This is the best fresh strawberry cake made with with real strawberries. The secret is adding a fresh strawberry reduction to your cake batter and mix the rest into your buttercream frosting for a fresh strawberry cake recipe that tastes like real strawberries!
Many strawberry cakes are made with imitation flavors or Jell-O, but not this cake! This uses real fresh or frozen strawberries and lemon to bring out the strawberry flavor. This cake is very moist and bakes up into three, 8" layers that each have a tight and tender crumb. I'll be honest... this is not the easiest cake to make, there are a lot of steps but I promise it's so worth it.
If you're looking for an easier strawberry cake, check out my doctored strawberry cake mix recipe. My husband Dan actually prefers that one!
Fresh Strawberry Ingredients
This is definitely one of my all-time favorite cake recipes. I have never worked so long and hard on one recipe. SO many failed attempts and I almost gave up. I tried adding chopped up strawberries to my vanilla cake recipe, and the cake turned out very wet, dense, brown and most of the strawberry flavor was gone. I also tried grinding up freeze-dried strawberries and adding that to my dry ingredients. That cake turned out a little better, but I still wanted to figure out a way to use real strawberries. Then I discovered strawberry emulsion and reduction!
Strawberry Reduction Step-By-Step
Step 1 – Place fresh or frozen strawberries (thawed) into a medium saucepan. Optional: blend strawberries with an emersion blender if you prefer a smoother texture of strawberry reduction.
Step 2 – Heat on medium-high and add in sugar (if desired), lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
Step 3 – Once bubbling, reduce heat to medium-low and slowly reduce until berries begin to break up and the mixture has reduced by about half. This will take about 20 minutes. If your mixture has reduced by half and is still watery, continue to cook until all of the liquid is out.
Step 4 – Occasionally stir the mixture to prevent burning. You should end up with about 2 cups of thick strawberry reduction that looks like tomato sauce. Transfer to another container and let cool before use.
Step 5 – You will use some of the reduction for the cake batter, some for the frosting and the rest for filling between the cake layers for extra moisture. Leftover reduction can be stored in the fridge for up to one week or frozen for 6 months.
Cake Step-By-Step
Step 1 – Bring your butter, egg whites, milk and strawberry reduction to room temperature and prepare the rest of your ingredients. For the best success, use a food scale to weigh your ingredients. Converting this recipe to cups could lead to failure. Read my blog post on how to use a scale for more information.
Step 2 – Grease three, 8" cake pans with cake goop or preferred pan release and preheat oven to 350ºF/176ºC. I'm using three, 8" pans but you can use two, 9" pans or use my cake calculator below to adjust the recipe for the pans you have.
Pro-tip – You MUST bring your butter, egg whites, milk and strawberry reduction to room temperature. If the ingredients are not room temperature, your mixture could curdle and become ruined.
Step 3 – In a separate medium bowl, combine the milk, strawberry reduction (also called puree), strawberry emulsion (or extract), vanilla extract, lemon extract, lemon zest, lemon juice, and pink food coloring. Whisk together.
Pro-tip – I use Americolor electric pink food coloring to get my beautiful pink color. It may seem like cheating, but if you don't add it, the color from the strawberries will bake out and your cake will turn out gray.
Step 4 – In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Step 5 – Add room temperature butter to stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds.
I'm using my Bosch Universal Plus mixer for this, but you can use any KitchenAid stand mixer or a hand mixer. If you use a hand mixer, you might have to mix for longer.
Step 6 – Gradually sprinkle in the sugar, beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white, about 3-5 minutes.
Step 7 – Add the egg whites one at a time, beating 15 seconds between. Your mixture should look cohesive at this point. If it looks curdled and broken, your butter or egg whites were too cold.
You must use egg WHITES for this recipe, the yellow from the egg could turn the inside of your cake peach.
Step 8 – Mix on low speed and add about a third of the dry ingredients to the batter, followed immediately by about a third of the milk mixture, mix until ingredients are almost incorporated into the batter. Repeat the process 2 more times. When the batter appears blended, stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. If it looks like ice cream, you did it right!
Step 9 – Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Step 10 – Bake cakes at 350ºF/176ºC until they feel firm in the center and a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs on it, about 30-35 minutes.
