This Strawberry Sponge Cake Recipe is among our all-time favorite strawberry desserts. It is moist with layers of fresh strawberries, and whipped cream cheese frosting.
With the easy video tutorial you can master this fresh strawberry sponge cake in no time.
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I hope you’re inspired by the topping on this strawberry sponge cake. I couldn’t resist making the Ukrainian-esque strawberry decorations. Looking forward to seeing all of my nieces faces when they see it at Mom’s. They always get excited about my cakes. It’s adorable :).
I want you to experience this cake and succeed every time so I made a video recipe for you all (WATCH VIDEO TUTORIAL BELOW) This is also one of my personal favorites because:
- It is CUTE as can be with old world chocolate and strawberry decor
- NOT OVERLY SWEET as is hallmark of my desserts (we love to experience all the flavors of the cake).
- It tastes BAKERY QUALITY (I would argue better because it’s homemade!)
Ingredients for Strawberry Sponge Cake Recipe:
It’s almost hard to believe the sponge cakes have only 4 ingredients (flour, sugar, eggs and baking powder). If you have never made a sponge cake, be sure to watch our video tutorial on how to make a sponge cake before you get started. The Whipped Cream Cheese frosting has just 3 ingredients and pairs so well with strawberries
What you’ll need: Two 9″ cake pans, parchment paper, and flour sifter
How to Make Strawberry Sponge Cake Layers:
IMPORTANT: Watch our video tutorial on how to make a sponge cake before you get started:
Preheat Oven to 350˚F and line bottoms of cake pans with parchment paper (do not grease sides).
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer (this is the one I have), beat 6 large eggs with the whisk attachment for 1 min on high speed. With the mixer on, gradually add 1 cup sugar and continue beating on high speed 8 min. It will be thick and fluffy.
2. Whisk together flour (measured correctly) and baking powder. Sift flour in thirds into the batter, folding gently with a spatula between each addition. Fold just until no streaks of flour remain, scraping the bottom of the bowl to ensure you don’t have pockets of flour hiding at the bottom; do not over-mix or you may deflate the batter.
3. Divide batter equally between two prepared cake pans and bake at 350˚F fr 23-28 minutes (my oven took 25 min), or until top is golden brown and springs back when poked slightly. Remove from pan by sliding a knife around the edges. Let cool to room temp then peel back parchment paper. Slice cake layers equally in half (I use this bread knife to slice cake layers).
Strawberry Cake Filling:
Cut strawberries into quarters if large and place them in the bowl of a food processor; pulsing until consistency of chunky applesauce; set aside.
Frosting:
1. Beat cold heavy whipping cream on high speed with whisk attachment for 1-2 min until stiff and spreadable then remove to a separate dish.
2. In the same mixing bowl (no need to wash it), beat together cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar about 2 min until smooth and lump-free, scraping down a bowl a couple times. Using a spatula, fold in whipped cream.
How to Assemble Strawberry Sponge Cake:
(Tip: to keep the cake plate clean, place strips of parchment or wax paper under the edges of the bottom cake layer. After frosting the cake, pull the strips out and you have a clean cake stand).
1. Place the first layer cut-side-up on your serving dish and spread with 1/3 of the strawberry puree.
2. Spread about 1/2 cup frosting on the second cake layer and place it over the first layer so the strawberries and cream are hugging. Repeat with the remaining layers.
3. Frost the top and sides with remaining frosting. Decorate the top with melted chocolate (click here for chocolate decorating tutorial).
How to Decorate a Cake with Chocolate and Fruit:
These are the designs I made because I wasn’t sure how I would decorate this cake going into it. Remember the Russian nesting doll from Instagram? 😉
I cut the little strawberries in half and placed them on each of the chocolate “vines.” Then I put strawberries halves around the base of the strawberry sponge cake. If you can’t find small strawberries; raspberries would work well for the decor also as they are tiny and look cute cut in half.
Watch How To Make this Strawberry Cake Recipe:
Watch Natasha make this Strawberry Cake Recipe! You will be surprised by how easy it is. If you haven’t already, to our and click the bell icon so you will be the first to know when we post a new video recipe.
