The one thing that sets this strawberry cake apart from others? Reduce fresh strawberry puree down and add to the best white cake batter.
This recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
This strawberry cake completely blew me away. After years of mediocre from-scratch strawberry cakes, my expectations were pretty low. It was time to taste test my efforts. Biting into the first pastel-pink forkful was the moment of truth…
I cried tears of joy. Or were those actual tears because I just dirtied every dish with all this strawberry cake recipe testing?
I find it challenging to pack real strawberry flavor into cake without the crutch of fake strawberry flavoring. My goal was to create a strawberry layer cake made entirely from real strawberries. We’re talking strawberries inside the cake and in the frosting as well. With the help of freeze-dried strawberries, I tackled strawberry frosting. I’ll get to that below. But for strawberry cake? Things have always been pretty lackluster in the flavor and texture department.
Strawberry Cake Problems
- Chopping up strawberries and folding into cake batter works, but then you’re just eating vanilla cake with chunks of strawberries.
- Pureeing strawberries and folding into cake batter has potential, but the texture is always off. There’s too much liquid. How about adding more flour to make up for that liquid? Then your cake is too dense. And the flavor is always lacking.
- Strawberry jam could work, but I prefer to start with real strawberries.
So how can we pack real strawberry flavor into cake batter without adding too much liquid? REDUCE THE STRAWBERRIES DOWN. Ding ding ding! We have a winner.
How to Pack REAL Strawberry Flavor Into Cake
- Puree fresh strawberries.
- Reduce down on the stove.
- Let cool.
- Stir into cake batter.
You’ll need a food processor or blender to puree the fresh strawberries, and again when you make the frosting.
Take that strawberry puree—don’t add anything else to it—and reduce it down on the stove. This, my friends, is where all the magic happens. Like I mention above, you want a lot of concentrated flavor within a little amount of liquid. We also do this with champagne in my mimosa cupcakes and champagne frosting. And with Guinness in Guinness chocolate cake, too.
You’ll begin with about 1 cup of hot pink puree and reduce down to 1/2 cup. After 30 minutes, it will be very thick and very red. Add this thick and highly concentrated strawberry flavor to your cake batter, instead of the thinner strawberry puree.
The reduced strawberry puree will go into the cake batter. No need to strain the seeds first—they disappear when the cake is baked.
Because the reduced strawberry puree needs to completely cool down, I suggest getting started the day before. Just let the reduced strawberry puree sit in the refrigerator overnight and make the cake batter the following day.
Strawberry Cake Batter
The cake batter starts from my white cake. This vanilla-flavored cake proved to be the best jumping-off point for a strawberry cake. I kept the majority of the recipe the same, but I removed some of the wet ingredients to make room for 1/2 cup of reduced strawberries. The cake is light, springy, soft, and fluffy.
The reduced strawberry puree will tint the cake batter a lovely pastel pink and, if you want, you can add a small drop of pink or red food coloring to brighten that hue. Not necessary, of course. (I added a single drop of pink gel food coloring.) Expect a velvety and slightly thick cake batter.
- No artificial strawberry flavor.
- Nothing from a box.
- Just pure strawberries.
The Strawberry Frosting
You can taste the fresh strawberry flavor in the baked cake, but the flavor is REALLY brought out when you combine it with strawberry frosting. Like strawberry cake, strawberry frosting has always left me feeling a little defeated. Fresh strawberries were the issue. The frosting would always curdle from the added moisture. And no amount of fresh strawberries could get me the strawberry flavor I craved. Instead of settling for artificial strawberry flavoring, I took a trick from Sally’s Candy Addiction: strawberry dust! Grab some freeze-dried strawberries, grind them up, and mix that magic dust into the frosting.
(I actually added freeze-dried strawberries to cake batter as one of my test recipes. This was an awful decision and an epic fail. The cake was atrocious. Texture, taste, and appearance. Just… no. But freeze-dried strawberries are a YES for frosting!)
- Where to buy freeze-dried strawberries? I find freeze-dried strawberries in my regular grocery store in the dried fruit aisle. I’ve also seen them in health food stores. Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Amazon, and Target all carry them, as well. Or, you can order them online.
- Baker’s Tip: Do not use “dried strawberries” which are like raisins, dried apricots, and dried pineapple. They have a gummy texture and don’t grind into a powder. You need freeze-dried strawberries, which have all of the moisture removed.