Step 11 – Place pans on top of a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Then flip your cakes onto the racks and cool completely.
Step 12 – Once cool, wrap each layer in plastic wrap and refrigerate before assembling your cake. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours or freeze for up to 1 week.
Step 13 – If you want even more strawberry flavor (duh, of course I do Liz) spread some of your extra strawberry reduction directly on each layer before filling with buttercream and stacking. Delicious!
If you need more information on how to frost and fill a cake, check out my how to make your first cake tutorial
Strawberry Buttercream Step-By-Step
Step 1 –Place pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the whisk attachment and combine ingredients on low, then whip on high for 5 minutes.
You CANNOT use fresh egg whites for this buttercream. Egg whites from a box are pasteurized (like your milk) so they are safe to eat without cooking.
Step 2 – Add in your butter in chunks and whip on high for 8-10 minutes until it's very white, light and shiny. It may look curdled and yellow at first, this is normal. Keep whipping.
Step 3 – Add in strawberry reduction, salt and vanilla extract and continue whipping until incorporated.
Pro-tip – If your buttercream looks curdled, it's too cold. Take out ½ cup of buttercream and melt it in the microwave until it's just barely melted. About 10-15 seconds. Pour it back into your whisking buttercream and it will become creamy.
Step 4 – Optional: Switch to a paddle attachment and mix on low for 15-20 minutes to make the buttercream very smooth and remove air bubbles. This isn't required but if you want really creamy frosting, you don't want to skip it.
Refrigerate leftover buttercream for up to a week. If you are not going to use buttercream for more than a week you can freeze it for 6 months or more.
FAQ
WHAT STRAWBERRIES ARE BEST TO USE?
Hood berries! Get the best strawberries you can while they are in season from a local farmer's market. For our location, that's Mount Hood Strawberries from Mount Hood, Oregon. If strawberries aren't in season, just try to get the best berries you can from a local grocery store.
CAN I USE STRAWBERRY JAM OR PRESERVES?
Strawberry jam is just blended strawberries with sugar, so it will not work for this recipe. If you absolutely cannot get fresh strawberries, you can use blended strawberry preserves, but it will be much sweeter. A reduction is needed for this recipe to have the right consistency and amount of strawberry flavor.
CAN I USE A FLOUR SUBSTITUTE?
You cannot use almond flour, self-rising flour or cake flour for this cake.
WHAT KIND OF STRAWBERRY EMULSION IS BEST?
If you leave out the emulsion/extract, the strawberry flavor will not be as pronounced. I like to use LorAnn's strawberry emulsion for a really strong flavor.
CAN I USE THIS FOR CUPCAKES?
Yes, this recipe makes about 24 cupcakes.
IS THIS GOOD TO USE UNDER FONDANT?
Yes I have used it under fondant many times. Just be sure to not use cream cheese frosting underneath the fondant, or it will melt.
RELATED RECIPES
Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
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Note: measurements are estimated based off the vanilla cake recipe using standard US cake pans and sizes. Measurements used are for 2" tall cake pans only. Your results may vary. Do not overfill cake pans above manufacturer's recommended guidelines.
Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer with whisk and paddle attachments (or a hand mixer)
- Food Scale
- Three, 8"x2" round cake pans
- Wire rack
Ingredients
Fresh Strawberry Cake Ingredients
- 14 ounces all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
- 10 ounces granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon strawberry emulsion or extract, I use LorAnn oils bakery emulsion
- zest one lemon
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice fresh
- 6 ounces egg whites room temperature
- 4 ounces strawberry reduction room temperature
- 6 ounces milk room temperature, whole milk is best
- ½ teaspoon Pink food color I use Americolor electric pink gel
Strawberry Reduction
- 32 ounces fresh or frozen strawberries thawed
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 pinch salt
- 4 ounces sugar optional
Easy Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- 4 ounces pasteurized egg whites
- 16 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
- 16 ounces powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces strawberry reduction room temperature
Instructions
Strawberry Reduction Instructions
- I recommend making this reduction the day before you're ready to make your cake.
- Place fresh or thawed, frozen strawberries into a medium saucepan. Optional: blend strawberries with an emersion blender if you prefer a smoother texture of strawberry reduction.
