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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Comments
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This is my go-to recipe when fresh NJ strawberries are in season. Alas, our strawberry season was cut short by a heat wave this year so I missed out on this wonderful treat. I’m wondering if I could use blueberries with or without peaches to replace the strawberries in this recipe. Would it be too watery?
Thanks so much for your great recipes and guidance. Peggy
Hi Peggy, Glad you like the cake — too bad that your strawberry season was cut short though! Yes, both blueberries and peaches will work here. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Hi Jen and everyone,
I made this tonight and I had to bake it for much, much longer than 70 minutes….. the center took forever to bake. I even switched to convection for at least 15- 20 minutes. Anybody else have that problem? Better yet, any suggestions for next one? It looks great now but I won’t be tasting til tomorrow. I want to rave about this one along with everyone else!!
Hi Susan, That’s strange. Did you make any adjustments to the recipe or is there a chance you mismeasured something? If not, You may want to check the accuracy of your oven temperature. Here are some suggestions for how to do that. I hope it ended up tasting okay!
I had the same problem with some of my versions of this recipe, but it was because I made substitutions or additions that added moisture, like adding lots of extra berries. My solution has been to bake in a Bundt pan. The recipe has been incredibly forgiving.
Jen, Thank you so much for your reply. Just seeing it now!
Even after it didn’t turn out, I just bought an Emile Henri pie dish just for this pie, so I am determined to get it right! Thank you for all your suggestions!! I will keep you posted.
Susan
Using some small chunks/slices of rhubarb in addition to the strawberries yields a delicious burst of tart amongst all the sweet. Topped with whipped cream and a few more strawberries. Made it twice in three days to rave reviews. Thank you for a nice, easy, strawberry-using dessert!
Hi Jenn, I absolutely loved this recipe. My sister-in-law brought me some freshly picked strawberries today and I found your recipe. Easy peasy to make too (love that). My husband isn’t that fond of strawberries but he ate the cake anyway. (Must be his sweet tooth) I have no complaints whatsoever. Cake was delicious, light and moist. Thank you for sharing! Looking forward to seeing more of your recipes in the future. 💞🤗
Not sure what I did wrong but my cake was very dry and crumbly. Great taste!
Hi Naomi, I’m sorry you had a problem with the texture of the cake! Dryness is usually caused by measuring the flour incorrectly. Did you use the spoon and level method to measure the flour? Even a few extra ounces can make a big difference. This article/video explains it nicely.
After making the strawberry muffins from this site, I had extra strawberries that the family didn’t care to eat anymore, I decided to try this strawberry cake. We are divided on which recipe we like better!! This cake recipe is easier to put together but you can’t go wrong with either recipes. Thanks for sharing another great recipe.
Awesome Recipe! Made it and followed to the ‘T’. Came out really good.
This is the best cake recipe ever! I rarely leave reviews but decided to on this one because it’s the only recipe I’ve ever made that’s so easy but never fails. I’ve made it for family dinners, potlucks and for gifts and every time someone always asks me for the recipe. No need for beaters even! MAKE THIS CAKE and don’t forget the sugar on top—it’s the perfect finishing touch. Crunch heaven.
My dad loves berries so I made this for Father’s Day. My dad LOVED this cake so much and asked me to make it again….soon! Such an easy recipe with minimal ingredients that I already have in my pantry. I was worried about the last step of sprinkling sugar on top of the cake and berries because I thought it would make the cake too sweet, but my sister said her favorite part was “the crunch” of the sugar on tope of the cake. All around, this was a big hit!
This cake is delicious! Light and bright. I only had oat milk so I used that and it turned out just fine.
Will definitely be making again, and I think I’m going to experiment with mixed berries next time. Love it!