Strawberry Cake Recipe with Strawberry Buttercream

Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Buttercream has layers of moist cake, strawberry buttercream, and fresh strawberries. It’s a perfect summer dessert, but it can also be prepared during the off-season using frozen strawberries. If you’ve been seeking a homemade strawberry cake recipe, you’re going to love this one! 

If there’s any time of the year to enjoy strawberries, it’s right now.

Maybe I’m craving them because I’ve had no success growing strawberries in the garden. I was so excited about the prospect of fresh strawberries that I bought not one but two plants!

So far, they have yielded me 4-5 berries in total, and I must say, they were some tasty strawberries.

This moist, delicious layer cake is full of flavor. I adapted a recipe from Sweetapolita (one of my many blog crushes) and couldn’t have been happier with the results.

However, I did make a few changes. Her version is more of a strawberry jello cake. Since I’ve never used gelatin in a layer cake (or any cake), I omitted it.

Rosie says that strawberry gelatin adds excellent color and flavor, so I decided to ramp up the other ingredients, adding orange juice, zest and fresh strawberries in between the layers. For the frosting, I used an Italian meringue buttercream because, well, meringue buttercream is awesome.

Recipe Notes

• For my best layer cake tips, check out this tutorial.
• Meringue buttercream makes this cake so much lighter than buttercreams prepared using confectioners’ sugar. However, I realize it’s a more advanced recipe. Check out this post for my best Italian Meringue Buttercream tips! If you’d prefer to use an American buttercream, check out this strawberry buttercream recipe from Barefeet in the Kitchen.
• I recommend purchasing 2 pints of strawberries to prepare the cake, though you might not need all of them. If you plan to decorate the top with fresh strawberries, having uniform berries with bright red exteriors looks nice. I like having an assortment to pick through, especially because sometimes there are some not so fresh berries hiding in the middle of the clamshell.
• I recommend using fresh strawberries when they’re in season, and frozen strawberries during the off season.

Looking For More Strawberry Recipes?

Check out my Strawberry Pie, Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries, Chocolate-Covered Strawberries, and Strawberry Vanilla Jam Crumb Bars!

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Strawberry Layer Cake

Of all the party and dessert recipes, this one definitely takes the cake. Strawberry Cake has layers of moist strawberry cake and Italian meringue buttercream. 

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword strawberry cake

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 16 – 18 slices

Calories 563

Ingredients

For the Strawberry Buttercream

Instructions

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  To make strawberry puree, place a handful of fresh or frozen strawberries in a blender and puree until smooth. Divide into 1/4 cup for the cake and 1/2 cup for the buttercream.

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  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare three 8 or 9-inch nonstick cake pans. I recommend spraying a tiny bit of baking spray in the bottom of each pan, then line each one with parchment rounds. You can use butter and flour if you prefer, but don’t grease the sides. Set aside.

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  In a medium bowl, combine the puree, milk, vanilla, and orange juice. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and zest.

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  In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn down the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the side of the bowl after each egg.

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  Swiftly alternate between adding the dry and wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry. Scrape down the bowl once more to ensure there are no dry patches. 

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  Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans. Spread the tops evenly with a small offset spatula.

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  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

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  Allow the cakes to cool for several minutes in the pan. Carefully invert onto cardboard cake rounds lined with parchment. Allow to cool completely. Once cool, you can wrap the cakes well in plastic wrap and store them at room temperature for two days, the refrigerator for five days, or the freezer for several months.

Notes

I strongly recommend weighing your flour, sugar and cornstarch on a kitchen scale, but if that’s not an option, refer to this chart for cup measurements.
  
Adapted from Sweetapolita (the original cake has been removed so I’m linking to the homepage).

Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!

Nutrition

Calories: 563kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 153mg | Sodium: 142mg | Potassium: 162mg | Sugar: 51g | Vitamin A: 1345IU | Vitamin C: 5.3mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 1.2mg

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