The one thing that sets this strawberry cake apart from others? Reduce fresh strawberry puree down and add to the best white cake batter.
This strawberry cake completely blew me away. After years of mediocre from-scratch strawberry cakes, my expectations were pretty low. It was time to taste test my efforts. Biting into the first pastel-pink forkful was the moment of truth…
I cried tears of joy. Or were those actual tears because I just dirtied every dish with all this strawberry cake recipe testing?
I find it challenging to pack real strawberry flavor into cake without the crutch of fake strawberry flavoring. My goal was to create a strawberry layer cake made entirely from real strawberries. We’re talking strawberries inside the cake and in the frosting as well. With the help of freeze-dried strawberries, I tackled strawberry frosting. I’ll get to that below. But for strawberry cake? Things have always been pretty lackluster in the flavor and texture department.
Strawberry Cake Problems
- Chopping up strawberries and folding into cake batter works, but then you’re just eating vanilla cake with chunks of strawberries.
- Pureeing strawberries and folding into cake batter has potential, but the texture is always off. There’s too much liquid. How about adding more flour to make up for that liquid? Then your cake is too dense. And the flavor is always lacking.
- Strawberry jam could work, but I prefer to start with real strawberries.
So how can we pack real strawberry flavor into cake batter without adding too much liquid? REDUCE THE STRAWBERRIES DOWN. Ding ding ding! We have a winner.
How to Pack REAL Strawberry Flavor Into Cake
- Puree fresh strawberries.
- Reduce down on the stove.
- Let cool.
- Stir into cake batter.
Puree 1 pound of ruby red strawberries. You’ll need a food processor or blender for this step, and again when you make the frosting.
Take that strawberry puree—don’t add anything else to it—and reduce it down on the stove. This, my friends, is where all the magic happens. Like I mention above, you want a lot of concentrated flavor within a little amount of liquid. We also do this with champagne in my mimosa cupcakes and champagne frosting. And with Guinness in Guinness chocolate cake, too.
You’ll begin with 1 cup of hot pink puree and reduce down to 1/2 cup. After 30 minutes, it will be very thick and very red. Add this thick and highly concentrated strawberry flavor to your cake batter, instead of the thinner strawberry puree.
The reduced strawberry puree will go into the cake batter. No need to strain the seeds first—they disappear when the cake is baked.
Because the reduced strawberry puree needs to completely cool down, I suggest getting started the day before. Just let the reduced strawberry puree sit in the refrigerator overnight and make the cake batter the following day.
Strawberry Cake Batter
The cake batter starts from my white cake. This vanilla-flavored cake proved to be the best jumping-off point for a strawberry cake. I kept the majority of the recipe the same, but I removed some of the wet ingredients to make room for 1/2 cup of reduced strawberries. The cake is light, springy, soft, and fluffy.
The reduced strawberry puree will tint the cake batter a lovely pastel pink and, if you want, you can add a small drop of pink or red food coloring to brighten that hue. Not necessary, of course. (I added a single drop of pink gel food coloring.) Expect a velvety and slightly thick cake batter.
- No artificial strawberry flavor.
- Nothing from a box.
- Just pure strawberries.
The Strawberry Frosting
You can taste the fresh strawberry flavor in the baked cake, but the flavor is REALLY brought out when you combine it with strawberry frosting. Like strawberry cake, strawberry frosting has always left me feeling a little defeated. Fresh strawberries were the issue. The frosting would always curdle from the added moisture. And no amount of fresh strawberries could get me the strawberry flavor I craved. Instead of settling for artificial strawberry flavoring, I took a trick from Sally’s Candy Addiction: strawberry dust! Grab some freeze-dried strawberries, grind them up, and mix that magic dust into the frosting.
(I actually added freeze-dried strawberries to cake batter as one of my test recipes. This was an awful decision and an epic fail. The cake was atrocious. Texture, taste, and appearance. Just… no. But freeze-dried strawberries are a YES for frosting!)
