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
Hi Natasha, love this recipe and the blueberry lemon one and whilst both cakes turn out delicious, my batter is so thick and impossible to spread. I e made sure to measure the flour correctly so I’m sure it’s not that. Could I be mixing the eggs and sugar together too much?
Hi Ayesha, are you possibly using too much flour? Be sure to measure by fluffing the flour first with a spoon then spoon it into a dry ingredient measuring cup and scrape off the top. If you push your measuring cup into a flour bin, you will get up to 25% too much flour. Also, do not tap the flour down in the measuring cup. I hope that helps it.
I love this cake, I’ve made it several times. Family’s new favourite!
Thanks for this deliciously simple and simply delicious recipe 🙂 I came across it by looking for how to use up some extra strawberries and sour cream. I adapted it by adding a splash of almond extract and making cupcakes instead of cake! Also, added a bit of lemon to the amazing sauce to enhance the flavour even more! Everyone loved it!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing.
This cake is delicious. My bottom crust was very dark, I would almost say burnt a bit. I floured the edge of springform pan and put parchment on bottom. Baked 48 minutes. Cooked in pan 16 minutes. The rest of the cake was golden on top and cooked through. Any idea what would cause that?
Hi Kathleen! I’m glad you loved the recipe. It could be the type of pan and the material it’s made of, certain materials distribute heat differently. Since it was just dark on the bottom, I wonder if the oven rack was too low, being too close to the heating element. We baked this in a conventional oven on regular bake mode.
Hi! I’ve made this recipe before and loved it! I’m with a bunch of frozen strawberries and was wondering if I could use them for this cake ☺️☺️
Hi Julia! See my note above, “You can use frozen strawberries for the sauce but fresh strawberries are preferred for the cake.”
Hi! Do you think this would work in a 9 inch pie pan? Or do you think it would over flow during baking?
Hi Joey, I haven’t tried this recipe in a pie pan to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Should I just up the ingredients by a ninth if I use a 10 inch pan?
Hi Hannah! I don’t know the exact amount of batter needed for a 10”, but I think that would be fine.
Thank you so much for this recipe! My family absolutely LOVED IT!! This cake is now one of our family favorites!! 🙂
You’re so welcome, Vanessa. Great to hear that your family loves this cake a lot!
Dear Natasha,
I used to follow your blog years ago, but had to stop using most of your recipes since my older son was born with wheat and dairy among other allergies. I wanted to bake a gluten free dairy free cake for my second son’s first birthday so that my older one could enjoy it as well. Thank you for creating a community of well wishing people who gave amazing tips to make this gluten free and dairy free. The cake was amazing!! Crumb was fantastic. For other’s reference I used 1 cup Jules gluten free flour and 1 cup of almond flour, used 1 cup of coconut milk buttermilk ( 1 cup full fat coconut milk+ 1 tsp vinegar) instead of the sour cream. The batter was very thick for me. So I had to bake it in a 8 inch pan and really try to spread it out. Didn’t use the strawberry topping as the batter seemed less and very thick. Just used the diced strawberry in between the two layers. The powdered sugar really makes the cake. It’s perfectly sweet by itself. So glad that I could use your recipe for such an amazing celebration! May God continue to bless your husband, children,parents and you. You seek Him first so He has blessed you and made you the head and not the tail. Stay the same. Light on a hill. Love and blessings,
Dalia
Hi Dalia! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback. I appreciate you sharing your experience with substitutes, I think many will find this helpful. I’m so glad you loved this recipe.
Hi Natasha, Great recipe, thank you very much. I have made it a few times and always tastes great. I’m baking 4 strawberry cakes for a birthday party and will have to bake it the day before. Do I put it in the fridge overnight?
Hi Mandy! Yes, the cakes should be refrigerated until ready to serve.
I’m a seasoned baker, however, I “messed” up. I know not to over-mix the flour, so was very careful. Then I realized I forgot to add the sour cream. I gently folded it into the batter. WHEW! Cake still turned out awesome. Thanks for a great recipe.
I’m so glad it all worked out!
