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
Hi! Making this cake right now for my birthday tomorrow! Any ideas on what to use the leftover strawberries in?
Hi Lauren, Happy birthday! Here are all of our recipes with strawberries. The Easy Berry Icebox Cake is a fun summer recipe if it’s warming up where you live!
I am going to use fondant to cover the cake I am decorating. It will also have a two 6″ layer cake on top of it. Can you tell me if the Homemade Strawberry Cake is to soft to hold up the 6″ cake and the fondant?
Thanks,
Penny
Hi Penny! You can absolutely stack and cover this cake with fondant. We’ve made this cake as a tiered cake and it worked well! Use this recipe for the bottom and you could use the batter for these strawberry cupcakes for the top as it fits perfectly into three 6-inch layers. See the post for Simple Homemade Wedding Cake to see how to properly support the tiers. Happy baking!
My daughter requested birthday cake every year! So good!
Hello,
I am going to make this cake this weekend. Do you think I could use buttermilk instead of whole milk? If I did, do you know what the changes may be? Would it be more moist with buttermilk?
Hi Kimberli, yes, you can use buttermilk in place of the whole milk. Hope you enjoy the cake!
This is the best cake I’ve ever made/tasted. Do you think I would have equal success swapping the strawberries for other berries?
Hi Callie! We’ve had readers try this puree + reduce method with other berries and even mango. All reporting back with success when following the recipe exactly, no changes other than the type of fruit. Let me know what you try!
hi! can i make a 3-layer 9″ cake with this?
Hi Noel! For a 3 layer cake, you can make 1.5x the batter to evenly distribute across your 3 pans for thicker layers. Enjoy!
I was thinking of using strawberry milk. Do you think that would add flavor?
Hi Theresa! It would add artificial flavor but also sweetness. You can certainly try it – but the results will vary a bit.
Good morning, the recipe looks delicious. I would like to make it for my daughter’s birthday. However, unfortunately I can’t find freeze-dried strawberries in my local store. What do you recommend as a substitute? Could I freeze fresh strawberries and grind them into powder? Thank you for your time.
Hi Aspasia, if you can’t find them at your local store, we’ve found that Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Amazon, and Target all carry them, as well. Or, you can order them online. This frosting recipe is best with freeze dried strawberries. You could try adding some of the puree, but you’ll need to tinker with the other ingredients as well so that it’s not too thin. Let us know what you try!
My moms’ birthday is on mothers day this year, and I am going to make this
recipe for her.
I am going to make blackberry frosting and a blueberry/blackberry filing.
Thank you so much for a amazing recipe!
If I wanted to make this a bundt cake, how long would you suggest baking it?
Hi Hannah, this strawberry cake batter fits nicely into a 10 cup or larger Bundt cake pan. We’re unsure of the exact bake time but it will increase due to the large amount of batter in one pan. Most of our bundt cake recipes take between 55-70 minutes. Enjoy!
Thank you! What about using heavy cream in place of whole milk?
Can I use heavy cream instead of whole milk ?
Hi Hannah, heavy cream will be too thick for the batter. Best to stick with milk.
My granddaughter wanted a strawberry cake for her birthday. I made this recipe, and it is fabulous! Thank you so much Sally for everything!! You are my go to for recipes!!
Great cake! I made it exactly as written for a party and got tons of compliments! The frosting really makes it and it would be great on white cake or even soft sugar cookies. I used frozen strawberries and it took just over an hour to reduce to 1/2 cup.
Just made this cake for a coworker’s baby shower. We work on a pick your own farm and strawberries are one of our most loved crops so when I saw this recipe it was a no brainer – had to make! It was amazing! Strawberry flavour was on point and the pink frosting was perfect. Can’t wait for an excuse to make it again
Hi, would it be possible to turn this recipe into cupcakes?
Hi Mimi, yes, you can. This recipe as written makes approximately 30 cupcakes. See the recipe notes for details.
I usually really enjoy and trust the recipes on this site, so I was excited to try this one — especially since the photos looked so promising. While the strawberry flavor was light and pleasant (and the frosting was truly delicious), I found that the cake itself came out surprisingly dense, much more than I expected for a strawberry cake. I’m not sure if I may have done something wrong on my end, but I followed the directions closely and I was careful about not overworking the batter. Just wanted to share in case others had a similar experience or if there are any tips for achieving a lighter crumb. Appreciate all the recipes and the effort that goes into them!
Did you use cake flour? It produces a light crumb. Did you use only egg whites? That makes it lighter too. Did you use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup? If you used too much flour (by dipping the measuring cup into the flour and scooping) it can result in a dense cake.
Can I use boxed egg whites?
Hi Frieda, you can use carton egg whites if needed. The carton should give instructions for replacement quantities.
I don’t think I’ve commented before but I have to say, we have been making this cake every single year for my husband’s birthday for the past 5 years! It has become a tradition in our family!
So happy to read this, Sara!
Will this do well in a buntcake pan? Are there adjustments that would need to be made?
Hi Regina, this strawberry cake batter fits nicely into a 10 cup or larger Bundt cake pan. We’re unsure of the exact bake time but it will increase due to the large amount of batter in one pan. Enjoy!
Thank you. It turned out beautifully. How can I send you a picture?
Send us an email, Regina! We’d love to see your cake. sally(at)sallysbakingaddiciton.com
How long did you bake it in the bundt pan?
Is this cream cheese frosting stable enough for piping or will it get too soft and droop? Also how would I cut the recipe for a 3layer 6” cake? Thank you!!
Hi Cassie, it’s stable enough for simple piping. You could also use our strawberry buttercream recipe for more detailed piping. for a 3 layer, 6 inch cake, you can use the batter from these strawberry cupcakes and use the baking instructions for 6 inch cakes. Enjoy!
My new favourite cake! I’m usually a chocolate cake or tiramisu kind of girl, but made this strawberry cake for Easter and it was huge hit. So yummy and full of strawberry goodness without being over-the-top sweet. I followed the recipe exactly (I actually rendered down two pints of strawberries to make sure I had a proper 1/2 cup the recipe called for, and froze the remainder in ice cube trays to use in smoothies). Freeze dried strawberries can be a bit of a challenge to find here in Vancouver, Canada, so for fellow Canadians, I ended up finding high quality ones at the Dollarama dollar store of all places!
love the cake! can we freeze it since we can’t eat it all in 5 days?
Certainly! We like to cut the cake into slices, wrap in plastic wrap, then place in an air tight container to freeze leftover cake.
Delicious moist and so flavorful! The cake was soft and so good, the icing was rich! Loved it! Although this recipe is labor intensive, it is worth the effort!
Sally, you are my go to when it comes to baking. My question is, how do you feel about the bakers sugar. Or is regular granulated sugar better.
Hi Jackie, thank you! I don’t have much experience with it yet. I’m actually getting a pack of it soon and will be trying it out.
I’ve made this cake twice and both times the cake portion is dry and not moist. I was very cautious to not over mix. I went by the recipe exactly. The icing is the best I’ve ever made with a strong strawberry flavor.
mmine was dry when I used fan in oven. but moist on regular bake
Thanks for an amazing recipe! Made it for Easter. Followed recipe exactly & used your Strawberry Buttercream recipe for the frosting! It was absolutely delicious! Everyone loved it! Will definitely make again! I can always count on your recipes! Thank you!!
Hi Sally,
Everything tasted good. My family thought it was delicious, me not so much. I’m not sure what I did, but the cake was dense and dry. The frosting was um I can’t explain it a little like glue lol. What the heck did I do wrong? I ALWAYS have great success with all your recipes, but not this cake lol
Hi Tanya, we’re sorry to hear that this cake didn’t turn out for you. A dry and dense cake can be caused by many factors, like over-baking, over-measuring the flour, over mixing, etc. You can check out this post on preventing a dry or dense cake for next time if you decide to give it another go. For the frosting, we’re you using full-fat brick-style cream cheese and freeze dried (not just dried) strawberries? Those will both be key for texture. Thank you again for giving it a try and let us know if we can help troubleshoot further!
I had PRECISELY the same experience with this cake. It was very dense – so dense I didn’t serve it. Hopefully there may be some answers to help correct the problem. Just glad to know I’m not the only one having this problem 🙂
Hi! How would I adjust the recipe if I want to make 3 layers instead of 2? Thank you!
Hi Galina, For a 3 layer cake, you can make 1.5x the batter to evenly distribute across your 3 pans for thicker layers. Enjoy!
I have sensitivity with wheat flour, could you substitute with oat flour or almond flour or any other flour? What is the quality if I have to use those flour?
Hi Deepa, we don’t recommend using almond or oat flours in this cake recipe. Some readers have reported success using 1:1 flour substitutes in this recipe (like Cup4Cup). If you try it, let us know how it goes!
Could you use 2 or 3 8 inch pans?
Yes, you can use two 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. Enjoy!
Can I use regular flour instead of cake flour?
Thanks!
Hi Amy, For best taste and texture, we highly recommend sticking with cake flour (or the homemade cake flour substitute) for this strawberry cake recipe.
Hey I’m not sure what I did wrong but I used frozen strawberries to puree and the result was liquid unlike yours which was more solid like. Do you have any suggestions?
Hi Catharine, you can use frozen strawberries, but they will take longer to reduce even if you thaw them first. See recipe notes for more details!