- Where to buy freeze-dried strawberries? I find freeze-dried strawberries in my regular grocery store in the dried fruit aisle. I’ve also seen them in health food stores. Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Amazon, and Target all carry them, as well. Or, you can order them online.
- Baker’s Tip: Do not use “dried strawberries” which are like raisins, dried apricots, and dried pineapple. They have a gummy texture and don’t grind into a powder. You need freeze-dried strawberries, which have all of the moisture removed. They’re the same strawberries you use in strawberry and cream cookies.
Instead of a thicker strawberry buttercream, I used my silky cream cheese frosting recipe. Added in the freeze-dried strawberry “dust” and milk and was left with a frosting so pink, Barbie would be jealous!
Let’s Review
The tricks to homemade strawberry cake and frosting made with real strawberries? (1) Reduced strawberry puree in the cake batter and (2) freeze-dried strawberries in the frosting. Have fun baking!
PrintHomemade Strawberry Cake
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 6 hours
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
The one thing that sets this strawberry cake apart from others? Reduce fresh strawberry puree down and add to the best white cake batter.
Ingredients
Strawberry Puree
- 1 pound (454g) fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
Cake
- 2 and 1/2 cups (285g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 5 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (75g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk, at room temperature*
- 1/2 cup reduced strawberry puree (see step 1)
- optional: 1–2 drops red or pink food coloring
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup (about 25g) freeze-dried strawberries*
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1–2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Make the reduced strawberry puree first, and let cool: Puree 1 pound of rinsed and hulled strawberries. You should have a little over 1 cup. Stirring occasionally, simmer the puree over medium-low heat until you’re left with 1/2 cup or slightly more (you need 1/2 cup for the cake). This takes at least 25–35 minutes, but could take longer depending on your pan or how juicy your strawberries were. Allow to cool completely before using in cake batter. I always make the reduced puree the day before so it has plenty of time to cool down. I cover and place in the refrigerator overnight. Allow it to come back to room temperature before adding to the cake batter. (See Notes for further make-ahead instructions.)
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Beat in the egg whites on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Then beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the milk *just* until combined. Do not overmix. Whisk in 1/2 cup of room-temperature reduced strawberry puree, making sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick. Stir in food coloring, if desired. (I use 1 small drop of pink gel food coloring.)
- Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for around 24–25 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Make the frosting: Using a blender or food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a powdery crumb. You should have around 1/2 cup crumbs. Set aside. In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese for 1 minute on high speed until completely smooth and creamy. Beat in the butter until combined. Add the confectioners’ sugar, strawberry powder, 1 Tablespoon milk, and vanilla and beat on medium-high speed until combined and creamy. Add 1 more Tablespoon of milk to slightly thin out, if desired. Taste, then add a pinch of salt if needed. Yields about 3 cups of frosting.
- Assemble and frost: First, using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd layer and spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake keep its shape when cutting—it could slightly fall apart without time in the fridge.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly and stored at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared, then covered and refrigerated overnight. Let it sit at room temperature to slightly soften for 10 minutes before assembling and frosting. Frosted cake or unfrosted cake layers can be frozen for up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating/serving. See How to Freeze Cakes for instructions. You can also make the reduced strawberry puree ahead of time and store it covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw, bring to room temperature, then use in the recipe.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor | 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Pink Food Coloring | Cooling Rack | Cake Turntable | Straight Spatula (for frosting) | Round Cake Carrier (for storage)
- Cake Flour: I strongly suggest using cake flour in this recipe. If you can’t find it, try this homemade cake flour substitute.
- Whole Milk: If needed, buttermilk works in its place. I don’t recommend a lower-fat milk.
- Where to Buy Freeze-Dried Strawberries: I always find them in my regular grocery store in the aisle with the dried fruit. Target, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s carry them, and I’ve also found them in some health food stores. You can also buy them online. Do not use the chewy/gummy dried strawberries. You need FREEZE-dried strawberries, which grind into a powder. If you can’t find them anywhere, just leave them out of the frosting and add another 1/2 cup of confectioners’ sugar.
- Can I use frozen strawberries for the puree? You can use frozen strawberries, but they will take longer to reduce even if you thaw them first.
