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’ve made this several times really enjoy it. Wondering if peaches would work with this recipe?
Hi Wilma, good to hear that you like it! I have not tested this recipe using peaches but one of our readers shared that they have made it with peaches and loved it too.
Made this cake again and it was fabulous again. My neighbor gave me some homemade strawberry jam so I used that as the topping. I had cake flour that had been sitting around for a while so I used that. I think it made the cake a little lighter and fluffier. I used the stand mixed with the whisk attachment and that worked great. It is a little tricky to cover first layer of stawberries with batter so they are all covered but I got there. It was perfectly baked after 50 minutes. My neighbors loved it.
That’s great, Pat! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with the recipe.
My son loves this cake so much!! It’s now strawberry picking. Could you freeze this cake?
Hi Savannah! Yes, you can freeze the cake.
This cake is absolutely delicious & beautiful! It’s moist & packed with fresh strawberry flavor. My family loves this cake!
Hi Liz! I’m glad your family loved this cake. Thank you for the feedback.
We were not impressed with the taste of the cake. It wasn’t horrible but we didn’t find anything special about it either.
Hi Tara! This is one of our favorite ways to use fresh strawberries and the sauce adds so much to the cake. I’m sorry it was not to your liking.
Can you put the cake altogether wrap it and put it in the fridge and bake it the next day yes I’m trying to get someone to answer me on this please
Hi Hazel! You can store the cake sponge at room temperature for 1-2 days in an air tight container. Or you can refrigerate/freeze for longer. I do not recommend refrigerating the batter before baking it. It should be baked once it has been prepped.
Put in buttered 9″ square pan, as I didn’t have a springform pan. It turned out fine. Didn’t use parchment paper, and didn’t remove from pan. Topped with whipped cream rather than 10X sugar…
Thank you for sharing, Jeanette!
Could ingredients measurements be converted to ounces or grams please
Hi Rosemary! Click on “metric” in the recipe card for the conversion.
How do I store the cake before I serve it? I made a cake the day before, and I need to store it somewhere before it gets served.
Hi Danielle! It is best on day one and should be refrigerated if not eaten on the same day. I have enjoyed this for up to 3 days in the fridge. I would keep it in an air tight container.
Can this cake be made with raspberries? My daughter is allergic to strawberries.
Hi Rose, I haven’t tested that to advise.
Delicious is an understatement! Wow! This is so light, yet rich. Absolutely perfect. Will definitely be making this again!
Thank you for this wonderful feedback, Karen. We’re happy to know that you loved our East Strawberry Cake Recipe!
Really delicious cake! Easy recipe, goes really well with apples and rhubarb instead of strawberries.
That sounds amazing, Tanja!
I just pulled this out of the oven and I am giving it 5 stars for the aroma alone. I cut 2 pieces out and sent them to my next door neighbors, but should I keep any leftovers in the fridge or the counter?
Hello Carol, it is best on day one and should be refrigerated if not eaten on the same day. I have enjoyed this for up to 3 days in the fridge. I would keep it in an air tight container
Maybe you used a 10″ pan. I’m already 40 minutes over your bake time and it’s still raw in the middle.
Hi Jm! I used a 9” springform pan. Did you let the oven fully preheat before starting to bake? I highly encourage the use of an internal oven thermometer (affiliate link) to ensure your oven reaches the right temperature before you start baking. It should not still be raw. It may require a few minutes of fluctuation in the baking time because every oven bakes differently and climate and elevation can affect that as well, but it definitely does not take 40 mins over the suggested time. Also, this recipe is written for a conventional oven-baking setting with the rack in the middle of the oven. I hope that helps.
Very good, not so sweet good texture. It turned out perfect. we surely make it again.
Hi Billie! Thank you for trying my recipe. I’m glad you loved it. I appreciate the review.
This was amazing. Not overly sweet but you can add sweetness with the sauce or whipped cream. Very easy to make. Will keep this in rotation!
Hi Kellye! Thank you for the feedback. I’m glad you loved the recipe.
This was delicious and a great hit with our guests! I love it that you include the ingredient measurements again in the instructions. Definitely a keeper!
Hi Homa! I’m so glad it was a hit. Thank you for the feedback.
I absolutely love this cake and the sauce too! Will definitely be making it again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Fran!
My hubby hasn’t been able to eat gluten for the past 10 yrs and no matter what desserts I bake I never have had him ask for seconds until tonight…..and I’m a good baker! And not afraid to try anything!! This cake was not only wonderful tasting but the delicate texture is absolutely to die for!! Thank you so much!
Hi Tracy! That’s wonderful. I’m so glad he enjoyed the recipe. Another one to try, if you’d like is my almond cake which is completely gluten-free. I hope you love the recipe if you try it.
I made this yesterday and it was a hit with my family! So simple and delicious!
That’s wonderful, Karen!
Cake is in the oven. Easy to make, smells amazing. Can’t wait to try it and share. You have inspired me to make more of your recipes. I have tried a few and they are all good. Thank you for the videos too love to watch them and share.
Hi Kay! I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes. I hope you love the cake!