Must-Try Strawberry Desserts:
- Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes – cute and delicious, these fly off the plate
- Berry Tiramisu – strikingly beautiful and loaded with fresh strawberries
- Strawberries Romanoff – elegant and easy strawberry dessert
- Mixed Berry and Angel Food Trifle – one of the easiest cakes ever
Print-Friendly Strawberry Sponge Cake Recipe:
Strawberry Sponge Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake Layers:
- 6 large eggs, room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- What you'll need: Two 9" cake pans, parchment paper, and flour sifter
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 packages, 8 oz each cream cheese, softened at room temp
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
Filling/Decor:
- 1 1/2 lbs fresh strawberries, 1 lb to blend and 1/2 lb for decor
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips to melt and decorate the top, optional
Instructions
How to Make Cake Layers: Preheat Oven to 350˚F and line bottoms of cake pans with parchment paper (do not grease the sides).
- Beat 6 large eggs with the whisk attachment for 1 min on high speed. With the mixer on, gradually add 1 cup sugar and continue beating on high speed 8 min until thick and fluffy.
- Whisk together flour and baking powder. Sift flour in thirds into the batter, folding gently with a spatula between each addition. Fold just until no streaks of flour remain, scraping the bottom of the bowl to ensure you don't have pockets of flour hiding at the bottom; do not over-mix or you may deflate the batter.
- Divide batter equally between two prepared cake pans and bake at 350˚F fr 23-28 minutes (my oven took 25 min), or until top is golden brown and springs back when poked slightly. Remove from pan by sliding a knife around the edges. Let cool to room temp then peel back the parchment paper. Slice Cake Layers equally in half.
Strawberry Filling:
- Cut strawberries into quarters if large and place them in the bowl of a food processor; pulse until consistency of chunky applesauce; set aside.
Frosting:
- Beat cold heavy whipping cream on high speed with whisk attachment for 1-2 min until stiff and spreadable then remove to a separate dish.
- In the same mixing bowl (no need to wash it), beat together cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar about 2 min until smooth and lump-free, scraping down a bowl a couple times. Using a spatula, fold in whipped cream.
Assembly:
- Place the first layer cut-side-up on your serving dish
- and spread with 1/3 of the strawberry puree.
- Spread about 1/2 cup frosting on the second cake layer and place it over the first layer so the strawberries and cream are hugging. Repeat with the next layers.
- Frost the top and sides with remaining frosting. Decorate the top with melted chocolate. I cut the little strawberries in half and placed them on each of the chocolate "vines." Then I put strawberries halves around the base of the cake. If you can't find small strawberries; raspberries would work well for the decor also as they are tiny and look cute cut in half.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Now go forth and make this strawberry cake! 🙂
Hi Natasha! The cake looks great. I plan to bake it for my daughter’s birthday. But I need bigger cake. Do you think it is a good idea to make a half sheet cake using this recipe with double ingredients?
Hi Christina, I haven’t tried that in a sheet pan (besides making a thin roll) but I think that may work! If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Thank you!
Christina have you tried it? I want to do this for this Sunday.
Diana I did a half sheet cake using this recipe and it turned out great.
Hello, another question. I noticed you used a stand mixer for both the sponge cake and the icing. I don’t own an electric mixer, so would it be possible to do those two things successfully with a hand whisk?
Hi Sarnya, I think it would be extremely difficult to make the cake with a hand whisk. The cake relies on the volume of the eggs and sugar to rise and it would just be extremely difficult to get the right consistency by hand. If you use an electric hand mixer, add 3 minutes to the mixing time on high speed.
I’ve made this cake at least a dozen times by now and love it. We recently moved and the last 3 times I’ve tried making the sponge it hasn’t come out correctly. It rises great then halfway through the bake time it falls in the middle. Why would this be? I’ve done it the same way for years now without issues. Could my oven be off?
Hi Marianna, I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed this recipe. Could it be a weather or moisture change that is causing this? I would also recommend checking your oven temp to make sure it is still calibrated.
Hello Natasha, thank you for this recipe. I did it, but unfortunately my frosting (cream+cheese+sugar) was super liquid, so I couldn’t use it to cover the cake. What could It be wrong? Too much mixing? When I mixed the cream cheese+sugar, it just got super liquid and when I added the heavy whipped cream it just got worse.
Hi Claudia, I’m sorry to hear that but I am always happy to help troubleshoot. A few things it could be – make sure you are using heavy whipping cream and beat that until stiff peaks form (fluffy and spreadable), before transferring whipped cream to a separate bowl. Be sure not to over-soften the cream cheese (if it gets too warm, the frosting will be more loose) – always soften at room temperature and not in the microwave. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together for the full 2 minutes so the sugar incorporates into the cream cheese and it should look fluffy/smooth at this point. It should stiffen up more when adding whipped cream unless the whipped cream was under-beaten. I hope that helps to figure out what might have gone wrong.
