You are going to love this easy homemade layer cake! Three layers of fluffy, pink, strawberry cake are stacked high, covered in a sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting. One bite of this cake is a sweet, creamy, and fruity flavor experience, and a whole slice is just heaven! Make it with homegrown or farmer’s market strawberries when they are in abundance in the summer. Or pick up a box from the supermarket. Either way you’ll be enjoying the ultimate strawberry layer cake in no time at all. Want to make a different type of strawberry dessert? How about a rustic Strawberry Galette made with homemade pie crust? Or try my Strawberry Shortcake with fresh biscuits and whipped cream, or a classic Strawberry Rhubarb Pie!
Make a Strawberry Layer Cake from Scratch
Easy, Beautifully Decorated Cake – There’s no need to stress about the visual details on this Strawberry cake! A very simple icing, applied mostly with a spatula is perfectly accented with bright, red, fresh strawberries. Way Better Than Boxed – You may have had a boxed strawberry cake before, and I’m here to promise you that this homemade cake with real strawberries in it will be miles better than that. We’re adding a bit of food coloring here, but you can easily leave it out for a strawberry cake without any unnatural additives. Perfect for Parties – A strawberry layer cake will be the star of the day for any birthday, brunch party, wedding shower, baby shower, Valentine’s day, or any other event you can dream up!
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this Strawberry Cake from scratch:
Fresh Strawberries: To give this cake the maximum amount of fresh berry flavor, start with fresh, ripe berries. We’ll be pureeing them and cooking them down before adding them to the cake batter. You’ll need about a pound of fresh berries to make the puree. Flour, Baking Soda, and Baking Powder: The main dry ingredients for just about any good cake. Be sure to use both baking soda and powder to get the right amount of lift for this cake recipe Granulated Sugar Sour Cream and Whole Milk: These ingredients make this cake moist and tender. In place of sour cream you can also use plain Greek yogurt. Eggs: Let 4 eggs come to room temperature before mixing up the cake batter. Cold eggs are difficult to incorporate. Butter: I’m using salted butter in this recipe. If you’d like to use unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the recipe. Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract elevates the flavor of all of the other ingredients. Pink Food Coloring: A few drops of pink gel food coloring is optional if you’d like your cake to have a beautiful rosy hue.
Cream Cheese Cake Frosting Ingredients
Cream Cheese: Use full fat cream cheese that has been softened at room temperature. Butter: Let the butter soften too! Powdered Sugar and Vanilla Extract
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make A Strawberry Layer Cake
Recipe Tips
Avoid Overmixing the Cake Batter: An overmixed cake can become tough after baking. Mix ingredients until just combined. Measure Correctly: Learn my best tricks for measuring ingredients for baking! Often, if you’re having trouble with recipes like this one, a few changes to the way you’re measuring the ingredients will fix everything. Make Ahead Option: Bake the cakes, let them cool most of the way, and wrap them individually with plastic wrap. From here you can store them in the fridge for up to 3 days before stacking and decorating the cake. The cakes can also be frozen this way for up to 3 months. Choose the Best Pans: For the most beautiful layer cakes, straight-sided pans will give you the best results. These are the 8-inch cake pans I use. For Easier Frosting: Use an offset spatula to get smooth frosting on your cakes easily. It’s great for frosting cookies and cupcakes too. Love Layer Cakes? I have more amazing recipes for you to bake! Try making this amazing (and gluten free!) Carrot Cake, an Easy Banana Cake, or a Funfetti Layer Cake that’s perfect for the Holidays.
Storing Tips
Keep this strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting refrigerated until you’re ready to serve it. Leftovers can be kept for up to 3 days.
Can I make this with frozen strawberries?
While I recommend using fresh berries, frozen strawberries are the next best option, especially if you can’t find really flavorful berries at the store. Let them thaw before pureeing and cooking them down per the recipe.
Will this cake recipe work with 9-inch pans?
You can bake this cake in 9-inch rounds if you’re ok with the layers being thinner. For 10-inch pans, use just two of them .
How can I make this strawberry cake even more amazing?
You can add more strawberries! Try mixing a few tablespoons of powdered freeze dried strawberries into the frosting. You can also add a layer of strawberry preserves or fresh strawberry sauce in between the layers. This Strawberry Layer Cake is going to impress your friends and family so much! Make this for the next special day, and enjoy the amazing flavor that fresh strawberries bring to your baked goods. Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later! © Little Sunny Kitchen
