Strawberry Layer Cake

This pretty-in-pink strawberry layer cake is made entirely from-scratch with fresh strawberries and frosted with a cream cheese buttercream.

There’s no box mixes in this special cake! It’s pure strawberry, through and through. And such a beautiful and special dessert.

With fluffy pink layers, a luscious strawberry-cream cheese filling, fresh sliced strawberries nestled between each tier, and cream cheese frosting this cake is a true show-stopper! It’s perfect for birthdays and other special occasions. Of course, you can dress this cake up or down however you like depending on the decor. It’s a simple, yet elegant cake all on its own.

What’s in this strawberry cake

This cake isn’t just a pretty dessert, but a love letter to fresh strawberries and cake fans everywhere. Here’s what makes up this strawberry cake recipe:

• Fresh strawberry puree: It’s blended from juicy real strawberries berries to infuse natural flavor into the cake and the filling.
• Light and fluffy strawberry cake layers: Made with cake flour for a light and tender crumb, and flavored with butter, vanilla and almond extract. Use pink gel food coloring if you want a brighter pink color.
• Cream cheese buttercream frosting: A perfect sweet and tangy accompaniment to the cake layers.
• Strawberry-infused cream cheese filling: Made by combining the cream cheese frosting with a little extra strawberry puree.
• Fresh strawberries: They’re nestled in between each cake layer for more freshness and flavor, and you can use them for decoration on top too.

Recipe notes

• This cake uses quite a bit of strawberry purée to get a clear strawberry flavor in the finished cake. You’ll need a food processor or a high-powered blender to purée the strawberries. Lots of other recipes also have chopped strawberries in the batter, but I opted for thinly sliced fresh strawberries in between the cake layers for even more bright strawberry flavor.
• Use food coloring if you want. You don’t need to use any food coloring, but I found that using just a bit of pink gel food coloring helps bring out the color.
• This cake can be baked in either 8 or 9-inch round pans. 8-inch will be taller, 9-inch will be wider and shorter. Use 2 pans for a double layer, 3 for triple, or 2 pans sliced in half for a quadruple layer. Baking times may vary slightly; the cake is done when the edges pull away, the top is lightly browned, and the center springs back when pressed. Here are the pans I use.These are the pans I use.
• I recommend cake flour for this recipe for the best texture. However, I have tested it with all-purpose and it was still a good cake, just more dense. You can also make your own cake flour— measure 1 cup all-purpose flour and remove 2 tablespoons. Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and sift together. Use 1:1 for cake flour.
• For extra help with your layer cake, see my tutorial how to build a layer cake. It includes tips on how to prep cake pans and how to bake flat even cake layers.

Get the recipe

5 from 1 review

Strawberry Layer Cake

Servings: 16 slices

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Assembly Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

This pretty-in-pink cake is made 100% from-scratch with fresh strawberries and frosted with a cream cheese buttercream.

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Ingredients

 

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Strawberry Cake:

• ▢ 1 cup (226 grams) butter , softened to room temperature
• ▢ 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
• ▢ 4 large eggs
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ ½ teaspoon almond extract
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pink gel food coloring , optional
• ▢ 3 cups (360 grams) cake flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 ¼ cup (310 ml) strawberry purée , see Notes

Cream Cheese Buttercream:

• ▢ 8 ounces (226 grams) full-fat cream cheese , softened to room temperature
• ▢ ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter , softened to room temperature
• ▢ 4 cups (455 grams) powdered sugar , sifted
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt

Strawberry Filling:

• ▢ 1 cup cream cheese buttercream , above
• ▢ 1 tablespoon strawberry purée
• ▢ 1-2 cups thinly sliced fresh strawberries , depending on how many cake layers you have

Equipment

8-inch cake pans

Food processor

Instructions

 

To make the cake:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 8 or 9-inch round cake pans (see Notes) and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
• With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until light and creamy, about 3-4 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl down at least once.
• Add eggs once at a time, mixing and scraping after each. Then add vanilla, almond extract, and food coloring (if using). Mixture will look curdled.
• In a separate bowl sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Add it to the mixer bowl in 3 additions, alternating with the strawberry purée, and ending with the flour mixture. Batter will be thick.
• Divide batter among prepared cake pans and bake until the edges pull away from the pan and the tops spring back when lightly touched, 30-35 minutes.
• Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then remove carefully and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. You can use the cake layers at room temperature, or chill them in the fridge for easier assembly.
• Make ahead: Cake layers can be wrapped in plastic and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, or double-wrapped in the freezer for up to several months. If frozen, let thaw in their wrappings in the fridge overnight.

To make the buttercream and filling:

• Beat the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt with an electric mixer on low until combined. Turn speed up to high and beat for 4-5 minutes until smooth, light, and creamy.
• To make the filling, remove all but 1 cup of the buttercream from the mixer bowl and set aside in another bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of strawberry purée and beat on low speed until smooth.
• Make ahead: Buttercream can be stored in the fridge for 1 week and in the freezer for at least a month. Let come to room temperature and beat until smooth before using.

To assemble the cake:

• Place 1 cake layer on a cake stand or plate. Top with strawberry filling. How much you use will depend on how many cake layers you have— use all, or divide in half or thirds.
• Arrange sliced strawberries on top of filling.
• Place another cake layer on top and repeat filling, strawberries and additional cake layers as needed.
• Cover cake with cream cheese frosting and frost as desired.
• Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving and store any leftovers in the fridge. Cake will keep for several days.

Notes

• You’ll need approximately 10-12 ounces (283-340 grams) of fresh strawberries to make the purée for the cake and filling. Add to a high-powered blender or food processor (what I used) and blend until smooth.
  • You can use frozen strawberries for the purée. Thaw and drain to remove excess liquid before blending.
• This cake can be baked in either 8 or 9-inch round pans. 8-inch will be taller, 9-inch will be wider and shorter. You can use 2 or 3 pans, depending on the look you’re going for: double layer (2 pans), triple layer (3 pans), or quadruple layer (2 pans, then slice each layer in half). Baking times will vary slightly. These are the pans I use.

Calories: 522kcal, Carbohydrates: 74g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 14g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 101mg, Sodium: 299mg, Potassium: 130mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 56g, Vitamin A: 783IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 52mg, Iron: 1mg

Cuisine: American

Course: Dessert

Author: Annalise Sandberg

Have you tried this recipe?I’d love to hear about it! Leave a rating and review below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram @completelydelicious with #completelydelicious.