Strawberry Cake

Perfectly fluffy and tender, this strawberry cake captures all the beautiful flavors of fresh berries. The strawberry puree reduction in the creamy frosting provides a concentrated flavor. Strawberry puree in the cake, as well as strawberry gelatin, work together to create a delightful strawberry flavor in the cake layers. There's strawberry in every single bite—and strawberries on top, too.

It doesn't hurt that the lovely bright pink color is darling. The speckles of strawberry in the frosting not only give the cake a lot of character, but also the strawberry reduction really makes the icing pop with a "fresh" strawberry flavor. In short, if you love strawberries, you'll love this cake.

Learn how to make this homemade strawberry cake, and everyone will be tickled pink when this comes to the table.

What's the Secret to Great Strawberry Cake?

If you've ever tried to make strawberry cake with fresh berries, you know there's a common problem: Berries are hard to bake with. You can add chopped strawberries to a cake, but bites without the fruit can fall a little flat. Boxed mixes use artificial flavorings that may not taste very fresh. But we were determined to make our homemade strawberry cake with real strawberries—and that's precisely what we did.

We start by pureeing some fresh berries. That puree is then added to a cake batter, replacing some of the liquid so the batter isn't watery. It's then cooked down, or concentrated, so it can be mixed into an incredible buttercream frosting without making it too thin or causing it to curdle with all the extra moisture.

Trust us, the quick work of pureeing fresh strawberries and then the time it takes to make the strawberry reduction pays off when you have your first bite of this incredible cake.

Ingredients for Strawberry Cake

Here's a breakdown of what you'll need for this recipe:

• Fresh strawberries: Strawberries are in every bite. Use the freshest, in-season berries if you can. They tend to be smaller. You may need more of them, but they'll have the best flavor.
• Baking spray with flour: Coating the cake pans keeps the cake from sticking.
• All-purpose flour: We tried this recipe with cake flour, but it didn't work. You need the texture and crumb that you can only get from all-purpose flour.
• Baking powder: Helps the cake to rise tall during baking.
• Kosher salt: A little salt will even out the sweetness of the cake.
• Granulated sugar: For sweetness and to help make the cake tender.
• Strawberry-flavored gelatin (such as Jell-O): Bolsters the strawberry flavor of the fresh puree and contributes a gorgeous pink color.
• Unsalted butter: Adds richness and flavor to the cake, and is also the body of the easy buttercream frosting.
• Eggs: Brings the cake together to bake up beautifully.
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract is the backbone of great flavor in baked goods. It enhances everything else in the cake.
• Whole milk: For adding moisture to the cake batter.
• Powdered sugar: Helps thicken, sweeten, and set the buttercream frosting.

How To Make Strawberry Cake

Home bakers will find this strawberry cake is a fairly classic recipe, just with the addition of a fresh strawberry puree in the batter and a strawberry reduction in the frosting. Here's a brief outline of the process; the full recipe is further below:

• Make the strawberry puree: Blend strawberries until thin and smooth.
• Make the strawberry cake batter: Combine dry ingredients, including flour and baking powder. Then blend the butter, gelatin, and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add eggs, followed by vanilla extract. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, combine some of the strawberry puree with milk, then add it to the butter mixture, alternating with the dry ingredients until the batter is just mixed.
• Bake cake layers: Pour the batter into two nine-inch cake rounds that are coated with cooking spray with flour and lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F 25 to 28 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted at the middle comes out clean. Cool cakes slightly before removing from pans. Then, let the cakes cool completely before moving on to assembling.
• Make strawberry reduction: You need to cook the remaining strawberry puree into a strawberry reduction, a thicker version of the puree that has super concentrated berry flavor, and then cool it completely. This will take around an hour, so you can start it as soon as the cakes go into the oven.
• Make frosting: Blend the butter with salt and vanilla extract until fluffy. Alternate adding the cooled strawberry reduction and the powdered sugar until the frosting is fluffy and all ingredients are used.
• Assemble cake: Spread some of the frosting between the two layers, then cover the top and sides in your preferred frosting style. Garnish with fresh berries, cut, and serve.

Best Frosting for Strawberry Cake

We love the classic buttercream used in this recipe. To double down on the strawberry flavor, you'll simmer some fresh strawberry puree to turn it into a strawberry reduction. This is the secret ingredient of this cake, the real powerhouse. It delivers incredible berry flavor but doesn't water down the frosting or make it curdle and run.

You can also use other frostings if you like, including cream cheese frosting or vanilla buttercream frosting. This Strawberry Frosting has pieces of the fruit mixed in, not a puree.

Test Kitchen Tips for the Best Strawberry Cake

The Southern Living Test Kitchen made this recipe several times, getting it just right so you'll have great success with it. They shared a few things that will help you along the way:

• Keep going. The cake batter may appear like it is breaking as you're combining the wet and dry elements. Just trust the process and bake them. They will turn out amazing!
• Measure your flour. If you use too much flour (which happens when you scoop and not spoon your flour), the cake will be dry and tough. Use a food scale if you have it. Spoon the flour into a measuring cups and level it with a knife if you don't have a scale.
• Pink it up. Add food color gel if you want. It is thicker and won't thin out the batter or frosting like food coloring can.
• Flatten cake tops. Slice off any cake domes so the cakes will neatly stack.
• Use room temperature eggs: If you haven’t remembered to pull your eggs out to room temperature, you can place them in a bowl with warm water for 5 to 10 minutes. Warmer ingredients combine better.
• Frost cleanly: Place strips of wax paper under the bottom cake layer, around the edges, when you're frosting to avoid making a frosting mess on the cake plate.

How To Store Strawberry Cake

Unfrosted cake layers can be stored at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap for up to 2 days. Once frosted, this strawberry cake should be loosely covered with plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.