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 just made your strawberry cake today! So yummy! I am not the best baker but I watched your video twice & thought I can do this! I am new to your website & am forever a loyal fan!
Hi Sally,
When you decided to use Strawberry Puree? How did you decide what ingredient to reduce in order to offset the puree? and how much? more flour?
Thanks!
Hi David! Using my white cake as the starting point, I reduced the vanilla and sour cream to make room for the thick strawberry puree. It’s so thick that I knew there was no need for extra cake flour. Took a little testing, but the written recipe was my best!
Oh no! On the bright side, now if you need a strawberry pound cake recipe, you have one 😉
Great recipe! I’ve had a glut of organic strawberries to use up from our weekly farm share bags so I’ve had to go farther afield (as it were) than ice cream. The condensed puree might(?) have occurred to me, but not the strawberry dust – brilliant! As I don’t use white flour (other than for thickening) I made this with whole grain soft white wheat, sifting out the bran and letting it soften in the liquid ingredients before adding the flour mixture. For this I also had to change up the order in which the ingredients were added – adding the milk and puree before the flour and saving out only the egg whites to be whipped and folded in at the very last. I was skeptical about leaving out the yolks but decided to follow the recipe in this regard and see how it turned out.
For the freeze-dried strawberries: I used my dehydrator to dry fresh strawberries to the “leathery” stage, then placed the dried slices in an open container in the freezer overnight to extract the last bit of moisture. They were “crunchy” by morning and pulverized nicely in my spice grinder. The dust was just a bit clumpy so I pulsed it again briefly before adding it to the frosting. An added benefit is that it not only takes the place of yet more sugar in the frosting (as most recipes call for way too much) but also “allows” for more as the slight tartness needs to be offset.
The first slice of cake was moist and spongy, with even a respectable amount of frosting :). As I’m a frosting junkie (what’s the point of cake otherwise??) I often have to increase the amount, but again I decided to follow the recipe and found it to be about right. The only drawback overall was that the color was not the same pink as in the pictures – which is to be expected when using whole-grain flour and also powdered, granulated honey in the frosting with its yellowy color. Next time I may add a little beet juice to bump up the pink. I don’t know how often I’ll have enough strawberries on hand to make this but it’s definitely worth making again, and impressive enough to take to a special event. Kudos!
Delicious cake with rave reviews. I didn’t make the frosting since I was covering with fondant. Definitely a keeper. Thanks.
I picked fresh strawberries from a farm to make this cake and it was amazing! I like my cakes super light and moist so I beat my egg whites into meringue before I added them to the batter. Then I kept it in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving. Followed the recipe otherwise and it turned out perfect! What a beautiful cake! Thank you for sharing with us Sally!
Loved this recipe. Initially I made the strawberry reduction and cooled it and it was around 1 cup. I reread your recipe and lots of comments and decided to reduce it again. I think that was needed. The cake was shared with my family for Mother’s Day and everyone had amazing comments. Definitely will be making this again. (I used a buttercream with a strawberry reduction as I did it as a trial for my daughters cake next week which won’t be refrigerated). Thank you for this recipe.
I made this yesterday and it was a huge hit. I didn’t use food coloring in the batter, so the cake wasn’t pink, but it was delicious and had great texture and was packed with all-natural strawberry flavor. I will be adding this to my collection of favorites.
This is my all time favorite cake. I have made it for countless birthdays and will be making it for Mother’s Day! I am going to follow the recipe measurements for the 6 inch cake you posted a few weeks ago since this weekend is a smaller crowd, and add the pureed strawberries. Should I still use half a cup? I didn’t want the liquid balance to be off, but I noticed that the 6 inch cake recipe uses the same amount of milk, so I wanted to double check. Thank you, and happy early Mother’s Day to you!
I’m so glad you enjoy this cake so much! I haven’t tested this cake with different proportions but I would recommend keeping the strawberry proportional to the rest of the ingredients.
Hi Sally,
Can I reduce and then freeze the fresh strawberries? Thinking of making this cake in a month for my daughter’s birthday but not sure there will still be strawberries then. Thanks!! Marine
Absolutely! Thaw, then use in the cake batter as instructed.
This cake is so good that tonight I made it for the 2nd time this week! The flavor is outstanding and the color is gorgeous. I have to keep telling people that there is no artificial coloring or flavoring in either the cake or the frosting . Next time I do believe I’ll make it in 8″ round pans since neither time did I get enough rise in my layers for my taste.
Interestingly, I just saw that Stella Parks (Serious Eats) posted today what she calls a Double Strawberry Cake that uses both fresh strawberry puree (not your concentrated puree) and freeze-dried strawberries in the cake but neither in the buttercream. I’m sticking with yours! Thank you for a reputation maker cake!
Could you use three 8″ pans instead?
If so, would I need to make 1.5 the amount of batter this calls for, and what would you estimate for cooking time?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Alexx! You can prepare the cake batter as written and divide between 3 8-inch cake pans. The bake time will be a couple minute less, but use a toothpick to test for doneness.
The best cake I’ve ever baked! The strawberry flavor in the cake itself was actually pretty mellow (maybe because strawberries are still coming in to season) but that was actually great because my husband is a strawberry hater and was able to tolerate it. The frosting was delicious with the freeze dried strawberries. I made an extra half batch of frosting to do some decorative piping– I just refrigerated the frosting before piping as suggested elsewhere in the comments. Great recipe!
