This is the easiest Strawberry Cake with a soft and moist crumb, bursting with fresh strawberry flavor and you will love the strawberry sauce. Watch the video tutorial and see why this is one of our all-time favorite strawberry recipes.
Fresh strawberries add incredible flavor to desserts like our popular No-Bake Cheesecake, Strawberry Pretzel Salad, or Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes. I hope this Easy Strawberry Cake becomes a new favorite for you.
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Strawberry Cake Recipe
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 and continues to be one of the top cakes on our site. Just like with blueberries, fresh strawberries are wonderful on their own but when you bake them into a cake, their flavor is amplified and every bite is loaded with satisfying strawberry flavor.
Fresh Strawberry Cake Video
Part of what makes this such an easy cake is that there’s no frosting or layering required, but the flavor is definitely there, especially when you drizzle every slice with the super simple 2-ingredient strawberry sauce. It will make you want to lick your plate – it’s just THAT good and super versatile. Try it over Dutch Baby Pancakes, Waffles, and Crepes. It’s also delicious over French Toast.
Ingredients
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.
The easy strawberry sauce has only 2 ingredients (strawberries and sugar) and comes together quickly in a food processor or blender. Here’s what you will need to make this simple strawberry cake:
- Eggs – make sure they are at room temperature
- Granulated sugar – sugar is used for both the cake and the strawberry sauce and you can add sugar to taste if you have very sweet or very tart strawberries
- Sour cream – adds flavor and richness to the cake
- Oil – creates a soft and moist crumb. You can use either extra light olive oil or vegetable oil
- Vanilla extract – we love using Homemade Vanilla Extract for the best quality and flavor
- All-purpose flour – forms a soft crumb without being too dense or heavy
- Baking powder – leavening that gives rise to the cake
- Salt – balances the flavor. We almost always use fine sea salt in our cooking
- 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.
How to Buy Strawberries
Here are some tips when shopping for strawberries. The last one is my favorite. I always smell the strawberries!
- Color – look for strawberries that are a bright and vibrant red. If they are dull or have a lot of white or green patches, they are either underripe or no longer fresh.
- Stems – check the stems which should look fresh and green (not brown or dry)
- Firmness – fresh strawberries should be firm to the touch. If the package is clear, inspect the bottom of the container. Strawberries should not look soft, mushy, or squished/ leaking.
- Aroma – I always sniff the package of strawberries – it’s the best way to tell if the strawberries will actually be tasty. Good strawberries will smell sweet and fragrant.
Tools for Baking
This recipe comes together fast with simple ingredients and basic cooking tools. For best results, be sure to use an electric mixer to whip the eggs and sugar.
Pro Tip: Rinse your strawberries just before using them. Wash under running water and avoid soap or commercial produce wash (these can be absorbed by strawberries and are not recommended according to the FDA). Once rinsed, set on cloth or paper towels and pat dry.
Tips for the Best Strawberry Cake
- To 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 over-mix – This is KEY! Once the flour is incorporated, stop mixing or the cake can become dense.
- Measure flour correctly – spoon flour into a dry ingredient measuring cup and scrape off the top with a straight edge. Why? Pushing your measuring cup into the flour bin can result in up to 25% more compacted flour. Watch our easy video tutorial on how to measure ingredients correctly.
Common Questions
Yes! You can substitute sour cream with plain Greek yogurt. Whole milk Greek yogurt will yield the best results.
This works best as a single layer because it is a heavier cake. For a layered cake, we recommend our Strawberry Sponge Cake.
A reader shared this: “I used Cup4Cup Gluten-Free Multipurpose Flour. It is expensive but the best I’ve tried so far. Anyway, the cake came out great. We loved it and I’m planning to make it again for Easter. Just wanted to let any possible gluten-intolerant folks know.”
A reader shared the following: “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.”
We have only tested this in a 9″ springform pan. If baking in a smaller pan, bake a little longer or until a toothpick comes out clean. If you experiment with various sizes, please let me know in the comments.
Love Strawberry Recipes?
Strawberries always taste best in summer when they are in season so we like to take full advantage of their flavor and abundance. I also love that they go on sale often in the summer so we can use them for everything from Strawberry Lemonade to Chocolate Covered Strawberries. If you enjoy sweet fresh strawberries as much as we do then you will love these top-rated strawberry recipes:
- Strawberries Romanoff
- Strawberry Sauce
- Panna Cotta
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberry Scones
- Eaton Mess
If you love strawberries, this strawberry cake is a must-try. I’d pass you a generous slice if I could, pummeled with the strawberry sauce of course.
More Easy Cake Recipes
If you love easy cakes like this strawberry cake don’t miss these easy, one-pan cakes that are always crowd-pleasers:
Easy Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients
Strawberry Cake Ingredients:
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup light olive oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour , (*measured correctly)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 12 oz strawberries, hulled
- 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" springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375˚F. Prepare 12 oz of strawberries for the cake: dice 6 oz of strawberries and slice the second 6 oz into halves.
How to Make Strawberry Cake:
- In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer (or stand mixer), beat together 2 eggs with 1 cup sugar on high speed for 5 minutes or until light in color and thick.
