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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My husband and I just had a slice for dessert (actually he had two, lol!) and wow, it was so delicious! I used some Maine strawberries I recently picked, but other fruits would definitely be a great substitution, too, like blueberries or peaches. My one recommendation would be to watch the clock after reducing the temperature…mine didn’t take the extra hour, more like 45-50 minutes. Thanks!
My trial run before company turned out very well, so thank you once again for another lovely recipe .
Can I prepare the batter in advance in prep for a dinner party?
Best
Ruth
Glad you like it enough to serve at your dinner party! Unfortunately, it won’t work to refrigerate the batter as the cake won’t rise well when you go to bake it. If you’d like, you can mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another and then combine them and proceed with the recipe when you’re ready to bake it.
I have never been disappointed with anything you’ve suggested, Jenn. This was superb. Definitely want to make it again. My sweetheart suggested halving the batter, slicing some strawberries very thin, and putting them in the middle. I might do that next time. How do I get that fabulous crunchy top all over…mine fell a tiny bit in the middle. Just an excellent recipe! THANK YOU! Susan in Philly
Hi Susan, so glad you enjoyed the cake! If it fell in the middle, it’s likely that it was a bit underbaked. Regarding the crunchy top, did you use the full amount of sugar sprinkled over the top? That caramelizes a bit in the oven creating a very subtle crunch.
Have you ever made this in a springform pan?
Hi L, I haven’t made it in a springform, but you can. Enjoy!
This very easy cake is so beautiful and so delicious. The summer strawberries are plentiful in my neck of the woods and I always seem to buy too many, so I’m on the lookout for recipes that use lots of strawberries. This cake is summer in a pie plate. The only change I made was to add a splash (1/4 teaspoon) of almond extract with the vanilla. The batter smelled like Christmas cookies and I loved the added almond flavor. We ate this for dessert and breakfast the next day. (And the next day and the next…) I will be saving this recipe to make again and again. Thank you!
I love this cake and have shared it several times…this morning I shared it with a friend who posted a great big bowl of fresh-picked strawberries. They looked so good! I don’t have strawberries at the moment, but I do have peaches! Just made this with sliced peaches and it is in the oven now!
I made this cake twice in two weeks! The first time I made three cakes in 8” cake pans because I had so many strawberries and the recipe was so simple! The second time was for Father’s Day. Served with freshly whipped cream. Absolutely delicious and will definitely make again!!!
Thank you for sharing your recipe it is awesome. Your step by step how to make it is very easy to follow. My Husband loves it, I find it is better the next day
Easy to prepare, excellent instructions and delicious. Thank you!
Hi Jenn –
I have been following you for ages, made many, many recipes and loved them all. This Strawberry Cake is extra amazing – especially as I’m not a fan of strawberries. But i made it for my strawberry loving granddaughter for her birthday. It smelled amazing while cooking and is just the right size for our small gathering. My granddaughter loved it, and so did I.
A few comments – I used Zulka sugar (which makes it difficult/impossible to make a fluffy cream with butter) but turned out just fine – and was especially good as the topping sugar.
I also used a convection oven – same temps, but cut the cooking time to 45 minutes.
Now for fruit substitution questions – will any stone fruit work? I haven’t seen a comment on plums. And if you use a stone fruit, I am assuming you would cut it slices and set in the batter – should you overlap the slices or just side by side?
Last question – new to rhubarb, and recipes I have seen, especially in combination with strawberries, is that the fruit is mixed together with sugar. Since this is sitting on the top of the batter, should the rhubarb be prepped in any way? e.g. boiled in sugar water? Size of chunks?
Thanks again for the recipe – will now be my go-to!
Hi Cynthia, so glad you like the recipes and had good luck with this one! If you’d like to use rhubarb in the cake, I’d use a combination of rhubarb and strawberries and cut the rhubarb into size similar to the strawberries. I don’t believe you need to make any changes (i.e. boil the rhubarb in sugar water), but I’ve never made the cake with rhubarb so it may take a bit of experimenting on your part. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it. 😊
Made today bc my strawberries were going to go bad if I didnt! But I want this for Friday! Can I freeze this cake? Will it still be good?
Sure, it freezes nicely!
Yes! Made this recipe, came out incredible…it was easy, fast prep…Hoping it tastes as awesome as it looks.. I added powdered sugar on top just to make it look more decadent lol wish I cud send attachment with pic!!