Fresh Strawberry Cake
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Jam-packed with fresh strawberries, this strawberry cake is one of the simplest, most delicious cakes you’ll ever make.
This strawberry cake recipe was sent to me by Karen Tannenbaum, a longtime reader, avid baker, and all-around lovely lady. In her email to me, Karen described a dinner she made that ended with this dessert as “just like a night in heaven.” I was sold. A few days later, I had the cake in the oven, and sure enough – it turned out to be one of the simplest, prettiest, and most delicious cakes I’ve ever made.The beauty of this cake is that it’s made with very few ingredients, and you can whip up the batter in under 15 minutes. What’s more, it’s a great way to use up extra strawberries or salvage berries that are less than perfect, and it keeps well for days. This recipe originally appeared in Martha Stewart Living back in June 2005, but I’ve made a few tweaks to make it even better.
If you have an abundance of strawberries on hand, or find them on sale during the season, try my strawberry shortcake and strawberry muffins as well. You’ll be glad you did.
What You’ll Need To Make Strawberry Cake
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by combining the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Whisk to combine and set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla.
Beat to combine.
Add some of the flour.
Mix to combine, then add some of the milk.
Alternately add the remaining flour and milk, beating until smooth. The batter will be quite thick.
Transfer the batter to a buttered 9-inch deep dish pie pan (or 9-inch round cake pan) and smooth with a spatula.
Arrange the strawberry halves on top of the batter.
The sprinkle with the remaining sugar. (Don’t be tempted to omit the sugar here; it balances the tartness of the berries and forms a deliciously crisp crust on top the cake.)
Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325° and bake for about an hour more.
Cool the strawberry cake on a rack. Serve warm or room temperature, either plain or topped with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
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Fresh Strawberry Cake
Jam-packed with fresh strawberries, this strawberry cake is one of the simplest, most delicious cakes you’ll ever make.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pan
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk (low-fat is fine)
- About ¾ pound strawberries, hulled and halved
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter a 9-inch deep dish pie pan (or 9-inch round cake pan).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, and beat on low speed until smooth. (Note: the batter will be thick.)
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Arrange the strawberries on top, cut side down, so that they completely cover the batter (the recipe calls for approximately ¾ pound of strawberries; use more or less if necessary). Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the strawberries.
- Bake for ten minutes, then reduce the heat to 325°F and bake until the cake is lightly golden and a tester comes out clean, about an hour. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack. Serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.
- Cake can be stored at room temperature for several days, loosely covered.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, cover it tightly with aluminum foil or freezer wrap. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Calories: 241
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Sugar: 25 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 185 mg
- Cholesterol: 38 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I have made it so many times — varying it a little to suit my needs every now and again. It is incredibly reliable and forgiving — I have doubled it for a 1/4 sheet pan as well as an angel food pan. I have frozen it ahead. I have made it 2 days ahead and left it covered. I have grated orange zest into the batter. I have folded blueberries and sliced strawberries into the batter (1st tossing them in a bit of APF to prevent sinking)… Just a marvelous recipe in its simplicity and delicious flavor. The only thing I consistently do to divert from your recipe is to sprinkle the top of the batter with sparkling sugar instead of standard white. It’s an A+ every time. (I have even shared it on Facebook b/c I love it so much! 🙂
Great suggestions, Julie. Thank you!
What is APF to prevent sinking?
All-purpose flour. 🙂
Nice cake, nothing special. Needs cream or icecream. Strawberries tasted more like jam than fresh fruit. If I make again, would use different fruit.
Does this cake freeze well? Thank you:)
Yes Claudia, I think it should freeze nicely!
Picked strawberries with my 13 year old Grandson- came home and we made this cake together. It was simple , fun and DELICIOUS- we made 2 more! He even asked for a copy of the recipe to take home.
Vanilla Ice cream with this is a must.
I also made with raspberries- Yummy as well. (Convection bake 325- 55 mins)
This is a delicious cake but how to avoid strawberries sinking to the bottom of the cake? Unfortunately all my strawberries sunken to the bottom despite I rigorously followed the receipe:/
Hi Marsha, Sorry to hear you had a problem with the strawberries sinking. Did you use really large strawberries? If so, try cutting them smaller.
Hi Jenn thanks for your response. I used quite large strawberries but had a few little ones and the little ones sunken as well. My baking dish was quite deep though maybe this is the case? I will try to use a shallow dish next time hopefully this will help? I was also thinking about adding the strawberries a bit later when cake has been in the oven for some time?
As long as you used the correct sized baking dish, the depth shouldn’t present a problem. Keep in mind that you will get a little sinking– the batter rises up a bit over the strawberries so they may kind of fall into pockets. I don’t think it’s necessary to add the strawberries later (as you don’t want to be opening the oven unnecessarily while the cake is in there). I would just make sure you cut them fairly small next time.
Just made this. Oh my goodness!!. So easy and so beautiful. Shared with several friends who absolutely loved it. Served with home made whipped cream. Holds up well for a few days, Moist and delicious !!
This genuinely might be the best cake ever. It was delicious warm and delicious at room temperature. My friend is the head chef at the Capital Club in Atlanta, and he raved about it.
I cooked it in an 8″ square pan, and it cooked perfectly and right up to the top of the pan. Otherwise followed instructions exactly.
Thank you for yet another winner.
Excellent. Easy. Everything except berries was on hand. Better than shortcake in my humble opinion. Thanks.
I have made this delicious and easy cake so many times since last summer when I first discovered this recipe on Jen’s link. Everyone just loves this cake exactly how it is. If you haven’t tried this recipe yet, do so this summer. You won’t be disappointed.
Made this Cake for a Memorial Day B-B Q dessert. I added some leftover blueberries I had on hand in between the strawberries to give it that red, white & blue look. Served with whipped cream. Simple to make and all enjoyed but I felt it absolutely needed ice cream or whipped cream as it was on the dry side. Made it a second time and quartered the strawberries (found 1/2 sized pieces a bit too large), added 1/2 teaspoon lemon oil to the softened butter while beating with sugar, and used whole milk not reduced fat. I hoped by increasing fat, and not altering recipe too much, I might increase moisture in cake. It was moister and really delicious with that hint of lemon yet still a simple cake to make.