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This strawberry layer cake is the first dessert of the year; oh and it’s a good one! Tonya (one of the ladies in our church), made this cake for her son’s birthday. While chomping down my second slice; I asked her for the recipe. It was delicious and I’m sharing this goodness with you.
Also, I’ve finally tried the alternate way of making the biskvit cake layers and they turned out perfect (I believe this to be the a more “fool-proof” recipe. Oh and the strawberry/chocolate decorations were ridiculously easy (plenty of oohs and ahhs over the 3D chocolate); see the tutorial here.
Oh oh and one more thing; the beauty of this strawberry layer cake is that you can really easily cut everything in half (6 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour….blah blah) to make a smaller cake and it will turn out just as dang good.
Strawberry Layer Cake Ingredients:
12 large eggs, room temp, divided
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour, divided *measured correctly
Frosting Ingredients:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
16 oz cream cheese, softened at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Filling/Decor:
2 lbs Fresh strawberries (1 1/2 lbs to blend and put inside the cake and 1/2 lb to decorate)
Chocolate chips to melt and decorate the top; optional
Baking strawberry layer cake Layers:
If you’ve never made a European Sponge Cake, watch this video for the basic version and see just how simple it is!
Preheat oven to 350˚F.
1. Grease and line only the bottom of a 9×13″ cake pan with parchment paper (line 2 pans if you have 2). I have found that it’s best not to line or grease the sides of the pan or the cake becomes somewhat miss-shaped.
You will bake your cake layers separately so for each biskvit layer:
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together 6 eggs and 1 cup sugar on high speed for 10 minutes and it will be 3-4 times in volume
3. Sift in 1 cup all-purpose flour and use a spatula to gently fold it in just until well incorporated and no more clumps of flour remain. Scrape from the bottom of the bowl to make sure there aren’t any trapped pockets of flour, but don’t overwork the batter or it will deflate.
4. Transfer your batter to the lined baking pan and bake at 350˚F for 17-20 min or until top is golden and toothpick comes out clean.
(While the first layer is baking, start working on your second cake layer repeating steps 1-3 above). Remove baked cake from the pan by running a thin edged spatula around the sides to loosen it, then let it cool to room temperature before removing the parchment paper.
Strawberry Filling:
Cut strawberries into halves or quarters and place them in the bowl of a food processor; pulse 15 times or until the consistency of a chunky applesauce; set aside
Frosting:
Beat together cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth (1 min). Add 1 cup heavy whipping cream and beat on high speed until fluffy (3 minutes)
Assembly:
1. Cut each cooled cake layer in half. Place the first layer on your serving dish (this cake is too big and heavy to transfer so put it on the dish you’re serving it on).
2. Spread the first layer with 1/3 of the strawberry puree. Spread just a thin layer of frosting (just a thin layer or you won’t have enough to frost the sides in the end) on the second half and place it over the first layer so the strawberries and cream are hugging. Repeat with the next layers.
So the order from the bottom up is: cake; strawberry; cream; cake; strawberry; cream;cake; strawberries; cream; cake; cream (frost the top and sides with remaining frosting)
Decorate the top with fresh strawberries and chocolate (see chocolate decorating tutorial here
Strawberry Layer Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 12 large eggs, room temp, divided
- 2 cups granulated sugar, divided
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
Frosting:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened at room temp
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
Filling/Decor:
- 2 lbs Fresh strawberries, 1 1/2 lbs to blend and put inside the cake and 1/2 lb to decorate the top
- Chocolate chips to melt and decorate the top; optional
Instructions
Baking the Cake Layers: Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Grease and line only the bottom of a 9x13" cake pan with parchment paper (line 2 pans if you have 2). I have found that it's best not to line or grease the sides of the pan or the cake becomes somewhat miss-shaped.
- You will bake your cake layers separately so for each biskvit layer: in the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together 6 eggs and 1 cup sugar on high speed for 10 min. it will be 3-4 times in volume.
- Sift in 1 cup all-purpose flour and use a spatula to gently fold it in just until well incorporated and no more clumps of flour remain. Scrape from the bottom of the bowl to make sure there aren't any trapped pockets of flour, but don't overwork the batter or it will deflate.
- Transfer to lined baking pan and bake until top is golden and toothpick comes out clean 17-20 min.
- (While the first layer is baking, start making your second cake layer repeating steps 1-3 above)
- Remove baked cake from the pan by running a thin edged spatula around the sides to loosen it, then let it cool to room temperature before removing the parchment paper.
