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.
Add a Comment
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Hi Jen,
I would love to try this recipe, it looks great!! I have a couple of questions:
Since it’s not summer any more, good fresh strawberries are harder to find. Is it possible to use any frozen fruit and could you use other than strawberries also?
Also, I love almond taste, do you think you could add some almond extract in place of part of the vanilla extract? Do you think it would test good and if so what proportions would you use?
Thank so much!!
Yes, it’s fine to use frozen strawberries and also OK to mix up the berries. Regarding the almond extract, you can replace ¼ teaspoon of vanilla with almond extract; I wouldn’t use anymore than that as it’s very potent. Hope that helps that you enjoy the cake!
Thank you! I can’t wait to try it!!
Recipe turned out great.
Would this recipe would work with fresh cranberries?
Glad you liked it! I think fresh cranberries would be too tart. Sorry!
Thanks for another brilliant recipe, Jenn! I subbed Bob Mill’s 1:1 GF and the texture and flavour was absolutely perfect, however the whole cake went very dark brown, like the batter had caramelised or something? Wasn’t overcooked by any means and it didn’t take away from the flavour, but just wasn’t as pretty as yours and looked more like a pudding. Any idea what might have caused that? Also, any tips on preventing the strawbs from sinking? Add them and the rest of the sugar at the half-way mark, perhaps? 🥰
Hi Ashlyn, based on what you’re describing, I’m wondering if perhaps you used baking soda instead of baking powder? (Baking soda causes things to brown a lot more.) Also, did you use a dark metal pan? That would add to more browning (at least on the exterior of the cake). Regarding the strawberries sinking, I wouldn’t add them halfway through baking. Rather, I’d just cut them into slightly smaller pieces to make them a bit lighter. Hope that helps!
I’ve made this heaps of times and it’s always great. The one change I make is switching out the vanilla for almond extract. Thanks for a great recipe!
Made this and loved it. Do you think I could try it with raspberries?
Yep, definitely 🙂
Would love to try this! Any chance of British weights and measures, and temperatures *C?
Hi Janski, The great majority of my recipes (including this one) include conversions to metric/weight measurements. To view them, scroll down to the recipe, and immediately under the recipe title on the right side, you’ll see a little toggle. If you move it from “cup measures” to metric, you’ll see measurements that will work for you. Hope that helps! 🙂
Today is the fifth time I’m make this delicious cake since I found your recipe in July. I accidentally used a whole stick of butter instead of six tablespoons. It was great. Have used a whole stick every time. Everyone loves it, especially me. Always love any of your recipes I’ve tried.
This was delicious ! I baked it for 50 minutes once the temperature was lowered to 325 because
my new oven seems to bake faster than my former oven. So glad I did as the cake itself was
moist. I wondered if I can use turbinado sugar on top or is it best to stick to granulated sugar?
I gifted this for an anniversary ( they loved it ) as I thought the strawberries on top looked like hearts . They saved me a piece to try which is why I can leave this comment and question. Thank you.
Glad both you and your recipients enjoyed it! Yes, it would be fine to use turbinado on top of the cake if you’d like.
I had some leftover strawberries and came across this recipe. I had to make a few changes because I didn’t have all the ingredients it calls for. I cut down the sugar for the cake to about 3/4 cup because I didn’t have any more sugar left. I used Earth Balance plant-based butter, 3 TB of the egg beaters, and cashew milk to replace the unsalted butter, large egg, and dairy milk. Lastly, I wasn’t able to sprinkle the top of the strawberries with sugar so I drizzled honey onto them. As expected, the top wasn’t crisp as it would’ve been if I had any sugar left. I was afraid that these changes would mess it up, but it actually turned out so good! I don’t like cake that is too sweet, so this had just the perfect amount. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
This is great to know! I made this cake today using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pastry Flour and it came out perfect. I was afraid to sub out the eggs, milk, and butter at the same time, but will use vegan substitutions and GF flour next time for my vegan, celiac daughter. It’s so great to have delicious recipes even with these constraints!
I am wanting to do this recipe for my parents anniversary! Was just wondering can I use normal milk? Also, is it possible to use frozen strawberries?
Hi Latisha, This recipe calls for regular milk so yes, and frozen strawberries are fine as well. Hope your parents enjoy! 🙂