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Ever since I discovered the amazing flavors that freeze-dried strawberries add, I’ve been using them as much as possible. This strawberry cake? No exception. And don’t even get me started on the frosting… It’s dangerously good.
Reasons You’ll Fall in Love with This Cake
- Real Strawberry Flavor: Made with fresh and freeze-dried strawberries, this cake blows boxed cake out of the water. Strawberry lovers, this one’s for you!
- Soft and Fluffy Texture: One bite and you’ll get soft, fluffy cake with frosting that basically melts in your mouth. I can’t wait for you to try it!
- That Frosting Though! When I tell you this frosting will be your new obsession, I’m not lying. I seriously just want to eat it with a spoon!
Strawberry Cake Ingredients
- For a strawberry-lemon twist: Add lemon zest and swap the cream for lemon juice in the frosting.
How to Make Strawberry Cake from Scratch:
This cake is surprisingly simple to make with just a few basic steps. Follow along and you’ll have a homemade dessert that tastes as amazing as it looks.
- Crush The Strawberries: Crush the freeze-dried strawberries into powder using a food processor, blender, or coffee grinder. If you don’t have any of those on hand, you can put them in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them as fine as possible.
- Whisk Dry Ingredients: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9 x 13 x 2-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a medium bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
- Beat Butter and Sugar: Add the butter and sugar to a large bowl and beat on medium-high speed with a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the powdered strawberries and mix until combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Add the flour mixture and mix just until combined. The batter will be quite thick.
- Add Strawberries: Stir in the diced strawberries by hand until evenly distributed in the batter.
- Bake: Add the cake batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the center of the cake springs back when lightly pressed on. Remove the strawberry cake from the oven and let it cool completely.
Frosting
- Crush the Strawberries & Beat Butter: Crush the freeze-dried strawberries for the frosting in the same manner as instructed above, and set aside. Add the butter to a large bowl and beat on high speed with a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
- Finish with Sugar and Strawberry Powder: Beat in the powdered sugar and strawberry powder on low, then increase speed until creamy, scraping as needed. Add cream and mix until smooth. Spread over the cooled cake. Top with fresh strawberries, if you’d like, and serve.
Alyssa’s Top Tip
Expert Tip: Do NOT skip the freeze-dried strawberry powder! They are dried at peak ripeness, so they have tons of flavor and don’t add unnecessary moisture to the cake.
Different Cake Options
- Cupcakes: Want cupcakes instead? Try these Strawberry Cupcakes!
- Round Layer Cake: Round cakes are great if you are making this for a special occasion! To make a round layer cake, split the batter between two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25–28 minutes, until the center springs back and a toothpick comes out clean.
Leftover Strawberry Cake Instructions
- Room Temperature: Cover tightly with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Wrap the cake in plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature for 2–3 hours. Can be frozen with or without frosting.
More Ways to Enjoy Sweet Strawberries
This strawberry cake is a perfect way to enjoy all of the fresh summer berries available, just like this Strawberry Spinach Salad, Honey Lime Poppyseed Salad, and this Strawberry Cobbler. Here are a few more ideas!
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Homemade Strawberry Cake Recipe
Made with fresh and freeze-dried strawberries, this homemade strawberry cake is soft, flavorful, and topped with a dreamy strawberry frosting.
Equipment
- 1 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup powdered freeze-dried strawberries about 2 ½ ounces before being crushed
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup softened unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup diced fresh strawberries
Strawberry Buttercream
- 3 tablespoons powdered freeze-dried strawberries about ½ ounce before being crushed
- 1 cup softened salted butter
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Cake
- Crush the freeze-dried strawberries to powder using a food processor, blender, or coffee grinder. If you don’t have any of those on hand, you can put them in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them as fine as possible.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 x 13 x 2-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and, if you would like to remove the cake from the pan before serving, line it with a sheet of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on either side. Spray the parchment lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add 3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt to a medium bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
- Add ½ cup softened unsalted butter and 1 ½ cups granulated sugar to a large bowl and beat on medium-high speed with a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add 2 large eggs, 1 ½ cups sour cream, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add 1 cup powdered freeze-dried strawberries and mix until combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour mixture and mix just until combined. The batter will be quite thick. Stir in ¾ cup diced fresh strawberries by hand until evenly distributed in the batter.
- Add the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the center of the cake springs back when lightly pressed on. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely.
Strawberry Buttercream
- Crush the freeze-dried strawberries as directed above.
- Add 1 cup softened salted butter to a large bowl and beat on high speed with a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
- Add 2 ½ cups powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons powdered freeze-dried strawberries and beat on low speed until combined.
- Increase the speed and beat until creamy, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream and mix until smooth.
- Spread the buttercream evenly over the top of the cooled cake. Garnish with fresh sliced strawberries, if desired, and serve.
Notes
Updated April 21, 2025
Nutrition
Calories: 512kcalCarbohydrates: 73gProtein: 4gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 302mgPotassium: 313mgFiber: 3gSugar: 50gVitamin A: 724IUVitamin C: 219mgCalcium: 70mgIron: 5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How would I substitute for the freeze dried strawberries? I don’t have any. I have leftover strawberry pulp from making syrup–can I use that? If so, how much?
Unfortunately, strawberry pulp will not work in this dish. This recipe needs freeze-dried strawberries.
I tried out cake with the above recipe. The cake was very soft and tasty. Thank you.
For how long we have to beat eggs with all the wet ingredients
Just until it is all mixed together.
Hi Serene can we use fresh strawberries instead of freeze dried? I can freeze them and then use them?
Yes, that will work great too. You will want to wash them and pat them completely dry before adding them to the recipe.