A tender vanilla cake filled with layers of whipped cream frosting and juicy strawberries. The classic flavors of strawberry shortcake in a layer cake.
What tastes like a strawberry shortcake, looks like a beautiful layer cake, and is sure to impress anyone and everyone you serve it to?
Answer: STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE CAKE!
If you’ve been around these parts for a while you know that I absolutely love baking with strawberries (I kinda like drinking ’em, too). During spring and summer, there are always strawberries in our kitchen. They are my favorite fruit to bake with, and they go well in so many recipes. Try these, too:
I’ve had a Strawberry Shortcake Cake on my summer “to-bake” list for years. My goal was to come up with a cake that had all the flavors of strawberry shortcake stacked high in a gorgeous layer cake.
My main criteria were that the recipe needed to be fairly easy, completely from scratch, and it needed to taste AMAZING (duh). I fully expected to have to play around with this recipe multiple times until I got it right, but, somehow this came out perfect – just the way I wanted it – on the first try.
Strawberry Shortcake Cake
- Vanilla Cake: I made three layers of a fluffy vanilla cake. The cake layers are light, yet sturdy enough to hold our filling and topping. If you’d prefer a two layer cake, you can bake the cake in two pans, rather than three. Your layers will be slightly thicker than mine.
- Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting: Strawberry shortcake has to have whipped cream (and not the kind in a can or that questionable whipped topping in a tub). This is the real deal – freshly whipped cream, lightly sweetened with powdered sugar, and flavored with a touch of vanilla. In order to keep our whipped cream firm, I also add cream cheese to it. This stabilizes the cream and helps it hold its shape. You will have enough frosting to frost the sides of your layer cake, if you desire. I like the rustic look of leaving the sides exposed.
- Strawberries: Find the best strawberries you can and toss them with some strawberry jam (this makes them glossy and sweet). Strawberries go in between our cake layers, as well as on top of the cake. You can decorate the top of the cake however you like: I used a combination of diced strawberries and whole strawberries. I used thinly sliced strawberries for layering in between the cake (see below).
What I love about this cake is its versatility. It’s pretty enough to be served at a dinner party, yet casual enough to be part of a summer BBQ. If you know someone with a summer birthday, this cake would be extra pretty studded with candles and served to your loved ones. However/whenever you choose to make it – just make it! Grab those beautiful summer strawberries before they are gone.
- More STRAWBERRY RECIPES:
- Strawberry Cupcakes
- Warm Strawberry Crumb Cake
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie
- Strawberry Orange Margaritas
- Strawberry Jam
- Strawberry Crisp
**RECIPE UPDATED AUGUST 2020 – After receiving mixed reviews on the cake itself I have changed the cake portion of this recipe. Originally I used a “hot milk sponge cake”, which is a bit fussy. I have updated the recipe with a more traditional (almost foolproof) vanilla cake. If you’d prefer the previous recipe you can access that here.
Recipe
Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2½ cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract , optional, but highly recommended
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup milk , preferably whole or 2%, room temperature
Filling:
- 3 cups sliced or diced fresh strawberries , divided
- 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
- additional whole strawberries , for garnish, optional
Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese , softened to cool room temp
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups heavy whipping cream , really cold, straight from the fridge
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (preferred) or a hand mixer, beat sugar, oil, eggs, egg whites, and extracts until combined. Add the sour cream and beat until combined. Add half of the flour mixture, beating until just combined. While still beating, slowly add milk, then the remaining flour mixture. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Be careful not to overmix it.
- Line three 8-inch cake pans** with parchment paper and grease the pans. Evenly divide the batter between the three pans. Tap/gently drop the pans on the countertop a couple times to remove any air bubbles.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If necessary, rotate the pans once during bake time to ensure even browning. Place the pans on a rack to cool completely.
Filling:
- Combine the strawberries and jam and set aside (these will be used for the filling and topping). Note: I slice the strawberries for the filling (about 2½ cups), and I diced the strawberries for the top of the cake (about ½ cup). You can slice or dice, your choice. You'll need about 3 cups total.
Frosting:
- Place the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment (preferred) or hand mixer, beat the mixture on medium speed until smooth. While the mixer is still whipping, slowly pour the heavy cream down the side of the bowl. Stop and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl periodically. Increase the speed to high and continue whipping until the cream can hold a stiff peak. It is important that the cream stays cold so that it will thicken properly. If you're using a hand mixer hold the bowl near the top and don't hold the bowl against your body.
Assembly:
- Place one layer of cake on a platter. Top with one-third of the frosting, then top with about 1¼ cups of strawberries. Place another layer of cake on top and repeat. For the third/top of layer of cake, top with remaining whipped cream frosting, then place the remaining strawberries in the center. Decorate the outside with whole strawberries, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Zach
You said that the cake layers were too thin and you tweaked them to become thicker. What did you do?
Celebrating Sweets
I increased the ingredient quantities just slightly and I added additional instructions about adding volume when beating the sugar and eggs.
Helen
Instead of making three layers make two layers
Or
Increase the recipe 50% more
Or
Use smaller cake pans.
Teri
This is the cake my granddaughter requested for her birthday and it was a huge hit??
Pat Mulligan
This is the cake my grandson wants for his birthday tomorrow! Wonderful flavor and I made a sauce to put over it! Fantastic!
Celebrating Sweets
Wonderful! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Enjoy!
Laura
I just made this cake for a bridal shower and it came out perfectly on the first try! It held its shape outside for 3 hours in 80 degrees until we ate it! Everyone loved it so much and I’m definitely making this again.
Celebrating Sweets
Wonderful! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Paula Goldstein
I would like to make the cake the day before serving it. Would this be okay?
Celebrating Sweets
You can make the various components, but I would suggest waiting to assemble until the day you serve it. Enjoy!
Mandi
Can I make this in a bundt pan?
Mandi
How can I make this using a bundt pan?
Celebrating Sweets
I’ve only made this recipe as written, so I’m not sure. Best of luck if you give it a try!
Ash
I just made this today and while the flavour was great the cake came out very dense. I did make sure to spend the extra time beating the eggs and sugar so I’m not sure what went wrong but it definitely had the wrong consistency. Any ideas? I am not a pro but I do bake a lot so can’t see how I screwed this up, lol.
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Ash. I’m sorry to hear that. Did you use cake flour? Swapping all purpose flour could definitely have affected the texture. Sometimes a dense texture can be caused from a mis-measurement of sugar or liquid. Did you use proper measuring cups for wet and dry ingredients?
Lastly, I find that this cake tends to be more soft and spongy when it is at room temp (not straight from the fridge). It’s tricky because the frosting holds best when chilled (because of the whipped cream), but the cake is best if it has sat out of the fridge for a while. Depending on the temp of your kitchen, or wherever you’re serving it, you can leave it out of the fridge for a bit before serving to allow the cake to soften.
I’m glad it tasted great. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂 -Allison
Ash
Hi! Thanks so much for replying, I did use cake flour but I think the temperature of the cake may have been the issue. I didn’t even think of it but I did refrigerate the cake to set the icing and I didn’t let it sit out before serving. Definitely will remember that next time! Thank you so much:) Cheers!
Elena plousadis
Amazing !
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Trish
What’s the purpose of boiling the milk and butter?
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Trish. That technique creates a softer texture with a finer crumb. Here’s more on that method, if you’re interested: https://bakingisascience.com/2014/07/11/hotmilk-cake/