the cake layers to cool in the cake tins for about 15-20 minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool before frosting with the strawberry cream cheese buttercream recipe below.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Begin by creaming your butter for a few minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Either use a hand mixer or stand mixer on a medium high speed. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
Add in the icing sugar in 3 batches while mixing on low. Ensure that each batch of icing sugar is mixed into the butter well before adding in the next batch.
Next add in your cold cream cheese, strawberry essence/extract and vanilla. Mix just until the frosting is smooth. Avoid over-mixing (see note 3).
Add in a 1/4 cup (65g) of the strawberry filling we made earlier, and mix that in until just combined. You can add additional colouring in at this point too if you prefer.
Assembly
OPTIONAL: Begin by trimming off all the caramelised edges on the top, bottom and sides of the cake layers. Also level the tops if the cake layers have a slight dome.
Place your first cake layer onto your cake stand, and spread out a generous amount of the frosting on top.
Place some of the frosting into a piping bag with a 1A round tip, and pipe a border/dam around the edges of the cake layer to hold in our strawberry filling. Fill the middle with the remaining strawberry filling we made earlier.
Place the next cake layer on top and cover the top and sides with more frosting. If you have a cake scraper, you can use it to smooth out the sides. I like to do a little bit of piping on the top with the remaining buttercream in my piping bag (using the same 1A piping tip) and finish off with fresh strawberries on the top.
Soft Strawberry 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
Strawberry Filling/Reduction
- 3 cups (600 g) fresh strawberries - hulled and halved
- ¾ cup (150 g) white granulated sugar - see note 5 if you have very sweet strawberries
- 1 tbsp lemon zest - about the zest of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup (60 g) fresh lemon juice
- 3 tbsp (22 g) cornstarch - also known as cornflour
- 2 tbsp water
Strawberry Cake
- 2⅓ cups (300 g) flour - regular all purpose (see note 1 if you want to use cake flour)
- ¼ cup (25 g) cornstarch - also known as cornflour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- ¼ cup (60 g) milk - room temperature
- ¾ cup (195 g) strawberry filling/reduction - made in the first step of this recipe
- 1 drop red gel food colouring - optional but recommended, see note 6
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- ½ cup (105 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola
- 1½ cups (300 g) white granulated sugar
- 6 large (225 g) egg whites - room temperature, size 7 eggs
- 3 tsps strawberry essence/extract
- 1½ tsp vanilla essence/extract
- 1 tsp white vinegar
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- 4½ cups (570 g) icing sugar - also known as powdered sugar/confectioners sugar
- 1½ cups (335 g) cream cheese - cold, firm type not spreadable
- ¼ cup (65 g) strawberry filling/reduction - made in the first step of this recipe
- 2 tsp strawberry essence/extract
- 1 tsp vanilla essence/extract
Instructions
Strawberry Filling/Reduction
- Place the strawberries, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice in a large fry pan and place over a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the strawberries are soft, using a potato masher, mash the strawberries well. Allow the mixture to reduce for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Combine the cornstarch with the water and mix until the cornstarch is no longer lumpy. Add it into the strawberry mixture while continuously mixing to avoid lumps forming.
- Reduce for another few minutes and then take it off the heat. You should have about 2 cups. It's okay if it's not exact, but if you have a lot more than 2 cups, then you will need to reduce the mixture further.
- The filling needs to cool before you move onto the cake. To speed up the process, spread the filling out onto a wide dish and refrigerate for 30 minutes. You can also make this the day beforehand to save time.
Strawberry Cake
- Preheat oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 4 if you don't have a fan function) and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release).
- In a bowl, sift together your flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In a small bowl combine 3/4s of a cup (195g) of the strawberry filling, milk and gel food colour. Mix until well combined. Set aside for now.
- In another bowl, add in your butter, vegetable oil and sugar. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer are both fine - see note 2), cream together for 3 minutes until light and creamy.
- Add in egg whites in 3 batches on a low-medium speed, mixing well in between each addition (about 10-15 seconds between each batch).
- Add in half of your strawberry/milk mixture from earlier, strawberry essence/extract, vanilla and white vinegar. Mix until well combined. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
- Finish off by adding in 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 strawberry/milk mixture, and fold it in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold it into the mixture until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 3). If your batter seems a little dull in colour, then you can add another drop of red gel food colouring.
- Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins, and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once baked, allow the cake layers to cool in the cake tins for about 15-20 minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool before frosting with the strawberry cream cheese buttercream recipe below.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream your butter for a few minutes until it's light and fluffy. Either use a hand mixer or stand mixer on a medium high speed. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
- Add in the icing sugar in 3 batches while mixing on low. Ensure that each batch of icing sugar is mixed into the butter well before adding in the next batch.
- Next add in your cold cream cheese, strawberry essence/extract and vanilla. Mix just until the frosting is smooth. Avoid over-mixing (see note 3).
