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
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- Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Strawberry Lemonade
- Panna Cotta
- Strawberry Scones
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- Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes
My syrup seems like it is too thick, and not enough for the whole cake
I am also going to serve vanilla ice cream with it and pour syrup over it??
Hi Arlene, with 16 oz of strawberries, it should be ample to drizzle the entire cake generously. If yours ended up thick, it’s easy to fix – you can thin it with a splash of water. I hope you love it!
Hi Natasha, I love the recipe, but what can I replace sour cream with if I do not have it on hand ?
Thanks
Hi Dee, I think the next best thing would be plain Greek Yogurt. I think a regular plain yogurt would work also.
(from the cooking show “Sugar” with Anna Olson) – make sure to use a full fat yogurt in baking, the low fat ones will go runny and change the consistency of the batter (I learned that the hard way)
What about cream cheese instead of sour cream or yogurt?
Hi Rossandra, I haven’t tried that substitution but I’m concerned it might be too thick and will not incorporate well.
Hey natasha would frozen berries from costo work? I currently dont have strawberries, and wish to substitute it. But im worried frozen berries will melt in cake and it will become soggy. And wont cook properly.
Hi Vira, 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 think it would be easy to substitute frozen for the sauce.
Sure thing, will do that makes more sense unfreezing, really appreciate your feedback:) Thank you!
Hi Natasha, I baked and served this cake for guests, and it was a HIT. We all unashamedly went for second and third slices until all of it was gone (Mind you there only 4 of us:) And they LOVED the strawberry sauce on top. What a summery cake! Thanks Natasha yet again for a brilliant recipe!
My pleasure Irina! I’m happy to hear how much everyone enjoys the recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Can you use a different kind of pan I don’t have a 9-inch springform pan?
Hi Laura, I have had readers report using a bundt pan (see notes above in the recipe), and some reported using a muffin tin, bread pan, tall-walled cake pan. You can put it into a variety of different baking dishes but you may have to adjust the baking time.
Hi Natasha! Have you tried this recipe with fresh peaches? I want to make it but the person I’d make it for loves peaches.
Hi Karen, I have not tried with peaches but I imagine it would work well. I do however have an excellent peach cake recipe that I love. I hope you give it a try! 🙂
What kind of adjustments need to be made for high altitude? I live at almost 6000 feet.
Hi Trudy, I wish I had a good answer for that but I don’t have an experience with high altitude baking. Has anyone else tried in high altitude areas? Thanks in advance!! 🙂
In the middle of baking this delicious strawberry cake on this cool Sunday afternoon! The sauce is in the refrigerator and the powdered sugar is ready and waiting!
Please let me know what you think of the recipe!
Hi, Natasha!
Any recommendations on using sour cherries instead of strawberries in this recipe? Thank you for your amazingly recipes and advices
Hi Lana, I haven’t tried that but I think it would taste great! Let me know if you experiment! Also, keep in mind, this isn’t an overly sweet cake, so if you use sour cherries, you may wish to add a little sugar to the cake.
Just made this today for my husband’s birthday…baked for the full time and then a few mins longer but since the top and edges we’re getting dark I went ahead and took it out…it wasn’t done in the middle but the rest was awesome…any ideas on timing or temp to make sure it bakes all the way? Otherwise it was a beautiful and great tasting cake!!
Hi Rebecca, are you possibly using a different baking mode (like convection) or a narrower pan which would make the cake taller and require a longer bake time? I bake this in a conventional oven and it works well with the timing in the recipe. I hope that helps! Oh, also, make sure you aren’t using more strawberries than what is called for in the recipe or it will weigh down the cake and affect the baking time.
Thank you for your reply…I used a 9 inch spring form that I just purchased and a conventional oven but I probably put too many berries in it. Bought 2 lbs then put then together when I rinsed them so just guessed and how much was 6 oz. Can’t wait to try again!!
My pleasure Rebecca!
I made this cake for my husband’s work function and his co workers loved it and raved about the strawberry sauce. Thank you for this quick and simple recipe and a video tutorial.
My pleasure Natalia! I’m glad to hear that everyone loves the recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Hi, Natasha, made the cake with pears and some banana as I didn’t have strawberries at hand! Came out moist, fluffy and most of all delicious! Thank you for another great recipe!
You’re welcome Ginka! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your review with other readers!
My kids LOVE strawberry anything! Thanks for this awesome recipe. I can’t wait to make it for them 🙂
My pleasure Michelle! Please let me know what everyone thinks!
I love Strawberry Cakes. I tried it. Its delicious. Your recipes are superb. Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure Pavitra! I’m glad you enjoy the recipes! Thanks for sharing your great review!
Hi Natasha, i love this cake recipe, you have saved my life as it is now my “go to dessert” when company is coming. I have made it with stawberries and also with peaches that I had ripened really well. Both were truly delicious. Thank you for sharing this with us.
My pleasure Cecile! I’m glad to hear you enjoy the recipe so much! Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Wonderful tasting and easy to make. We love it.
I’m glad to hear that Laurel! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I just made this tonight and it came out beautifully and delicious! Thank you for a great recipe !
You’re welcome Diana! I’m glad to hear that! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
can a Bundt pan be used or 9x 13 as I don’t have y spring form pan
Hi Arlene, I have not tried it in a bundt pan, but readers reported great results in a bundt, recommending baking at the lower end of the time range (45-47 minutes). For a 9×13 baking dish, I would probably do 1 1/2 times the recipe or it will be a fairly skinny cake.
just found my spring form pan, so good to go.. T Y
Perfect!
What a delicious, fluffy looking cake.. I have to figure how to reduce this to a single 6″ cake pan for two, as we are an older couple and don’t trust ourselves with a standard size cake.. :O)
🙂 🙂 🙂 If it is a regular 6″ cake pan (instead of a tall wall pan like a springform), I would probably cut the recipe in half to make sure you don’t overwhelm the pan. Your bake time may also be less so make sure you do the toothpick test a little earlier 🙂 I hope you both love it!!
I took your advice and cut the recipe in half and it came out perfect… This will be a repeat, long after fresh strawberry season.. :O)
I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you for the amazing review 🙂
How do you measure 12-16 oz strawberries?
Hi Darlene, I buy 2 (1 pound each) packages. I use 1 full package for the sauce and 3/4 of the package for the cake itself. You can weigh the strawberries to be exact but it isn’t necessary to be that exact 🙂