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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Cake is delicious! I doubled it and adjusted for altitude (which included baking at a higher temp for less time). I probably only used a pound of strawberries because mine were huge, but I cut them in 4ths or 6ths and did cover the entire top and none sunk. It is light and fluffy and does need whipped cream. Am taking to my son’s in California!
This is one delicious cake. I made this at my son’s home and he only had frozen strawberries. I defrosted the frozen strawberries in the microwave and patted them dry, making sure they’re weren’t too watery. The cake was perfect. My son had two large pieces in a row. I think I’m going to try subbing peaches next time.
I’ve made this cake a handful of times and it is always perfect. I’m not a baker at all, but I can pretend to be one when I show up to parties with this 🙂
I made this last night but I used heavy cream (all I had in the fridge). It smelled divine in the oven, and only took 25 minutes at 325 in my oven. I thought it was a tad on the sweet side, I want to make this again soon, but maybe with 2/3 or 3/4 cup of sugar instead.
Yesterday, when I was dealing with my 4-year-old’s tantrum and my 5-month-old’s crying, I completely forgot about the milk. Dough was very thick and I thought I was doing it ok since you said it will be thick 🙂 well, the result is still awesome! It was a major hit today at my family gathering. Thank you!
What might I substitute for milk if a guest is lactose intolerant?
Hi Bonnie, a number of readers have commented that they’ve successfully made this cake with non-dairy milk like soy or almond milk. Hope that helps!
You are right Jenn, this was absolutely simple to make and delicious with whipped cream. It needs to be refrigerated though in order to keep for days, I went to have a piece this morning and there was mould forming on some of the strawberries. It really hurt me to have to throw away some of that yummy cake.
Just delicious! I doubled the recipe and used a 9 x 13 pan. Would definitely make again!
Do you know how long you baked this? I’d love to double the recipe and use a 9×13 pan since I’m serving a lot of people.
I followed your recipe exactly except that I used salted butter. I found the cake to be dry because none of the juice from the strawberries dissolved into the cake. The flavor of the cake was good. The strawberries were delicious but they just didn’t add any juiciness or syrup to the cake. You have so many great reviews so I am wondering how we can improve it for me? The cake looked beautiful, smelled divine, but was dry. Any thoughts?
Hi Tamra, That’s a head-scratcher as the cake should definitely not be dry. Were the strawberries underripe? If so, they may not produce much juice. Is there any chance you overbaked the cake?
My 9 year old daughter made this fabulous cake. I only helped her with the oven. This is definitely a cake that would be baked for many years to come. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!