Indulge in the heavenly delight of our Strawberries and Cream Cake, crafted from scratch with a luscious cream cheese frosting and beautifully garnished with sugared strawberries. This exquisite dessert is an absolute showstopper, ideal for celebrating Mother’s Day or any joyful occasion.

Strawberries and Cream Cake: Your Go-To Dessert Recipe

As the seasons shift towards warmer days and special celebrations like Mother’s Day approach, finding the perfect dessert becomes a delightful quest. Look no further! This Strawberries and Cream Cake recipe promises to be your ultimate baking triumph. It’s surprisingly simple to prepare, requiring no complex layering or multi-tier structures, yet it delivers an astonishingly moist and flavorful experience, bursting with the natural sweetness of fresh strawberries. Its vibrant pink hue and elegant presentation make it undeniably beautiful and irresistibly appealing.

Imagine the joy and surprise on your mom’s face when she receives a slice of this magnificent creation. Once you experience the rave reviews, this versatile recipe will undoubtedly become your staple for countless events. Think baby girl showers, pink-themed birthday parties, Easter Sunday brunches, or any spring and summer gathering where a dazzling, homemade strawberry cake is needed. This recipe ensures a delicious, from-scratch pink strawberry cake that impresses every time.

Process shots showing butter being beaten until light, followed by sugar being mixed in, and then eggs briskly whisked in a separate bowl.

Crafting the Perfect Strawberry Cake: Infusing Real Strawberry Flavor

The secret to an unforgettable Strawberries and Cream Cake lies in its foundation: a tender cake base infused with genuine strawberry goodness, further elevated by a generous topping of sweetened, fresh strawberries. This commitment to real fruit ensures an authentic and truly delicious strawberry treat. Here’s a closer look at the key elements that contribute to its exceptional flavor and texture:

Building the Flavor Foundation: Start by creaming room-temperature butter until it’s wonderfully light and fluffy, then gradually incorporate granulated sugar. This process creates air pockets, contributing to the cake’s tender crumb. Lightly whisked eggs are then added, providing structure and richness. A crucial, often overlooked ingredient is a splash of fresh lemon juice – its bright acidity perfectly enhances the natural strawberry flavor, adding a refreshing zest and depth that elevates the entire cake.
Achieving a Moist and Tender Crumb: For a cake that’s both moist and finely textured, we create a “DIY cake flour” by sifting all-purpose flour with cornstarch. This simple step mimics the properties of commercial cake flour, resulting in a remarkably softer and more delicate crumb. To this dry mixture, we add strawberry Jell-O® mix (which we’ll discuss in detail below), baking soda for lift, and salt to balance the sweetness. These dry ingredients are then gently folded into the wet mixture until just combined, preventing over-mixing, which can lead to a dense cake.
Incorporating Fresh Strawberries: The heart of this cake is, of course, the strawberries! Finely chopped fresh strawberries are carefully stirred into the batter. Dicing them small ensures even distribution throughout the cake, allowing a burst of natural fruit flavor in every bite without weighing down the batter.
Preparing for the Grand Finale: While your cake bakes to golden perfection, it’s the ideal time to prepare the dreamy cream cheese frosting and the sugared strawberry topping. These elements are essential for transforming a delicious strawberry cake into a truly exquisite Strawberries and Cream masterpiece.

Baker’s Insight: The Art of Measuring Flour

Precise flour measurement is paramount for the success of this, and indeed any, cake recipe. An all-too-common mistake is to scoop flour directly from the bag with your measuring cup, which compacts the flour significantly, leading to an excessive amount. This surplus flour can result in a cake that is dry, dense, and lacking in flavor. To ensure accuracy, always use the “spoon and level” method: gently spoon the flour into your measuring cup until it overflows, then use the flat back of a table knife to level off the excess. This technique guarantees the correct amount of flour, contributing to a perfectly moist and tender cake every time.

Process shots showing eggs beaten into the butter mixture, followed by lemon, buttermilk, and optional food dye being added. Separately, flour and cornstarch are sifted, then remaining dry ingredients are added and mixed to combine.

Achieving Silky Smoothness: The Perfect Cream Cheese Frosting

This delightful dessert isn’t just about a fantastic strawberry cake base; it’s also crowned with an unparalleled cream cheese frosting that truly completes the “strawberries and cream” experience. While we’ve extensively covered the cake preparation, let’s now delve into the secrets of creating this perfect, creamy frosting. The most critical factor for achieving a flawless cream cheese frosting is ensuring that both your cream cheese and unsalted butter are at a true room temperature.

This means they should be soft enough to yield to a gentle press but not melted or greasy. If the ingredients are too cold, your frosting will be lumpy and difficult to spread smoothly. If they are too warm or microwaved, the frosting can become a greasy, runny mess. Aim for the same, consistent room temperature for both ingredients to achieve that ideal smooth, stable, and wonderfully creamy base that defines exceptional cream cheese frosting.

My personal “secret” ingredient, which I believe elevates this cream cheese frosting to a league of its own, is vanilla bean paste. Unlike traditional vanilla extract, the paste offers a more intense, complex vanilla flavor profile and infuses the frosting with beautiful, visible flecks of vanilla beans. This adds not only a depth of flavor but also an appealing visual sophistication. While I adore the impact of vanilla bean paste, pure vanilla extract is also a fantastic substitute and will still result in a delicious frosting.

Process shots showing dry ingredients being added to wet ingredients, mixed briefly, then diced berries gently folded in, and finally the batter spread into a pan and baked.

Process shots illustrating frosting being added to the cooled cake and spread in an even layer, and sugared berries being prepared by adding sugar to sliced strawberries.

