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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Delicious cake, I do not even like cake and I loved this. Family ate this up in a day. We topped it off with the homemade whipping cream.
I had such high hopes for this dessert and sadly I was disappointed. The cake was really dry and there were no jammy strawberries as described by others. I made it exact to recipe and I am perplexed how the reviews could be so good for this and mine was quite the opposite.
Hi, what type of sugar do you use in the cake mix and on top of the cake? Initially assumed it’s white sugar in the cake mix, but where it says add excess sugar on top, it looks more like icing or cater sugar in the photo. Just wondering which you used? Thank you
Hi Melissa, it’s just regular granulated sugar.
Substituted gluten free flour. It turned out incredible being gluten free. So if you’re gluten free try this. It’s not dry at all, super moist. Crispy top too. So fast and easy. Everyone loved it, even my non gluten free peeps. 11/10
Omg thank you for this comment! This is why I’ve been scrolling through all these comments. 😁 What gluten free flour mix did you use?
Hi Marta, in case Mk doesn’t see your question, a number of readers have commented that they have good luck with King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour and Cup4Cup gluten-free flour. Hope that helps!
SO DELICIOUS!!!! My family absolutely loved it!! So moist and yummy!!!!
Can I substitute Greek yogurt for milk?
Hi JJ, I don’t recommend it as the acidity might interfere with the leavening. Sorry!
This cake was surprisingly outstanding ! It was wonderfully light and delicious with home grown fresh strawberries. My husband loved it and admitted to thinking about stealing a piece the morning after, for breakfast !
Hi Jenn, I have a lot of beautiful apricots on my tree. Can I sub them for strawberries and if so are there any changes?
Hi Jill, I haven’t tried it, but I think it should work nicely. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Another great recipe. Everyone loved the
strawberry cake recipe. Thank you!
Not pleased with this recipe. The result was OK. My opinion is thar 1 1/2 cups of flour produced a batter thicker then sheet rock compound. Had to add more thanthen 1/2 a cup of liquid…
Followed directions exactly and it was delicious! I had strawberries to use up before we went on a trip. I really think I would love it with raspberries! Will definitely make again! Highly recommend.