Instead of a thicker strawberry buttercream, I used my silky cream cheese frosting recipe. Added in the freeze-dried strawberry “dust” and milk and was left with a frosting so pink, Barbie would be jealous!
By the way, this frosting would also be a fantastic filling for homemade eclairs or on strawberry cupcakes.
Let’s Review
The tricks to homemade strawberry cake and frosting made with real strawberries? (1) Reduced strawberry puree in the cake batter and (2) freeze-dried strawberries in the frosting. Have fun baking!
Print
Homemade Strawberry Cake
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 6 hours (including cooling)
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
The one thing that sets this strawberry cake apart from others? Reduce fresh strawberry puree down and add it to the best white cake batter. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
Strawberry Puree
- 1 pound (454g) fresh strawberries
Cake
- 2 and 1/2 cups (295g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 5 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80g) full-fat sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120g/ml) whole milk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup reduced strawberry puree (from step 1)
- optional: 1–2 drops red or pink food coloring
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup (about 25g) freeze-dried strawberries*
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 Tablespoon whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt, to taste
Instructions
- Make the reduced strawberry puree first, and let cool: Hull the fresh strawberries and place them in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. You should have a little more than 1 cup (around 270g). Transfer the puree to a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until it’s reduced to 1/2 cup (about 135g). This usually takes around 25–35 minutes, but could take longer depending on your pan or the ripeness of your strawberries. Remove from heat, pour into a heat-safe bowl, and cool completely before using. I always make the reduced puree the day before so it has plenty of time to cool down. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Allow it to come back to room temperature before adding to the cake batter. (See Notes for additional make-ahead instructions.)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg whites and beat on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract and beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients and then, with the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour in the milk and beat until just combined. Do not overmix. Whisk in the room-temperature reduced strawberry puree and food coloring (if using), making sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter should be slightly thick. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 24–25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Run a knife around the edges to loosen the sides, remove the cakes from the pan, peel off the parchment, and place on the rack to finish cooling. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Make the frosting: In a blender or food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder. If any larger bits remain, sift the powder through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the confectioners’ sugar, strawberry powder, milk, and vanilla. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then gradually increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes until completely combined and creamy. Taste, then beat in a pinch of salt if the frosting is too sweet. Cover and refrigerate it for 1 hour before using. Yields about 3 cups (720g) of frosting.
- Assemble and frost: (For additional help with this step, see this how to assemble a layer cake video & post.) First, level the cakes: using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Spread 3/4–1 cup (180–240g) of frosting in an even layer on top. Top with the second layer, upside down, and spread 1 cup (240g) of frosting all over the top and sides in a very thin layer to make a crumb coat. Run a bench scraper around the cake to help smooth out the frosting on the sides. Refrigerate the cake until the crumb coat has set, about 20 minutes. Cover the top and sides with the remaining frosting. Before slicing, refrigerate the cake for at least 20 minutes to set the frosting and help the cake keep its shape when slicing—it could slightly fall apart without time in the fridge.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If the cake has been in the refrigerator for more than 4 hours, take it out 2 hours before serving so it can mostly come to room temperature.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly and stored at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared, then covered and refrigerated overnight. Let it sit at room temperature to slightly soften for 10 minutes before assembling and frosting. Frosted cake or unfrosted cake layers can be frozen for up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating/serving. See How to Freeze Cakes for instructions. You can also make the reduced strawberry puree ahead of time and store it covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw, bring to room temperature, then use in the recipe.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor | 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Pink Food Coloring | Cooling Rack | Cake Turntable | Straight Spatula and Bench Scraper (for frosting) | Round Cake Carrier (for storage)
- Cake Flour: I strongly suggest using cake flour in this recipe. If you can’t find it, try this homemade cake flour substitute.
- Whole Milk: If needed, buttermilk works in its place. I don’t recommend a lower-fat milk.
- Where to Buy Freeze-Dried Strawberries: I always find them in my regular grocery store in the aisle with the dried fruit. Target, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s carry them, and I’ve also found them in some health food stores. You can also buy them online. Do not use the chewy/gummy dried strawberries. You need FREEZE-dried strawberries, which grind into a powder. If you can’t find them anywhere, just leave them out of the frosting and add another 1/2 cup of confectioners’ sugar.
