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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Made this cake the day before, absolutely delicious and such an easy recipe to follow.
Thanks
Saved some strawberries from going in the bin at my local market today so found this recipe. I was in a bit of a hurry when I made it so didn’t read the instructions as well as I could. I saw the pic of a layer of strawberries and assumed they were on the bottom with the sugar on the top. Oops. Luckily I put some strawberries on the top as well. It was still absolutely delicious. It still had that crunchy top that you mentioned so think you could get away with not sprinkling the sugar on the top as I didn’t. I will definitely be making it again and I am going to try it with Apple’s.
Will be having it again tomorrow but with custard as it was crying out for it. Thanks for sharing.
The flavor of this cake was amazing!!!! The only issue I had was that the strawberries sunk to the bottom. Could they have been too large? Still tasted amazing, though!!
Yes, the strawberries were likely a little too big. Next time, cut them into slightly smaller pieces. 🙂
This is now one of my favorite recipes! I’m usually skeptical when I make something for the first time, but this completely exceeded my expectations. I made my family a cottage-aesthetic breakfast, and this was our favorite item in the entire meal. This tastes amazing with some ice-cream and tea. Please make this, you won’t be disappointed! 🙂
I am going to make this strawberry cake tomorrow, everyone loved it the first time I made it, it is delicious and so easy to put together. I never thought that something so easy and simple could be so good. It is so pretty when baked that I would not hesitate to serve it to company for high tea
I promise this is so easy to make and by far a family fave! Thanks 4 sharing. Although strawberries r a little pricey in the fall & winter
I have made made this cake several times and has become a family favorite. Light and flavorful and super easy to make. Absolutely delicious!!!!
This is a spectacular dessert (or who am I kidding, I sneak it for breakfast) that is easy and really flexible with other types of fruit. I have tried many of Jen’s recipes and they are as reliably successful as Barefoot Contessa.
Oh how I love this cake! It’s simple, but delightful, and can be made with ingredients we usually have on hand.
Absolutely awesome! I never ever use white sugar, so I used brown sugar for this recipe, and I ditched the powdered sugar as well, but it was still a winner! Not to sweet! My family really enjoyed it.
You do know that brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses added to it, right?