Thanks for the feedback! I’ll try it that way.
I hope it works out for you, Claudia!
If you are using anything other than Original Philadelphia bricks, you should drain your cream cheese. Place the cream cheese in a double layer of muslin and tie with cotton twine. Hang it over a bowl for about 24 hours before using. It’s surprising how much liquid comes out!
We don’t have the bricks in the UK and this solved the runny frosting problem completely.
Thank you for sharing your tips with us, Dasha!
Yes, I did. I used Philadelphia cheese. I think the problem could be the whipped cream. I’ll check it out. Thanks for the tip anyways 😉
My pleasure!!
Hi Natasha, I want to bake this cake for my daughter’s first birthday and I am new to baking. Do we not add vanilla essence in this recipe ?
This recipe does not require it. If you’d prefer that some of our readers have added vanilla and loved it!
This cake was FABULOUS! My 6 year old requested a strawberry cake this year for her birthday and it took quite some time to find a recipe that didn’t include artificial colors/flavorings. This cake is IT. Flavor was amazing, color was beautiful – the frosting was a light pink and SO flavorful. Love it. It’s going in the family cookbook. Thank you!
You’re so welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Hey, where did you get the small strawberries? I guess they’re homegrown because I bought some at the store and they’re really big, so they almost fully covered the sides (the sponge cake wasn’t that tall either). Do you maybe know where I could get some small strawberries? Thanks and the cake was really good!
HI Olga, these were homegrown. Sometimes you can pick through the packages of strawberries (the packages of organic strawberries are usually smaller).
If I wanted to put two more tiers on this cake (7 inch and 4 inch) how much would I have to increase the recipe by?
Hi Sarnya, I haven’t tested it that way but I would probably do at least 1 1/2 times the recipe, but keep in mind if you don’t have a professional sized mixer, you might have to make it in 2 separate batches or it will overwhelm your mixer and not beat adequately which will affect the rise.
Thanks Natasha!
You’re welcome!
How long in advance can I make this cake? Will it be ok refrigerated for a few days once it’s fully assembled and frosted?
Thank you!
Hi Angelica, Yes that would work fine. Cover and refrigerate overnight and serve the next day.
One more question. Is it possible to make this recipe (just the normal one) with just a hand whisk?
Hi Sarnya! You can still make it work with a hand mixer but you would want to add 3-5 minutes of mixing time on the highest speed. You can test for doneness when you pull up on the whisk, the batter should sit in a thick ribbon on the cake for several seconds before disappearing back into the cake. It should be thick.
Made this today because we got a flat of strawberries from the farm (in late October! Gotta love Oregon)
It was super delicious and reminded us of summer, and it was perfect to cozy up with and a hot cup of coffee. Thank you Natasha!
Wow! That’s amazing!! Thank you for this wonderful review!
I love you since I started doing your salad omg my husband now eat salad .thank you so much .
That’s so great! happy to help with that 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing this with me!
Hello Natasha, I would like to know if I can make this cake 2 days before my party. Thank you for the recipe, this cake is delicious!
You can definitely do that. I recommend assembling it the night before or day of, however. Store the layers in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the cake.
This recipe is fantastic and so easy to make! I’ve made it twice so far and everyone loved it. The first time I made it with a hand held mixer, it took longer to mix to get to the thick and fluffy consistency which I don’t think I fully got so my sponge cake didn’t rise too much. That was fine because I just had 2 layers instead of 4. Still great. Second time I used the kitchen aid stand mixer and that was way easier and faster! I got the right consistency and it rose well and was able to cut in half. Overall this is a super easy recipe with minimal ingredients and so delicious. Looking forward to making it again!
I’m so happy it worked out for you, Anna! Thank you for sharing this awesome review with me!
I MUST compliment you on this recipe and your detailed directions. I’m an experienced cook and true “foodie” and this was SUPERB!! I followed the cake directions to the letter (used a hand mixer for 15 min. to get the ‘figure eight’ impression) and am delighted with the results. The outside edges were a little shaggy on one of the two cakes but don’t know why. Perhaps I need to use a “sharper” tool to loosen (is there an alternative … like lining the vertical part with parchment also?). The strawberry prep was easy and delicious, too. I only used “stabilized” whipped cream (with powdered gelatin) and no cream cheese and it was just outstanding. Have paid $60 for almost the identical cake in a high-end bakery. I’m thrilled beyond belief and can’t thank you enough. Job well done!!
