Strawberry Cake Recipe
This Strawberry Cake recipe is a light and fluffy strawberry cake made from scratch with simple ingredients, filled with fresh strawberries and topped with a fresh whipped cream cheese frosting with strawberries and a touch of lemon. A great recipe for a crowd and the perfect cake for strawberry season. I may earn commissions for purchases made through links on this post.
STRAWBERRY CAKE
I’ve been wanting to make a homemade strawberry cream cake recipe for a while. This cake is unbelievably light and fluffy. So fluffy that I had a hard time cutting a pretty piece.
Cake flour is used in this cake to give it it’s incredibly tender crumb. I don’t always have cake flour on hand so I provided a substitute in the notes. But if you can, buy cake flour.
You know how sometimes cakes have a slight strawberry flavor. Not this one. The best cakes have a vibrant strawberry flavor and that’s exactly what this had.
This cake is baked in a 9×13 baking dish or cake pan.
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 13- x 9-inch baking dish generously or line with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer for 4 to 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, until well blended. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, strawberry-flavored gelatin, baking soda, and salt; Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until ingredients are just barely combined. Stir in the strawberries. Pour batter in prepared pan. Batter will be thick.
- Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and cake springs back to the touch. You may need to cover the cake after 30 minutes with foil to make sure it doesn’t brown too much. Cool in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes. Cool completely. Spread frosting on top.
- For the frosting: Make sure your cream cheese is really soft. Stir the jello into the cream cheese. Add the strawberries and beat until blended.
- In a separate bowl, beat whipping cream and lemon juice at medium speed until foamy; add 3/4 cup powdered sugar, beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Fold half of cream mixture into cheese mixture; fold in remaining cream mixture. Frost cooled cake immediately. Keep cake refrigerated until serving. Cut with a serrated knife to serve.
Buttermilk Substitute
Add 1 tablespoon vinegar to a measuring cup. Fill the measuring cup up with milk until it reaches the 1 cup line. Let sit 5 minutes or until mixture looks slightly curdled. You can also use lemon juice but vinegar is better.
Cake Flour Substitute
For every cup of flour you need to substitute do this:
Measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Remove 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and return to your flour bag. Replace the removed flour with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Sift the flour several times to incorporate the mixture completely.
OTHER STRAWBERRY RECIPES
- Strawberry Cheesecake Dip
- Chocolate Chip Strawberry Shortcake
- Mascarpone Stuffed Strawberries
- Strawberry Colada Cupcakes
- Strawberry Cream Puff Cake
- Easy Strawberry Crumb Bars
- Strawberry Chocolate Chip Oreos
Strawberry Cake recipe
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour, see notes for substitute
- 2 tablespoons instant strawberry-flavored gelatin mix, (JELLO)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk, see notes for substitute
- 2/3 cup diced fresh strawberries
Frosting:
- 1 8- oz. package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon instant strawberry flavored gelatin mix, (JELLO)
- 2/3 cup diced fresh strawberries
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 13- x 9-inch baking dish generously or line with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer for 4 to 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, until well blended. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, strawberry-flavored gelatin, baking soda, and salt; Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until ingredients are just barely combined. Stir in the strawberries. Pour batter in prepared pan. Batter will be thick.
- Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and cake springs back to the touch. You may need to cover the cake after 30 minutes with foil to make sure it doesn't brown too much. Cool in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes. Cool completely. Spread frosting on top.
- For the frosting: Make sure your cream cheese is really soft. Stir the jello into the cream cheese. Add the strawberries and beat until blended.
- In a separate bowl, beat whipping cream and lemon juice at medium speed until foamy; add 3/4 cup powdered sugar, beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Fold half of cream mixture into cheese mixture; fold in remaining cream mixture. Frost cooled cake immediately. Keep cake refrigerated until serving. Cut with a serrated knife to serve.
Notes
Measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Remove 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and return to your flour bag. Replace the removed flour with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Sift the flour several times to incorporate the mixture completely.