- Heat on medium-high and add in sugar (if desired), lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
- Once bubbling, reduce heat to medium-low and slowly reduce until berries begin to break up and the mixture has reduced by about half. This will take about 20 minutes. If your mixture has reduced by half and is still watery, continue to cook until all of the liquid is out.
- Occasionally stir the mixture to prevent burning. You should end up with about 2 cups of thick strawberry reduction that looks like tomato sauce. Transfer to another container and let cool before use.
- You will use some of the reduction for the cake batter, some for the frosting and the rest for filling between the cake layers for extra moisture. Leftover reduction can be stored in the fridge for up to one week or frozen for 6 months.
Strawberry Cake Instructions
- NOTE: It is SUPER IMPORTANT that all the room temperature ingredients listed above are room temperature and not cold or hot.
- Make sure to take your strawberry reduction out of the refrigerator 1 hour before making your cake so that it comes to room temperature.
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350ºF/176ºC.
- Grease three 8" cake pans with cake goop or preferred pan release
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the milk, strawberry reduction, strawberry emulsion, vanilla extract, lemon extract, lemon zest, lemon juice, and pink food coloring.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add room temperature butter to your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds.
- Gradually sprinkle in the sugar, beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the egg whites one at a time, beating 15 seconds in between. Your mixture should look cohesive at this point. If it looks curdled and broken, your butter or egg whites were too cold.
- Mix on low speed and add about a third of the dry ingredients to the batter, followed immediately by about a third of the milk mixture, mix until ingredients are almost incorporated into the batter. Repeat the process 2 more times. When the batter appears blended, stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. If it looks like ice cream, you did it right!
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
- Bake cakes at 350ºF/176ºC until they feel firm in the center and a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs on it, about 30-35 minutes.
- Place pans on top of a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Then flip your cakes onto the racks and cool completely.
- Once cooled, wrap each layer in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze before assembling your cake.
Buttercream Instructions
- Place egg whites and powdered sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Attach the whisk and combine ingredients on low and then whip on high for 5 minutes
- Place pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the whisk attachment and combine ingredients on low, then whip on high for 5 minutes.
- Add in your softened butter in chunks and whip on high for 8-10 minutes until it's very white, light and shiny. It may look curdled and yellow at first, this is normal. Keep whipping.
- Add in strawberry reduction, vanilla extract and salt and continue whipping until incorporated.
- Optional: Switch to a paddle attachment and mix on low for 15-20 minutes to make the buttercream very smooth and remove air bubbles.
Decorating the cake
- Place your first layer of strawberry cake onto a cake plate or cake board. Trim off the dome if needed with a sharp knife so the top of the cake is flat.
- Add a very thin layer or your cooled reduction over the cut surface. This helps soak into the cake and adds moisture and strawberry flavor.
- Add a layer of strawberry buttercream, I shoot for about ¼". Smooth it with your offset spatula until it's flat.
- Frost the outside of your cake with the leftover buttercream and decorate with some fresh. strawberries if desired.
Video
Notes
- Make sure all your ingredients (egg whites, milk, butter, reduction) are room temperature or a little warm so that your batter doesn't curdle.
- For the best success, use a food scale to weigh your ingredients. Converting this recipe to cups could lead to failure. Read my blog post on how to use a scale for more information.
- I use Americolor electric pink food coloring to get my beautiful pink color. It may seem like cheating, but if you don't add it, the color from the strawberries will bake out and your cake will turn out gray.
- I'm using my Bosch Universal Plus mixer for this, but you can use any KitchenAid stand mixer or a hand mixer.
- You must use egg WHITES for this recipe, the yellow from the egg could turn the inside of your cake peach.
- I like to use LorAnn oil's strawberry bakery emulsion, but you can also use extract.
- When making your reduction, the goal is to get as much liquid out as possible without burning the strawberries. The mixture should look like thick tomato sauce and will have reduced by half.
- You will use some of the reduction for the cake batter, some for the frosting and the rest for filling between the cake layers for extra moisture. Leftover reduction can be stored in the fridge for up to one week or frozen for 6 months.
