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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I have made this twice. We loved it but I felt the sponge was dry so cooked less second time and still drier than most cakes. Is there something I’m doing wrong? Strawberries are fresh and juicy. It looks just like you’re picture. Thanks for any suggestions Betty
Hi Betty, Sorry you found this to be dry — it’s actually a really moist cake. Did you use the spoon and level method for measuring flour? Number 1 in this Baking Tips post explains it nicely.
Hi Jenn. I live at 5,400 ft. Do I have to adjust the recipe?
Hi Katherine, I don’t have any personal experience baking at high altitudes, so unfortunately, don’t have any wisdom to share, but you may find the tips in this post helpful (see #14 – Make Adjustments at High Altitude). Hope you find them useful!
I’m at 5400’…added 2T flour, 1 extra egg white, reduced sugar by 1T.
Baked 10 min at 375, then down to 350 for about 45 min.
Super-tasty!
This cake is amazing!!! So simple, so easy, so delicious. I’m going to make this again and again.
Jenn, this cake was fantastic. So easy to get into the oven, and when eating the moist open crumbed cake with sweet/Jammy strawberries, it tasted so luxe. We had this on the day it was made, and the very next night indulged again. By then, the strawberries released even more moisture, and the cake was heavenly, but in a different manner….it was denser and so tender…. almost like a fresh strawberry bread pudding. Can’t rave enough. My only change will be to use the 9 inch cake pan next time, as in my deep pie dish there was a slight overflow of strawberry juices. Thank you sincerely for sharing this treat with your readers. Being a little piggish here with words, but there is another bonus to this cake. In our family, while strawberry “shortcake” is seasonally enjoyed, spousal unit never raves about biscuits with whipped cream and berries. This was a sweet cake, and for hubs it was enjoyed far more than shortcake. I’m calling this an indulgent dessert for “6”, as I’m piggish on portions as well as with words 🙂
As per my previous comments, we loved this cake. However, I forgot that I had question about serving it. We baked it in the pie plate, but didn’t know if we should cut it like a pie or spoon it out. We ended up spooning it into bowls and it worked fine. But I wonder how others serve it. Thanks!
I always cut it like you would a pie, but glad it came out well the way you served it too. 😊
Love this recipe! Such a pretty presentation. Since it’s only two of us at home, I enjoy trying new recipes whenever there’s a gathering. We made this for our grandson’s graduation party. With so many attending we made two, one gluten free using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 and the other regular. Both were delicious and a big hit! It was fun being able to compare the two. Honestly, I think I preferred the gluten free best! Will definitely make this recipe again. Thanks, Jenn
I added 1 tsp. lemon extract along with the vanilla and about 1 tsp. grated lemon peel sprinkled over the cake before adding the strawberries. WOW it was so good.
Just made this for friends dinner dessert. Fabulous!! Only change I made was by mistake. My batter didn’t look like it should have, so I added 2 tsp extra of vanilla. Then I realized that I had forgotten the milk. It was delicious and got a lot of compliments.
Hi Jenn! Do you think I could make this in an 8 inch square pan, or would that be too small? Maybe I’ll just double the recipe and do it in a 9×13.
Hi Kelly, this will work in an 8 x 8-inch pan. Enjoy!
Any experience with freezing the baked cake (cut into servings)? I need to use up some strawberries but hubby is gone for another week and if I make it now I’ll eat it all. lol
Sure, Pam, that will work!