Last Updated May 21st, 2023 at 11:53 pm by Lisa
You can taste the real strawberry flavor in this fresh strawberry scratch cake, as it skips ingredients like food coloring and jello gelatin and uses strawberry jam and real strawberries!
Use this recipe to bake a strawberry layer cake, a sheet cake, or even cupcakes. Then spread on the strawberry buttercream frosting with its beautiful pink color on every layer, and decorate with sweet juicy strawberries, it's the real deal...
An easy strawberry cake recipe should have a tender crumb and be a fluffy cake, worthy for a birthday party with some ice cream and whipped cream on top, or to present to Mom on Mother's Day.
This homemade strawberry cake recipe has a little story. While getting my hair done, a cake was delivered and shared with the customers in the salon.
My hairdresser friend Tina offered a piece and of course, I said yes! It was delicious, and I came home inspired to bake the best strawberry cake recipe with the most real ingredients possible, like good buttercream. And this happened...
Scratch Strawberry Cake Recipe
Fair warning, this is a scratch recipe. In other words, you won't find ingredients like a boxed cake mix, strawberry jello, strawberry gelatin, vegetable oil, strawberry extract, red food coloring, or even pink food coloring! I set out to make a real strawberry cake without any artificial additives and skip the box cake mix.
And receive a free Cookout Planner as our thank you!
But hey, if you can certainly use a strawberry cake mix, go right ahead, it's all good! Try the addition of some strawberry jam, dehydrated strawberries, or strawberry puree to bring up the color and flavor.
The buttercream is so delicious, and sometimes it's just fine to lick this creamy frosting off a spoon! And I will tell you, this is a sweet frosting that has a wonderful strawberry flavor.
Cake Pan Choices
Choose the cake pan you want to bake in, any of these will work!
- two 9" round cake pans for a 2-layer cake
- single rectangle pan 9 x 13
- for a strawberry sheet cake - use a regular large sheet pan
- 5 small 6" round pans
- for strawberry cupcakes - silicone muffin pans or paper baking cups
I chose to do a 5 layer cake because it looks great, and those 5 layers will actually deliver more strawberry buttercream frosting per bite!
Make the Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- 2 cups unsalted butter (room temperature softened)
- 6 cups powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
- 1 cup strawberry preserves
- In the mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment or hand mixer, cream the butter and sift the powdered sugar in on low speed until blended.
- Next, increase speed to high speed until light and fluffy for another 3 minutes. Add the sea salt, vanilla extract, and heavy cream and beat for 1 minute. If needed, add a bit more cream to make it smooth and creamy.
- Add strawberry jam, for "food" color and delicious strawberry flavor. Keep refrigerated and cool until ready to use.
PRO TIP: To keep your cake stable while frosting, place some buttercream frosting on your plate or stand first.
The strawberry frosting is absolutely unbelievable, it is full of fresh strawberry flavor!
Bake the Strawberry Cake
- ½ cup of strawberries (mashed and chopped)
- ½ cup softened unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour or cake flour organic preferred
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup buttermilk (or sub whole milk)
- 1 cup strawberry jam
- 2 baskets of fresh strawberries for decoration
- Puree ½ cup strawberries in a blender, or chop very finely. Set the fresh strawberry puree aside in a separate bowl.
- Prepare the pans you chose for baking. I used a small 5 layer pan set from a craft store. Lightly coat the pan/s with butter or coconut non-stick spray, dust with flour, and tap out excess. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift the 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon sea salt together. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer, cream the ½ cup of unsalted butter and 1 ½ cups of sugar. Next, slowly add in the 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
- With the electric mixer on low, gently add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and just combine then add the ½ cup buttermilk (or milk) until well combined. Do not overmix.
- Add the ½ cup of strawberry puree (the strawberries that were mashed chopped) and the strawberry jam by hand using a rubber spatula to combine.
- Pour the cake batter into prepared pans, and spread evenly. The batter is pretty thick.
- Bake 20 minutes at 350, or until toothpick comes out clean. Bake time will depend on the size of your pans. Small 6" pans are baked in 20 minutes, larger pans will take about 24 minutes.