- Make sure your frosting is very light and white before adding in the puree. Give it a taste, if it still tastes like butter, keep whipping it until it tastes like sweet ice cream.
- If your buttercream looks curdled, it's too cold. Take out ½ cup of buttercream and melt it in the microwave until it's just barely melted. About 10-15 seconds. Pour it back into your buttercream, and mix until creamy.
Nutrition
Jacqueline Ruiz says
So delicious. Thank you for sharing. Wondering if it can be done on whipped cream frosting. Even cream cheese. Let me know. 😋Yum!
Elizabeth Marek says
Oh yea, those would taste delicious!!
Erica Hayes says
I made this recipe EXACTLY as instructed for my boyfriends birthday. First time every using a food scale. It came out PERFECT and everything looked and tasted as described. The only precious ingredient I forgot was a fresh lemon. I did not get to add the zest, and I ended up using lemon juice from a bottle. The cake was still beautiful and amazing! I will be making it again with the fresh lemon for juice and zest. This was my first attempt at making a cake from scratch like this and I'm really proud!
I definitely agree on using a scale. I read the article and it makes total sense why so many of my attempts at other cakes failed! Thank you Liz! <3 I wish I could upload my pictures, it came out so wonderful!!!
Elizabeth Marek says
Great job! I love when people make that leap to using a scale and discover how much easier it makes things <3
Olympia Powell says
Hi liz i was just wondering for the strawberry reduction what sugar did you use, did you use granulated sugar or caster sugar
Elizabeth Marek says
Granulated which I think is very similar to caster sugar
Sandra says
Wow I’m so lucky I checked half way to notice it was almost done- the directions say 30-35 minutes but they took literally 20 minutes to fully cook!!! Smells amazing - can’t wait to try it!!
Elizabeth Marek says
Every oven is different! So glad you liked the recipe <3
Kim D says
Hi Liz-my daughter loves this strawberry cake recipe and asked me to make it for her 16th bday this weekend. I am attempting to use your techniques on your rustic cake (with the chalkboard), wish me luck! How far in advance would you recommend I bake the cake before decorating? I've read on your site baking and crumb coating the day before is fine, but is it better to bake, frost and decorate the same day? Thank you!
Sugar Geek Show says
Hi! Happy almost birthday to your daughter 😀 I would recommend baking your cakes the day before frosting. You can wrap them in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge or freezer.
Olympia Powell says
Hey liz, Once the cakes are cooled, and i wrap each layer in plastic wrap and refrigerate before assembling my cake for the buttercream ingredients how long should the cakes be in fridge before starting the buttercream?
Elizabeth Marek says
Just until they are firm and cold. If you're in a hurry, put them in the freezer. For me it takes about 30 minutes to an hour
Carol Jup says
Hi Ms. Liz, I Have never been disappointed with any of your recipes, I would like to make this cake for a friends birthday. I my favorite pans are the magic line pans, 8 inch pans call for 3-1/4 cups of batter per pan, will this recipe make enough batter for me or should I increase the batter amount, If so how much, thank You
Elizabeth Marek says
You can increase the amount if you want to but yes this makes three layers of cake, they are not 2" tall though
Linda says
I made this for my son’s birthday, he loves strawberry anything. It was so delicious and moist. The icing was fantastic! Not too sweet. Thank you for sharing. My son and guests loved this cake. They want more.
Melanie Proffer says
Definitely going to give this one a try ASAP! I have been on this same strawberry cake journey with no success so far 😣. I currently have three Ziploc bags sitting on my kitchen counter that are filled with cupcakes of three separate strawberry recipes followed to the letter. All about as awful as the next. Its a bad case of goldilocks cakes.
Elizabeth Marek says
Oh no, let me know how you feel about this one <3
Nishitha says
Hello, can I replace the strawberry with blueberries and make the cake? Should I make any changes to this recipe then? TIA
Elizabeth Marek says
You definitely could!
Amanda says
So I read as many comments as I could before asking. One response says that you can use this recipe under fondant. Then in another comment you stated that you would only use the frosting as a filing and not as a crumb coat because of the moisture content. I'm making a 3 layer 8x2 cake that will need to be covered in fondant for a bottom tier. Can I use this whole recipe for this?