SO good! The cream cheese frosting is incredible. The cake itself is also turned out fantastic. Keeper! Thank you!
aww thankyou.
Can you use spring form pans for this recipe to make a round layered cake?
Thanks!
Sure!
I made this yesterday! Not used to making cakes from scratch so it was a little on the more difficult/time consuming time for me but once I tasted it… It was ALL worth it. So fluffy, summery, not to mention like the perfect pink, my favorite color haha. I would definitely make again!
So happy to hear this!
I’ve been searching for this recipe for a long time. A friend at work made it many years ago, but lost the recipe. Whenever I searched for strawberry cake using jello, poke cake came up. THIS was the cake I remembered! Thank you so much! This cake, with the strawberries and whipped cream, just tastes like summer. Since it needs to be refrigerated, it tastes cool and refreshing. Also, this recipe can easily be halved. Since I live alone, I halved the recipe and baked it in a 8 X 8 inch pan, and it turned out perfectly. It was just as good as I remembered.
You. Are. Welcome!
How long would I bake if I wanted to convert this to cupcakes?
Cupcakes usually cook around 15-18 minutes. I would start there.
Hi Christy. I need to make a true sheet sized cake and I read that we can convert a 9x13x2 pan with a 10×15 jelly roll pan as well as 42 standard sized cupcakes. Presumably the cooking time for the 10×15 will be less but i’m no expert. Have you or anyone tried baking this recipe with a 10×15 pan?
Thank you for sharing this yum recipe!
I haven’t made it in a jelly roll but I would think around 20 minutes would be the baking time.
Do you use strawberry gelatin or pudding? Recipe says gelatin and comments say pudding. Also, does it work as a layer cake?
The ingredients are right. gelatin is what you want.
Please, DO NOT call it a sheet cake. What you have there is a 9X13 baking pan, which technically is a half sheet. To make a sheet cake you would have to make two 9 X 13 cakes and put them together. Then you will have a sheet cake. It is very confusing to people when you say sheet cake and it is a 9 x 13 pan. The cake recipe does look delicious. I will try it some day.
Thank you Starla. I guess I was respecting the original recipe which called it that but I agree with you.
Can’t wait to make this strawberry cake for my daughters bday on the Fourth of July our grandson will love it
Hope you love it.
Can’t wait to make your strawberry cake recipe ! Would love to see anything you put on Pinterest , I’m new to Pinterest not really sure how it works our daughters bday is the Fourth of July I thought this would be great and our 3 year old grandson Colton would love it
Here are all of my recipes on Pinterest! https://www.pinterest.com/GirlWhoAte/the-girl-who-ate-everything-recipes/
Is bread flour the same as cake flour???
Nope. They have different amounts of gluten and react differently when baked.
Looks good I was just wondering tho why the lemon juice in the frosting.
Looks very good I was just wondering tho why the lemon juice in the frosting?
Just brightens the flavor a bit!
I made an apple sheet cake recently and have suddenly become obsessed with sheet cakes now!! So easy and so delicious! You’re strawberries and cream looks so amazing, it’s definitely going to be on my list of recipes to try! Can’t wait!
Thank you. I want the apple sheet cake recipe…
Your Strawberry Cream Sheet Cake calls for “instant” strawberry jello, is that different from regular jello, & if so where do I buy it?
Hi Christy, I was wondering if I would want to make this cake gluten free, could I just substitute the cake mix for a gluten free cake mix.
Yes, that’s what I would do…
I made it and it was quite good, I had a lot of stawberry flavour gelatin at home and this was really different way to use it than usual. Thanks for the recipe
You’re welcome!
Hi there,
Can u leave out the gelatin ? Thanks
You can. It won’t have as strong of a strawberry taste. The gelatin also makes the cake softer.
Do you use strawberry jello or strawberry pudding mix. It says instant. Thank you
Yes, it’s supposed to be instant strawberry pudding mix but i’ve used jello mix before too.
I absolutely LOVE your recipes,posts, and overall self ! I’m a huge fan Christy. And This recipe is no exception !!! I just made it and it was a BIG hit. Thanks so much for all you do. Keep the great recipes and stories coming ! Hugs from Texas !