- 9×13-Inch Cake: Simply pour the batter into a greased 9×13-inch pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cupcakes: Fill cupcake pans 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 20–22 minutes. Makes 30 cupcakes. For 14–15 cupcakes, follow my strawberry cupcakes recipe, which is adapted from this strawberry cake.
- Food Coloring: If you want, you can add 1–2 small drops of pink or red food coloring to deepen the pink color of the cake. I add 1 small drop of pink gel food coloring.
- No Cream Cheese in Frosting: If you’d like to skip the cream cheese in the frosting, use my strawberry buttercream recipe instead. You’ll have enough for a thin layer of frosting, or you can 1.5x the recipe for a thicker layer.
Hi Sally, can’t wait to make this cake! One question: for the frosting, is the measurement for freeze dried strawberries before or after crushing them with the food processor?
Thanks for your help!
Hi Kenzie! The measurement is before crushing. You’ll use a food processor to crush 1 cup of freeze dried strawberries- it will yield about 1/2 cup of crumbs. Happy baking!
I had a few pounds of berries in the fridge, so I made this cake with the frosting and it was DELICIOUS. The crumb was soft and it had such a moist texture. Loved it!! Thanks for your quick response. Definitely a keeper!
Hi Sally! I’m a faithful user of your cake recipes and I want to make this one for my birthday this weekend. I plan to make a 2-layer 6″ cake and at least 1 dozen cupcakes. Can I use the recipe as is or should I do everything ×1.5 to ensure I have enough batter? Thank you for putting out such consistently great recipes- I work at a cupcake bakery and I still always choose your recipes over ours!
Hi Abe, thank you so much! I believe you should have plenty of batter for 1 dozen cupcakes and a small 2 layer 6 inch cake. No need to make extra.
I really think it would have worked better if you just followed the recipe
Made this cake and I wish I could post a picture of the cake because it came out looking exactly the same. Just follow the directions, especially when it comes to proper measure of dry ingredients. Very moist and tastes like a strawberry bomb. I especially likes that there were no artificial ingredients or ingredients that were hard to find, for that matter. My regular grocery store did not carry freeze dried anything, but Trader Joes (as suggested) was freeze dried heaven. I will definitely make this again.
Absolutely delicious. The tartness of the freeze dried strawberries and the sweetness and lightness of the cake are in perfect harmony. Definitely saving this recipe to use for years to come, thank you for sharing with us!
I made this cake yesterday and it looked and tasted amazing! One of the best cakes I have ever made!! I substituted Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour 1:1 and also made changes to the frosting (decreased cream cheese to 4 ounces, 1 C powdered sugar, 3 C. whipped cream , no butter, no milk, same vanilla and powdered strawberries) . Best frosting I have ever had! The cake was tan color (okay by me and better than having fake color) and made a day ahead. It was dense and moist – really great, but I want to try making it same day and see what the difference is.
I baked this yesterday for my own birthday. I’m not a new baker by any means but this is hands down the best cake I’ve ever made. Lovely moist cake with a very delicate crumb and it tastes like real strawberry! I loved the frosting as well, so happy to have found an option with real fruit. I’ve made two other of your recipes as well and both of those were also wonderful. I can’t wait to try more.
I made this strawberry cake today for my husband’s birthday. Like you, Sally, I have a little one (2 year old) who takes up a lot of my time and I work full time. I blended and reduced the strawberries first thing this morning and then baked the cake in the afternoon. It was all baked, cooled and dressed with berries and powder sugar by 4:30pm for cake cutting. This recipe is perfect and we enjoyed every bite of this cake. It was my first time baking strawberry cake (my son’s choice). I didn’t make the frosting since I didn’t have the ingredients plus no time but the powder sugar and glazed berries went really well with the cake. My son has asked for Apple cake for his birthday. Let me know if you have a recipe for it. Thank you again! I’d like to post a picture here of the cake but don’t know how to. Let me know if I can email it to you.
