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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This was a great recipe, and then I ruined it for those of you looking for low-fat. To start with it was easier to use the whole cube of butter than take out such a small amount, and I added an extra egg and by accident had two egg whites I put in as well, to balance out the half a cup of plain Greek yogurt that I added, after beating the eggs and sugar for 3 minutes.And that totally fixed the dryness issue, yet left the cake light and tender. I followed all of the rest of the recipe as written, making sure I was heavy-handed with the baking powder as well as quite generous with both strawberries and the amount of sugar I put on top.
The recipe came out a five-star winner – served with ice cream that evening and coffee in the morning. I absolutely will keep this in in my treasured recipes, filed under summer and easy! Thank you so much Jenn for your site here – it’s very helpful and creative!
Can this be stored in freezer if making in advance?
Sure!
Wonderful light cake. Absolutely delicious with the strawberries. Looking forward to trying it with blackberries and peaches. I followed the recipe exactly as written.
Can I use a pyrex 8″ square glass baking dish for this cake recipe? Or do I need to alter anything?
Hi Diane, that should be fine; it may take just a minute or two longer to bake so keep an eye on it. Enjoy!
This strawberry cake is delicious and tender with the perfect amount of sweetness….a definite 5 star recipe again! I followed your advice and used only small to medium berries to prevent them from sinking entirely into cake. Perfect outcome. I served cake warm with vanilla ice cream, using the leftover large quartered fresh berries on the side. Dessert is pretty enough to serve both family and guests. Expect rave reviews!
Thank you for sharing another stellar recipe. I find myself going to your site first when looking for a new recipe and my menu collection has improved considerably. With your well written and evaluated recipes, I don’t need to be concerned about the outcome of trying new ones.
Do you think that these can be made as mini muffins? Recognize not much room for strawberry, but need “finger food” for a gathering.
How long do you think to bake?
Hi Cheryl, I actually have this strawberry muffin recipe I’d recommend. They can be made into mini muffins (I’d start checking them for doneness at about 12 minutes.) Enjoy!
This is a very easy cake to assemble, but boy-oh-boy, am I glad I took it out when I did, after 30 min at the 350 temp. Even then, it was very dark on bottom and a bit dry. Tastes good though!
The recipe tells you “Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325° and bake for 60 minutes more. You didn’t see this?
I made this the other day and got rave reviews from the family. It has lots of flavor and is very easy to make. Definitely recommend.
This turned out delicious and perfect! Thank you for a great recipe! Will be making this again soon!
We truly enjoyed your recipes, and this is a favourite.
I’d like to try this recipe using chopped rhubarb instead of strawberries. Would this work, and if so, what quantity of rhubarb would you use?
Glad you like it, Catherine! I do think rhubarb would be good, but I’d probably mix it with strawberries, otherwise the cake might be a little too tart. I would use the same amount of fruit but substitute half of the strawberries with rhubarb. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out.
Your suggestion worked well. I used sliced rhubarb and smaller chunks of strawberries, enough to cover the top of the batter. The sugar added to the top of the cake batter helped with the tartness of the rhubarb. Thanks for your suggestion!
Glad it turned out nicely -thanks for the follow-up!