- Can I use frozen strawberries for the puree? You can use frozen strawberries, but they will take longer to reduce even if you thaw them first.
- 9×13-Inch Cake: Simply pour the batter into a greased 9×13-inch pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cupcakes: Fill cupcake pans 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 20–22 minutes. Makes 30 cupcakes. For 14–15 cupcakes, follow my strawberry cupcakes recipe, which is adapted from this strawberry cake.
- Food Coloring: If you want, you can add 1–2 small drops of pink or red food coloring to deepen the pink color of the cake. I add 1 small drop of pink gel food coloring.
- No Cream Cheese in Frosting: If you’d like to skip the cream cheese in the frosting, use my strawberry buttercream recipe instead. You’ll have enough for a thin layer of frosting, or you can 1.5x the recipe for a thicker layer.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made this cake a couple of years ago, and it remains the best cake I have ever made! I am almost 90 years old, and have been baking since I was 8 years old. My first effort was making muffins, and I got mixed up when combining the ingredients, adding 1 cup of salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar! The muffins were beautiful, but inedible. I am going to make the strawberry cake again this year, for Valentine’s Day, my favorite holiday.
This recipe is now a family tradition. My kids request it for every birthday. It is beautiful and special and fun to make. Thank you!
Hi,
I am planning to make this cake for my son’s 4th birthday party. Will the batter fit in a 10 inch square pan? What will be approximate baking time then?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Srjita, there will be too much batter for one 10-inch square pan, but you could make some cupcakes on the side with the extra batter. You may want to bookmark this page on cake pan sizes and conversions for future reference. Enjoy!
Made this cake 3 times and absolutely love it. Can I actually add MORE strawberry to the cake without compromising it? I feel like I’m missing the flavor a bit. Although the white chocolate strawberry buttercream is incredible too on it! I just wanted the cake bursting with more flavor. Thank you again! Wonderful recipe
Hi Jennifer, we don’t recommend adding more reduced strawberry puree to the batter because the dry ingredients would then need to be adjusted to account for more of a wet ingredient. We haven’t tested it, but you could maybe try adding a little bit of freeze-dried strawberry powder to the cake batter. Let us know if you decide to try it, and how it goes!
I have made this Strawberry cake a few times now. It never disappoints! It is a Croud pleaser! I made it for my Granddaughter’s 4th birthday party Ballerina themed. It was such a beautiful cake with her ballerina topper on it!
I made this cake for my boss during the pandemic and she has requested it for a birthday party for 60 people. I see the information you provided for the 9×13. I plan to double the recipe. Would you recommend stacking two 9×13 or making an half sheet? And if half sheet is the better option, how would the doubling affect the baking time and temperature?
Hi Anna! We would stack two 9×13 cakes. We recommend making two separate batches instead of doubling the recipe for best results.
Thank you for the quick reply! Will do!
I had high hopes for this cake, and love other Sally recipes, but this wasn’t a winner. The cake wasn’t soft and fluffy – it was dense. It calls for a lot of butter – 3/4 cup for the batter. About 1/3 of this would have been better. The frosting is excellent so I’ll definitely be making that again, but most likely using a white cake in the future
Hi Lauren, thanks for trying this. I don’t consider 12 Tbsp of butter for a 2-layer 9-inch cake too much; in fact, the cake will likely taste dry and rubbery without enough fat. I do not recommend reducing it. I wonder if you accidentally used more butter than you needed? 3/4 cup is 12 Tbsp/1.5 sticks/around 170g.
My cake came out dense as well. I am no novice baker but I looked over the recipe several times, watched the video and cannot figure out what went wrong. the only thing I can figure is it has to be the cake flour? I never use cake flour and never have heavy cakes…
Hi! Would this same recipe work with any type of fruit puree?
Hi June! Although we haven’t tried it ourselves, many readers have reported success using blueberries, raspberries and other fruits. Just use the same method here, with the puree in the cake and freeze dried fruits in the frosting. Let us know how it goes!
My strawberry reduction is more of a smoothie consistency and I cooked it for 35 minutes. Any suggestions it just seems as if it’s not going to turn into that paste like consistency that I see in your video.
Hi Kim, It does thicken a bit more as it cools.
This was my issue with the reduction as well. I had 1 cup remaining even after 40 minutes, and it was bubbling the entire time (even boiled over once when I stepped away for a few minutes).