I’m so glad that you tried this recipe and that you all enjoyed it, Sarah! I have a recipe for an apple Bundt cake that your son might love!
Family found it a little too sweet. Maybe ill do half the sugar next time.
I enjoyed it
I made this cake for my son’s 8th birthday and it was a hit with him AND his dad. His dad , by the way, doesn’t like cake in general but had a slice every night until we ran out ha! I’m going to try this recipe with different types of fruit. I think I’ll try mango next. YUM! Thank you for this fantastic recipe, I have a feeling it’s going to stay a family favorite for years.
I have a question. I made the coconut cake a couple weeks ago and it came out amazing. I made this strawberry cake today and it came out a dark tan color on the inside but tastes great. I used the reduced puree and it was pink when wet. I think my mistake was that the sugar doesn’t dissolve in the butter in 2 minutes. When I did the cononut cake it probably took 25 minutes for the sugar and butter to finally actually be creamy smooth. So this this time I let it remain a little grainy. If that’s the cause, how do you get the butter and granulated sugar to cream in 2 minutes?
Hi Sarah, What type of food coloring are you using? I use gel colors which are nice and vibrant. If you are using liquid drops you will have to use more to achieve a brighter color. Are you using an electric mixer (hand held or stand) to cream the butter and sugar together? If so it shouldn’t take much more than 2 minutes.
Thank you Sally! Your response answered my questions. I made the fantastic strawberry cake a second time, and this time I doubled the strawberries for both the cake and frosting. My husband thinks this made it better (more strawberry, haha), and now I’ll add less milk next time to try to get that wonderful crumb back that you had balanced so well! I love your recipes. Thank you!
I have made this cake twice. Cake turns out really good in flavor and consistency. The crumb is very soft, so if you are looking for a dense cake, this is not the one. The second time I made the cake, I needed three 9’ cakes, so I upped all the ingredients by half, does that make sense? It was the perfect amount for a three layer cake.
The frosting: the first time I made it, I didn’t have the freeze dried strawberries, so I made it with the strawberry reduction. It turned out good in flavor, but it never thicken up, not even after putting it in the fridge for some time. The second time I made it, I used the freeze dried strawberries and it made a huge difference! Icing was great for piping. For extra flavor, instead of the milk it calls for, I added two table spoons of strawberry purée I had left over from the cake.
Just finished making this and is fantastic! Thank you! I couldn’t get freeze dried so I dried fresh strawberries on my dehydrator and worked very well!! Yummy!
Really excellent strawberry flavor!
Made this cake for a birthday and it was so good . I did a strawberry filling with a whipped cream frosting . I did add the freeze dried strawberries to the frosting . So yummy .
I made this cake after I went strawberry picking at a farm. The strawberries were so red that my cake was more red than pink. The flavors of this cake was GREAT. I made this for a block party for a neighbor’s child who just turned 2 and it was a hit! My husband says it tastes like strawberry Pocky! I agree except this cake tastes very REAL strawberry.
Made this cake and it was rising in the oven and looked great, 5 minutes later when I went to check it it had sunk. Not sure what I did wrong but I continued and did the icing. Freeze dried strawberries are pretty expensive about $10 for the amount needed.
After chilling it was very nice flavour and not like artificial. I’ll make again and hope the cake rises as it should.
SO good! The only thing I did different. I used 1 cup of ground up freeze dried strawberries in the frosting. I couldn’t resist. I reconstituted one of the bags and layered between layers. So good. I bought Thousand Island (Amazon) freeze dried strawberries they tasted wonderful. Organic and no sugar. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
I would love it if next time you could actually show the texture of the batter. Like, zoom in on it more. But other than that I loved this recipe!
This Strawberry cake is delicious. Thank you for this recipe. So many people start with a box recipe and I was so happy to find a recipe from scratch. I made this for my mother for Mother’s Day and it was great!!!
I am becoming such a huge fan! Your recipes are spot on and I love your meticulousness! This strawberry cake is not only gorgeous, but absolutely delicious!
I made this cake for my granddaughter’s 16th birtday. The frosting was very good! The cake tasted like a bran muffin. This was disappointing.
