Simple Strawberry Cake

My kitchen is blissfully overflowing with locally grown berries. That said, when I picture a ‘strawberry cake’ it looks nothing like this but like a bright pink cake covered in a pinker frosting. Sometimes those kind of cakes are made by reducing strawberry puree or adding freeze dried strawberry powder. I’ve never been too impressed with them because they never really taste the best of fresh strawberries: juicy and a teensy bit tart. 

Instead, I decided I would make a dead simple cake (ahem – you haven’t seen any of those on this site before have you?), swirl in some strawberry reduction and top it with a layer of strawberries (kind of like this one from once upon a chef). 

The result is just a very easy, straightforward butter cake with 2 layers of strawberries baked in. It’s forwardly strawberry because the berry flavor isn’t muted by the cake batter, if anything it totally dominates the cake, but in the best way. 

Recipe Origins 

This has roots in, you guessed it, my everyday butter cake. My biggest changes were to toss out the extra powdered sugar since we are adding sweetness via the berries, to swap out the sour cream for a strawberry greek yogurt which would provide a little more moisture and in this case, flavor. The strawberry reduction is borrowed from this strawberry rose cake. 

Cake Recipe Ingredients 

Strawberries: fresh and juicy will yield the best tasting, most flavorful cake. In my experience, the best berries are locally grown but non-local organic can be good too. Don’t use frozen because they carry a lot of ice which melts and then you’ve got extra water in the batter. 

Strawberry reduction: this is an option for the strawberry layer in between the two cake layers – it’s also my favorite because the pre-cooked strawberries give such great flavor. The ingredients & how to for this is in the recipe box. 

Butter: unsalted butter, cold is fine (we’re melting it). Any butterfat percentage. 

Vanilla: pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. 

Salt: fine sea salt. If using table salt, use half the amount of salt. If your butter is salted, also halve the amount. 

Fine Sugar: fine granulated sugar, some for the reduction (if making) and some for the cake. Reducing the sugar will compromise the cake’s texture. 

Eggs: whole large eggs, importantly they must be at room temperature. 

Flour: a light all purpose flour (low protein content) or cake flour is best. Both will give you a more tender crumb. It’s also fine to use all purpose if that’s all you have. 

Baking powder: to leaven the cake (help it rise). 

Greek yogurt: I use strawberry greek yogurt (the kind that is mixed in, not fruit on the bottom) to add more strawberry flavor to the cake but vanilla or plain is fine too. 

Coarse sugar: for sprinkling on top of the cake. Organic cane or turbinado work well here. 

How to make Simple Strawberry Cake 

If you opt to swirl the cake with the strawberry reduction, make it first: 

Trim the berries and quarter them, add them to a pot and toss with the sugar, starch and lemon. 

Cook over medium low heat (if the heat is too high the bottom of the strawberries will overcook and possibly burn) until the berries are broken down and you have a thick mixture, about 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool (this can be done a day ahead of time). 

Grease and flour a 9 inch square or circle pan. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

Melt the butter, then whisk in the flavorings: 

Whisk in the sugar. 

One by one, whisk in the room temperature eggs: 

Sift in the flour: 

Stir in the yogurt: 

Pour half the batter into the pan: 

Arrange a layer of sliced strawberries or swirl in dollops of the strawberry reduction: 

Spread the remaining cake batter over the berries. 

Add a layer of sliced strawberries and sprinkle over the top coarse granulated sugar. 

Bake until a cake tester comes out clean of cake batter (it might have jammy strawberry bits). 

Serve the strawberry cake with… 

Ideally, serve it with fresh strawberries and some whipped cream: add 1-2 cups heavy whipping cream (depending on how generous a portion of whipped cream you’d like to serve), and 2-4 tablespoons granulated sugar, a pinch of salt and a dash of vanilla to a food processor. Process on high until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. 

But also, vanilla ice cream with this would be wonderful!

Note on topping: you’re going to decorate the top of this cake with fresh strawberries and, most of them will disappear into the cake! It’s totally normal as the cake batter rises and the berries will flow to the center… part of the cake’s charm =) 

Simple Strawberry Cake Recipe

Simple Strawberry Cake

Quick and easy, one bowl fluffy butter cake studded with fresh strawberries.

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 50 minutes mins

Yields: 1 8 or 9 inch cake

5 from 3 votes

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Ingredients

Strawberry Cake

• 226 g or 1 cup butter unsalted
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 200 g or 1 cup fine granulated sugar optional: rub the zest of 2 lemons into the sugar
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 250 g or 2 cups cake flour or all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 120 g or ½ cup greek yogurt vanilla, plain or strawberry
• 1-2 cups Fresh Strawberries and or strawberry reduction, recipe follows
• 2-3 tablespoons coarse sugar organic cane sugar or turbinado

Strawberry Reduction

• 230 g fresh strawberries washed, trimmed & quartered
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons tapioca flour/starch or cornstarch

Method

• If making the strawberry reduction: place all the ingredients in a pot and cook over low medium heat until the strawberries break apart and you have a thick mixture, about 15-20 minutes. Blend to puree. If you don’t want seeds, pour the puree through a fine mesh sieve. Let cool completely before adding to the cake.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9 inch square or circle baking pan. Put the eggs in a bowl of hot tap water to bring them to room temperature.
• Set the cold butter in a heatproof bowl and microwave for 1 minute, until mostly melted.
• Pour in the vanilla and salt and whisk to combine. Pour in the sugar and whisk very well, for a full 60 seconds.
• Add the eggs, one by one, whisking for a good 30 seconds before adding the next. Once all the eggs are in, whisk vigorously for a full 45 seconds.
• If the flour is lumpy, sift it into the batter (if it’s not - just add it in). Add the baking powder and stir to combine in the dry ingredients.
• Gently whisk in the yogurt.
• Spread half of the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan. Either add dollops of strawberry reduction or arrange enough thinly sliced strawberries to entirely cover the cake batter, laying them flat (see photos for reference).
• Spread the remaining half of the cake batter over the strawberries in an even layer. Thinly slice another layer of strawberries to entirely cover the top of the cake. Spread 2-3 tablespoons of coarse sugar over the strawberries.
• Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (it might show some jammy strawberries but it shouldn’t show any gooey cake batter), about 45-55 minutes. Most of the strawberries you placed on top will have sunk and now be layered into the cake but some will still show in the center.
• Let the cake cool at room temperature for 20 minutes. You can try to flip it onto a plate but it will be less messy if served straight from the pan.
• Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Store leftovers in an airtight container either at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the fridge for 2-3 days.

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