I’m a multi decade cake baker. I had to try this recipe. Followed it exactly. I don’t use artificial colors. Very disappointed with the brown color and bland taste of this cake. I’ve gone back to an old favorite recipe.
SOOOOOO good!! have made this for several birthdays and has never disappointed
Can I use the reduced strawberry puree in the frosting instead of freeze dried strawberry
Hi KN, for best flavor we really recommend sticking with the recipe as written. The freeze dried strawberries pack a flavor punch.
I love the thought of making this Sally, but I have a couple questions before I begin. Would frozen strawberries work as we dont always get nice fresh strawberries here in Canada, especially the Winter and very expensive, and how can I use. APF, again cake flour very expensive here. Thx for your help.
Hi Sami, you can use frozen strawberries, but they will take longer to reduce even if you thaw them first. See recipe notes for more details! We highly recommend sticking with cake flour (or this homemade cake flour substitute that uses all purpose flour) for this strawberry cake recipe. Hope you enjoy it if you give it a try!
Excited to try this recipe now that strawberries are in season in Korea! I saw in the notes you can use a 9×13 pan to bake in and that the link is to the glass Pyrex pan. Would a regular non stick baking tin (9×13) work as well?
Hi Ishwarya, yes, you can use a metal 9×13 baking tin as well. Enjoy the cake!
I am so excited to make this recipe. The lack of all natural ingredients kept me from making a strawberry cake. I do have a question as to why the cream cheese frosting over the buttercream ? Thank you! Already got the puree going!
Hi Jennifer, if you would prefer a buttercream instead of this cream cheese frosting, you can use our strawberry buttercream recipe instead! It’s totally a matter of preference – the strawberry buttercream will be thicker and the cream cheese frosting will be silkier.
This is the best strawberry cake. I made it for my mother in law, who said her favorite cake is a strawberry cake mix with canned strawberry icing. She said this was the best cake she’d ever tasted in her whole life and asked me to make it for her every birthday from now on. Then my son requested it for his birthday, and my daughter is asking for it for hers next month. It is so moist and the amount of strawberry flavor is absolutely perfect. Wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you so much!
Made this cake for a New Year’s party and it was a big hit! I followed the cake recipe to a T but I found the texture of it to be pretty dense, almost like a muffin or pound cake. Since the recipe says it should be light and springy I’m not sure what happened there. Any guesses? My only thought is that maybe I didn’t reduce the strawberries down enough and there was too much moisture, but I did use a pound of strawberries and ended up with just over half a cup of the strawberry puree reduction. Maybe I’m missing something in the preparation method here. Would love to know your thoughts. Thanks for the great recipe as always!
Hi Julie, We’re happy to help troubleshoot. Are using cake flour? Are your baking powder and baking soda fresh? We find they start to lose their freshness after 3 months, even if the expiration date is later. Be sure to spoon and level (or use a food scale) to measure your flour, so that there isn’t too much in the batter. Being very careful not to over mix will help with the denseness as well. These posts on how to prevent dry and dense cakes and 10 cake baking tips may be helpful resources as well. Hope this helps for your next batch!
Hi Trina and Team, just wondering how to reduce the recipe down for a smaller 8 or 9 inch square cake. Should I have all the ingredients, including the amount of strawberry puree? Thanks!
Hi Elka! Here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes.
Hey Sally what happens if I use whole eggs? What does the egg yolks do to the cake if I used them? Awesome recipe!!!
Hi Ahna, Using only egg whites ensures that the crumb is not weighed down by the fat in egg yolks. Whole eggs would make this a very heavy dense cake.
Would it be fine to use cartoned egg whites in the cake instead of fresh? If so, how many grams would I use? Thank you.
Hi Rachel, that will be fine here. Use the recommended conversions on the cartoon.
Can I use whole eggs?
We recommend sticking with the recipe as written for best results.
This cake took a lotta love and work but it was so worth it! It was super delicious and my son was so appreciative of his special 9th bday cake! The cakes were not pink at all tho despite following the recipe so not sure what happened. But didn’t affect the taste at all!
Sally! Thank you so much for this recipe! I have been trying to figure out how to convert it to a gluten free recipe for a bit and figure I will use a successful gluten free white cake recipe I have and make similar subs that you did from your white cake recipe.
