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
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!