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This strawberry layer cake is the first dessert of the year; oh and it’s a good one! Tonya (one of the ladies in our church), made this cake for her son’s birthday. While chomping down my second slice; I asked her for the recipe. It was delicious and I’m sharing this goodness with you.
Also, I’ve finally tried the alternate way of making the biskvit cake layers and they turned out perfect (I believe this to be the a more “fool-proof” recipe. Oh and the strawberry/chocolate decorations were ridiculously easy (plenty of oohs and ahhs over the 3D chocolate); see the tutorial here.
Oh oh and one more thing; the beauty of this strawberry layer cake is that you can really easily cut everything in half (6 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour….blah blah) to make a smaller cake and it will turn out just as dang good.
Strawberry Layer Cake Ingredients:
12 large eggs, room temp, divided
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour, divided *measured correctly
Frosting Ingredients:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
16 oz cream cheese, softened at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Filling/Decor:
2 lbs Fresh strawberries (1 1/2 lbs to blend and put inside the cake and 1/2 lb to decorate)
Chocolate chips to melt and decorate the top; optional
Baking strawberry layer cake Layers:
If you’ve never made a European Sponge Cake, watch this video for the basic version and see just how simple it is!
Preheat oven to 350˚F.
1. Grease and line only the bottom of a 9×13″ cake pan with parchment paper (line 2 pans if you have 2). I have found that it’s best not to line or grease the sides of the pan or the cake becomes somewhat miss-shaped.
You will bake your cake layers separately so for each biskvit layer:
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together 6 eggs and 1 cup sugar on high speed for 10 minutes and it will be 3-4 times in volume
3. Sift in 1 cup all-purpose flour and use a spatula to gently fold it in just until well incorporated and no more clumps of flour remain. Scrape from the bottom of the bowl to make sure there aren’t any trapped pockets of flour, but don’t overwork the batter or it will deflate.
4. Transfer your batter to the lined baking pan and bake at 350˚F for 17-20 min or until top is golden and toothpick comes out clean.
(While the first layer is baking, start working on your second cake layer repeating steps 1-3 above). Remove baked cake from the pan by running a thin edged spatula around the sides to loosen it, then let it cool to room temperature before removing the parchment paper.
Strawberry Filling:
Cut strawberries into halves or quarters and place them in the bowl of a food processor; pulse 15 times or until the consistency of a chunky applesauce; set aside
Frosting:
Beat together cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth (1 min). Add 1 cup heavy whipping cream and beat on high speed until fluffy (3 minutes)
Assembly:
1. Cut each cooled cake layer in half. Place the first layer on your serving dish (this cake is too big and heavy to transfer so put it on the dish you’re serving it on).
2. Spread the first layer with 1/3 of the strawberry puree. Spread just a thin layer of frosting (just a thin layer or you won’t have enough to frost the sides in the end) on the second half and place it over the first layer so the strawberries and cream are hugging. Repeat with the next layers.
So the order from the bottom up is: cake; strawberry; cream; cake; strawberry; cream;cake; strawberries; cream; cake; cream (frost the top and sides with remaining frosting)
Decorate the top with fresh strawberries and chocolate (see chocolate decorating tutorial here
Strawberry Layer Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 12 large eggs, room temp, divided
- 2 cups granulated sugar, divided
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
Frosting:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened at room temp
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
Filling/Decor:
- 2 lbs Fresh strawberries, 1 1/2 lbs to blend and put inside the cake and 1/2 lb to decorate the top
- Chocolate chips to melt and decorate the top; optional
Instructions
Baking the Cake Layers: Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Grease and line only the bottom of a 9x13" cake pan with parchment paper (line 2 pans if you have 2). I have found that it's best not to line or grease the sides of the pan or the cake becomes somewhat miss-shaped.
- You will bake your cake layers separately so for each biskvit layer: in the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together 6 eggs and 1 cup sugar on high speed for 10 min. it will be 3-4 times in volume.
- Sift in 1 cup all-purpose flour and use a spatula to gently fold it in just until well incorporated and no more clumps of flour remain. Scrape from the bottom of the bowl to make sure there aren't any trapped pockets of flour, but don't overwork the batter or it will deflate.
- Transfer to lined baking pan and bake until top is golden and toothpick comes out clean 17-20 min.
- (While the first layer is baking, start making your second cake layer repeating steps 1-3 above)
- Remove baked cake from the pan by running a thin edged spatula around the sides to loosen it, then let it cool to room temperature before removing the parchment paper.
Strawberry Filling:
- Cut strawberries into halves or quarters and place them in the bowl of a food processor; pulse 15 times or until the consistency of a chunky applesauce; set aside.
Frosting:
- Beat together cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth (1 min). Add 1 cup heavy whipping cream and beat on high speed until fluffy (2-3 minutes).
Assembly:
- Cut each cooled cake layer in half. Place the first layer on your serving dish (this cake is too big and heavy to transfer so put it on the dish you're serving it on)
- Spread the first layer with 1/3 of the strawberry puree. Spread a very thin layer of frosting on the second half and place it over the first layer so the strawberries and cream are hugging. Repeat with the next layers. So the order from the bottom up is: cake; strawberry; cream; cake; strawberry; cream;cake; strawberries; cream; cake; cream (frost the top and sides with remaining frosting).
- Decorate the top with fresh strawberries and chocolate (see chocolate decorating tutorial below)
Hi Natasha, Is this different from your strawberry sponge cake recipe? They both look so good. It looks like the only difference is the addition of baking powder in your other recipe. I’m trying to decide which recipe I should use to make a cake for my coworker’s birthday. Thanks!
