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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Always looking for new recipes for our strawberries, my other half keeps turning them into jam before I can get them, which is fine but we all like something new now and again. So I baked this from the first harvest, he loved it, the kids loved it. I have to admit I was worried it would be too sweet but it wasn’t. So have to do another one before the season ends. Easy to follow the recipe, an uncomplicated bake. I will certainly be trying other recipes from Jenn.
Absolutely easy and delicious !!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This recipe is a family favorite as are so many of your recipes, Jenn. Thank You! I was wondering if I could use raspberries in place of the strawberries?
So glad you like it, Cathy! I haven’t made the cake with raspberries, but a number of readers have commented that they have with good results. Enjoy!
Do you think I could use frozen strawberries? I went strawberry picking!!! I have made this recipe many times. DELICIOUS!!
Sure, Ann, frozen strawberries will work (and glad you like the cake)!
Do you think you can use half and half in place of milk?
Hi Rosemary, I haven’t used half and half here but it should work. Hope you enjoy!
Went berry picking on Sunday and got loads of fresh strawberries – made this on Monday and it turned out so well! By Tuesday, the cake was finished and made another one just now! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. The crumbly texture on the bottom and the tartiness of the strawberries all together is heavenly!
I’ve made this twice now and it was a hit both times. Smells heavenly coming out of the oven. It’s the perfect dessert in the summer when there’s an abundance of ripe strawberries.
Tastes like summer!
Do you think this would work well with blueberries instead? My blueberry bush has been out of control and I’d love to do a blueberry cake!
Sure, Meaghan, blueberries will work here too. You may also want to consider this blueberry cake. Hope you enjoy whatever you make!
I followed the recipe exactly and the cake is too brown on top with ribbons of unbaked throughout. What happened?
Hi Molly, when you say ribbons of unbaked sections, do you mean pockets? If so, it could be that the cake needed a few more minutes in the oven. If you find that you’re baking this again and the top is browning before the cake is baked throughout, loosely lay a piece of foil over the top of the cake to keep it from browning too much before the cake is fully baked. Sorry you had a problem with it!
To make it lactose-free what would you recommend as the best milk substitute for this recipe?
Hi Derek, 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 and that you enjoy!
I’ve made this with oat milk and it works great.
Easy to make and very tasty. My family loved it:)