Strawberry Cake
Posted Mar 29, 2026
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This strawberry cake recipe is moist with a perfect crumb and tons of fresh strawberry flavor. Made from scratch with real strawberries and simple ingredients, this homemade strawberry cake is topped with a delicious homemade strawberry frosting and is the perfect dessert for birthdays, spring holidays or summer parties!
This from-scratch strawberry cake is the perfect spring and summer dessert. It’s soft, moist, perfectly sweet and packed with strawberries for the best flavor.
This homemade strawberry cake is so much more delicious than boxed mixes. Not only is it made with real ingredients, but it has a beautiful naturally pink color from the fresh strawberries, not food coloring.
The secret to the best strawberry flavor in this recipe is making a homemade strawberry reduction. We make a fresh strawberry puree and then simmer it down until it becomes thick, concentrated and flavorful. Then it’s folded into the batter.
Top the cake with my perfect homemade strawberry buttercream frosting and you have absolute dessert perfection!
Strawberry Cake: Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-purpose flour. cake flour can be used in place of all-purpose flour.
- Salted butter. You can use unsalted butter as well, or replace up to half of the butter with canola oil.
- Granulated sugar. Use organic cane sugar or regular white sugar.
- Sour cream. full-fat Greek yogurt works well in place of sour cream.
- Whole milk. Heavy cream or half and half can be used in place of whole milk.
- Fresh strawberries. You can use frozen strawberries just be sure to thaw them before blending. They will take longer to reduce since they have a little higher water content.
How to Make Strawberry Cake
Let’s walk through this recipe together step-by-step. Don’t forget to watch the video for additional guidance.
Make the Strawberry Reduction
For the richest cake with the deepest strawberry flavor, we have to make a strawberry reduction that goes into the batter. I tested this recipe with just pureed strawberries, and trust me making a reduction is the way to go.
To begin, hull the strawberries and cut them in half. Then, put the halved strawberries and 1 Tablespoon of sugar into the container of a high powered blender.
Make the strawberry reduction in advance
The strawberry reduction needs to cool before being stirred into the batter. I prefer to make it a day in advance so it’s chilled in the fridge ready to go. Or, you can put it in a bowl and whisk often at room temperature or in the fridge to speed up the cooling process while you’re making the cake.
Blend the berries on high speed until they create a smooth, liquidy mixture – this takes about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then, transfer the strawberry puree to a small saucepan.
Cook the strawberry puree over medium heat for 25-45 minutes, until it has thickened and reduced to be about ⅔ cup, stirring often.
Then, transfer the thickened strawberry reduction to a glass jar and store in the refrigerator until cooled to room temperature. Or, you can make the reduction a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator overnight.
Make the Strawberry Cake
Once the reduction is cooled, it’s time to make the cake. Begin by preheating your oven, lining a cake pan with parchment paper and greasing with butter. You can use a 9″ round cake pan or 9×9″ square baking dish to make this cake. Set the pan aside.
Then, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set it aside as well.
Next, in the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar together for 1 minute.
Then add the eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional one minute.
Then, stir in the milk, sour cream, strawberry reduction you made previously, and vanilla extract until the batter is smooth.
If you want a pink cake
Note, if you want the cake to be a brighter pink, you can add a few drops of pink gel food coloring in this step. Or use a very small amount of this no-dye food coloring. I did not add food coloring and opted for a more natural pink color.
Next, add the dry ingredient mixture and stir until just combined and there are no lumps.
Evenly spread the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake the strawberry cake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
Remove the cake from the oven and put it on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Troubleshooting tip
Do not disturb the cake until it’s done or it will sink. A good way to check before putting a cake tester in is to jiggle the pan slightly while it’s still in the oven. If it jiggles a lot, it’s not ready. If there’s little to no jiggle you can test it with a cake tester. An underbaked cake will sink in the middle, so be careful.
Once the strawberry cake is completely cool, lift it out of the pan with the parchment paper, and transfer it to a cake plate to frost and serve.