- Add in a 1/4 cup (65g) of the strawberry filling we made earlier, and mix that in until just combined. You can add additional colouring in at this point too if you prefer.
Assembly
- OPTIONAL: Begin by trimming off all the caramelised edges on the top, bottom and sides of the cake layers. Also level the tops if the cake layers have a slight dome.
- Place your first cake layer onto your cake stand, and spread out a generous amount of the frosting on top.
- Place some of the frosting into a piping bag with a 1A round tip, and pipe a border/dam around the edges of the cake layer to hold in our strawberry filling. I like to pipe a double border so its high enough to get all the remaining filling in. Fill the middle with the remaining strawberry filling we made earlier.
- Place the next cake layer on top and cover the top and sides with more frosting. If you have a cake scraper, you can use it to smooth out the sides. I like to do a little bit of piping on the top with the remaining buttercream in my piping bag (using the same 1A piping tip) and finish off with fresh strawberries on the top.
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.
163 Comments
I can’t find strawberry extract/essence. What can this be replaced with?
Hi Silvana! 🙂 If you can’t find strawberry extract or essence you can simply leave it out. It just means the strawberry flavour might not be quite as strong, but it should still taste great. I haven’t tested a specific substitute myself, but a little strawberry jam or syrup on the baked cake layers might help boost the flavour. So sorry I couldn’t be of more help!
Hi, Can I use lime juice instead of lemon for the Strawberry reduction as it’s hard to find lemons where I live and also what else can I add instead of lemon juice and zest?
Hi Abigail! 🙂
I haven’t tried with lime juice myself so I’m not too sure if it’ll work as well as lemon juice sorry! Limes do have a slightly different taste so I am hesitant to recommend it without trying it – so sorry about that!
Would love to hear how it goes though if you decide to try it out 🙂
THE BEST strawberry Cake
Aww thanks so much Linda! So glad you loved the recipe 😀
Can I use whole eggs for this recipe instead of just egg whites?
Hi Eman!
For this recipe I would recommend sticking to just the egg whites. I haven’t tried with whole eggs but this will likely change the color and texture of the cake 🙂
Hi could I use frozen strawberries for this? Also could I amke the cake ahead of time and freeze it?
Hi Maria! 🙂
I haven’t used frozen strawberries myself but it should be fine, you may just need less time initially for the strawberries to soften when making the reduction, but then a little more time after they soften for the mixture to reduce down as the frozen strawberries will release more liquid.
I haven’t tried freezing the cake layers myself, but if they’re wrapped well in cling wrap and placed into an airtight container before freezing, they should be fine 🙂
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hi I made this cake for my birthday but cake layer had strawberry lumps throughout crumb should reduction get strained next time to prevent lumps and get an even crumb? It turned out delicious just lumps
Hi Nadia! 🙂 So glad to hear you loved the recipe, but sorry to hear the cake had some strawberry lumps. So when making the reduction, I usually use a potato masher to really mash up the strawberries so that there aren’t any lumps in the batter. If this doesn’t work, you can blend the strawberries before making the reduction, which I would recommend instead of straining the final mixture to ensure you get as much of the strawberry in the reduction as possible 🙂
Hope that helps for next time!
Hello 👋 Can this recipe be converted to a single 10″ pan?
Hi Eric! 🙂
Yes 1x the recipe will be enough for a single 10 inch pan – you may just need to adjust the cook time slightly.
You could also half the frosting recipe as you may not need as much for a 10 inch single layer cake.
Hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Hi, thank you for this recipe looks amazing. The video shows orange zest but the recipe calls for lemon zest… is that just a visual mistake or should it be orange zest?
Hi Tsvetana! In the video I’m using lemons 🙂 they just look quite orange for some reason! So lemon zest is correct 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hi Maryam
I love your cake recipes. I’ve made a few of your cakes and they turned out fantastically.
This cake looks scrumptious and I’m thinking of making it for my mum’s birthday. She’s diabetic. Can I reduce some of the sugar content? If so, by how much?
Thank you for your great instructions.
Regards
Dao
Hi Dao! So glad to hear you’re loving the recipes 😀
You could reduce the sugar content slightly (I would say about 1/4 cup or 50g max in the cake batter). If you reduce the sugar further, it will likely result in a drier cake.
For the strawberry reduction, I would also stick to the 1/4 cup reduction in sugar and with the frosting, because it’s a cream cheese frosting you don’t want to reduce the powdered sugar too much otherwise it may be too soft, so I would say 1/2 cup max for the frosting 🙂
Hope that helps and hope your mum has a wonderful birthday Dao 🙂
Hello!
Would white chocolate ganache go well with this cake instead of the cream cheese buttercream?
Thanks 😊
Hi Sam! 🙂 I haven’t tried that myself, but I think it would work wonderfully as white chocolate tends to pair well with strawberries 🙂
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!