Problem is that I noticed you took out more than 1/2 cup of liquids from your white cake to make this strawberry cake. Can you give me more details on why/how you did this? I’m nervous about how this may work!
Alternatively. I can try a conversion with a 1 to 1 flour but I know sometimes this doesn’t work well either!
Please help, I really want to make this for my 4-year-old that loves strawberries and my brother who will be visiting from LA as well!
Hi Richelle, we’re adding moisture from the strawberries to the cake batter in this recipe. We haven’t tried this recipe with gluten free flours, so we’re unsure of the results. Although some readers report using an all-purpose 1:1 gluten-free flour in many of our recipes with success, you should expect slightly different results anytime you substitute ingredients. Let us know if you do give it a try!
Thank you – sorry I wasn’t clear – I noticed you added 1/2 a cup liquids from the puree but it looks like you removed MORE than 1/2 a cup from your white cake?
Just wondering about the reason for that so that I will have the best chance at success!
Thank you so much for your help and quick response!
Our white cake recipe calls for 1 cup whole milk, this strawberry cake recipe calls for 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup reduced strawberry puree. We also slightly reduce the sour cream here. Hope that helps! Both recipe posts go into details on the “why” behind the ingredients, if you want to read more. Happy baking!
Going to make this for my daughters 5th birthday. Do I have to double the recipe to get 2 9×13 cakes? I need a half sheet cake for all her friends this year
Hi Beca, one batch of this cake batter can be baked in a 9×13 pan (details in recipe Notes). We would make two batches instead of doubling for two 9×13 cakes.
This is a great recipe. It came out great for my son’s birthday. I did add strawberry jello as part of the sugar to give it a more strawberry flavour (strawberries in December do not have the same flavour as summer berries). He has already asked for it for breakfast and to be made again next year
Anne, in using the jello, I’m thinking a small box, what did you reduce the amount of sugar, too?
I made this today and was wondering if I could substitute the butter for vegetable oil? Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Tiffany, Butter is necessary in order to cream with the sugar. Oil and sugar cannot be creamed together, so best to stick with butter here!
Plant butter sticks bake well, that might be a good substitute for reg butter!
Good morning…I was wondering if this cake could be made using cranberries instead of strawberries.
Hi Alesa, we haven’t tested this cake with cranberries, so are unsure of the results.
I’ve made this recipe and it was fantastic for my 4 year olds strawberry birthday cake request!
Do you think it would work with blueberries applying the same principles? My daughter now wants a blueberry cake her her birthday after the success of the strawberry cake
Yes, Beth, it should!
I Sally (and Team),
I am looking to make these into cupcakes and would like two dozen. Can I double this recipe for 24 cupcakes?
Hi Melissa, This recipe as written makes approximately 30 cupcakes. See the recipe notes for details.
Can you use 3 8″ cake tins instead of the 9″.
Hi Donna, yes, you can use 8 inch pans. We’re unsure of the exact bake time, but it will be slightly longer because the layers will be slightly thicker. Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Hi Trina, I should have been more specific in my question. I am using the 8″ tins for a 3 layer cake. Will this recipe hold up with 3 layers.
Yes, but the layers will be thinner. For a 3 layer cake, you can make 1.5x the batter to evenly distribute across your 3 pans for thicker layers. Enjoy!
Hey! I made this cake, and I loved it. I replaced the strawberries with a mix of berries. My only problem after the cake was cooked and set, was that it was severely dense ! Like it was way too heavy, and I couldn’t figure out if I had over mixed it, or if I was supposed to be like that?! But thank you so much for the recipe, I think I will try it again someday!
Hi Rose! We’re happy to help troubleshoot. Are your baking powder and baking soda fresh? We find they start to lose their freshness after 3 months, even if the expiration date is later. Be sure to spoon and level (or use a food scale) to measure your flour, so that there isn’t too much in the batter. Being very careful not to over mix will help with the denseness as well. These posts on how to prevent dry and dense cakes and 10 cake baking tips may be helpful resources as well. Hope this helps for your next batch!
Can you substitute the egg whites for whole eggs? Or possibly even duck eggs? I have made this before with the 5 egg whites, but am looking to use the ingredients that I already have on hand!
Hi Stephanie, this recipe is formulated for egg whites and we recommend sticking with those, for best results.