Description
Delight in a moist and flavorful homemade strawberry cake featuring a tender crumb infused with real strawberry puree and topped with a creamy strawberry cream cheese frosting. Perfect for celebrations or when you want a fresh, fruity dessert that combines classic vanilla cake elements with a vibrant strawberry twist.
Ingredients
Scale
Strawberry Puree
- 1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
Cake
- 2 and 1/2 cups cake flour (295g), spooned & leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 5 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80g) full-fat sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120g/ml) whole milk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup reduced strawberry puree (about 135g)
- 1–2 drops red or pink food coloring (optional)
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup (about 25g) freeze-dried strawberries
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 Tablespoon whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt, to taste
Instructions
- Make Reduced Strawberry Puree: In a blender or food processor, puree fresh strawberries until smooth. Transfer to a small saucepan over medium-low heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the volume reduces from a little over 1 cup (about 270g) to 1/2 cup (about 135g), approximately 35 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to a heat-safe bowl, and cool completely. Refrigerate overnight if desired and bring to room temperature before use.
- Prepare Cake Pans and Oven: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper rounds. Grease parchment paper to ensure easy cake release.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl using a hand or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes.
- Add Egg Whites: Add egg whites and beat on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes, scraping bowl sides as necessary.
- Add Sour Cream and Vanilla: Beat in sour cream and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until fully combined, about 1 minute.
- Combine with Dry Ingredients and Milk: With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients, then slowly pour in whole milk. Beat until just combined; do not overmix.
- Incorporate Strawberry Puree and Food Coloring: Whisk in room-temperature reduced strawberry puree and optional food coloring until smooth with no lumps. Batter should be slightly thick.
- Bake the Cake: Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool Cakes: Cool cakes in pans on cooling rack for 1 hour. Loosen edges with a knife, remove from pans, peel off parchment, and cool completely on racks before frosting.
- Prepare Strawberry Powder: Process freeze-dried strawberries in a blender or food processor until fine powder forms. Sift to remove larger bits.
- Make Frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, strawberry powder, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat on low for 30 seconds, then on high for 3 minutes until creamy. Add salt to taste. Refrigerate frosting for 1 hour before use.
- Assemble Cake: Level cake tops by slicing thin layers off to create flat surfaces. Place one cake layer on a serving plate, spread 3/4–1 cup frosting evenly on top. Place second layer upside down on top. Apply a thin crumb coat layer of about 1 cup frosting around the entire cake. Smooth sides with a bench scraper and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Final Frosting: Cover the cake with remaining frosting evenly. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before slicing to set frosting and maintain cake shape.
- Storage: Store leftover cake tightly covered in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Remove 2 hours before serving to bring to room temperature.
Notes
- Make Ahead: Bake and cool cake layers the day before. Cover tightly and store at room temperature overnight. Prepare frosting ahead, refrigerate, and soften for 10 minutes before assembling. Both frosted and unfrosted cakes freeze well up to 2–3 months.
- Reduced strawberry puree can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 3 months; thaw and bring to room temperature before use.
- Cake flour is recommended for light texture; substitute with homemade cake flour if unavailable.
- Use whole milk or buttermilk for best results; low-fat milk is not recommended.
- Freeze-dried strawberries are essential for frosting texture; omit if unavailable and add extra confectioners’ sugar instead.
- Frozen strawberries can be used for puree but will require longer reduction time.
- For a 9×13-inch cake, bake batter for 40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
- Cupcakes: fill pans 2/3 full; bake 22 minutes. For fewer cupcakes, use an adapted strawberry cupcake recipe.
- Add 1–2 drops of pink or red gel food coloring to deepen cake color if desired.
- For cream cheese-free frosting, use strawberry buttercream recipe instead, adjusting quantity for desired thickness.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/10th cake)
- Calories: 430 kcal
- Sugar: 38 g
- Sodium: 210 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 13 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg
