This is the best Strawberry Cake recipe and it’s made from scratch! It’s a fresh, delicious cake that’s been a family favorite dessert for many years!
Strawberry Cake has to be one of my family’s favorite cakes – especially my husband’s. As much as I love my Grandmother Verdie’s Strawberry Cake recipe, I wanted to make one that I made from scratch. And I must say that we all love this updated version of my family’s classic recipe.
Strawberry Cake Recipe
Quick, easy, delicious and made from just a few simple ingredients, this strawberry cake is definitely a keeper of a recipe.
The strawberry flavor is light, with bites of fresh strawberries throughout. The cake also has a light pink tint rather than an over the top pink coloring that many strawberry cakes get from the addition of flavored gelatin to the mix.
So, if you are looking for a strawberry cake option that is made from scratch, this is for you! While it is perfect for just about any occasion at my house, it is especially nice for showers, weddings, birthdays, and luncheons.
How to Make Strawberry Cake
To make this fresh and scrumptious cake, I use these ingredients:
- Fresh Strawberries, hulled
- Unsalted Butter
- Shortening
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Whole Milk
- Buttermilk
- Vanilla Extract
- Natural food coloring (optional)
- For my Frosting, I use my Strawberry Buttercream Frosting.
First, preheat the oven to 350º F.
Prepare three 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick baking spray or prepare with butter and flour. Remove any excess flour.
Blend the strawberries in a blender on medium speed until pureed, about 3 minutes. This should result in 3/4 cup strawberry puree. Set aside.
Then, cream (mix) together the butter and shortening with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Next, add the sugar slowly, one cup at a time. Make sure to fully incorporate each cup of sugar before adding another cup.
Then add eggs one at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding another egg.
Sift together the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, and salt – in a medium bowl.
Pour milks, vanilla, and the strawberry puree into a large measuring cup and whisk together with a fork.
Then, alternately add the flour mixture (dry ingredients) and the milk mixture to the creamed-together butter and shortening, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
Gently stir all ingredients until well combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, making sure to have all ingredients well mixed.
Evenly distribute the batter between the cake pans and place the pans into the preheated oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the cake releases from the edges of the pan and springs back to a light touch. You can follow my tips for how to tell when your cake is done.
Remove the pans from the oven and allow to cool in the cake pans for about 10 minutes. Don’t allow the cooked cake to sit in the cake pans longer than around 10 minutes after removing from oven. Turn the cakes out onto wire racks and let them finish cooling completely.
After the cake has completely cooled, frost with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting and enjoy!
Note: I’ve tested this cake recipe many times both with strawberry syrup and strawberry puree. After many tests, I’ve found that the strawberry puree works best in this cake. You get all the delicious strawberry flavor when using the puree and the cake consistently sets better than it when using the syrup. With the strawberry puree you get a much lighter crumb for the cake texture. If you’d like a more pronounced pink color to your strawberry cake, you can use a little natural coloring.
Here’s my Strawberry Cake recipe. I hope you love it!
Strawberry Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 medium (144 g) strawberries, hulled
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, , room temperature
- 1/2 cup (92 g) shortening
- 3 cups (594 g) granulated sugar
- 5 large (250 g) eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.7 g) kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) whole milk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (113.5) buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (9.4 g) vanilla extract
- 1 – 2 (0.1 g) drops natural food coloring, optional
- Strawberry Buttercream Recipe
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Prepare three 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick baking spray or prepare with butter and flour. Remove any excess flour.
- Blend the strawberries in a blender on medium speed until pureed, about 3 minutes. This should result in 3/4 cup strawberry puree. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and shortening with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Slowly add the sugar, one cup at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each cup before adding another. Add eggs one at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding another.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Pour milks, vanilla, and the strawberry puree into a measuring cup and whisk together with a fork. Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the butter and shortening, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
- Gently stir all ingredients until well combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, making sure to have all ingredients well mixed.
- Evenly distribute the batter between the cake pans and place the pans into the preheated oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the cake releases from the edges of the pan and springs back to a light touch. Remove the pans from the oven and allow to cool in the cake pans for about 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto wire racks and let them cool completely.
- Frost cake with strawberry buttercream frosting.
Notes
If you would like a more pronounced pink color to your cake, add 1 – 2 drops of natural pink or red food coloring to the batter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published July 2013.
