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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OMG! This totally is totally delicious and was easy to do. I used Splenda instead of sugar as my husband is diabetic, and its about to become a summer staple!
The strawberry cake is easy to make and very tasty but most of my strawberries sank to the bottom ?? The sponge was very light but the cake had a bit of a soggy bottom!!! Any advice as I would like to make the cake again. I am from the UK so had to turn the cups and tablespoon measurement (for the butter) into grams but I think I did it correctly from a chart. Thank you.
Hi Liz, Sorry to hear the strawberries all sunk to the bottom! Did you use really large strawberries? If so, try cutting them smaller next time. Also, you mentioned needing to convert the recipe to grams. 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!
My strawberries ended up on the bottom of the pan. The cake is delicious but no as pretty.
Any ideas why the fresh strawberries sank?
Hi Marsha, Sorry to hear the strawberries sunk. They were likely a little too big. Next time, cut them into slightly smaller pieces.
This is definitely a divine cake
We will make it for many special occasions. We did top it with more strawberries which we love. Didn’t Last long.
Thank you
Bet n Kat
Oh, wow, simple, sweet and scrumptious. Definitely adding this recipe to our repertoire. Thank you Jenn!
Excellent recipe, beautiful result! I can’t wait to see what other recipes of yours I can try!
But…
I’m am American living in the UK so use both cups and metrics. Are your metric measures calculated (as in via a converter) or measured out in cups and then weighed in grams? I ask because on my digital scales the butter, flour and sugar metrics are out. Not by a lot but enough that it might make a difference for people without a trusty set of American measuring cups. For example, 6 Tablespoons of butter is actually 90g, not 85 (or it’s 3 ounces if that matters to anyone). One cup of sugar is 188g plus 2 Tablespoons is 30g, which is 218g in total (not 225g). 1 1/2 cups of flour is 192g (sorry, I can’t remember what the recipe said for this one).
Thanks for your hard work, I hope this is helpful.
Hi Lisa, So glad you liked the cake! I have a metric conversion tool on the blog that I’ve created based on weighing all those ingredients as I’ve cooked. I would recommend sticking to the ones that I have on the blog as that’s how I’ve tested and prepared all the recipes. Hope that clarifies!
What an amazing cake! I made it with my 3year old and he loved making it. Won’t eat I cause it has pink bits in 🤷🏻♀️ just means there’s more for us 😂 tastes amazing!
I usually love Jen‘s recipes, but this one was just pretty average. It was simple to make, and it did look pretty. It just seems to be a bit too thick on the cake/biscuit part and could’ve used another layer of strawberries or something. I likely won’t make it again.
Jenn, I LOVE this recipe. Found it a few years ago and it’s now my go to for cake. I froze several gallons of fresh strawberries last year. Do I need to thaw them to use in the cake? Could I put them in frozen? Thanks in advance for responding!
So glad you like it! You can add the berries without thawing them.
Hello. Can 1/2 & 1/2 be substituted for the milk? Thank you.
Sure, Francis, that will work. Enjoy!
Deliciously perfect!