Baking Notes: Frozen strawberries release too much liquid. Use fresh berries for the ½ cup of strawberry puree you make from the chopped strawberries. Alternatively, you can substitute dehydrated strawberries into the cake batter, those add a real punch of flavor!
Assemble The Cake
- Tap the cakes out of pans onto a wire rack to cool. It helps to place some buttercream frosting on you plate to hold the first layer of cake down while frosting. Then add some thin strips of wax paper to keep your plate clean. Spread the cake layers with a thin coat of buttercream frosting.
- Once each layer is frosted and stacked. Run your off-set spatula around the side to make it smooth. Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then spread the final layer of buttercream frosting, and swirl or coat evenly.
- Decorate with the extra strawberries cut in half and about the same size. Press into the buttercream frosting, and put one large berry on top in the center.
- Buttercream frosting will melt at room temperature, be sure to keep this cake refrigerated until ready to serve.
- Store extra remaining frosting in an airtight container and use in 2-3 months from the freezer.
PRO TIP: You can freeze your buttercream frosting! Simply store it in a sealed ziplock bag with all the air pushed out. Place on the counter to soften, squish the bag around to get the frosting ready to use and you are ready to add frosting to another dessert!
How To Get A Smooth Frosted Cake
Take some frosting out of the main bowl, and place it into a separate container.
Using an offset spatula spread a thin layer of buttercream frosting on your cake and chill for 30 minutes. This is known as the crumb coat. And now if there are crumbs in your frosting, use the rest of the buttercream without the crumbs in it!
The final coat of buttercream frosting will go on really nicely, and you avoid lumpy crumbs in your frosting.
PRO BAKING TIP: Use a crumb coat to get a perfectly smooth frosted cake. Once each layer is frosted and stacked. Run your offset spatula around the side to make it smooth. Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then spread the final layer of buttercream frosting, and swirl or coat evenly.
As soon as you get your strawberries home, place them in a bowl and rinse with cool water and a splash of vinegar. The vinegar cleans the berries but doesn't leave any taste.
Drain and place the strawberries in a clean bowl covered with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge for a day or two.
Your strawberries are now clean to eat or use in a recipe straight out of the fridge.
More Homemade Cake Recipes
The perfect way to celebrate the good times is to bake cakes! Everyone loves birthday cakes and special occasion cakes for the holidays. Here are some of my favorite all-time recipes and some of them have a few surprises!
Bake a patriotic American Flag Cake topped with red, white, and blue marbled cake inside, bakery-style frosting, and fresh fruit.
Bake a spooky Halloween Cake with orange and chocolate marbled cake hidden inside, and a cemetery all made in chocolate! And be sure to download my free design template for the enchanting edible decorations, they are so fun to make.
An adorable coconut vanilla cake, this Easter Bunny Cake is made from two round cakes, vanilla frosting, and decorated with coconut and candy.
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Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- 2 cups butter room temperature softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar sifted
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 cup strawberry jam
Strawberry Cake
- ½ cup strawberries for the strawberry puree
- 2 cups all-purpose flour organic preferred or cake flour
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup softened unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk or sub whole milk
- 1 cup strawberry jam
- 2 baskets fresh strawberries for decoration
Instructions
Make the Strawberry Buttercream
- In the mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, or hand mixer, cream the butter and sift the powdered sugar in on low-speed until blended.
- Next, increase speed to high speed until light and fluffy for another 3 minutes. Add the sea salt, vanilla extract, and heavy cream and beat for 1 minute. If needed, add a bit more cream to make it smooth and creamy.
- Add strawberry jam, for "food" color and delicious strawberry flavor. Keep refrigerated and cool until ready to use.
Bake The Strawberry Cake
- Puree ½ cup strawberries in a blender, or chop very finely. Set the fresh strawberry puree aside in a separate bowl.
- Prepare pans you chose for baking. I used a small 5 layer pan set from a craft store. Lightly coat the pan/s with butter or coconut non-stick spray, dust with flour, and tap out excess. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift the 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teapoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon sea salt together. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer, cream the ½ cup of unsalted butter and 1 ½ cups sugar. Next, slowly add in the 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
- With the electric mixer on low, gently add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and just combine then add the ½ cup buttermilk (or milk) until well combined. Do not overmix.