By far the best strawberry cake recipe. SOOOO good. Thank you! You made my 11-year-old boy happy on his birthday. 🙂
I made these as cupcakes last night. Amazing! However I still am not sure I could really taste the strawberry. However I made them without the frosting. I am interested in using the reduced strawberry puree to make strawberry pancakes. What do you think? I can find strawberry puree pancake recipes, but want them to be VERY strawberry. Thanks for the recipe!
Just baked this as my first cake from scratch, and it’s delicious! Great way to take my mind off of things. The only issue I faced is that the freeze-dried strawberries were difficult to get into a fine powder in my Ninja blender and stuck a lot to the sides of the blender. I ended up just using them as crumbs and it turned out just fine, but I’m wondering if you have any tips on this?
I made this cake for my birthday last year and it was fabulous. Everyone who tried it and loved it. My friend is requesting that I make the same cake but using raspberries instead of strawberries. Do you think I could do a direct substitution with raspberries? Otherwise, what would you suggest? I do see that you have a raspberry frosting, I may try that. I did order freeze-dried raspberries and I would love to use those. I also have the raspberry preserves. Her birthday is this week so any help you can provide would be great.
Hi Tonya, I have not tested this recipe with raspberries but other readers have reported that they tried it with success. Reducing fresh raspberries on the stove may take longer since they have a higher water content and the freeze dried raspberries for the frosting should work beautifully. Let me know if you try it!
i made this recipe for my daughter’s 12th birthday today. I live in Germany so brick cream cheese isn’t available at regular supermarkets so I just used cream cheese in the frosting and left out the milk. I used the metric measurements for the ingredients so there was no need for spoon & level. The reduced puree took longer than a half hour with the fresh berries I had. I also used raw cane sugar on the cake. It turned out delicious and not too sweet like many American recipes where i usually reduce the amount of sugar by at least a third.
Awesome and very easy to follow recipe! Thanks
This is the first cake from scratch I have ever attempted. It took time patience and a lot of rereading lol. The instructions were easy to follow, i was just a tad nervous. Well let me tell you, it was very well received! I was so proud and now I come back to your web site when I want to impress. Thank you :]
Hi there! I was surprised to see you use the wire whip attachment for mixing the batter. I wouldn’t have thought to use that, as I usually use the flat beater.
Is there an advantage to using the wire whip for mixing this batter?
Bee-utiful video BTW. So engaging to watch!
Hi Paula! Either work. This batter is particularly light and I find the whisk attachment helps break up the the varying texture of the wet ingredients a little better. Glad you enjoyed our video!
This was a winner! It took a little longer to make than I had anticipated but that’s to be expected when using all “real ingredients”. My husband, who does not like strawberry anything, said this was delicious and promptly had 2 slices.
I followed everything* to a T—but omitted the red coloring from the cake since the frosting does have a natural beautiful pink color on its own and I don’t mind the rather tan color of the cake. I was very thankful for the measurements for the amount of purée and the powdered strawberries as my prepared amounts were a little off.
*One extra step I did, was I used the extra purée as a thin fruit layer in the middle. I had an extra 1/4 cup purée so I added about 2 Tbsp of sugar (since it tasted really tart on its own). I then spread a thin layer of the purée in the middle (on each bare cake layer) I then spread the frosting in the middle as well. The sweet frosting really paired well with the (slightly tart) strawberry purée in the middle. And I didn’t have to waste the purée.
The cake is tender, super moist, and the absolute best white cake I’ve ever made. Thank you so much!!
PS I used the wire whip for all of the mixing and it worked great.
I love strawberries, so when my mom asked me what kind of cake she could bake me for my quarantine birthday, I sent her this recipe! My mom usually doesn’t follow recipes exactly, but promised me she would for this. She followed the recipe and We all LOVED it, even my daughter and husband, who are neither cake nor strawberry people. My husband is a professional chef and it takes a lot to please him! He had three pieces the night of my birthday and two more the next day. (No judging!) He told my mom he could eat this cake everyday for the rest of his life.