The Jell-O Question: Enhancing Flavor and Color in a Scratch Cake

While this Strawberries and Cream Cake is proudly made from scratch, some might raise an eyebrow at the inclusion of strawberry Jell-O mix. It’s a valid question, and one I’m happy to address! For some, the idea of using a packaged gelatin mix in a “homemade” cake might feel a bit like cheating. However, after countless experiments with various strawberry cake recipes over the years, I’ve consistently found that my absolute favorites always feature this ingredient. That’s why it holds a place in my recipe as well.

The Jell-O mix serves several wonderful purposes: it significantly boosts the natural strawberry flavor, intensifies the cake’s appealing pink color, and helps retain moisture, contributing to that incredibly tender and moist crumb we all desire. If you’re staunchly committed to a recipe without any packaged gelatin, you certainly have alternatives. You can experiment with strawberry extracts for flavor or reduce a fresh strawberry puree to concentrate its essence, though these methods may require adjustments to the cake’s liquid content and overall structure. For those who prefer a purely Jell-O-free option, there are excellent recipes that utilize strawberry puree. However, it’s worth remembering that nearly all “from-scratch” recipes incorporate some form of packaged ingredients – unless, of course, you’re churning your own butter and crafting your cream cheese from scratch in your kitchen!

Explore More Delicious Strawberry Desserts:

If you adore the fresh, sweet taste of strawberries as much as we do, you’ll love these other fantastic recipes. Perfect for any time of year, they highlight the versatility and irresistible charm of this beloved berry:

Mini Vanilla Cheesecakes with Strawberry Sauce: Delicate vanilla cheesecakes topped with a vibrant, homemade strawberry sauce.
Frozen Strawberry Ice Cream Pie: A cool, creamy, and incredibly easy-to-make dessert perfect for hot summer days.
Strawberry Pretzel Salad: A unique and addictive sweet-and-salty layered dessert with a pretzel crust, cream cheese filling, and strawberry topping.
Strawberry Scones: Fluffy, tender scones studded with fresh strawberries, ideal for breakfast or afternoon tea.
Strawberry Milkshake: A simple yet satisfying classic, featuring blended fresh strawberries for a refreshing treat.

Beautifully frosted Strawberries and Cream Cake with sugared strawberries on top, ready to be served.

Pin Recipe
Print Recipe

4.71 from 24 votes

Strawberries and Cream Cake

By Chelsea Lords

This made-from-scratch Strawberries and Cream Cake is a dream, topped with rich cream cheese frosting and sugared strawberries. The perfect sweet treat for Mother’s Day or any celebration!

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings: 1 (9 x 13) cake

Equipment

9 x 13-inch baking pan
Hand mixer

Ingredients

Strawberry Cake

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 lemon, for 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed juice
2 cups + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons strawberry Jell-O mix (dry, not prepared)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (or milk mixed with lemon juice, see Note 1 below)
3 to 4 drops red food coloring (optional)
2/3 cup finely diced fresh strawberries

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature (full-fat recommended)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
3 to 4 cups powdered sugar (depending on desired consistency; 3 cups typically suffice)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Sugared Strawberry Topping (optional)

1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1-1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Instructions

Cake Preparation

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease and flour a 9×13-inch baking pan, then set it aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the room-temperature unsalted butter with a hand mixer until it’s light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Gradually add the granulated sugar, continuing to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, another 3-4 minutes.
In a separate small bowl, lightly beat the two large eggs. Add the beaten eggs to the butter mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in 2 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Slowly beat in the buttermilk. If you desire a more vibrant pink color, add 3-4 drops of red food coloring at this stage and mix thoroughly.
In a separate medium bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour and cornstarch. This helps to create a finer crumb. Then, add the dry strawberry Jell-O mix, baking soda, and salt. Ensure these dry ingredients are well combined. Using separate bowls for wet and dry ingredients helps prevent over-mixing the batter, which can lead to a dense, tough cake.
Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, beating at low speed until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix; stop as soon as no streaks of flour remain.
Remove stems from the fresh strawberries and finely dice them. Gently fold the finely chopped strawberries into the cake batter.
Pour the prepared batter evenly into your greased and floured 9×13-inch baking pan. Bake for 30–40 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 1 hour at room temperature. For easier frosting and to ensure it’s fully set, transfer the cake to the refrigerator for an additional hour before proceeding.

Frosting Preparation

In a clean mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and room-temperature cream cheese together with a hand mixer until the mixture is completely creamy and smooth, with no lumps. Beat in the vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste) and salt. Slowly add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating until the frosting is smooth, light, and reaches your desired consistency. If it’s too thick, add a tiny bit of milk; if too thin, add more powdered sugar.
Once the cake is fully cooled and chilled, spread the prepared cream cheese frosting evenly over the top using an offset spatula or knife.

Sugared Strawberry Topping (optional)

In a medium bowl, gently stir together the sliced strawberries and granulated sugar. Let them stand at room temperature for about 20–30 minutes. This allows the sugar to draw out the natural juices from the strawberries, creating a luscious, sweet syrup. Add this topping to the cake only when you are ready to serve, as adding it too early can make the cake soggy.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Homemade Buttermilk Substitute: If you don’t have store-bought buttermilk on hand, you can easily make your own. Simply remove 1 tablespoon from your 1 cup of regular milk (dairy milk works best for this). Replace that tablespoon with fresh lemon juice or white vinegar. Stir gently and let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. The milk will curdle slightly, indicating it’s ready to use as a buttermilk substitute.

Storage: To maintain its freshness and flavor, store any leftover frosted Strawberries and Cream Cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4–5 days. If you’ve added the sugared strawberry topping, it’s best to remove it before refrigerating or only top individual slices as needed, to prevent the cake from becoming overly moist.

Nutrition Information (Approximate Per Serving)

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation. Actual values may vary based on specific ingredient brands and preparation methods.

Enjoy this delightful cake? Share your thoughts below!