Soooo easy to make!! But my batter came out a bit thicker i wasnt able to ‘pour’ half the batter and add the strawberries (T0T) i could only add on top. I must have added a little too much flour(?)
Hi Layla, that’s very possible. Be sure to measure by fluffing the flour first with a spoon then spoon it into a dry ingredient measuring cup and scrape off the top. If you push your measuring cup into a flour bin, you will get up to 25% too much flour. Also, do not tap the flour down in the measuring cup.
Ohmygosh i did that! I pushed in the flour >_< thank you so much Natasha!!!
You’re welcome!
This was absolutely delicious!
I do have a question though. The sides were done before the center. Any idea what I did wrong?
Hi Renee, I’m so glad you loved it! It could be a couple of things. Be sure to use the correct size pan. If the pan is too small, it can cause the cake to not bake through all the way in the center. Also, I highly encourage the use of an in-oven thermometer to ensure your oven is heating correctly. If the heat runs too high, it can cause the cake to cook to rise too fast, then shrink in the middle and it will bake on the outside faster and not cook through the middle. Lastly, be sure to let your oven fully preheat before you put the cake in to bake. I hope that helps.
One word: FABULOUS! This cake was so good. The strawberry sauce was easy to make & so yummy. I had some sauce left and added it to my homemade vanilla ice cream mixture & we had a delicious strawberry ice cream! We love your recipes & want to thank you for sharing them!
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing that with us, Liz. We’re so glad that you loved our Strawberry Sauce Cake!
Hi Natasha! Love your recipes and preordered your book that I can’t wait to receive!
Have you or any of your readers tried to make this cake with almond flour? I made the cake as written twice and it was a big crowd pleaser. I have some gluten free guests this weekend and wanted to try to make it with almond flour. Was wondering if it may work as I read you can substitute regular flour with almond flour 1:1.
Thak you, I’m so glad that you’re enjoying them!I haven’t tested that substitution to know if it would work well. I checked the comments section but other’s have not tried that as well. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
I did try this cake with almond flour. It came out very different than the regular all-purpose flour. It’s not as dense (not dense at all) bc of the almond flour and much more moist because of the berries in the cake. While my friends, even those who eat gluten loved it, I would make it again with the all-purpose flour.
That’s great, Orly! Thank you for sharing.
Taking two of these to our Church Connect Group tonight! They will love it! Took one to a neighbor and she said, “This is so much better than strawberry shortcake”. We love it!
That’s awesome! I’m so glad to hear that.
Dear Natasha’s Kitchen,
This recipe is simply delicious and a great travel cake, to offer others at their gatherings. I will be making this cake again and again. Thank you .
You’re so welcome! We appreciate your good comments and review, Rosemarie.
I have made this cake many times and it always a hit! Sometimes when the cake is cooling the center of the cake seems to sink a bit and when I cut it appears to be more pudding like in certain areas, I am guessing I did something incorrectly
Hi Kathleen! It could be a couple of things. Be sure to use the correct size pan. If the pan is too small, it can cause the cake to not bake through all the way in the center. Also, I highly encourage the use of an in-oven thermometer (affiliate link) to ensure your oven is heating correctly. If the heat runs too high, it can cause the cake to cook to rise too fast, then shrink in the middle and it will bake on the outside faster and not cook through the middle. Lastly, be sure to let your oven fully preheat before you put the cake in to bake. I hope that helps.
My batter was too thick, not sure what I did wrong. I followed the recipe, used plain Greek yogurt and that was all that was different.
Hi Carole! This can happen if you use too much flour or if something else was not measured correctly. I’ve attached my tutorial on how to measure ingredients . If you scoop your flour out of the bin, you’ll end up with too much. I hope the tutorial helps.
Hi Natasha, My husband and I just made the strawberry cake for a 4th of July party. We cLan’t wait to taste it. Does the strawberry sauce need to be refrigerated?
Hi Linda! Yes, it should be refrigerated.
Natasha, this recipe is amazing! This cake turned out so beautiful! You are so thorough in your directions and it helped me tremendously! Thank you so much!!
Hi Mary! I’m so glad to hear that. Thank you for the wonderful feedback.