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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Always looking for new recipes for our strawberries, my other half keeps turning them into jam before I can get them, which is fine but we all like something new now and again. So I baked this from the first harvest, he loved it, the kids loved it. I have to admit I was worried it would be too sweet but it wasn’t. So have to do another one before the season ends. Easy to follow the recipe, an uncomplicated bake. I will certainly be trying other recipes from Jenn.
Absolutely easy and delicious !!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This recipe is a family favorite as are so many of your recipes, Jenn. Thank You! I was wondering if I could use raspberries in place of the strawberries?
So glad you like it, Cathy! I haven’t made the cake with raspberries, but a number of readers have commented that they have with good results. Enjoy!
Do you think I could use frozen strawberries? I went strawberry picking!!! I have made this recipe many times. DELICIOUS!!
Sure, Ann, frozen strawberries will work (and glad you like the cake)!
Do you think you can use half and half in place of milk?
Hi Rosemary, I haven’t used half and half here but it should work. Hope you enjoy!
Went berry picking on Sunday and got loads of fresh strawberries – made this on Monday and it turned out so well! By Tuesday, the cake was finished and made another one just now! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. The crumbly texture on the bottom and the tartiness of the strawberries all together is heavenly!
I’ve made this twice now and it was a hit both times. Smells heavenly coming out of the oven. It’s the perfect dessert in the summer when there’s an abundance of ripe strawberries.
Tastes like summer!
Do you think this would work well with blueberries instead? My blueberry bush has been out of control and I’d love to do a blueberry cake!
Sure, Meaghan, blueberries will work here too. You may also want to consider this blueberry cake. Hope you enjoy whatever you make!
I followed the recipe exactly and the cake is too brown on top with ribbons of unbaked throughout. What happened?
Hi Molly, when you say ribbons of unbaked sections, do you mean pockets? If so, it could be that the cake needed a few more minutes in the oven. If you find that you’re baking this again and the top is browning before the cake is baked throughout, loosely lay a piece of foil over the top of the cake to keep it from browning too much before the cake is fully baked. Sorry you had a problem with it!
To make it lactose-free what would you recommend as the best milk substitute for this recipe?
Hi Derek, a number of readers have commented that they’ve successfully made this cake with non-dairy milk like soy or almond milk. Hope that helps and that you enjoy!
I’ve made this with oat milk and it works great.
Easy to make and very tasty. My family loved it:)