Fresh Strawberry Vanilla Cake
Fresh Strawberry Vanilla Cake … so tasty!
Fresh Strawberry Vanilla Cake recipe is a lightly sweetened vanilla cake with delicious bursts of strawberries baked throughout and garnished with fresh strawberries along the outside curves. An absolutely delightful, beautiful, and fragrant cake!
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A little background and history …
I rang in my 47th birthday with this beautiful fresh strawberry cake Corey made for me!
I’ve been baking the kids’ birthday cakes since they were babies. This was in part a financial necessity (as a single mom) but also I found it fun and it got my creative juices flowing! Every birthday I would ask the kids what kind of cake flavor, icing, shape, and design they would like. They would come up with all sorts of wild ideas. The cakes weren’t always the prettiest or tastiest but the kids never once complained. When Corey came into our lives, we would ask the same of him as his birthday approached and we’d have a great time baking him something sweet.
My birthday …
When Corey asked me what kind of cake I would like for my 47th birthday, I immediately said strawberry. Anything strawberry … real strawberries! Give me A L L the strawberries. And I gave him full creative control as my daughter picked me up to take me shopping. When we came home, this beauty was waiting for me! I adore this man AND … this homemade strawberry cake! This amazing strawberry cake is one of my favorite desserts … let’s begin!
What do you need to make this Fresh Strawberry Cake recipe?
Only simple ingredients are needed from the grocery store for this scratch strawberry cake recipe. The recipe calls for:
- All purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups * (cake flour is not needed)
- Baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt, 1/2 teaspoon
- Sugar, 3/4 cups plus 2 additional tablespoons
- Lemon zest, 1 lemon
- Unsalted butter, 1/3 cup
- Egg, 1 large
- Pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
- Heavy cream, 1/2 cup
- Lemon juice, 2 teaspoons
- Strawberries, fresh – 1 pound of strawberries
Optional toppings for the top of the cake and around the outside of the cake …
- Additional 1/2 pound of sliced strawberry halves (to surround the outer sides of the cake)
- Top with whipped cream
- Vanilla icing
- Top with your favorite ice cream
- Smother with strawberry frosting
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar
- Or drizzle fresh strawberry puree over the top and sides of beautiful yet simple cake
What equipment do you need to make this easy cake recipe?
- Springform pan, 9-inch (or 10-inch round cake pans)
- Sifter
- Stand mixer with a paddle attachment (an electric hand mixer with attachments will work perfectly as well)
- At least 3 mixing bowls (a large bowl, medium bowl, and small)
- Spatula
- Non-stick baking spray
- Wire rack
- Parchment paper
- Plastic wrap
- Airtight container for storing the leftover cake
How do you make Strawberry Cake?
Strawberry Cake is an easy cake recipe with a big impact and a wonderful strawberry flavor. We usually find large, fresh strawberries at Costco no matter the season but in the summer we love to shop at various farmer’s markets to stock up on the most fragrant of all berries. This would be the perfect vanilla cake topped with fresh fruit for spring and summer gatherings, Mother’s Day, and at Christmas with all the bright red colors.
First you will need to:
Move the oven rack to the middle position and preheat your oven to 350° F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan (or a 10-inch round cake pan) with butter or non-stick baking spray.
Dry Ingredients:
Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl. Then set to the side. Mix together ¾ cup sugar and the lemon zest until well combined, in a separate bowl.
Wet Ingredients:
Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the lemon zest/sugar mix with the butter on medium speed. Do this for about 3-4 minutes until it is fluffy in appearance.
NOTE: Scrape down the sides and bottom of the cake batter with a spatula from time to time to ensure all of the ingredients are mixed together.
Beat in the egg, followed by the pure vanilla extract. Add in half of the flour mixture and mix at low speed until it is just combined together. Beat in the heavy cream just until combined and then add in the remaining flour mixture. *It is important to NOT over mix.
Then you will …
Transfer the cake batter into the prepared pan. *The batter is thick so it should not escape from the bottom of the springform pan. In a separate bowl, toss the fresh strawberries together with the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Ensure each strawberry has been coated. Then carefully place the strawberries sliced-side (top) down but do not press them into the batter.
Bake the cake for about 10 minutes at 350° F. Reduce the oven temperature down to 325° F and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown in color, the cake is firm, and a toothpick pierced through the cake (not a strawberry) comes out dry.
Finally …
Remove from the oven and cool the cake on a wire rack for at least 25 minutes or longer.
Once cooled, release the springform pan, and transfer the cake to a cake plate or cake stand. Slice the leftover strawberries down the middle (lengthwise) and place them around the outside of the cake.
This tasty treat will put the boxed cake mix versions to shame – it has a light and fresh strawberry flavor combined in a fluffy cake. It’s so versatile in how you can decorate it or just leave it as it is. You can even double the recipe to add multiple cake layers or make strawberry cupcakes!
Looking for more tasty recipes? Try one of these…
- Italian Chicken and Acorn Squash Couscous
- Chicken & Pork Crostina Pasta
- Creamy Beef and Potatoes
- Wild Rice Chicken Casserole – (Easy Recipe)
- Meat and Potato Timballo Pie
Fresh Strawberry Vanilla Cake
Equipment
- 9-inch springform pan (or a 10-inch round cake pan)
- Sifter
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- Mixing bowls (3)
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1½ cups flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup sugar + 2 additional tbsps
- 1 lemon lemon zest
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter , at room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1½ pounds strawberries , fresh – hulled and halved
Optional Toppings
- Additional halved strawberries , to surround the outer sides of the cake
- Whipped cream
- Icing
Instructions
- Move the oven rack to the middle position.Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan (or a 10-inch pie pan) with butter or non-stick baking spray.
- Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl. Set to the side.
- Mix together ¾ cup sugar and the lemon zest until well combined, in a separate bowl.
- Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the lemon zest/sugar mix with the butter on medium speed. Do this for about 3-4 minutes until it is fluffy in appearance. NOTE: Scrape down the sides and bottom with a spatula from time to time to ensure all ingredients are mixed together.
- Beat in the egg, followed by the pure vanilla extract.
- Add in half of the flour mixture and mix at low speed until it is just combined.
- Beat in the heavy cream just until combined and then add in the remaining flour mixture. *It is important to NOT over mix.
- Transfer the batter into the greased springform pan. *The batter is thick so it should not escape from the bottom of the springform pan.
- In a separate bowl, toss the strawberries together with the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Ensure each strawberry has been coated. Then carefully place the strawberries sliced-side (top) down but do not press them into the batter.
- Bake the cake for about 10 minutes at 350° F. Reduce the oven temperature down to 325° F and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown in color, the cake is firm, and a toothpick pierced through the cake (not a strawberry) comes out dry.
- Remove from the oven and cool the cake on a wire rack for at least 25 minutes or longer.
- Once cooled, release the springform pan, and transfer the cake to a cake plate or cake stand. Slice the leftover strawberries down the middle (lengthwise) and place around the outside of the cake.
- Serve the Strawberry Cake as it is, with icing, or with whipped cream.
Notes
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