Are you ready to make a delicious Strawberry Cake? Once the summer months hit, there’s nothing batter than eating a strawberry cake from scratch. Not only is the flavor delicious but what’s not to love about this adorable pink cake?!
One of my favorite things about whipping up this fresh strawberry cake is that I get to use strawberries right from my garden. I love walking out the door, grabbing a handful (or two!) and popping them right on top of my cake before slicing it up to serve. So simple!
Related: Chocolate Cupcakes
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Simple Strawberry Cake From Scratch
Did I mention that not only are you making a strawberry cake from scratch but you’re actually making a 3 layer strawberry cake from scratch? If you doubted your baking ability to pull this off, don’t. I promise you it’s really, really simple.
Once you add in all the ingredients and top it with that delicious whipped strawberry frosting, you’re going to already be thinking of a list of reasons to make this fresh strawberry cake over and over again. Plus, this is a strawberry cake recipe without gelatin which surprisingly is in many recipes!
Don’t forget to enlist a few helpers in the kitchen as well. While this cake does have several moving parts, there are certain aspects of this recipe that all ages can easily help out with.
Related: Carrot Cake Cupcakes
What kind of frosting should you use?
This is really up to you. Although, my favorite is whipped strawberry frosting because it compliments the taste of this strawberry cake perfectly.
Other good options for icing could be:
These are all fun flavors that you can easily change up and see what you think. Combining a lemon frosting with your fresh strawberry cake could give a really cool sweet and citrus flavor!
How do you know when your strawberry cake is done baking?
The easiest way to tell that this 3 layer strawberry cake is done is to use a toothpick or a butter knife to stick in the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready to be removed from the oven.
If the toothpick or knife comes out with batter on it, it needs a few more minutes in the oven.
Related: Sugar Cookie Fruit Cups
How Do you Make Strawberry Cake from Scratch?
It’s really a simple recipe with an extremely delicious payoff! Keep reading below to get the needed ingredients and list of directions.
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 C strawberry puree
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp strawberry extract
- 2 to 3 drops pink gel food coloring
- 3 C cake flour
- 1 3/4 C sugar
- 1 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 C canola oil
- 1/2 C unsalted sweet cream butter
Supplies needed:
- 3 9 inch round cake pans
- Cake leveler
- 1 12 inch cake board
- Angled icing spatula
Frosting Ingredients for your Strawberry Cake Topping
- 2 C unsalted sweet cream butter softened
- 6 C powdered sugar
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 C finely diced strawberries
- 5-7 TBSP heavy whipping cream
- Strawberries for topping
Supplies needed:
- 1 large piping bag fitted with a star tip
How to make this Fresh Strawberry Cake
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the cake pans with non-stick spray and set aside.
Grab a separate bowl and combine the eggs, strawberry puree, vanilla,
strawberry extract, pink food coloring. Then, whisk until combined.
Using a mixer, mix together the cake flour, sugar, baking
powder and salt until well-combined.
Next, slowly beat in the butter and the canola oil until combined very well.
Once the mixture looks like coarse sand, take an egg and gradually beat it into the mixture until combined. This will look thick but that’s okay!
Take and evenly divide the cake batter between the pans.
Put in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Once done, remove the cake from the oven and let the cake cool completely.
Whipped Strawberry Frosting Directions:
Using a mixer, cream together the butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, diced strawberries, and heavy whipping cream until well- combined. It will be creamy and should have stiff peaks.
Take and scoop out 1 cup of the frosting into the large piping bag.
Directions to decorate the cake:
After the cake rounds have cooled, take them from the cake pans and place them onto a cutting board.
Using a cake leveler, cut off the domes of the cakes.
Take and place one cake onto the cake board and then scoop out 1 cup of the frosting and place directly onto the middle of the cake.
Grab your angled spatula and smooth the frosting out.
Once done, take and place the second cake layer onto the first layer of cake.
Repeat steps from above with the frosting.
After the cake is built, put the rest of the frosting onto the very top of the cake and smooth it out.
Then, frost all the cake and make it smooth as well.
If you want to decorate, pipe dollops of frosting on top carefully.
Finally, take and place the strawberries onto the middle of the cake for the perfect strawberry cake topping.
Strawberry Cake From Scratch
This Strawberry cake is made from scratch and will be devoured down to the last bite!
Ingredients
Cake
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 C strawberry puree
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp strawberry extract
- 2-3 drops pink gel food coloring
- 3 C cake flour
- 1 3/4 C sugar
- 1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 C canola oil
- 1/2 C unsalted sweet cream butter
Frosting
- 2 C unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
- 6 C powdered sugar
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 C finely diced strawberries
- 5-7 TBSP heavy whipping cream
- Strawberries for topping
Instructions
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the cake pans with non-stick spray and set aside.
Grab a separate bowl and combine the eggs, strawberry puree, vanilla,
strawberry extract, pink food coloring. Then, whisk until combined.
Using a mixer, mix together the cake flour, sugar, baking
powder and salt until well-combined.
Next, slowly beat in the butter and the canola oil until combined very well.
Once the mixture looks like coarse sand, take an egg and gradually beat it in
the mixture until combined. This will look thick but that's okay!
Take and evenly divide the cake batter between the pans.
Put in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Once done, remove the cake from the oven and let the cake cool completely.
Frosting Directions:
Using a mixer, cream together the butter, vanilla, powdered
sugar, diced strawberries, and heavy whipping cream until well- combined. It will be creamy and should have stiff peaks.
Take and scoop out 1 cup of the frosting into the large piping bag.
Directions to decorate the cake:
After the cake rounds have cooled (about 45 minutes), take them from the cake pans and place them onto a cutting board.
Using a cake leveler, cut off the domes of the cakes.
Take and place one cake onto the cake board and then scoop out 1 cup of the frosting and place directly onto the middle of the cake.
Grab your angled spatula and smooth the frosting out.
Once done, take and place the second cake layer onto the first layer of cake.
Repeat steps from above with the frosting.
After the cake is built, put the rest of the frosting onto the very top of the cake and smooth it out.
Then, frost all the cake and make it smooth as well.
If you want to decorate, pipe dollops of frosting on top carefully.
Finally, take and place the strawberries onto the middle of the cake.
Nutrition Information
Yield 22 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 584Total Fat 33gSaturated Fat 19gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 116mgSodium 304mgCarbohydrates 70gFiber 1gSugar 54gProtein 4g