- Add 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup oil, 1 tsp vanilla and beat on low speed until well combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together: 2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt until well incorporated. With the mixer on med/low speed, add flour mixture to the batter 1/3 at a time, letting the flour incorporate with each addition and continue mixing just until well combined. Do not over-mix.
- Pour half of the batter into prepared pan. Top with 6 oz of diced strawberries then spread remaining batter over the top. Cover the surface with 6 oz of halved strawberries (cut-side-down), pressing them down just slightly into the batter. Bake at 375˚F for 45-55 minutes (mine was perfect at 50 min), or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cake rest in pan 15-20 min before removing the ring.
- Run a thin spatula around cake edges to loosen from pan. then transfer to a cake platter. Cool until just warm or at room temperature. To serve, dust with powdered sugar if desired. Drizzle individual slices generously with strawberry syrup.
How to Make Strawberry Sauce:
- While the cake is baking, make the strawberry sauce: In a blender or food processor, combine 16 oz strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar (or add sugar to taste) and blend until pureed.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Greetings from a very cold Lockdown UK. Thanks for the fabulous recipe 👏👏👏 help… can you tell me what the gram weight is for a cup of flour please. I have searched several different websites and they all seem to be slightly different. I want to measure the flour accurately to your recipe. Big Thanks… hoping to make for Valentines Day tomorrow….
Hi Nina, if you click “metric” in the recipe card towards the bottom of the post, you can see gram conversions. I hope you love the strawberry cake!
Does it matter what kind of sour cream?
Hi M, we use regular sour cream.
Hello Natasha, I always like to watch your video… It really makes me excited…. We are actually encouraging more people to go for plant based diet after Covid 19. Is it possible for you to intro more recipe which is plant based?
Thanks for watching my videos and for your suggestion. I’ll take note of that, thank you!
It’s even better with sour cherries.
I can only imagine! Thank you for sharing that with me!
This looks so good! Can’t wait to try this one out.
This cake was delicious, so fluffy and easy to make! The perfect thing to enjoy with a cup of coffee!
I’m so happy you loved it! Thanks for the wonderful review.
Yummy! This looks so delicious and tasty! I can’t wait to give this recipe a try! My daughter is going to love this!
Sounds like a great plan, Beth. I hope this recipe becomes her new favorite!
Do you think making a 2 or 3 tier with chocolate ganache would be ok making this ? Also what about adding lemon juice ??
Hi Craig, I haven’t tested that but making it a 2 or 3-tier cake might be a little heavy since the cake has some weight to it.
I used your recipe and OMG it came out so delicious!! The strawberry sauce is awesome. Thank you.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Rosa!
Thank you for your recipes I enjoy them so much your an awesome cook!
Helen
You’re so nice! Thank you for that wonderful review, Helen!
Hi Natasha
made the easy strawberry cake with your recipe and it was gone in 5 minutes it was just too yummy.
Love it! Thanks for your great feedback and review.
I have a question- I baked the cake for 50 minutes as per the recipe but it was undercooked so I kept it a bit longer and that resulted in the cake being almost burnt from the sides . What did I do wrong and what do I do next time to avoid it
Hi A, I haven’t seen that happen before. Did you make sure to beat the eggs and sugar adequately – for the cake to rise and bake up properly, it relies on the volume of the eggs and sugar to rise. Also, you might double-check that your oven is heating adequately.
Can you use a different type of pan? I don’t have a springform one. Thank you.
Hi Joe, I recommend a springform because it’s a little taller than most regular cake pans and it’s fairly heavy so it’s a little tougher to remove from a regular pan.
Hi Natasha, the recipe looks amazing. Just wanna know if I can use frozen strawberries? Any tips
Hi Neerja, I haven’t tested it with frozen strawberries, so I’m not 100% sure. If I were to try, I would thaw in the refrigerated and drain well before adding them, maybe toss them with 1 Tbsp of corn starch to keep them from being too juicy. I do, however, think it would be easy to substitute frozen for the sauce.
Hi, can I add lemon zest and lemon juice to this recipe similar to the blueberry lemon cake recipe? If so, do I need to adjust anything and how much juice would I add?
Hi Vicky, I haven’t experimented with that change, but one of our readers commented on lemon zest! If you happen to try this with lemon juice, I would love to know how you like that.
Baked this today for my daughter”s bday. It was delicious. Not too sweet and moist. Loved it. Thanks Natasha for the recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Natasha! Thank you for the great recipe. The cake came out very tasty and flavorful. One question though, the batter arround the strawberries came out sticky it didnt cook very well. Also I got the feeling that 2 cups if flour might have made the batter too dense. Please advise
Hi Valentina, make sure to measure the flour correctly. Check out how we measure ingredients for baking here.
Thank you Natasha for the advise!
Simple recipe and awesome taste
The person that said use the Cup4Cup as a gluten free alternative…it didn’t work ..it made the batter thick like GLUE!! I had to ad so much milk to get it to even be useable….
Thank you for sharing your experience with using the cup4cup – I wonder if maybe it didn’t work because of measuring? Be sure to spoon it into the measuring cup and level off the top. If you push the cup into the measuring container, you can get up to 25% too much compressed flour. I hope that helps.
Tried this receipe today and I love it! So easy and so tasty! It took only 38min in my oven.
Thank you Natasha!
You’re welcome, Dana! I’m so glad you enjoyed that!