Hi Amy! It’s basically the same recipe, the other is cut in half and makes a smaller version. You may look at the serving size at the top of the recipe card and make whichever one has enough servings for your party. I hope it’s enjoyed!
Hi Natasha,
I don’t have fresh strawberries on hand, but I’d like to use frozen strawberries. How do you recommend that I make the filling using frozen strawberries? Do you have a fail-proof recipe for that?
Thanks!
Hi Diane, that would work just fine, but you may need to add just a little bit of sugar if the strawberry purée is very tart.
Hi Natasha!!! Can I assembled cake for tree days before? Thank you in advance.
Hi Oksana, yes absolutely! If you want to make the cake layers a few days ahead, you can leave them at room temp, wrapped in a plastic bag with parchment between them, just be sure they are at room temp before covering them up. If you want to make it further ahead of time, store in the refrigerator. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Natasha, how do I prevent the frosting to be too runny? I’ve made this cake couple of time, but with the frosting it is hit or miss.. Thank you
Hi Eva! Be sure to use “heavy whipping cream” and not just whipping cream which is lighter. Also, use block cream cheese only, not whipped. The heavy cream should be very cold before you start whipping. You want to whip until stiff peaks but stop there or it will curdle. The cream cheese should be softened but not too warm either. I hope that helps.
Hello Eva! I love too cook and bake as I’ve gotten older. My landlord who was in her 70’s was a great cook. She told me when you need heavy whipping cream put a bowl and the beaters in the freezer. When your ready to use the heavy whipping cream take the bowl and beaters out of the freezer add the heavy whipping cream and beat away. It helps it get thicker quicker. It works every time. Have fun😊
Natasha, can this cake be frozen for later use? I am making a Wedding cake for my nephew, his Bride has asked for a strawberry filling and your recipe sounds awesome!
Hi Sylvia! You can make and freeze the cake sponge on its own, but I do not recommend freezing it once it’s assembled.
I’m confused by the directions. It says to use all the eggs to make the batter and poured into a 9 x 13 pan. Then it says to do a second pan but doesn’t say anything about repeating the recipe again. So do I make another better with another 6 eggs?
Hi Melody, yes, in step #5 we mention “(While the first layer is baking, start making your second cake layer repeating steps 1-3 above)”. You can see in the ingredients this recipe calls for 12 large eggs, and Step 1-3 uses half of the ingredients that you will then repeat to use up the rest of your ingredients. I hope that helps!
Can I make this cake the night before and leave it in the fridge? Will the frosting stay put?
Hi Jennifer! Yes, we make this cake and store it in the refrigerator due to the cream cheese frosting.
Website Photos show round and rectangle. Confusing. I will be using two 8″ round, hope the batter is the right amount.
Hi Lois, for this Strawberry Layer Cake we used a rectangle pan. This recipe will work in round pans if they are nice and tall. I hope you love this recipe.
Can’t wait to try it! I’ll let you know what the results are!!
I would love to hear. Thanks, Gigi! 🙂
I’ve made the round version of this cake many times. It’s a favorite in our house. Today was my first time to make the 9×13 version. I didnt have enough frosting even if I made the frosting layer thin. I made another half recipe so the cake could look well covered. That was the only flaw with this recipe. Otherwise – super good as usual!
Thank you for sharing, Leah! I’m glad you love this recipe.
Hi Natasha,
Does this recipe not require any baking powder? Thank you, I am so excited to try this.
Hi, the video is for the round strawberry cake that we have posted and we have in recent years started adding a little baking powder just for more consistent results. It will work both ways.
Everyone loved it! One comment, I made 1.5 times the cream cheese frosting and it was about right for how I would make the layers and then frost the outside. Cake was delicious – not overly sweet. Definitely will make it again and use the cake base with the other recipes on this site. Thanks!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Cathy!
Can 100% whole flour be used and if so do you know if any adjustments would need to be made to the layer ingredients?
Hi Alex, I have not tested this to advise. Whole wheat makes your baked goods denser and a lot heavier than all-purpose flour. You’d have to experiment with the ratio.
Hi there. I was wondering does the granulated sugar taste grain like in the frosting? I’ve seen doing this with 10x so what is the difference in taste and texture? Thank you so much..
Hi Kim, that happens if it is not mixed well to dissolve. Follow step 2 in the frosting instructions and avoid this from happening.
Hi Natasha, could I add lemon zest to the batter to male it a lemon and strawberry cake. I really like the lightness of a genoese sponge like this one. Many thanks for any help you can give.
Hi Jayne, that sounds like a good idea but I honestly haven’t tested that to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
Hi Natasha!
I was wondering if I could use a round pan/ springform pan to bake 2 layers? And if I can, do I need to adjust the time and/or temperature?
Thank you!
Hi Lucy, I have not tested that. You’ll have to experiment. Depending on the size of your pan, you may not need to change the temperature but you’ll need to watch the time.
I used round cake pans! They were 9×9 so I just divided the batter among 4 pans and didn’t cut any layers in half. Also cooked a bit shorter in the smaller pans at 15 min. Cake was a bit taller but turned out great!
Is it ok if we add food color to the cake.my daughter wants to be her cake to be in pink color🤷♀️
Hi Ramya, The frosting isn’t very thick, so I don’t think it could handle very much food coloring without thinning it out. I recommend a gel food coloring and not as much.
Not for frosting ..for cake batter itself and yes i will use gel colors..
Best tasting cake!
Is it possible to make cake layers ahead of time and still have them taste the same?
Hi Tabita, yes, the layers can be made ahead of time!
Wondering if I can color the frosting for the coating on the outside? Considering colorful options for a child’s birthday..
Hello Robin, I honestly haven’t tried that yet to advise. But I think it’s a good idea, if you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes!