Easy Strawberry Cake Recipe
If you’re looking for an easy strawberry cake recipe, this is it! This extra-moist cake starts with a boxed cake mix, but is anything from ordinary. Top with homemade strawberry frosting that tastes like a milkshake.
Easy Strawberry Cake Recipe
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During one of our Facebook Live shows recently one of you asked for a strawberry cake recipe. The doldrums of winter are setting in and we’re all craving a little bit of summer. This easy strawberry cake recipe will satisfy that craving!
Best Strawberry Cake
We decided to make a strawberry cake recipe using cake mix for those of you who need a quick, easy and moist strawberry cake. We’ll be working on a 100% from scratch strawberry cake over the next few weeks for those who like completely homemade recipes.
But I’ll have to say…this cake is hard to beat. It’s the best strawberry cake recipe I’ve ever made.
Can I put fresh strawberries in cake mix?
Yes! This cake starts with a cake mix, but uses fresh strawberry puree to give it the a fresh strawberry flavor. Take the strawberries and run them through a food processor to puree them. Use 1 cup of the strawberry puree, juice and all, in this cake recipe.
How do you make strawberry cake?
This is a dump-and-go style cake. Add all of the ingredients to a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer) and mix well. Here are a few hints:
- Although this strawberry cake starts with a boxed cake mix, it does have fresh strawberries in it. You’ll add 1 cup of pureed strawberries to the cake batter. Just enough to add a fresh flavor and extra moisture.
- You’ll also add a small box of strawberry gelatin to the batter. If you can find a strawberry boxed cake mix, you may be able to use that and skip this step. But add strawberry gelatin to a white cake mix for a huge strawberry flavor boost.
- I normally like to try to use butter in cake recipes. I tested this recipe three times and everyone definitely preferred the cake with oil over butter. The texture was simply amazing, and since strawberry is the main flavor, you won’t notice the butter taste missing.
- To make a 9×13 cake, prepare the cake as described above. Pour the cake batter in a greased 9×13 cake pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes, or until the center of the cake bounces back when you touch it.
- To make a 2 layer cake, divide the batter between 2 greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 29 minutes, or until the top of the cake bounces back when you touch it.
How do you make strawberry buttercream?
I desperately wanted to use fresh strawberries for the frosting. But I just couldn’t get the texture right. The fresh strawberries were reacting with the butter and sugar, which caused the frosting to be a little lumpy and not as smooth as I liked. I decided that flavor and texture trumped using fresh strawberries.
So what gives this homemade strawberry frosting it’s flavor? Strawberry jam. I used Welch’s Natural Strawberry Spread. The combination of butter, jam, sugar, vanilla and a little cream makes this frosting taste like you are drinking a strawberry milkshake. Even those in the family who don’t care for frosting couldn’t say no.
Need a little summer in your cloudy day? Try this easy strawberry cake recipe. It’s quick. It’s foolproof.
You’re going to love it.
TOOLS TO MAKE THIS CAKE
- Stand Mixer: A hand mixer will work, but I always find it easier to make frostings with a stand mixer.
- Beater Blade with Scraper: The best invention ever!
- 9” Round Cake Pan: These are my favorite pans!
- Cake Flour:A must-have for anyone who loves to bake from scratch.
- Cake Spatula: To get that frosting nice and smooth.
- Wire Cooling Racks:This will help your cakes cool more quickly.
- Cake Plate: I have this cake plate and everyone loves it! It comes with the cute server too.
Other Strawberry Cake Recipes
Easy Strawberry Cake Recipe
Looking for an easy strawberry cake recipe? A moist cake starts with a boxed cake mix and has a homemade strawberry frosting that tastes like a milkshake.
Servings 15 servings
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix (16.25 ounces)
- 1 package strawberry flavored gelatin (3 ounces)
- 1/2 cup milk 2%
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup fresh strawberry puree
Strawberry Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups butter softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup heavy cream (plus more if needed)
- 1/2 cup strawberry jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cake mix, gelatin, milk, oil, eggs and fresh strawberry puree.
- Beat on low speed until mixed, then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Grease and flour two 9" round cake pans (*see instructions below for 9x13 cake pan*).
- Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 29 minutes, or until the top of the cake bounces back when you touch it.
- Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the softened butter for 1-2 minutes until nearly white in a appearance.
- Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and the vanilla extract. Beat on low for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Mix in the heavy cream* and another 2 cups of powdered sugar. Beat on low for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the last 2 cups of powdered sugar and the strawberry jam. Beat on low speed until mixed, then beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, until the frosting is creamy and smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
To Frosting the Cake:
- Place one cake layer on a cake plate.
- Spread frosting on top of the first layer.
- Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting.
- Use the remaining frosting to frost the top and sides of the layer cake.
- Optional: Decorate the top middle of the cake with a few tablespoons of strawberry jam and fresh strawberries.
- Store at room temperature until serving, then store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
*Add additional heavy cream by the tablespoon until it is to the consistency you'd like.
**To make a 9x13 cake, prepare the cake as described above. Pour the cake batter in a greased 9x13 cake pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes, or until the center of the cake bounces back when you touch it.
***If you make a 9x13 cake, you won't need quite as much frosting. Use these amounts for frosting, preparing it in the same way as described above:
1 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-5 tablespoons heavy cream
⅓ cup strawberry jam ****The calorie count for this cake is based on the two layer cake cut into 15 pieces with 1 piece of cake as a serving.
1 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-5 tablespoons heavy cream
⅓ cup strawberry jam ****The calorie count for this cake is based on the two layer cake cut into 15 pieces with 1 piece of cake as a serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 203g | Calories: 671kcal | Carbohydrates: 90g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 106mg | Sodium: 456mg | Potassium: 83mg | Sugar: 72g | Vitamin A: 730IU | Vitamin C: 6.7mg | Calcium: 105mg | Iron: 1mg
I’m excited to try this, do you know how long I should bake it for if I do mini little donut cakes ??
I can’t say for sure without knowing how big and trying it myself, but maybe 12-18 minutes?
My icing is not thick enough what should I add
Hi!Me and my grandmother are going to try this we will comment when we finish!
Hi, would it be okay to use whole milk?
Yes
Thank you
I followed the recipe exactly using a Pillsbury white cake mix and mine didn’t seem to rise as well as my regular cakes…any thoughts? I baked in two 8” pans for 29 min on convection. They are cooling now and have not tasted yet.
With the added moisture, it is a wetter/denser cake and doesn’t usually rise as well as a traditional box mix ingredients.
Thanks Julie! I’m assembling and frosting later today, so stay tuned! 🙂
WOW!!!!! OK, this cake was AWESOME!!! I was initially concerned because it didn’t appear to rise like my other cakes have, but no matter…it was FABULOUS! I was lazy and skipped the frosting suggestion and just used the Wilton Buttercream mix in the box from Michael’s. Cake looked exactly like the photo and had “real” strawberry flavor vs. the fake strawberry flavored cake mixes of my childhood. Thank you Julie! We will definitley be making this cake again before the summer is over. 🙂
Can you make this in a 9 x 13 pan? If so, baking time changes?
Yes, the instructions for that size pan are in the notes of the recipe card.
This recipe is definitely on point!!!! This is my go-to strawberry cake recipe going forward. I’ve made strawberry cakes before and have never gotten the robust strawberry flavor like I did with this cake recipe. It was a hit with my friends and family. I definitely recommend everyone trying it to see for themselves!
I made this for my daughter’s bday and it turned out so well. I love that you mentioned the exact ounces, as my box mix qty was slightly less (tip: if the difference is less than 3oz you can just add regular flour to make up the difference!). Rose just right and was nice and even, and tasted so soft and moist. I used cream cheese frosting which goes great with this! Definitely a keeper of a recipe.
This was an awful recipe. Followed the instructions and cooked the cake at 325. It looks undercooked even after 35 minutes so I cooked it for 5 more minutes. Disgusting! I wish I could post a picture. What a waste of ingredients.
Can I use strawberry preserve instead of jam
I believe so.
Made this today for my daughter’s birthday, strawberry cake is her favorite, but very hard to find now that we found out she has celiac disease. I used a gluten-free yellow cake mix by the brand Cup4Cup. Then followed your instructions, except I used the amount of milk it said on package which was 1and 1/4 cup, because gluten free flours often need the extra liquid. However I was a lil worried because I didn’t consider the purée , thankfully it dawned on me before adding the purée to the mix. So I decreased the strawberry purée to 1/2 cup because I didn’t want it too loose. Luckily it turned out great. I also used frozen berries after reading others comments and seeing you reply that was fine too. Worked great. Put them in microwave for 2 minutes then blended in my vita mix. Since my kitchen is being remodeled and my ovens are not installed yet I also had to bake it in my ninja air fryer. I had to bake 1 pan at a time , but surprisingly that turned out fine too. So if you’re in that predicament I say go for it. I used bake setting at 315 degrees for 30- 35 minutes. Thank you for posting such an easy to follow and yummy recipe. Seriously everything was stacked against me , so even more credit for your recipe that it all worked out. Easy as pie … or cake 🍰 😉
I’m so glad this all worked out for you! You really made it work! 🙂 Happy birthday to your sweet daughter.