Thank you! You’re so nice.
I made this for my son’s birthday and I have to say that this is hands down the BEST strawberry cake I’ve ever tasted. .. That’s coming from someone who has always requested strawberry cake for my own birthday! Yummmm.. I die.
Carol, Woo-hoo! That’s the biggest compliment ever.
Hi Christy! I made these the other day and COULD NOT stop eating it! I wasn’t too fond of the frosting, I think I didn’t whip the cream enough, and heavy cream in Poland doesn’t last too long. But I think the cake its self was so good and fluffy! Thanks so much for sharing!
Your strawberry cake looks so good Christy
This looks amazing. Every time I drool over a cake like this, I wonder if there is any way for me to make it eggless. We have an egg allergy in the family and last time I tried to use one of those powder egg substitutes (mixed with water per directions), my cake turned out quite flat and compressed. Do you have any suggestions?
Oi. I’m not sure. I’m very familiar with egg substitutes. I wish I could have been more help. Anyone have any suggestions?
I made this today for my 5 year old girl’s birthday cake and it was so delicious!! A beautiful pink cake! Thanks for all you do for others who want to feed their families well:)
Thanks Meg. You are so sweet.
Morning,
I’m writing because I have found you to be such a friendly person. You express my own thoughts so much. Awhile back I viewed a family photo that you had posted- such a sweet gesture; I forget if it was at Christmas, or some other special time. I thought, she must be a wonderful mother. And I’ve no doubt you are. I am one who has never had the blessing of being a mom. I have the exact same anguishing feelings that you expressed when Mother’s Day comes around. I grieve for those who have lost their mother. And now I am one who has lost her own mother. I am older than your age group- though I often feel like I am still in the 30 something age group……and try to think young.. always. 🙂
It must take so much energy and effort to do all the fun food dishes that you post and I get to enjoy. I applaud you. I’m glad I happened upon this website, a good while back, by the way. Keep up the good work- and I know you must be a wonderful mother, and I will also add: I think your husband is one blessed, fortunate guy to have you in his life. I’ve seen your posted photos, so I know you are an attractive woman, as well. Many blessings to you.
Jill,
You are so kind. I’m so sorry that you’ve lost your mother. I can imagine it is one of the hardest things to ever go through. I appreciate you taking the time to tell me your story. I feel the same way. I always think I’m in the 20 year old age group. Haha. My sister passed away and so I always feel the pain her son feels on Mother’s Day. Nice to meet you and thank you for your kind words. Christy
Girl, I don’t know how you do it. I can barely handle my TWO kiddos. No doubt you are hard on yourself. I hope you had the very best Mother’s Day. This cake looks amazing!!
This looks SO good! Do you think it would work as cupcakes? My daughter’s 4th birthday party is next month, and she has requested strawberry cupcakes!
I’m not sure. I think it would!
This cake is very similar to Mrs. Sewards strawberry cake, a recipe on the Just A Pinch web site.
Yeah this one is from MyRecipes as you can see from the notes. I wonder which one came first?
Christy, I am so making this today. Thanks so much for sharing. Also, you seem like a really down-to-earth compassionate person- especially when I had the pleasure of interviewing you. Happy Mother’s day! You really do deserve it 🙂
Hey Vedika, How are you??!
I’m good! Every time I stop by your blog, my mouth waters…
Gotta love strawberry cake in the summer! I just crave strawberries so much right now being pregnant!!
Oh my gosh, I NEED THIS! I am obsessing over strawberries lately. And in an easy, sheet cakey- form? GIMME! I can only imagine how moist that buttermilk makes this! Pinned!
Mmm.. yummy looking cake, really fluffy and delicious!
Gaaaah this looks so good!!! I need more strawberries in my life. And Christy, I’ve seen the instagram pictures of your kids on the roof dropping cushioned eggs. If that doesn’t get you mom of the year, then I don’t know what will.
Haha. But probably not the part where the kids were on the roof, right?