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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Jen, your recipes never disappoint – this was super quick and easy to throw together and the taste is simply fantastic! We just found our new favorite summer dessert 😊
The is the easiest, quickest, best strawberry cake I have ever made. Thank you for a wonderful summer recipe. It is delicious whether served warm or at room temperature.
Not great for inexperienced cook how much is a tablespoon of butter and what size cup is used with this??
Hi Karen, based on your email address, I see you like in the UK. I have metric/weight measurements that you will find easier to use. To view them, scroll down to the recipe, and immediately under the recipe title on the right side, you’ll see a little toggle. If you move it from “cup measures” to metric, you’ll see measurements that will work for you. Hope that helps!
Delicious! Has this recipe been made in cupcake form? If so, how long in the oven and at the same temperature?
Hi Monica, I have a muffin recipe that’s very similar to this one — I’d suggest using that. Hope you enjoy!
This cake is so flavorful and delicate crumb! The first time I made it was in a glass deep dish pie plate and i didn’t plate it. This time, however, I used my Nordicware aluminum cake pan and it stuck so bad! It came out in crumbs. What did I do wrong?? Help
Hi Virginia, Sorry to hear you had a problem with this sticking to the cake pan! Did you treat it with butter or baking spray first? If you’d like to remove the cake from the pan to serve it, you may want to use a springform pan next time.
Cake was delicious. My strawberries were small so they stayed on top. Only baked for 45 minutes. A bit dry so next time I will include strawberries in the batter as well.
I love strawberry cake in general as well as many recipes on this site (the baked ziti is delicious!), but I’m sorry to say that I wouldn’t recommend this cake or make it again – I got a very strong sugar/sweet after taste from the 2 tbsp of sugar sprinkled on top and the cake itself tasted bland and a bit lacking when you didn’t get a bite with strawberry. Overall I felt the roasted strawberries were the yummy part but not what went with them/the rest of the cake.
Excellent strawberry cake! Thrilled with how easy it is to make, and the result is beautiful. This will replace my strawberry shortcake recipes that can be dry and biscuity. Made it twice in a week since it is fresh strawberry season with fresh whipped cream. Reminds me of some French fruit cake recipes. Second time around I packed more strawberries into the batter.
The absolute best strawberry cake recipe I’ve ever had.
Hi Jenn,
I would like to make this on Thursday for a Friday dinner. I have a 9.5″ glass Pyrex deep pie dish. Would that work with the temp and time you have in the recipe? I also have a 9″ springform pan…would that work better at the temp and times given?
Thanks so much! I love all of the receipes I’ve made so far!
Hi Rose, a 9.5-inch pie dish will work with no modifications. Hope you enjoy!
Just made this the other day and it was delightful! Would it still turn out okay if I mixed blueberries into the batter and then did the traditional strawberries on top?
Hi Margaret, so glad you enjoyed it! I wouldn’t recommend adding blueberries to the mix as the juices will make the cake too moist. Sorry!