Fresh Strawberry Cake
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A simple, beautiful cake that lets ripe berries shine—this strawberry cake is perfect for spring and summer baking.
This strawberry cake recipe was sent to me by Karen Tannenbaum, a longtime reader, avid baker, and all-around lovely person. In her note, she described a dinner that ended with this dessert as “just like a night in heaven.” I was sold. A few days later, I gave it a go—and it turned out to be one of the simplest, prettiest, and most delicious cakes I’ve ever made. The batter comes together in under 15 minutes with just a handful of ingredients, and it’s a great way to use up extra strawberries (even the ones that are a little past their prime).
This recipe originally ran in Martha Stewart Living back in June 2005, but I’ve made a few tweaks to make it even better. If you have extra strawberries on hand, be sure to also try my strawberry shortcake and strawberry muffins. You’ll be glad you did.
“The most requested cake I have ever made.”
Strawberry Cake Ingredients
- All-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt: The base of the cake. The flour gives it structure, baking powder helps it rise, and the salt balances the sweetness. For best results, always measure flour using the spoon-and-level method.
- Unsalted butter and sugar: Creamed together, these create a light, fluffy base. The butter adds richness, and the sugar sweetens the batter and helps the top caramelize a bit as it bakes. A little sugar is also sprinkled over the strawberries before baking—it creates a pretty, slightly crisp topping.
- Egg and vanilla extract: The egg adds structure to the cake and binds everything together, while the vanilla adds that warm, bakery-style flavor.
- Milk: Thins the batter just enough to make it smooth and pourable (low-fat works just fine).
- Strawberries: Halved and arranged on top, they bake down into the cake and add sweet-tart bursts of flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set the mixture aside.
Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. his step helps incorporate air into the batter, which gives the cake a lighter, more tender texture. Don’t rush it—give it a good 3 minutes or so.
Step 3: Add egg and vanilla. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
Step 4: Finish the batter by adding wet and dry ingredients. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. This keeps the batter smooth and helps everything incorporate evenly without overmixing.
As you can see, the finished batter will be quite thick—that’s exactly what you want, since the strawberries release a lot of moisture as they bake.
Step 5: Assemble the cake. Transfer the batter to a buttered 9-inch deep dish pie pan (or a 9-inch round cake pan) and smooth the top with a spatula. Arrange the strawberry halves on top, cut side down, covering as much of the surface as you can. They’ll sink slightly as the cake bakes. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the remaining sugar. Don’t skip this step—it balances the tartness of the berries and creates a deliciously crisp, golden crust as the cake bakes.
Step 6: Bake. Bake the cake at 350°F for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325°F and bake for about an hour more, until the top is golden and a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool on a rack, then serve warm or at room temperature—plain, or topped with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Either way, it’s hard to stop at one slice!
The cake is best enjoyed fresh on the day it’s made, but it’ll keep nicely on the countertop for a few days, or you can freeze it for longer storage.
More Strawberry Recipes You Might Like
Fresh Strawberry Cake
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 + 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk (low-fat is fine)
- About ¾ lb strawberries, hulled and halved
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and butter a 9-in (23-cm) deep dish pie pan (or 9-in/23-cm 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 they completely cover the batter, using more or less as needed. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the strawberries.
- Bake for ten minutes, then reduce the heat to 325°F (165°C) 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.
- The cake can be stored at room temperature for several days, loosely covered.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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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Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I have made it so many times — varying it a little to suit my needs every now and again. It is incredibly reliable and forgiving — I have doubled it for a 1/4 sheet pan as well as an angel food pan. I have frozen it ahead. I have made it 2 days ahead and left it covered. I have grated orange zest into the batter. I have folded blueberries and sliced strawberries into the batter (1st tossing them in a bit of APF to prevent sinking)… Just a marvelous recipe in its simplicity and delicious flavor. The only thing I consistently do to divert from your recipe is to sprinkle the top of the batter with sparkling sugar instead of standard white. It’s an A+ every time. (I have even shared it on Facebook b/c I love it so much! 🙂
Great suggestions, Julie. Thank you!
What is APF to prevent sinking?
All-purpose flour. 🙂
Nice cake, nothing special. Needs cream or icecream. Strawberries tasted more like jam than fresh fruit. If I make again, would use different fruit.
Does this cake freeze well? Thank you:)
Yes Claudia, I think it should freeze nicely!
Picked strawberries with my 13 year old Grandson- came home and we made this cake together. It was simple , fun and DELICIOUS- we made 2 more! He even asked for a copy of the recipe to take home.
Vanilla Ice cream with this is a must.
I also made with raspberries- Yummy as well. (Convection bake 325- 55 mins)
This is a delicious cake but how to avoid strawberries sinking to the bottom of the cake? Unfortunately all my strawberries sunken to the bottom despite I rigorously followed the receipe:/
Hi Marsha, Sorry to hear you had a problem with the strawberries sinking. Did you use really large strawberries? If so, try cutting them smaller.
Hi Jenn thanks for your response. I used quite large strawberries but had a few little ones and the little ones sunken as well. My baking dish was quite deep though maybe this is the case? I will try to use a shallow dish next time hopefully this will help? I was also thinking about adding the strawberries a bit later when cake has been in the oven for some time?
As long as you used the correct sized baking dish, the depth shouldn’t present a problem. Keep in mind that you will get a little sinking– the batter rises up a bit over the strawberries so they may kind of fall into pockets. I don’t think it’s necessary to add the strawberries later (as you don’t want to be opening the oven unnecessarily while the cake is in there). I would just make sure you cut them fairly small next time.
Just made this. Oh my goodness!!. So easy and so beautiful. Shared with several friends who absolutely loved it. Served with home made whipped cream. Holds up well for a few days, Moist and delicious !!
This genuinely might be the best cake ever. It was delicious warm and delicious at room temperature. My friend is the head chef at the Capital Club in Atlanta, and he raved about it.
I cooked it in an 8″ square pan, and it cooked perfectly and right up to the top of the pan. Otherwise followed instructions exactly.
Thank you for yet another winner.
Excellent. Easy. Everything except berries was on hand. Better than shortcake in my humble opinion. Thanks.
I have made this delicious and easy cake so many times since last summer when I first discovered this recipe on Jen’s link. Everyone just loves this cake exactly how it is. If you haven’t tried this recipe yet, do so this summer. You won’t be disappointed.
Made this Cake for a Memorial Day B-B Q dessert. I added some leftover blueberries I had on hand in between the strawberries to give it that red, white & blue look. Served with whipped cream. Simple to make and all enjoyed but I felt it absolutely needed ice cream or whipped cream as it was on the dry side. Made it a second time and quartered the strawberries (found 1/2 sized pieces a bit too large), added 1/2 teaspoon lemon oil to the softened butter while beating with sugar, and used whole milk not reduced fat. I hoped by increasing fat, and not altering recipe too much, I might increase moisture in cake. It was moister and really delicious with that hint of lemon yet still a simple cake to make.