This easy Strawberry Cake has a soft and moist crumb and is bursting with fresh strawberry flavor. You’ll absolutely love it with the irresistible fresh strawberry sauce drizzled over the top. Watch the video tutorial and see why this is my favorite summer strawberry recipe.
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Helpful Reader Review
“This cake is fabulous. I have made it several times and will be printing it to have in my recipe file. Only the keepers get printed. The texture is wonderful – not too light and crumbly, but not overly dense. The sweetness is just right.” – Jayel ★★★★★
Strawberry Cake Video
Easy Strawberry Cake
This strawberry cake is winning in every way: simple ingredients, easy to make, perfect for entertaining, and completely yummy. Everything about this cake is good. This is a crowd-pleasing dessert, but (so you can’t say I didn’t warn you) it disappears fast!
This recipe is based on our wildly popular Blueberry Cake, which was an instant hit. Part of what makes this such an easy cake is that there’s no frosting or layering required, but the strawberry flavor really pops, especially when you drizzle every slice with the 2-ingredient strawberry sauce.
Ingredients for Strawberry Cake
The ingredients here are pantry staples. This cake is loaded with fresh strawberries inside and out. Between the cake and sauce, you will need almost 2 pounds of strawberries.
- Eggs – at room temperature
- Sugar – you can adjust sugar to taste if you have very sweet or very tart strawberries
- Sour cream – adds flavor and richness to the cake. You can substitute plain whole-milk Greek yogurt.
- Oil – creates a soft and moist crumb. You can use either extra light olive oil or vegetable oil
- All-purpose flour – forms a soft crumb without being too dense or heavy. You can substitute 1:1 gluten-free flour (it was tested with Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour).
- Baking powder – leavening that gives rise to the cake
- Fresh strawberries – you will need 12 oz for the cake and 16 oz for the strawberry sauce. You can use frozen strawberries for the sauce but fresh strawberries are preferred for the cake. My best tip for buying strawberries is to smell them – they should have a sweet strawberry aroma.
Natasha’s Tip for Rinsing Strawberies
Rinse strawberries under cool running water just before using them, then pat them dry with a clean towel. Do not wash produce with soap, detergent, or commercial produce wash since it can be absorbed by strawberries.
How to Make Strawberry Cake
- Prep – Butter a 9-inch springform pan (a springform helps with easier release for serving) and line the bottom with parchment paper. Dice half of the strawberries and cut the rest in half.
- Mix Wet Ingredients – Beat the eggs and sugar on high speed for 5 minutes, or until the mixture looks thick, pale, and fluffy. Mix in the sour cream, oil, and vanilla.
- Mix Dry Ingredients and Combine– Whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then add them to the batter in three additions, mixing just until combined. Don’t overmix.
- Add batter to the pan – Pour half of the batter into the pan and sprinkle the diced strawberries over the top. Add the remaining batter, then place the strawberry halves over the surface, cut-side down, pressing them in slightly.
- Bake – Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes before removing the ring.
Tips for the Best Strawberry Cake
- To quickly bring eggs to room temperature – place cold eggs into a bowl of warm water (not hot) for 5-7 minutes, then dry them with paper towels and use them in the recipe.
- Do not overmix – Once the flour is incorporated, stop mixing so the cake stays soft and tender.
- Measure flour correctly – Spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup and level the top with a straight edge. Watch my easy video tutorial on how to measure ingredients correctly.
To Serve the Cake
Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, dust the top with powdered sugar and serve individual slices drizzled with the strawberry sauce – it’s so good it will make you want to lick your plate! It’s also really good over Dutch Baby Pancakes, Waffles, Crepes or French Toast.
Can I turn this into a 2-layer cake?
This works best as a single layer because it is a heavier cake. For a layered cake, we recommend our Strawberry Sponge Cake.
If you love strawberries, this strawberry cake is a must-try. I’d pass you a generous slice if I could, covered with plenty of strawberry sauce, of course.
Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
Strawberry Cake Ingredients:
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup extra light olive oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour , or 1:1 Gluten Free flour*
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 12 oz strawberries, hulled and divided (6 oz diced and 6 oz halved)
- 1 tsp powdered sugar , for dusting, optional
Strawberry Sauce Ingredients:
- 16 oz strawberries, hulled and halved
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
Instructions
Cake Prep:
- Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375˚F. Prepare the strawberries for the cake: dice 6 oz and cut the remaining 6 oz in half.
How to Make Strawberry Cake:
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the eggs and sugar on high speed for 5 minutes, until thick and pale. Add the sour cream, oil, and vanilla, then mix on low speed just until combined.
- Mix Dry Ingredients and Combine: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions, mixing just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
- Add Batter to the Pan: Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the diced strawberries over the batter, then spread the remaining batter on top. Arrange the halved strawberries over the surface, cut-side down, pressing them lightly into the batter.
- Bake at 375°F for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center, avoiding a strawberry, comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Mine was done at 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes before removing the ring.
- To Serve: Run a thin spatula around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan, then transfer it to a cake plate. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired, and spoon the strawberry sauce over individual slices.
How to Make Strawberry Sauce:
- While the cake bakes, add the strawberries and sugar to a blender or food processor and purée until smooth. Taste and add more sugar, if needed.
Notes
Oil: Extra-light olive oil or neutral vegetable oil will give the cake the mildest flavor.
Gluten-Free Substitution: You can substitute all-purpose flour with 1:1 gluten-free flour (it was tested with Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour).
Measuring flour: Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level the top instead of scooping directly from the container.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Try My Best Strawberry Recipes
If you enjoy sweet summer strawberries as much as we do, then you will love these top-rated strawberry recipes:
- Strawberries Romanoff
- Strawberry Sauce
- Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Strawberry Lemonade
- Panna Cotta
- Strawberry Scones
- Eton Mess
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad
- Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes
I made this cake yesterday, was so disappointed. I will not make again, It came out of the oven looking perfect. The taste of the cake is not good.
Hi Debra, this is a well-loved cake on our site. Consider if you used any substitutions in the recipe which could change the flavor. Also, this isn’t an overly sweet cake so if you prefer sweeter, dusting the powdered sugar and serving with strawberry sauce adds just the right amount of sweetness.
I feel i cant even try .no butter no cake for me!
I cannot imagine baking a cake with oil, oh my
i melted butter and substituted it worked fine
I’ve made many cakes with oil instead of butter and they turn out just fine! My favourite chocolate cake recipe, is the moistest cake I’ve ever had!
Hi, Natasha!
When should the sauce be used? I plan to make the cake the night before I serve it to my family. Should I pour on the sauce once I take it out of the oven while it is still warm, once it’s cooled, or right before serving?
Hi Victoria, we add it once it is cooled but you can also add it before serving based on your personal preference.
Made your strawberry cake in spring pan for Memorial Day and it was luscious. So appropriate for the celebration.
Now I can’t wait to make the lemon blueberry one.
Thanks for sharing and I hope you love every recipe that you try!
Made your strawberry cake in spring pan for Memorial Day and it was luscious. So appropriate for the celebration.
Now I can’t wait to make the lemon blueberry one.
I made this cake for Memorial Day. I changed it somewhat. I added some blueberries to the first layer along with the chopped strawberries. I also added a 1/2 tsp of lemon zest and I sprinkled 2 tablespoons of sugar on the top of the cake before baking. This is much like my favorite cake, the olive oil cake from Cook’s Illustrated so I felt ok about making some slight changes. It was delicious and so pretty. Thank you, Natasha!
That sounds so delicious and lovely. I hope you all enjoyed it!
I made this cake yesterday. Everyone loved it. Even though I accidentally left out the oil. Everyone e said that they wouldn’t change a thing. So now it’s also a low fat cake!
That’s just awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe Barb!
I made this cake twice. Both times it came out perfectly. When guests ask for another piece you know it’s delicious. I didn’t make the sauce the second time and I think it really doesn’t need it. Now I am going to make your peach cake recipe. Thank you so much for your recipes.
So great to hear that it came out wonderful! Thanks for your excellent feedback, Mattie. I hope you love every recipe that you try.