Elizabeth Marek says
You can definitely use this recipe under fondant but use regular buttercream between the cake and the fondant and the strawberry frosting as the filling only
Stephany says
Yummy! Think you could do a cream cheese frosting instead? Would you add strawberry to the cream cheese frosting?
Sugar Geek Show says
Sounds delicious! I would make the cream cheese frosting separately and then stir in some strawberries.
Claire says
Is it safe to use egg whites in the buttercream? How to ensure we manage bacteria issues?
Elizabeth Marek says
The eggs are pasteurized already (heat-treated) and safe to use.
Barb says
Can this cake sit out a few days? I plan to make a Bundt and ship to my daughter with the frosting to frost her cake for a pandemic birthday solo. Will it keep 3 days at room temp?
Elizabeth Marek says
No I would not advise shipping a fresh fruit cake, it will most likely mold
Hailey says
What do you do if it is curdled
Sugar Geek Show says
Your butter was probably too cold, trying taking out 1/2 cup of the buttercream and microwaving it until just melted, then whip it back into your frosting. Hope that helps!
Joyce says
I bake cakes for Family, Friends and Co-workers for the Holidays. Just joking around one day with my friend, I told him I would make any cake he would like. He said Strawberry is his favorite! OK! I have never made a Strawberry cake, just put stawberries slices on a cake, but not make a full flavor strawberry cake. Watch your videos and just love how your cakes look and turn out. You are the first recipe, I have tried searching for strawberry cake recipes. I just want to say one thing about this cake recipe.................AWESOME! My friend said it taste like Strawberry shortcake, I think it taste like strawberry Ice Cream. OMG, the flavors are explosive! I'm taking your strawberry cake recipe as my strawberry cake recipe. I really can't put into words how the flavor is so bold and just plan Good! I would recommend any baker, home baker, first time baker to try this recipe. It is very,very tasty. 😀
Lucy says
I made this cake for my sister's last birthday and it was gorgeous!!! Didn't get the colour but it turned out to be a lovely pale pink. Recipe was easy to follow and definitely worth the effort. Very tasty and my sister loved it, so rare to find a cake recipe with FRESH strawberries 🙂
I was hoping to make it again for my future housemates, only problem is one of them can't eat much wheat. I know it's quite a niche question but I was wondering if you had any suggestions for substitutions and if they would work. If not, that's totally fine! I understand wheat free baking is a lot more temperamental. Thank you 🙂
Lindsay says
Sounds so good, can’t wait to make!! I live at high altitude. What adjustments should I make? Can I use high altitude flour? TIA
Sugar Geek Show says
Hi! Check out my high-altitude baking hacks blog post! https://sugargeekshow.com/news/high-altitude-baking-hacks/
Allie says
Hey! I don’t have any lemon extract for the cake batter. Have you tried almond extract in it? Would almond extract taste ok?
Elizabeth Marek says
You can leave it out if you dont have it
Crystal W says
OMG..SOOO GOOD! I made sum alterations but it still came out perfect and I used only two pans and my own buttercream frosting w/o the egg white. BUT STILL THANK YOU! Great cake ❤️
Carol Swejda says
Hi there. I was just wondering if I would be able to leave out the red food coloring? My son is very sensitive to food colorings....
Sugar Geek Show says
Unfortunately, if you leave out the food coloring in this recipe the cake will turn out more gray than pink because the color in the strawberries bakes out in the oven.
Maritza says
Hi Liz. I am about to make this cake. It I also have a quick question. Would I be able to do this same cake for banana and swap out the purée for bananas and the emulsion for banana emulsion? Please let me know if it is possible. Thank you.
Elizabeth Marek says
I would not use this recipe for banana cake, I have a banana cake recipe if you want to make banana cake
Karen Whitson says
Made this for Easter, turned out great! First strawberry cake recipe that tastes like the ones I remember my Grandma making!
Cam says
Yum! Can you just ship me a slice lol
Lori Williams says
I am so excited to find a moist, strawberry rich, REAL strawberry cake! I made this recipe for the middle tier of a large wedding cake for this weekend. It not only tasted amazing, but held its shape well for transport and cutting. Thank you for sharing another great recipe!