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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This was so good and looked so pretty except that my berries in the center seemed to sink down through the baking process. Not sure why. Will definitely make again.
Hi Pauline, Glad you liked it! You will get a little sinking as the batter rises up a bit over the strawberries, but if they sank a lot, try cutting them a bit smaller next time around.
Thanks a lot I tried it and turned out awesome Nd yummy
This cake is absolutely delicious!! I didn’t change a thing. Will definitely make it again.
Woke up with a craving for strawberry cake and chanced upon this recipe!
Messed it up right from they get go.. butter wasn’t soft, became shortbread consistency when mixed with sugar.
Not enough butter, subbed it with olive oil.
Not enough flour, added some self raising flour and reduced the baking powder.
It looked nothing like your pictures.
But oh man.. DELICIOUS!!!!!!
Amazing for someone who is even lower than an amateur baker. It’s been requested again for the weekend. 🥂
PS – was a bit too sweet for me. Will reduce the sugar to 2/3rds next time and report back.
Thank you! ❤️
So, I think I have a real problem with following recipes.
This time I half melted the butter and beat it with the sugar. Gradually added ingredients as you suggested.
The batter turned out almost like meringue consistency.
How, you might ask?
Wouldn’t be able to tell you.
But you know what.. I don’t think you can mess this recipe up!
Easily the best cake I’ve ever made!!!
The family has asked me to stack 2 cakes with a strawberry cream frosting, for a family event next month. 😄
I used just over half a cup of sugar and skipped sprinkling the sugar on top. Sweetness was perfect for me!
Thank you, Jenn! 🥂❤️
(PS – do you think I could use the same recipe for cupcakes?)
So glad you enjoyed this despite being a little uncertain about it while you were putting it together! I actually have a muffin version of these here. 🙂
Thanks, Jenn!
Read the recipe and seems like something I can do. Feeling more confident now.
Just need to get to the shops to pick up some almond extract and muffin tin liners! I’ll let you know how I go! 🙂
This is my go to cake. I use your recipe rather than Martha Stewart. The first time I had it my sister cooked with pears (excellent). Mys sister adds pecans, I prefer without nuts. I did pears once and now use fresh pineapple. I buy deep pie dishes on sale so I can gift and leave the dish. I am going to try it Pineapple Upside Down Style in Cast Iron Skillet. My favorite cake.
Did you need to change the baking time at all when using pineapple? Did you have any issues with the pineapple slices dropping down into the cake?
Another rave review. Was skeptical this would be so delicious without spices or seasoning, and since I’ve not had the best luck with Martha recipes, but it is! Also, my son is allergic to dairy and soy–I made this with dairy free margarine and hemp milk (sounds disgusting, but it wasn’t), and it was absolutely delicious with a beautiful crumb and satisfying crunch from the sugar on top. As others have mentioned, would be wonderful with other types of fruits–I’m going to experiment and will be making some version of this for Thanksgiving most likely.
I’ve been looking for ages for a really good, reliable sponge fruit cake. I followed the recipe as well as I could (I’m a terrible baker, I just wander off and do my own thing) I didn’t have a 9″ cake tin so used a larger one and kept a firm eye on the baking (I think it was 55 minutes all up) It came out so perfectly!! I was thrilled. It was really delicious, lots of sponge, lots of strawberries, a really fruity delicious combination. It’s going to become one of my standards. It was delicious with strawberries but I’m pretty sure it would be equally good with plumbs or any other soft fruit that you have on hand. Highly recommended and easy to do. Also, it’s an easy to follow, simple recipe!
A simple cake to make that everyone will seriously love. It received many rave reviews.
I hate to bake, and as a consequence, I’m not very good at it, and don’t have much in the way of kitchen equipment. Despite those limitations, I’ve made this a couple of times and it came out great. I used an eight inch square pyrex. I did whip fresh cream at serving time.
I made this cake to bring to a friend who had just had an operation and was recuperating at home. It was easy, pretty and delicious! My friend said word spread that she had “lovely cake” as people came to visit. I will definitely be making this again.