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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I have made this twice. We loved it but I felt the sponge was dry so cooked less second time and still drier than most cakes. Is there something I’m doing wrong? Strawberries are fresh and juicy. It looks just like you’re picture. Thanks for any suggestions Betty
Hi Betty, Sorry you found this to be dry — it’s actually a really moist cake. Did you use the spoon and level method for measuring flour? Number 1 in this Baking Tips post explains it nicely.
Hi Jenn. I live at 5,400 ft. Do I have to adjust the recipe?
Hi Katherine, I don’t have any personal experience baking at high altitudes, so unfortunately, don’t have any wisdom to share, but you may find the tips in this post helpful (see #14 – Make Adjustments at High Altitude). Hope you find them useful!
I’m at 5400’…added 2T flour, 1 extra egg white, reduced sugar by 1T.
Baked 10 min at 375, then down to 350 for about 45 min.
Super-tasty!
This cake is amazing!!! So simple, so easy, so delicious. I’m going to make this again and again.
Jenn, this cake was fantastic. So easy to get into the oven, and when eating the moist open crumbed cake with sweet/Jammy strawberries, it tasted so luxe. We had this on the day it was made, and the very next night indulged again. By then, the strawberries released even more moisture, and the cake was heavenly, but in a different manner….it was denser and so tender…. almost like a fresh strawberry bread pudding. Can’t rave enough. My only change will be to use the 9 inch cake pan next time, as in my deep pie dish there was a slight overflow of strawberry juices. Thank you sincerely for sharing this treat with your readers. Being a little piggish here with words, but there is another bonus to this cake. In our family, while strawberry “shortcake” is seasonally enjoyed, spousal unit never raves about biscuits with whipped cream and berries. This was a sweet cake, and for hubs it was enjoyed far more than shortcake. I’m calling this an indulgent dessert for “6”, as I’m piggish on portions as well as with words 🙂
As per my previous comments, we loved this cake. However, I forgot that I had question about serving it. We baked it in the pie plate, but didn’t know if we should cut it like a pie or spoon it out. We ended up spooning it into bowls and it worked fine. But I wonder how others serve it. Thanks!
I always cut it like you would a pie, but glad it came out well the way you served it too. 😊
Love this recipe! Such a pretty presentation. Since it’s only two of us at home, I enjoy trying new recipes whenever there’s a gathering. We made this for our grandson’s graduation party. With so many attending we made two, one gluten free using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 and the other regular. Both were delicious and a big hit! It was fun being able to compare the two. Honestly, I think I preferred the gluten free best! Will definitely make this recipe again. Thanks, Jenn
I added 1 tsp. lemon extract along with the vanilla and about 1 tsp. grated lemon peel sprinkled over the cake before adding the strawberries. WOW it was so good.
Just made this for friends dinner dessert. Fabulous!! Only change I made was by mistake. My batter didn’t look like it should have, so I added 2 tsp extra of vanilla. Then I realized that I had forgotten the milk. It was delicious and got a lot of compliments.
Hi Jenn! Do you think I could make this in an 8 inch square pan, or would that be too small? Maybe I’ll just double the recipe and do it in a 9×13.
Hi Kelly, this will work in an 8 x 8-inch pan. Enjoy!
Any experience with freezing the baked cake (cut into servings)? I need to use up some strawberries but hubby is gone for another week and if I make it now I’ll eat it all. lol
Sure, Pam, that will work!