The cake looks perfect and fabulous to bake for a special day. Yes, its definitely the best strawberry Cake. Lovely!!
Thank you!
I want to make this today but I have a question about the strawberry purée.
Does the 3/4 cup go into the cake and make 1/4 cup more for the frosting
OR
Does 1/2 cup go in cake and 1/4 cup goes in frosting?
Making this for birthday so want it to be perfect. Sounds yummy. Thank you
The 3/4 cup strawberry puree goes into the cake batter, Patricia. You will make Strawberry Syrup and then add 4 tablespoons of the syrup to the Strawberry Buttercream Frosting. Hope this helps.
I have tried a few strawberry cakes, but this one comes out well and tastes really good! I had an issue with the sides and bottom browning too much and realized I was NOT doing lightly greased pans. Used a much lighter amount of butter the next time and they came out very pretty and just right. 🙂
Hi Angela,
It’s amazing how something as simple as a little too much butter when greasing cake pans makes such a difference. So glad you realized the solution and like this cake. Thanks!
Made the layers today, the crumbs tasted great. But I had an issue with the layers sticking to the pan on the bottom. I used a non stick spray. Thought there would be a problem with butter and flour. I guess the fruit made the batter more easily stick? The pan was a metal cake pan. I did not use a no stick pan. Any suggestions which pan is better and why would the non stick spray be an issue.
Hi Mona,
I’m sorry your cake layers stuck to the pan. Did you use a non-stick baking spray like Baker’s Joy or just a non-stick spray like Pam? You would need to use the baking spray on the cake pans because the layers would probably stick if you used the other. I don’t use a non-stick cake pan for my cakes, either. Hope this helps!
Hi! This looks fantastic and i know it’s delicious because my friend has make it for birthdays for years! I do have a couple questions though..
1. Can the layers be frozen (after cooling) and used another day? I’m strapped for time and baking and decorating on the same day doesn’t always work out
2. Can the strawberry purée be simmered and reduce for a more concentrated flavor or will that throw off the texture? Of course I’ll still make sure to add a full 3/4c of the purée
Thank you so much and I’m so excited to try!
Kelsey, you can freeze these layers once they are completely cooled. Wrap securely until air tight and freeze. When you are ready to frost the cake, let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator before frosting. You can simmer the puree longer if you wish. I don’t think it will affect the texture. I hope you enjoy the cake
Kelsey, you can freeze these cake layers. After they have cooled thoroughly, wrap in air-tight freeze safe paper or containers and freeze until you ore ready to frost. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before frosting. You can simmer the puree longer if you wish. The puree would just be a little thicker. I hope you enjoy this cake.
Can I use vegetable oil in place of shortening?
No, Ani as you will need to cream together the butter and shortening. Oil won’t work as a substitute in this case. Thanks!
Liked your recipe and really eager to make it.. Plz tell me can i replace strawberry puree with strawberry syrup or jam and shortening with oil?
I’ve made this cake at least twice and it’s GONE baby gone in under 2 days! The recipe looks different from the other times I made it and I can’t figure it out, though I know you said you tweaked it. Don’t remember using shortening and I’ve never pureed the strawberries- simply chunk them up and toss em in- just delicious! I also can’t seem to find your recipe for the buttercream frosting using fresh strawberries- where is the link? (prob under my nose!) Thanks so much for sharing!!
Hi Katie,
We love this cake too – so delicious isn’t it?! Here’s the link to my Strawberry Buttercream Frosting. It’s so good too!!! Enjoy! xo
Hello,
I would like to know if I can substitute the butter and the shortening for only oil? have you tried this?
The cake was heavy/dense, even though I was careful in not beating too much. I loved the strawberry frosting and my cake looked exactly like yours in the picture. After frosting it, I pushed 3 chopsticks into the cake to hold it so it wouldn’t slip and kept it in the fridge overnight. Beautiful cake, I just need a more tender crumb.
Hi Robyn. I love love this cake. The first time I made it I made the layers. An I make this in a 10 inch tube pan instead? I would give it 10 🌟 but they only have space for 5 😊
I’m so glad you love it, Rita!!! xo
Are you able to make this recipe into cupcakes? I tried your chocolate cupcake recipe with peanut butter frosting and everyone loved them!