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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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
I asked you a couple of weeks ago about how many portions the cakes cut into as I make desserts for an old people’s group. The cake went down brilliantly. I usually have a few portions left as there are two of us make desserts but the strawberry cake was chosen 16 times. I used it all. Everyone complained that the portion was too big and they would never eat all that! Every plate was clean and the compliments were constant. They LOVED it! so thank you. I will be checking out your other recipes for the future 🙂
Yes! I definitely remember the portion comment! That’s so great! I’m happy it worked out for you and everyone loved it!! 🙂
I’m planning on making this for my daughter’s 4th birthday party with the family. She requested a strawberry cake and this one looks fantastic by the way!
I will have 10 people so do you recommend me doubling the recipe and using two separate 9” spring form pans? Or does this work in a 9×13 size pan?
Thanks for your help!
Hi Val, You can definitely make it in a bigger pan. For a 9×13 baking dish, I would probably do at least 1 1/2 times the recipe or it will be a fairly skinny cake.
Natasha! A FB page has freebooted your video. They do link to you and put you logo at the end of the video. But they have over 10 million views from your post. Here is their page https://www.facebook.com/foodandfuninthekitchen/?hc_ref=ARQHFpg-DfCVam6JFeMZTKHy6A81FcOAiZmkui65Ki-tF7JG7aUNICrrKT3_RnZU5Xs
Thank you for sharing that with us, Joe!
Hi! Happy 4th!
I just made this for the first time. It is baking as I type. I followed your directions exactly. Can’t wait for it to come out of that oven. Lol. Thank you for such an easy recipe.
Thank you for the wonderful review, Jo! Happy 4th of July!
Can I subsitute almond flour or coconut flour for the flour?
Hi Debra! I haven’t experimented with this myself, but one of our readers wrote “I’ve made this using Almond flour instead of regular flour and it turned out good! I also replaced the sour cream with yogurt and the oil for apple sauce to make it healthier. My family loved it! Hope this helps 😀”
I have a gluten free cake mix I need to use. If I used that instead of making the cake batter from scratch, would I still add sour cream?
Hi Lashonda, without testing that in this cake, it is difficult to guess. I wish I could be more help with that!
Can you use butter instad of oil?
Hi Olga, I haven’t tried it with butter. Some of my readers have omitted the oil and replaced it with apple sauce to make it healthier.
Hi!
I want to make this cake without milk products. How would you substitute the sour cream?
Hi Mikkel, I recall one reader shared their experience with dairy free: “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.” I hope that helps
Can strawberry cake be made a day ahead of time???
It’s best fresh but I think it could work. When storing make sure its fully covered. Enjoy 🙂
Wondering if you think a cream cheese frosting would be good on this topped with the strawberry syrup? If so, do you have an easy recipe for cream cheese frosting?? Having a MAJOR PREGNANCY CRAVING RIGHT NOW!
Hi Jess, I think that would be very tasty to add a cream cheese frosting. If you want a slightly firmer frosting that can pipe easily, I would suggest our vanilla cupcake frosting recipe.
Just made this today. It came out great and very delicious! Your instructions on the recipe were to the point, thank you!
You’re so nice! Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This looks so delicious. Is it possible to get a gluten-free version? Thanks Natasha!
Hi Janet, I haven’t tried that myself but one of my readers shared the following: “”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 now.” I hope that helps!
Thanks, Natasha, I’ll give it a try!
Je vous remercie beaucoup.
je vais le faire ce weekend .
You’re welcome!
This cake was delicious. Can’t wait to make the blueberry. We would like to make this recipe using banana. Any suggestions or other recipe’s? Also can we use a regular baking pan rather than spring pan.
Hi Mary Ann, Some have mentioning wanting to try this with raspberries and peaches. I haven’t tested that myself. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Wow. It turned out even better than I thought. So delicious, and great recipe instructions. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it
Making this today, but, was thinking about doing it in a bundt pan instead. Thoughts??
Hi Dana! 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).
can you sub almond flour for the flour?
Hi Patty, I haven’t experimented with this myself, but one of our readers wrote “I’ve made this using Almond flour instead of regular flour and it turned out good! I also replaced the sour cream with yogurt and the oil for apple sauce to make it healthier. My family loved it! Hope this helps 😀”
I forgot to rate it last time I commented so here are the 5 stars 🙂 We loved it. Just for anyone asking about freezing. I tried it and it wasn’t as good, the strawberries don’t freeze terribly well. It was still good though.
Thank you for sharing your great review! & we appreciate the results post freezing!
I made this Strawberry cake today!! It was so easy!! I am waiting for a friend to come by so we can have it together !1 My husband said it looks Amazing!! Thank you for this recipe!! I Love easy ones!! LOL
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
Hi, I made this recipe. First time, I used the sour cream. Was good, but…gave it an odd taste. Made it again and replaced it with vanilla greek yogurt. So good! And made it very moist! Loved it! Such an easy cake to make!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!