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!
Ashley Foster
Will the frosting be ok if i leave out cream cheese? I dont really like cream cheese flavor that much.
Celebrating Sweets
The cream cheese helps to stabilize the frosting. If you want to make just whipped cream you can try it, but I would recommend serving the cake immediately after assembling it because the whipped cream will thin out over time.
Sophia
Hey I haven’t made this yet, but I am planning on making it for my moms birthday! I was curious if the cream cheese was noticeable in the whipped cream? Some of my family does not like cream cheese so is there a way I can substitute the cream cheese, or if it is missing it is that noticeable?
Thank You! ???
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Sophia. Yes, I would say that the cream cheese is noticeable. I don’t have a substitute for it, as it really helps to stabilize the whipped cream. You could try this instead: https://www.livewellbakeoften.com/how-to-make-stabilized-whipped-cream/
Oralia Guerra
Hi!!! I don’t use cream cheese in my strawberry shortcakes. I make my whipped cream using heavy whipping cream, 2 tbs of vanilla, and 5 tbs of sugar (really it’s how sweet you want it). Use a stainless steel bowl and throw in about 2 cups of hwc, vanilla and sugar and mix with hand mixer until it forms peaks. Viola, you got homemade whipped cream 🙂
Maricar
Use 1 8oz mascarpone cheese instead. Make sure it’s room temperature and do not overmix otherwise it will get grainy 🙂 I used it for my tres leches. So delicious!
Kathryn and Sam
This recipe was a sweet success. The only problem we ran into was the cake wasn’t as fluffy as desired. This may have resulted from not enough whisking initially. We went for the total coverage of frosting on the cake which was very delicious. The only problem was that the Strawberry decorations on top kept sliding off so we recommend letting the frosting set before adding toppings. Truly cottage core vibes
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Gail Bly
My husband says it’s the best cake he has ever had!! True success & beautiful!!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Chef Boy Ortiz
has anyone tried using a muffin tin to make individual cakes? would sure like to not have to learn by trial and error.
Allison
I would not recommend cupcakes with this specific cake recipe. You can try turning this recipe into cupcakes and then using the frosting and strawberry topping from the shortcake cake.
Ashlynn
The cake was ok, but not close to the best shortcake recipe I’ve tried. The cream cheese in the whipped cream is more than a hint. The cake layers themselves held up well when put together, without any additional support. The cake, immediately out of the oven, seemed moist enough, but a couple hours later, when desert was served, was a tiny bit dry… not in the good biscuit like way. I’ll be looking for a different recipe.
Haley
So if I make the cakes and cut the strawberries on a Friday ,
Should I not assemble it till Saturday when I get there ? Or can I assemble it sat morning and let it set up in fridge before I travel with it. It’s for my aunts birthday! I don’t want it to slide and I have to drive with it .
Any advice would be appreciated
Allison
I’m not sure how far you’re traveling, but if the cake has been assembled and refrigerated, it should be good for a couple hours before it needs to get back in the fridge again.
Jo Anna
Hi I’m planning on making this and don’t have enough space for 3 8-inch cake pans. I do have a round 8×3 cake pan that holds 8 cups of batter. Can I just use that and then after cooling slice it into the 3 layers needed?
Allison
Hi, Jo Anna. I think the cake will dry out if you bake all the batter in one pan. It will take a long time for the middle to cook through and the edges might get too dry. If you split the batter in two and bake it separately (cooling the pan in between each batch) that might work. Enjoy!
Leann
Hi! I was wondering how tall this cake turns out to be, in inches. Thanks!!
Allison
Hi, Leann. I’ve never actually measured it, but I’d say at least 5 inches. It will depend on how thick you slice your strawberries and how much frosting you add to the inside. Enjoy!
Hina nafe
Hey can i use frozen strawberries for the middle layers? Anything i need to be careful of when use frozen ones
Allison
I would not recommend it. Frozen strawberries have a lot of moisture and that can make the cake wet and thin out the frosting. Fresh strawberries are really best for this recipe.