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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I came across this when I googled for a cake recipe with actual strawberries baked inside the cake. Thank you so much for this!!! Made it for a family gathering today and everyone absolutely loved it. I live in a tropical country where fresh strawberries are very expensive, so I used frozen instead, and still it came out superbly delicious.
This cake is phenomenal! Can it be frozen? Will the strawberries degrade if I freeze this cake a week before serving it?
Thanks!
Hi Mary, it freezes nicely (and you won’t have a problem with the strawberries degrading).
What a beautiful simple cake! It was light with juicy strawberries just bursting with flavor! Followed the recipe exactly as stated and came out perfectly! Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
😉 I made the cake yesterday & had the sinking berry experience as well & figured my berries were too big. After reading reviews, turns out..I was right. Patting myself on the back, yes! I rarely follow recipes unless it comes to baking sweets, afterwards I go rogue. I am going to stick with the recipe base because it’s delicious & not too sweet! Thank you for sharing ♥️
okay… yet another recipe to rave to my friends about. As strawberries are not my favourite, made it with apples. Absolutely fantastic!! Will definitely make this again, just thinking of what other fruit can be used.
Thanks so much!
Peaches…yum!!
Another excellent Jenn Segal success story.
I served this at a July 4th gathering tonight and had only crumbs left on the serving plate. I baked it in a tube pan and added blueberries with the strawberries to make it more patriotically red white and blue. Actually, it turned out red white and YUM.
I filled the hole in the center with more blueberries and sprinkled the cake with confectionary sugar and served it with whipped cream. The tube pan made the cake look as though it came from a bakery.
Bummer— no leftovers for morning snacking.
Did you double the recipe when you put it in the tube pan?
Isn’t it amazing how recipes that have been making the rounds for years keep popping up online although in some cases, with a wee bit of change in ingredients. I’ve been making a version of this berry cake since 2009 after seeing it on Smitten Kitchen who at that time had adapted it slightly from Gourmet magazine.
Only difference in Ms. Perelman’s version is 1/2 cup less flour, a wee bit less sugar due to the lesser amount of flour, the use of both baking powder and baking soda, buttermilk instead of regular milk, and a baking temp of 400 for 25 – 30 mins.
Either way, it’s a delicious cake as well as probably the easiest to put together. It’s become a family and friends favourite dessert in my home. I’ve made it with whatever berries might be in season with raspberries, with strawberries, or a mixture of raspberries, strawberries and blueberries being our favourites.
Now of course I shall have to give your version a go as it’s great fun comparing one to the other as it’s the only way you’ll know which one might turn out to be the number one family favourite, the tried and true, or the new, without trying.
Loving your cookbook btw, it really is a gem.
Cheers!
I just finished making this for the third time. It is fantastic. The cake tastes amazing and the strawberries melted into lovely jammy goodness. Not too sweet, no icing to deal with, very light–this is the PERFECT summer cake. (last time I made this I swapped out about half the butter for applesauce–the cake was still buttery and delicious.)
An absolutely delicious cake that I imagine could accommodate any ripe summer fruit. thank you.
Can you use frozen strawberries and could it be made in Bundt pan
Fantastic recipe. The flavor of fresh summer strawberries, the crunchy sugar topping, the moist butter flavored cake, all contributed to a tasty and satisfying dessert. All who tasted loved, and came back for more. Didn’t change a thing in the recipe.
Hi – planning to make this tomorrow. All I have is a 10 inch square ceramic pan. Ok to use that? Store shelf was empty! Thank you
Hi Ingrid, I would increase the ingredients by 1.5 for a 10-in square. The bake time will be a bit longer. Hope it turns out well!
Would a 9″ springform pan work?
Yes, Oksana, that should work. Enjoy!