Strawberry Filling:
- Cut strawberries into halves or quarters and place them in the bowl of a food processor; pulse 15 times or until the consistency of a chunky applesauce; set aside.
Frosting:
- Beat together cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth (1 min). Add 1 cup heavy whipping cream and beat on high speed until fluffy (2-3 minutes).
Assembly:
- Cut each cooled cake layer in half. Place the first layer on your serving dish (this cake is too big and heavy to transfer so put it on the dish you're serving it on)
- Spread the first layer with 1/3 of the strawberry puree. Spread a very thin layer of frosting on the second half and place it over the first layer so the strawberries and cream are hugging. Repeat with the next layers. So the order from the bottom up is: cake; strawberry; cream; cake; strawberry; cream;cake; strawberries; cream; cake; cream (frost the top and sides with remaining frosting).
- Decorate the top with fresh strawberries and chocolate (see chocolate decorating tutorial below)
I have made this cake several times now, perfect each time! Awesome flavor and simple to make. A family recipe now. 😉
That is so awesome! I love it when I find new favorites – I’m so happy to hear one of my recipes is a favorite in your house 🙂
i’m going to make this cake this afternoon for a baby shower tmw. does the cake have to be refrigerated overnight or can it be left out covered in the cake carrier and frost it in the morning.
thank you!!
If you want to pre-make just the cake layers, you can leave them out at room temp covered so they don’t dry out. You can assemble it the next day. You can also assemble the whole thing the day before and frost it then cover and refrigerate. It’s a sponge cake so it won’t get soggy 🙂
I’ve baked this cake in the past and it did turn out really good.(thanks for the recipe!)I want to give it another whirl and I was wondering if it’ll still be just as good if I were to serve it a day & 1/2 after its been baked and assembled.
Yes, this cake refrigerates really well. I’m so glad you liked it!
can you freeze this cake and decorate with buttercream few days later…will it spoil the cake?
You can freeze the cake layers but not the frosting.
Natasha. The cake looks so good. I will bake it tomorrow for my little girl’s birthday. Questions for you. 1) if I were to use a square 9 x 9 inch pan, how should I scale down the recipe? 2) or if I were to use two 8 inch round pans? 3) if you use 2 pans, can you mix one batch and divide into two and bake two simultaneously? Thank you
For two round 8″ pans you might just do half of the recipe or 8 eggs for a little taller cake. And for the 9″ square pan, I think cutting it down to 10 eggs would work well.
Would this recipe work on a 10″ cake? 2 layers Round? I need to serve about 12 people.
For a ten inch cake I’d probably go with 10 eggs and scale down the rest of the recipe accordingly. You can still use the same amount of frosting and filling.
can i use a pkg of frozen strawberries? will it soak the cake if i make it a day ahead of serving? Thanks!!!!
I think you could get away with using frozen strawberries, just drain them after they thaw and before blending them so they aren’t too juicy 🙂
My mouth is watering…mmmm…I was wondering if this recipe would as a 9″ round cake. Do you think it would work or should I half this recipe?
~Thanks
You’ll want to cut the cake portion of the recipe in half or it will be too tall.
Ok thank you so much!
Can you make this cake with out the strawberries inside?
Yes but you might consider adding a litte bit of syrup to the layers. The pureed strawberries not only add great flavor but also add moisture to the cake.
What kind of syrup would you suggest?
Sugar water or even sprite, or any clear or light colored juice would work.
Would this type of sugar water work?
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
In a medium saucepan combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.
That’s going to be a little too sweet. You might try 1/4 the amount of sugar. You want it to be more moist and not overpowered with sugar.
Can this cake be made in a 9 inch cake pan? Or will it be too tall?
I think it will be too tall. You might cut the recipe in half.
I made this cake twice now for two parties was the hit of both. my daughter took it took a cookout and a girl who owns a bakery said it was better tasting than what she was selling there. s
Ha! That’s awesome! 🙂 Thanks so much for such a nice review!
Hi Natasha!
came across you site when looking at photos of cakes on goolge and this cake is just to pretty to eat. I was wanting to make it for out church birthdays I usually purchase on due to lack of time but wanted to do something special. I am new to making biskvit cakes. So are they like a regular sponge cake because im not a real big fan of them but i guess what im asking can you kinda describe something it would taste like to give me an idea please and thank you!