Loved the flavor and texture of this cake, but the frosting is to die for! Here’s my twist that I added to the recipe; l added 1/4 cup finely chopped basil to the cooled strawberry reduction before l added it to the cake batter. It gave the cake a mild basil flavor, but the strawberry was still dominant. My husband and our guests loved it!
Great from scratch strawberry cake to satisfy the cravings I’ve been having! I had leftover strawberry puree, I made extra to flavor the frosting as I cannot get freeze dried strawberries where I live. The extra puree took the cake over the top! Would definitely recommend extra to layer in the middle. The cake was very tender, to the point of falling apart! I probably needed to leave it in the oven longer. However, given that I live at 5000 ft elevation, having to adjust for that could also be a factor!
In that step, you’re mixing until they’re combined. The mixture won’t get frothy or fluffy.
Sally, I’ve made this recipe once before it really was fantastic and I have tried several different recipes for strawberry cake and they all lacked in someway. I do have a few questions for you though… Do you think it is safe for me to use liquid egg whites. My second question is would it be safe for me to double this recipe or would you recommend making two separate batches. Thank you ever so much !
I made this for Easter and it came out perfect. I was worried it would be dry because I had to bake it longer than the recipe recommends for a toothpick to come out clean, but it was totally fine and moist. I used the regular strawberry frosting which worked great. Definitely saving this recipe to use again in the future!
This cake was soooo good. Thank you for the recipe. I made the cake for Easter dinner dessert. The icing is to die for! And the cake was delicious. Great texture. The cake took an extra 10 mins than what was listed to bake in the oven. I kept checking it at 5 min intervals after the 20 min mark waiting for the center to set and a toothpick to come out clean. A big hit. Can’t wait to make it again.
This cake was so moist. Everyone enjoyed it. I used the leftover puréed strawberries between the middle layers . It added the right touch of flavor. Thanks for the receipe!
I used GF flour along with GF cornstarch to make my own cake flour and it turned out perfectly! And no one knew it was gluten free!
Do you prefer one frosting over the other for this cake? I know you call the other strawberry frosting the best recipe. Obviously the difference is whether or not somebody likes cream cheese or buttercream better but I’m wondering if you have a preference if it’s a cake or cupcakes. I just finished baking the double layer cake and I’m trying to decide which frosting to use. Maybe the buttercream is easier for piping?
The cream cheese version (shown here) is a little easier to spread on a cake. But you can use either!
The strawberry flavor in both the cake and the frosting is amazing! The freeze dried strawberries work so perfectly in the frosting and create a really intense flavor. The only thing I didn’t love about the recipe was the texture and moisture level of the cake itself. Both my husband and I thought it felt dry comparatively and it’s much more firm/dense than I usually prefer in a cake. I was very careful not to overmix and followed all instructions exactly.
Made this exactly as written and it was fabulously rich and strawberry-ful! The frosting flavour in particular was incredible, it tasted like melted strawberry ice cream. As someone else noted, the cake is very rich so smaller slices were required. We sliced fresh strawberries into the layers and used them on top to decorate as well.
I think next time, I will look for a less rich cake base – perhaps oil-based or swap more yogurt in. But fabulous overall and the little guys were over the moon looking at it! Thank you!
I have leftover strawberry reduction but could not find freeze dried strawberries in the food dessert I live in. Can I put the leftover (1/4 cup) reduction in the frosting?
Hi Audrey– you can, yes, but the frosting may curdle and separate from the extra liquid.
Sally, I recently made this recipe with frozen strawberries that took forever to cook down! The cake did not have a pretty strawberry color. It looked kind of tannish. Flavor was good, however. One question…have you ever used freeze-dried raspberries in this frosting? I am considering substituting raspberries for strawberries and using it to frost a white vanilla cake. Thanks.
Hi Patsy! I usually use a drop or 2 of food coloring to brighten up the color if you’d like to try that next time. Freeze-dried raspberries work VERY well in this frosting. It would pair nicely with a vanilla cake.
When I made the strawberry puree it came out very tart. My question for you is how tart you suggest that the puree be prior to adding it to the rest of the cake ingredients. Should it be ice-cream topping sweetness prior to adding it, or should it be less sweet to balance out the sweetness of the cake ingredients?
Thanks!
Hi Leanne! The strawberry reduction will be extremely tart since there is so much flavor and no added sugar.
Hi! I am REALLY interested in trying out this recipe but was curious if I wanted to use Strawberry Jam instead of the strawberry puree, can I use your recipe and just sub in the same amount of strawberry jam in for the puree?
Hi Emmy, strawberry jam does not produce the same amount of flavor as the reduced strawberry puree. For best results, I recommend following the recipe.
Made this for my son’s birthday in two 9″ round pans and everyone loved. Paired the two strawberry layers with two chocolate cake layers and doubled the frosting recipe to have in between all four layers and the crumb coat. Finished with cooked strawberry between each layer. Immediately received requests for it again.
This is now my go-to strawberry-cake recipe.
I made this for my daughter’s birthday and everyone that attended loved it and asked for the recipe. Later my husband and I fought over what was left! I will definitely make it again. For me it took twice as much freeze dried strawberries to get the recommended amount of powered so just a heads up on that.