I highly recommend making this strawberry buttercream frosting. It pairs perfectly with this recipe and is delicious. Other frosting recipe suggestions include: vanilla buttercream, chocolate frosting, or cream cheese frosting.
Serve
If desired, top with some sliced or whole strawberries and serve. I like to serve the cake slightly chilled or room temperature for the best flavor and texture.
Store
Store leftover strawberry cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Freeze
Or, you can freeze the cake whole or in slices. Either way – flash-freeze the cake (or slices) on a baking pan until hardened. Then, wrap the slices or the whole cake in plastic wrap and put it in an airtight container or plastic bag. Freeze for up to 1 month.
To thaw, remove the plastic wrap while still frozen, then let thaw slowly at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Do not microwave.
Strawberry Cake Recipe FAQS
The strawberry reduction concentrates and intensifies the flavor of fresh strawberries while removing excess water. This gives the cake a stronger strawberry flavor and a naturally pink color.
Yes, you just have to let them thaw a bit before blending to make the puree.
The best way is to follow this recipe and use a strawberry reduction. You can also add sliced strawberries to the batter before baking, or add some strawberry powder.
My top pick is this homemade strawberry buttercream frosting. It pairs perfectly with this recipe and is delicious. Other frosting recipe suggestions include: vanilla buttercream, chocolate frosting, or cream cheese frosting.
Absolutely you can – but I suggest you use my strawberry cupcake recipe for the best instructions!
If you make and love my recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so I can see your creations!
Easy Strawberry Cake
Video
Ingredients
Strawberry Reduction
- 1 pound strawberries (1 pint, 2 cups)
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
Strawberry Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup salted butter (softened)
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- strawberry reduction (about ⅔ cup)
- ¼ cup sour cream (room temperature)
- ¼ cup whole milk (room temperature)
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Strawberry Reduction
- Hull the strawberries and cut them in half.
- Put the strawberries and 1 Tablespoon sugar in the container of a high-powered blender and blend on high speed until smooth (30-60 seconds).
- Transfer the strawberry puree to a small saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat, uncovered, for 25-45 minutes, until the strawberry puree has thickened and reduced to be about ⅔ cup, stirring constantly.
- Transfer the thickened reduction to a glass jar and store it in the refrigerator until cooled to room temperature. (I suggest making the reduction a day in advance and storing in the refrigerator overnight).
Make the Strawberry Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius).
- Line a 9” (23 cm) round cake pan or a 9×9” (23 x 23 cm) square baking pan with parchment paper and lightly grease.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt in a medium bowl, then set the dry ingredients aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar for 1 minute.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 1 minute.
- Stir in the sour cream, milk and strawberry reduction until the mixture is smooth. If you want a bright pink cake, you can add a couple drops of pink gel food coloring to the batter during this step.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just incorporated and there are no lumps.
- Evenly spread the cake batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean or with a few crumbs. (Word of caution: do not disturb the cake until it’s done or it will sink. A good way to check before putting a cake tester in is to jiggle the pan slightly while it’s still in the oven. If it jiggles a lot, it’s not ready. If there’s little to no jiggle you can test it with a cake tester).
- Put the cake in the pan on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Then, lift the cakes out of the pan with the parchment paper, transfer to a cake plate.
Make the Strawberry Frosting
- Once the cake has cooled, make the strawberry buttercream frosting.
Frost and Serve
- Then spread it on top of the cake and let it set at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
- Slice and serve the strawberry cake at room temperature or slightly chilled
Notes
- All-purpose flour. cake flour can be used in place of all-purpose flour.
- Salted butter. You can use unsalted butter as well, or replace up to half of the butter with canola oil.
- Granulated sugar. Use organic cane sugar or regular white sugar.
- Sour cream. full-fat Greek yogurt works well in place of sour cream.
- Whole milk. Heavy cream or half and half can be used in place of whole milk.
- Fresh strawberries. You can use frozen strawberries just be sure to thaw them before blending. They will take longer to reduce since they have a little higher water content.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