Biskvit is a basic European sponge cake; usually used when the cake is meant to be moist, but not always (the strawberries in this cake lend to the moistness in this cake, but it doesn’t really have a transitional “syrup”). It’s unlike any grocery store cake you’ve ever tried. It’s very pleasant. It’s really hard to describe the flavor actually. It’s not crumbly like store bought cake and it doesn’t get soggy with moisture.
Have been searching for weeks for the perfect and easy cake for my daughter-in-law’s baby shower. Your cake is perfect. My taste-tester husband voted it the very best. However, I need a sturdier frosting. Something that I can add decorations to and also pipe onto the cake. Any suggestions you might have would be appreciated.
If you wanted to stick with the same frosting and make it sturdier, you could beat the heavy whipping cream separately and then fold it into the cream cheese/sugar mixture with a spatula. Another stiff frosting that would work well would be my cupcake frosting. It pipes very nicely and would work for a cake 🙂 https://natashaskitchen.com/2012/06/29/cupcake-frosting-recipe/
Hi Natasha! I just doubled everything for 2 cakes for a birthday party…quick question – the frosting seems a bit runny. Even after beating for 3 minutes+…Is there something I can do to stiffen it up a bit for a tall, 9×13 circular cake?
Cant wait to try it!
Thank-you!
It’s it supposed to be a very firm frosting. It’s actually a little loose normally. You could refrigerate it a little if you want it firmer but as long as it stays on the cake, it should be fine. 🙂
I made this in round cake pans (halved the batter recipe). I still made and used the entire batch of frosting and slightly less strawberry filling since my layers were smaller. I also sprinkled sugar on the puréed strawberries, which was totally unnecessary as the cake and frosting was rich and sweet enough. I took this to church and didn’t bring any home leftover, and we had 2 other strawberry desserts to choose from. But this is the cake people ate. What a hit!
That’s fantastic!!! So happy it was a hit! Did you post a picture of it somewhere? I’d love to see it!
I was wondering if this could be adapted to fit into round cake pans? I simply don’t have a large serving dish or the room to store one. Thanks!
You can cut the recipe in half and divide the batter between two round 8 or 9 inch cake pans.
Thanks! That’s actually what I thought. Making it tonight I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Just love it! Did it today, sooo good, thank you for shering the recipie !!, will try more recipies from your website
Thank you for a great review! I’m so happy you loved it 🙂
This cake was super delicious!! I made it a few months ago and everyone loved it! I wanted to make biskvit cupcakes for my daughters communion with a simple buttercream/strawberry jam frosting. Do you think the recipe will make 24 cupcakes? I don’t remember how much batter it made. Thank you!!
I’m so glad you loved the cake! To be honest I haven’t tried this recipe for cupcakes but it’s a good thought! I’m not sure how much it will stick to cupcake wrappers though, but I think it would be ok. 24 cupcakes sounds about right; it could be more than that. Sorry, I feel like I’m completely guessing away at this answer…
Natasha, seriously, the cake is so delicious!! My daughter wants strawberry shortcake cupcakes and I just keep thinking about the biskvit cake and my mouth is watering! I looked up other recipes but just keep going back to your cake. I’ll let you know how the cupcakes come out, I am also worried about it sticking but I have a few ideas!! Thank you!!
HI NATASHA, I MADE YOUR STRAWBERRY LAYER CAKE FOR MY SISTER’S BIRTHDAY, WOW, EVERYBODY LOVED IT, SO LIGHT AND DELICIOUS, THE CREAM WAS SO DELICIOUS AND LIGHT. IT WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD, CAN’T EXPRESS MY THANKS TO YOU, YOUR RECIPES ARE ONE OF A KIND, EACH ONE IS A HIT. YOU MADE ME SO PROUD OF MYSELF. THANK YOU AGAIN AND GOD BLESS YOU.
Sona, thank you so much for a great review, your comment made my day and you are welcome :).
This is my new “go-to” for spring! Love love LOVE this cake! I will say, we found the cream cheese icing a bit heavy, so I have adapted the recipe slightly. Same icing in the layers per recipe, but a whipped cream icing on the outside. Make standard whipped cream, then whisk in powdered sugar until the correct consistency. It is much lighter, lush, and even more lovely! Thanks for the great recipe!
I’ll have to try it your way next time! Thank you Judi for sharing and I’m so glad you loved the cake 🙂