Strawberry Cake from Scratch
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Apr 21, 2026 
My strawberry cake from scratch is a beautiful, soft layer cake that I love baking when strawberries are in season. I fold fresh berries into the batter and bake it into moist, tender layers with a naturally sweet strawberry flavor and a delicate pink hue. It’s an easy homemade dessert that feels special but delivers big flavor in every bite.
This strawberry cake from scratch is the epitome of the perfect Southern cake, and in my humble opinion, it’s the ultimate summer dessert. It’s made with soft, tender pink layers that are topped with a creamy, luscious strawberry-filled frosting. If you love a strawberry treat, like my pillowy strawberry bundt cake recipe, then you should definitely give this recipe a try. I will say, however, that the key to making this layered cake is using fresh and juicy strawberries, which are in their peak from April through late June. But the rest of the year, you can use frozen (thawed) berries instead.
Now, most “easy” cake recipes use boxed cake mix, like my strawberry crunch cake, or jello for flavor and color, like my strawberry pineapple jello cake. Although there’s nothing wrong with cake mix or jello, the strawberry flavor does taste a bit artificial. This recipe, on the other hand, is made entirely from scratch, and from the pink hue to the berry-liscious flavors, every bite is filled with real and fresh ingredients. I love that!
Lisa – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The best strawberry cake I’ve made and tasted. I cut the frosting recipe in half, used reduced fat cream cheese, and frosted only the middle and top layers. Simply elegant and delicious!
Table of Contents
Sommer’s Recipe Highlights
Fresh Flavors – I’m obsessed with the fact that this cake is made with real, fresh, and seriously juicy strawberries. I cannot stress how much better and REAL this delicious cake tastes thanks to those fresh berries.
Bakery-Style Dessert – Just look at it! This gorgeous pink cake definitely steals the show, and it’s perfect for summer gatherings, graduation parties, and birthdays. This is the type of show-stopping dessert that will keep guests coming back for seconds. At least!
Delicious and Light – Every bite of this strawberry slice is bursting with the most delicious flavors that are both sweet and tangy. Plus, the combo of textures from the moist crumb to the creamy filling is just divine.
Key Ingredients and Tips
- Cake flour – For the most soft and tender cake, I always use cake flour. But a combo of all-purpose flour and a little bit of cornstarch is a good substitute.
- Baking powder and baking soda – This pairing makes the cake ultra fluffy and airy.
- Sugar – I use granulated white sugar to help sweeten this up. Plus, sugar helps to create the cake’s signature moist texture.
- Fat – For this recipe, I use both unsalted butter and vegetable oil. This combo creates the best overall flavor and texture.
- Vanilla extract and strawberry extract – Just a drop or two of these extracts highlights the bright flavors from the fresh strawberries.
- Strawberries – The star of the show! I prefer fresh pureed berries, but the frozen and thawed kind works too. You need fresh ripe in-season strawberries to make this cake really shine. Use berries that are so ripe they squish easily in your fingers.
- Buttermilk – This helps to keep the cake soft and tender. The store-bought variety is fine, but if you’re up for it, check out our handy guide for how to make buttermilk at home.
- Cream cheese – For the base of the frosting, I suggest the block (not tub) kind and make sure that it’s softened.
- Strawberry jam – This is the secret ingredient to making the strawberry cream cheese frosting. If I’m short on time, I use the store-bought kind, but you can always use my homemade jam.
- Powdered sugar – This helps balance out the tanginess from the cream cheese in the frosting. Just make sure to sift it and to remove any clumps.
How to Make
Find the full recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Do the prep work – To start off this recipe, I preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, I grease two cake pans with butter or shortening, and cover the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper that I’ve cut into circles, so that the cake doesn’t stick.
Combine the wet ingredients – I always use an electric mixer for all of my cake recipes. I grab a large bowl and toss in the butter and sugar. Then I beat them on high until it’s light and creamy. Then, I add in the oil and mix it up again.
Mix dry ingredients – In another bowl, I combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Puree the strawberries – I use fresh and juicy strawberries for this recipe, and always, always make sure that they’re ripe. I puree them with some sugar in a blender until it’s all smooth.
Add the strawberries – I return to the bowl with the wet ingredients, and mix in the eggs, vanilla extract, strawberry extract, strawberry puree, and milk.
Mix wet and dry – Turning the mixer back on low, I slowly and carefully add the flour mixture to the bowl with all the combined wet ingredients. Then I mix until it just comes together, and turn off the mixer so as not to overwork the batter.
Bake the cakes – Now, I pour the batter into the greased cake pans and bake those for 30 minutes. I always use the toothpick test to check that the cake is baked!
Cool – Let the cakes cool completely on a rack. If you try to assemble warm cakes, the frosting will melt.