Hi Arline! Thank you so much for your thoughtful and detailed review! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe. Parchment paper may be an option but making sure the cake is cool enough is best before removing, to help with the edges. I appreciate your feedback! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I want to make this cake for my daughter’s 12th birthday but use 3 9inch pans for more layers. Would I just then make 1 1/2 times the recipe? And, would the cake still hold up with the additional layers?
Thank you so much,
Catherine
Hi Catherine, the cake will still hold up with the additional layers. My only concern is that the eggs and sugar batter might overwhelm a stand mixer. It might still work well in a large 6Qt mixer, but would need a little longer mixing time to beat adequately. You also may need to bake slightly longer if making 1 1/2 times the recipe.
Thanks Natasha! One more question. I wanted to bake the cake tonight and then decorate and assemble tomorrow. What is the best way to store the cake layers overnight?
I would recommend refrigerating the layers. Make sure to have them cover well with saran wrap.
Thanks Natasha!
I left the layers out overnight every time I made the cake and they were just fine.
Hi Catherine, I used this recipe as the base for my daughter’s wedding cake (12, 9,, and 6 inch tiers). We had to travel, so I needed to make the cake layers beforehand. I did a test cake, baked all the layers, then cooled and double wrapped in clingfilm. I left them on the counter for a week and then constructed the cake. They were perfect! I only refidgerated once they were filled. And my daughter’s wedding cake was a huge hit. This is quite a versatile recipe!
Thanks so much Dasha!
Hello,
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe for my neice’s 5th birthday. My mom always makes a biskvit (we’re also from Ukraine) but she doesn’t add the strawberries/cream. If I frost the cake the night before the party would it become too moist? Or is that safe to do? Thanks!
Hi Anna. This cake can definitely be made the night before and will not get soggy. I’ve kept leftovers in the fridge for 2-3 days and it holds up well since it is a sponge cake. Since you are using fresh strawberries both on top and inside, for max freshness, I would plan to serve it the same day or the following day after refrigerating overnight.
Hi Natasha! I made this cake today for our daughters 11th birthday and it was a hit! Thank you! The recipe was easy to follow but I liked watching the YouTube video for it when it came to the strawberry consistency. I will definitely make this again.
You’re so welcome Sarah! I’m so happy you all enjoyed that!
Beautiful! I made this for my mother in law from China. They do not care of the super sweet American cakes. I made this for her and it was perfect! Not as beautiful as yours, Natasha, but pretty and delicious!
Thank you for the wonderful review Carolyn! I’m so happy everyone loved this!
Generally I grease and flour the cake pans. Why do you say that greasing the pans is not necessary for this recipe?
Hi Susan, greasing the pan for this specific type of sponge cake will cause the cake to pull away from the walls of the pan and it won’t be as even of a cake layer.
Hi Natasha, if I use frozen strawberries for the puree, should I defrost the strawberries first and get rid of excess water or blend them frozen? Thank you
Hi Anna, I haven’t tried putting frozen strawberries inside the cake so I’m not sure if they would be too wet or would interfere with the cakes rising. I think it’s worth an experiment if that is all you have but I haven’t tried that myself. You could definitely use frozen for the strawberry sauce, just add sugar to taste if they are too tart after blending.
I made the cake last night but I’m wondering if the cake, before assembling, tastes different than when after it is assembled? The texture of the cake (plain) is rubbery and spongy (hence the name) but does the texture change after the fruit and frosting is applied?
Thanks!
This cake will absorb some of the moisture from the cream if it sits for a bit but it shouldn’t feel to dense. Did it rise like the one I have in the photo? This cake relies on the volume of the eggs and sugar to rise and if that volume isn’t there, it will be dense.
Thanks for your help! The cake did rise as the picture. After adding the fruit and frosting layer, the cake was a little more moist but still kind of rubbery/gritty. Thanks for the recipe, I did learn some new techniches and might give it another try in the future : )
I sure hope it works better for you Kathy!
I am going to try and make this for a Birthday this Saturday, looks delicious. To be sure though, can I use Philadelphia for the cream cheese? I always thought that was regular cream cheese but I see different opinions on that online.
Hi Christian, you can definitely use Philadelphia cream cheese!
Thank you so much! 😊
You’re welcome!
Hi Natasha! Love this recipe, so delicious! Just a quick question, wanted to make this for my mom but she doesn’t care for cream cheese frosting. Could I just do this with a whipped cream frosting? Thanks!
Danielle
Hi Danielle, I think that could still work. It is a little more sturdy with the cream cheese frosting but that substitution should be ok.