- Add the ½ cup of strawberry puree (the strawberries that were mashed chopped) and the strawberry jam by hand using a rubber spatula to combine.
- Pour the batter into prepared pans, and spread evenly. The batter is pretty thick.
- Bake 20 minutes at 350, or until toothpick comes out clean. Bake time will depend on the size of your pans. Small 6" pans are baked in 20 minutes, larger pans will take about 24 mintues.
Assemble The Cake
- Tap the cakes out of pans onto a wire rack to cool. It helps to place some buttercream frosting on your plate to hold the first layer of cake down in place. Then add some thin strips of wax paper to keep your plate clean. Spread the cake layers with a thin coat of buttercream frosting.
- Once each layer is frosted and stacked. Run your off-set spatula around the side to make it smooth. Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then spread the final layer of buttercream frosting, and swirl or coat evenly.
- Decorate with the extra strawberries cut in half and about the same size. Press into the buttercream frosting, and put one on top of the in the center.
- Buttercream frosting will melt at room temperature, be sure to keep this cake refrigerated until ready to serve.
- Store extra remaining frosting in an airtight container and use in 2-3 months from the freezer.
Notes
Buttercream Frosting
Store for up to a week in an airtight container. Before frosting, let come to room temperature and re-whip in the mixer until it is light and creamy again. PRO TIP: You can freeze your buttercream frosting! When you are ready to use it for another recipe, simply store it in a sealed ziplock bag with all the air pushed out. Place on the counter to soften, squish the bag around to get the frosting ready to use and you are ready to add frosting to another dessert! You can freeze buttercream up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, and re-whip in a mixer. Adding powdered sugar will thicken the buttercream. Heavy cream will thin it out and makes it easier to spread. Simply store it in a sealed ziplock bag with all the air pushed out. Place on the counter to soften for an hour, squish the bag around to get the frosting ready to use and you are ready to add frosting to another dessert!Cake Flour vs. All-Purpose Flour
The main difference between cake flour and all-purpose (AP) flour is the protein content (which becomes gluten). Cake flour is about 8% protein content, while the protein content of AP flour is about 10-11%. When you're making cakes, use cake flour that's lower in protein and will result in a spongier fluffier crumb.Decorating
Use a crumb coat to get a smoothly frosted cake.
- Using an offset spatula spread a thin layer of buttercream frosting on your cake and chill for 30 minutes
- The final coat of buttercream frosting will go on really nicely, and you avoid bumpy crumbs in your frosting!
Baking Pans
Small 5-6" pans are bake cakes in 20 minutes, larger pans will take about 24 minutes. Choose the cake pan you want to bake in, any of these will work!- two 9" round pans for a 2-layer cake
- single rectangle pan 9 x 13
- for a strawberry sheet cake - use a regular large sheet pan
- 5 small 6" round cake pans
- for strawberry cupcakes - silicone muffin pans or paper baking cups
Made this with 2 layers instead of 5. Didn’t add strawberries to the buttercream icing. It was delicious and moist. Recipe doesn’t say whe to add the buttermilk (I added with wet ingredients in the batter). Also recipe batter calls for fresh strawberries and puréed strawberries so I just used 2 baskets of puréed fresh strawberries , is this a misprint? Cake was excellent !!
Hey Kim! Thank you for making the strawberry cake and for your comment. You are right! I had a typo, in fact, this was one of my first recipes I ever put on my website and so I rewrote the entire recipe to clear up the mistakes. The 2 baskets of strawberries are for decoration, but I am thrilled it works to add that much strawberry puree. Appreciate your understanding, now the recipe is great thanks to you. Oh, and a huge thanks for rating the recipe!
Strawberry cake is my cake of choice for my birthday but I always feel like the store-bought strawberry frosting and cake mixes taste more like sugar than strawberries. I made your recipe for my birthday this year and it tasted SO much more authentic and strawberry-y. I was fighting off family and friends for the last piece and promised to make it again for Easter. I cannot wait!