Fresh Strawberry Cake
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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.
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I came across this when I googled for a cake recipe with actual strawberries baked inside the cake. Thank you so much for this!!! Made it for a family gathering today and everyone absolutely loved it. I live in a tropical country where fresh strawberries are very expensive, so I used frozen instead, and still it came out superbly delicious.
This cake is phenomenal! Can it be frozen? Will the strawberries degrade if I freeze this cake a week before serving it?
Thanks!
Hi Mary, it freezes nicely (and you won’t have a problem with the strawberries degrading).
What a beautiful simple cake! It was light with juicy strawberries just bursting with flavor! Followed the recipe exactly as stated and came out perfectly! Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
😉 I made the cake yesterday & had the sinking berry experience as well & figured my berries were too big. After reading reviews, turns out..I was right. Patting myself on the back, yes! I rarely follow recipes unless it comes to baking sweets, afterwards I go rogue. I am going to stick with the recipe base because it’s delicious & not too sweet! Thank you for sharing ♥️
okay… yet another recipe to rave to my friends about. As strawberries are not my favourite, made it with apples. Absolutely fantastic!! Will definitely make this again, just thinking of what other fruit can be used.
Thanks so much!
Peaches…yum!!
Another excellent Jenn Segal success story.
I served this at a July 4th gathering tonight and had only crumbs left on the serving plate. I baked it in a tube pan and added blueberries with the strawberries to make it more patriotically red white and blue. Actually, it turned out red white and YUM.
I filled the hole in the center with more blueberries and sprinkled the cake with confectionary sugar and served it with whipped cream. The tube pan made the cake look as though it came from a bakery.
Bummer— no leftovers for morning snacking.
Did you double the recipe when you put it in the tube pan?
Isn’t it amazing how recipes that have been making the rounds for years keep popping up online although in some cases, with a wee bit of change in ingredients. I’ve been making a version of this berry cake since 2009 after seeing it on Smitten Kitchen who at that time had adapted it slightly from Gourmet magazine.
Only difference in Ms. Perelman’s version is 1/2 cup less flour, a wee bit less sugar due to the lesser amount of flour, the use of both baking powder and baking soda, buttermilk instead of regular milk, and a baking temp of 400 for 25 – 30 mins.
Either way, it’s a delicious cake as well as probably the easiest to put together. It’s become a family and friends favourite dessert in my home. I’ve made it with whatever berries might be in season with raspberries, with strawberries, or a mixture of raspberries, strawberries and blueberries being our favourites.
Now of course I shall have to give your version a go as it’s great fun comparing one to the other as it’s the only way you’ll know which one might turn out to be the number one family favourite, the tried and true, or the new, without trying.
Loving your cookbook btw, it really is a gem.
Cheers!
I just finished making this for the third time. It is fantastic. The cake tastes amazing and the strawberries melted into lovely jammy goodness. Not too sweet, no icing to deal with, very light–this is the PERFECT summer cake. (last time I made this I swapped out about half the butter for applesauce–the cake was still buttery and delicious.)
An absolutely delicious cake that I imagine could accommodate any ripe summer fruit. thank you.
Can you use frozen strawberries and could it be made in Bundt pan
Fantastic recipe. The flavor of fresh summer strawberries, the crunchy sugar topping, the moist butter flavored cake, all contributed to a tasty and satisfying dessert. All who tasted loved, and came back for more. Didn’t change a thing in the recipe.
Hi – planning to make this tomorrow. All I have is a 10 inch square ceramic pan. Ok to use that? Store shelf was empty! Thank you
Hi Ingrid, I would increase the ingredients by 1.5 for a 10-in square. The bake time will be a bit longer. Hope it turns out well!
Would a 9″ springform pan work?
Yes, Oksana, that should work. Enjoy!