I “KonMari”-ed myself out of a springform pan, so used my Teflon angel food cake pan, lined with parchment be paper, cake came out well. If I was serving it at a party, I might fill the hole in the center of the cake with fresh strawberries. Very tasty, making it next for a co-worker’s birthday. Thank you, Natasha! I looked at many recipes and watched many videos, your cake seemed healthier and simpler than the others. So glad the video and recipe was specific about beating the eggs and sugar, very important!
That’s a great idea! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Love your recipes! Easy and simple! Going to try this one tomorrow… Can I use cream n mascarpone cheese instead of sour cream? I have some left over from your no bake cheese cake that I made a few days earlier so wanted to utilize that
Thank you, Pearl. I haven’t tried mascarpone yet but you can substitute sour cream with plain Greek yogurt. Whole milk Greek yogurt will yield the best results.
For a dairy-free version, one of my readers shared the following helpful review: “I completely replaced the sour cream, with whole fat coconut milk from a can. I mixed it completely before measuring, and to compensate for the added wetness I reduced the oil to about 1/3 Cup. It was still a little runny, but the bake was perfect.” I hope that helps.
Thanks! Made it today with the yoghurt instead of cream and it was great. Did not need make the sauce as the cake was moist enough by itself!!! 🍰👌
That is awesome Pearl. Thank you for sharing and for giving this recipe a good feedback!
Have a surplus of strawberries and like the idea of the cake but there are only two of us in the household. Does the cake freeze if portioned.
Thank you.
Hi James, I haven’t tried freezing so I’m not sure if it would hold up well or discolor.
The absolute BEST thing about your recipes is that you include the quantities withing the instructions. And the thing that is even better is that your recipies are so simple … cannot thank you enough.
So me who has NEVER baked a cake and only loves chocolate cake tried this out and the love I got from my family was unbelievable.
THANKYOU!!
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m so inspired reading your review. I’m all smiles
Forgot to mentio, I only used powdered sugar – did not have enoughvstrawberries for the sauce. No one thought any thing was missing.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing that!
Delicious and easy! I take my baked goods to work and always risk new recipes w/o a try-out. This is now a fav! As hospital workers, we need the love – this provides it! Thanks!
I’m so happy to know that you enjoyed this recipe, Nancy. Thank you so much for everything that you are doing to help with what is happening. Take care always and stay safe!
This cake is divine although my strawberries weren’t quite ripe. I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and it was really moist and delicious even after two days!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Lol..my batter looks like a science experiment. The batter is bubbly….I can hear it fizz.
Could you have possibly used baking soda instead of baking powder? Baking soda would cause that reaction and it is 4x stronger than baking powder.
HI, followed the recipe, delicious case but the top strawberries did not remain on the surface and merged with the cake. What did I do wrong?
Hi Anya, I usually add the topping before serving so the top doesn’t become discolored and it lasts longer that way.
I am making a similar cake just with less flower, one egg more and Greek yoguhrt instead of sour cream. Playing with different fruits each time. I am baking your cake for the first time as I write a comment.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I hope you love this recipe!
Hii can I bake this cake with mangoes nd put mangoes on the top like you have to strawberry will it work that ways
Hi Juhi, I haven’t tried mangoes yet to advise. If you want to do an experiment, please share with us how you liked it.
Just made this cake and it was awesome!! Big hit in my house. Thank you
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Just want to say this the family’s go to cake. Everyone loves it. Next favorite is the is the blueberry lemon bake. Thanks!
Love your two favorite cakes too! Thanks for sharing that with us.
This is amazing! I have a 10″ springform pan so I made it 50% larger recipe. Today I doubled it,except the strawberries. It is a winner!
Yay so great to hear that, Amy!
I made this with not the ripest strawberries, and it is still delicious! I like that the recipe uses basics and isn’t complicated. My German husband and I both think it tastes a lot like German Kuchen!
So glad to hear that you and your husband loved this recipe, Patti. Thanks for giving this a wonderful feedback!
Hi Natasha, just wondering if I can use Pamela’s baking flour mix and/or almond flour instead of regular flour.
Hi Adelina, I haven’t tested that specific flour to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe