Strawberry cake should actually taste like strawberries, and this one does. Made with real, cooked-down strawberries, this fresh strawberry cake has a moist crumb, a bold strawberry filling, and silky strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream, with concentrated strawberry flavor in every layer.
It’s the kind of cake that’s richer, fresher, and more flavorful than most bakery versions.
The secret is reducing the strawberries first, which intensifies the flavor without watering down the cake. I use the same approach in my chocolate strawberry cake, and it makes all the difference in both taste and texture.
This recipe usually shows up when there’s already a bag of strawberries open in my freezer (probably from making strawberry sweet rolls on repeat).
It works with fresh strawberries, too, but those usually end up in my strawberry crumb cake!
Step-by-Step Instructions
1
Cooking the strawberries down first concentrates their flavor and removes excess moisture. This will be used to flavor the cake batter and frosting, and used for the filling.
2
This recipe uses the reverse creaming method (also called the two-step method), where the butter is blended into the dry ingredients first. This coats the flour with fat, limiting gluten development and helping create a soft, plush texture.
3
The finished batter will look smooth and emulsified, with a pancake-like consistency.
4
Divide the strawberry cake batter evenly between three 8-inch cake pans to ensure the layers bake at the same rate.
5
After baking, allow the cake layers to cool completely, which helps the structure set so they slice and stack cleanly and prevents the buttercream from melting.
6
I prefer a Swiss meringue buttercream for this recipe because it carries the strawberry flavor beautifully while keeping the frosting smooth, light, and not overly sweet.
7
In my experience, piping a border of buttercream around the edges helps contain the filling so it stays neatly between the layers, rather than squeezing out when the cake is assembled.
8
Decorate the top of the cake with fresh-sliced strawberries, piped buttercream flowers, and freeze-dried strawberries.
Ugh, I’m still swooning over this cake while writing this post!
If you’re thinking of saving it for a birthday or special occasion and want some of that same bright, fruity flavor ASAP, my raspberry scones are always what I make. They use frozen fruit and come together in a fraction of the time!
—Cambrea 🫶🏻
If you tried this or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments; I love hearing from you! Also, please leave a star rating while you’re there! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Filling
Equipment
- three 8 inch cake pans
Ingredients
Strawberry Filling
- 6 cups frozen strawberries
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
Strawberry Cake Batter
- 2 3/4 cups + 1 tablespoon unbleached cake flour, *See notes below for measuring*
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 12 tablespoons cubed unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 2/3 cup strawberry reduction, from recipe above
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon strawberry emulsion, optional, but gives a bakery-style flavor
- 1 small drop of red food coloring, optional, if you want a pink color
Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups unsalted butter, cool room temperature & cut into tablespoon pieces
- 1/2 cup reserved strawberry reduction, from recipe above
- Pinch of fine sea salt
Instructions
Make the Strawberry Reduction
- Cook the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a pot over medium heat, stirring and mashing occasionally, until reduced and thickened, about 1 hour. Mix together the cornstarch and water, and stir it into the berries. Cook 2-3 minutes longer until thickened. You should have roughly 2 cups of filling. If you have way more than that, you’ll need to cook the berries down longer. Set aside to cool to room temperature.6 cups (734 g) frozen strawberries, 4 tablespoons (50 g) granulated sugar, Juice of 1/2 lemon, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water
Make the Strawberry Cake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 325°F/162°C. Grease the sides of three 8-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. On low speed, mix the butter into the dry ingredients until it has a sandy texture, about 2 minutes.2 3/4 cups + 1 tablespoon (345 g) unbleached cake flour, 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 12 tablespoons (169 g) cubed unsalted butter
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, strawberry reduction, eggs, sour cream, oil, strawberry emulsion, and food coloring (if using). Pour half of this wet mixture into the mixing bowl and mix until the flour is moistened and slightly pasty. Scrape down the bowl. Then mix in the remaining wet mixture.3/4 cup (165 grams) whole milk, 2/3 cup (160 g) strawberry reduction, 3 (150 g) large eggs, 1/2 cup (113 g) sour cream, 1/4 cup (56 g) vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon strawberry emulsion, 1 small drop of red food coloring
- Evenly distribute the batter into the prepared cake pans, ~485 grams in each.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 22-35 minutes, or until the edges are barely golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out covered in a few moist crumbs. Let the pans cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove them from the pans and let them finish cooling on the rack.
Make the Buttercream
- In a large bowl over a double boiler with simmering water, whisk together the egg whites and sugar. Cook, whisking frequently, until the sugar is dissolved and a thermometer reads 165°F.5 (165 g) large egg whites, 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- Pour the meringue into a stand mixing bowl with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until the meringue cools to roughly 90-95°F, about 10-15 minutes.
- Turn the speed down to low and mix in the butter 1-2 tablespoons at a time. When all of the butter is combined, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until it looks light and fluffy. Finally, mix in the strawberry reduction and salt.2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter, 1/2 cup (95 g) reserved strawberry reduction, Pinch of fine sea salt
Assembly
- Trim a thin layer off the tops of the cake layers. Place the first layer on your serving board and spread a thin layer of buttercream on top. Pipe a border dam around the edge to hold in the filling, then spread half of the remaining strawberry reduction in the center. Continue the same way with the next cake layer, placing the last one upside down so that the top of the cake is flat. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Spread a thicker layer of buttercream to cover the top and sides of the cake. You can pipe any leftover buttercream with a star tip to create dollops on top. Decorate with freeze-dried strawberries or fresh strawberries, and enjoy!
perfect
Yay! Love to hear that!
My daughter’s 3rd grade partner teacher told her that growing up her grandmother made a heart shaped strawberry cake with coconut flakes on top for her birthday. So with the help of my 2 year old granddaughter we tried your recipe. I have pictures but cannot find a place to attach. Recipe was very detailed but if I can make it with the help of a 2 year old anyone can do it.
That is so wonderful to hear Joanne! Thank you SO much for coming back to leave such a kind review! 🙂
Hello–I used this recipe to fill (3) 6in. spring pans with 500g of batter each and at 35min while the top was golden the cake itself was a touch underbaked, I also noticed some settling at the bottom w/ a darker color/gummy texture. Any tips? I think I may have overfilled the cake pans and at 35min the bake was too short. Curious your thoughts? Thanks!
Hi Ashley! Yes, I would agree that the cake pans likely had too much batter in them. I normally will use no more than 400 grams of batter for 6″ cake layers. As for the gummy texture at the bottom, that can happen if the batter is over mixed! Hope this is helpful, let me know if you have any other questions!
Just keep coming back for more recipe!I made brownie Blondies ,butter lemon brownie, strawberry shortbread cookies,and easy brown Nutella bar. OMG the best
So happy to hear that Jean!! Hope you love this one! 🙂