Make the frosting – To start off the frosting, I beat the cream cheese and butter until it is fluffy. Then, I add in the strawberry jam, vanilla extract, and just a pinch of salt. I beat that again, and finally, with the mixer on low, I add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time until it’s sweet and thick enough to spread.
Assemble – I place the cooled first cake layer onto a platter, and cover it evenly with the strawberry frosting.
Keep frosting – Then, I add the second cake layer on top and cover it all the way around with the rest of the frosting. It helps to rotate the cake stand or platter as you spread the frosting over the cake. I’m not worried about perfection here, just a nice, even coating.
Decorate – Finally, I make the signature swooping marks on top of the cake, and I top it off with some decorative fresh strawberries. You could also add sliced berries on top, if you prefer.
Recipe Variations
- Cupcakes – Divide the batter into a lined muffin tray and bake for about 20 minutes.
- Coconut – Mix some shredded coconut into the cake layer for a tropical twist.
- Mascarpone – Swap the cream cheese with mascarpone for a lighter version of this frosting.
Serving Suggestions
Each slice of this homemade bake is decadent and delicious enough to enjoy on its own. It honestly doesn’t need much more, but if you want to sweeten it up, here are some great ideas:
- Top with some fresh whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Decorate with a drizzle of chocolate sauce.
- Pair with your favorite tea or refreshing iced coffee.
Storing
You can let this cake sit out for 3 days at room temperature. Otherwise, it lasts 7-10 days in the refrigerator when it’s wrapped well.
To freeze this cake, wrap it well with a layer of plastic wrap, then foil. Keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. Then thaw at room temperature. To preserve the best possible appearance on the outside, you can “flash freeze” the cake, unwrapped, for about an hour so the frosting hardens. Then wrap well and freeze.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’m going to go against the grain of culinary thinking and state that the reason I believe “southern cakes” are superior to all other cakes is that they are primarily made with oil (or “ol” if you live in the south) instead of butter.
It’s true, butter does taste better than oil. Therefore, cakes made with butter have a deep, rich buttery flavor that is very enticing. However, butter makes cake batter heavier than oil, so the texture is denser, and not quite as light and airy. Although both taste and texture are very important, with cake, I feel that texture trumps flavor. You can skip the butter altogether and try to make up for the missing richness with other flavor-enhancing ingredients. Or you can compromise by adding half butter and half oil. That’s what I do here with my recipe… This provides the decadence of a butter cake and is close to the texture of a pure oil cake with moist crumbs.
No, but it helps to enhance the fresh strawberry flavor!
That might happen because you overmixed the cake batter or you added too much flour!
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Strawberry Cake from Scratch
Video
Ingredients
For the Fresh Strawberry Cake:
- 3 cups cake flour, sifted (or 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour + ¼ cup cornstarch)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 teaspoons strawberry extract
- 3/4 cup fresh pureed strawberries (about 1 1/2 cups whole ripe berries) or sliced frozen strawberries in syrup
- 3/4 cup full fat buttermilk
- 4-8 drops red food coloring, optional (I used 4 drops)
For the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup strawberry jam
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 3-5 drops red food coloring, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Cut out 9-inch parchment paper circles, and press them down in the bottom of each pan. (Trace the pan for perfect circles.)
- For the Strawberry Layer Cake: In the bowl on an electric stand mixer, cream the butter and 1 3/4 cups sugar together for 1 minute. Then add in the oil and beat until the mixture is very smooth. (Cream: Beat on high to break down the sugar crystals.)
- In a separate bowl, mix the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Place the ripened strawberries in the blender with 2 tablespoons sugar. Puree until smooth. (Or use an equal amount of thawed sliced strawberries in syrup. Drain and puree. No need to add sugar.)
- Once the butter and sugar are well creamed. Scrape the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula. Then turn the mixer on low and beat in the eggs, vanilla extract, strawberry extract, strawberry puree, and buttermilk.
- Scrape the bowl again. Turn the mixer back on low and slowly add the flour mixture until well combined. Beat in the food coloring if desired, then turn off the mixer.
- Pour the batter evenly into the two prepared pans. Bake on the middle rack, undisturbed for 30 minutes. If the center of the cakes are puffed up, check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, take them out of the oven. If the toothpick has batter on it, bake another 5-10 minutes and recheck.
- Allow the cakes to cool 10 minutes in the pans. Then carefully flip them out on a cooling rack. Remove the parchment paper and cool completely.
- For the Frosting: Once the cakes are room temperature, place the cream cheese and butter in a clean stand mixer bowl. Beat until fluffy. Then scrape the bowl and turn on low. Mix in the strawberry jam, vanilla extract, and salt. Then add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating to incorporate. After adding 4 cups of powdered sugar, turn the mixer up to beat out any clumps. Check the consistency of the frosting. If it is too loose, add another 1-2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add food coloring if desired
- To Assemble: Move one cake to a cake stand or platter. Scoop about 2 cups frosting onto the cake. Use a large flat spatula to spread the frosting out evenly.
- Set the second cake on top of the frosting, being careful to center the cake. Gently press the cake a little to level the top. Then scoop all remaining frosting on top of the cake. Use the spatula to work the frosting over the top and down the sides.
- Turn the cake stand to smooth out the sides with the flat edge of the spatula. Once you are satisfied with the sides, use the spatula to make swooping marks on the top of the cake. Use a wet paper towel to clean up the cake stand. Top with whole fresh strawberries, or sliced strawberries if serving on the same day.
- Cover and keep the cake at room temperature for up to 4 days, or refrigerate for up to a week. When ready to serve, make sure the cake is at room temperature… All classic layer cakes taste best at room temperature.
Notes
- Spread a thin “crumb coat” layer of frosting over the cake to catch and seal in the crumbs. Then spread on the final “pretty” layer of frosting on top.
- Or you can wrap the cakes in separate pieces of plastic and freeze them. Then a few hours later, you can unwrap, level, and frost the cake with a lot of added stability. Just be sure to do this at least 6 hours before serving so the cake layers have time to thaw.
I made the Strawberry Cake today for my granddaughters 10th birthday. She loves anything strawberry!!!! Well, it was a huge hit!!! Everyone loved it!
I made the cake following all the directions. The only thing I did different was to add a strawberry filling to the middle of the cake. I spread a light coat of the cream cheese frosting and then added the filling very thinly. It added that little extra of strawberry taste. Plus it gave a pretty presentation when it was cut to serve.
I will be making this again in the near future. Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe.
hi, i’m trying to make a small personal two tier cake for my friend, how long should i put in a 4in and a 6in round cake pan?
Hi Reagan,
I haven’t made this cake in pans that small. However, I would set the timer at 15 minutes. If the top doesn’t look puffed, add another 5 minutes and check again.
This recipe was perfect! It was my first homemade cake and it wasn’t too dry! Great recipe. I didn’t use the parchment paper, just used flower and butter and it worked perfectly.
Hi, Sommer! Would love to try this out. But we only have a carton of strawberry sauce (syrup?) and we’re looking for ways to use it up. Would it be okay if I use this instead of the puree? Thanks!
Hi Isabelle,
I haven’t made it that way personally, but you could definitely give it a try. Make sure you have a full 3/4 cup. :)
I made this cake for a friends moms birthday. I was afraid to make a strawberry cake from scratch, because of all the negative reviews I had seen about not having enough flavor. I baked this cake, and it was the best cake I had ever tasted! Everyone loved it. I didnt use the cream cheese frosting, I made homemade strawberry buttercream so I could decorate it. The cake was fabulous!! I will definitely be making this cake again! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe.
I made this cake yesterday for our Moms 91st Birthday. I made it in a 9×13 pan. Followed directions exactly and it was perfect and delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this cake recipe.
Can I make this is two smaller pans. So two 6×3. Could you tell me what the temp and time would need to be?
This is my 3rd time making this AMAZING recipe!! And it’s been a hit every time!
Hi Katie,
You definitely can, but I can’t give you an exact baking time. I would start with 15 minutes, and if it looks puffed, test with a toothpick. If not, add 5-10 minutes.
A friend shared this recipe. My family loved it! One said it’s the best cake he’s ever had (age 62).
I read all the way from the top and was really excited to make this until I realised that the measurements are all in cups rather than grams! I’d love to try this if it was in grams and millilitres!
Hi Rav,
There is a metric conversion option in the recipe form. Hope this helps! :)
Omgoodness-so good. I had to modify one ingredient , I had no strawberry extract and used a fruit infused vinegar. Also I substituted and used dark cocoa powder and made a dark chocolates frosting. So delish.
I baked this cake with fresh strawberries from the farm next to my neighborhood & it’s just out of this world! I ended up adding the extra confectioners sugar to the frosting for stiffness & it was a little too sweet. In my opinion it tasted better when more of the cream cheese flavor came through. Make this cake! 🍓
Hi Sommer,
Can this cake be made in three 8×2 cake pans? If so, how long should I bake it.
Hi Carmelita,
Sure! You will need to reduce the baking time to approximately 18-22 minutes. Let me know how it turns out! :)
I made this for my 30th birthday and it was a total hit! (I didn’t share the leftovers) I didn’t use the food coloring and it still presented nice. Will make this again! Thank you for sharing!!!