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!
Kim
Although I”ve never used the cake recipe itself, I make a hot milk sponge cake, I do love the frosting and filling recipe for when I bake a strawberry short cake, which is usually for my daughter’s birthday, the frosting and filling are wonderful with the sponge cake.
Stacie
Worse recipe ever. Don’t even try, you’ll waste time and money on ingredients. The cake is dense and flat- didn’t absorb any cream or strawberries. The cream was impossible to whip- likely due to the cream cheese. And I spent an hour trying with both the mixer and the hand held. Total waste.
Allison
Hi, Stacie! Sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe. It has hundreds of reviews so I know the recipe works as written. I’ll address a couple things: Yes, the cake layers are flat. If the cake layers had domes all the strawberries would slide right off and it would be a huge mess. Also, if you were whipping the cream for an hour (or even 20 minutes for that matter), it likely got way too warm in which case it will not hold stiff peaks. Thanks for stopping by and sorry to hear you had trouble.
Joseph McRell
So far it looks beautiful! I totally didn’t cut the domes off the cakes, but didn’t have much trouble with the filling falling out/off. The only downfall that I didn’t think about is now the cake is about 16″ tall! So it looks awesome, but it won’t fit in a travel cake pan if you do it my way. I haven’t actually eaten a slice of it yet, it’s for a birthday in a couple hours, but every individual part was delicious as I was making it! I wish I could post a picture of it here. Thank you for the recipe!
Allison
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Karen
Hi Allison! Can this cake be frozen a few days before using? Thanks!
Allison
Hi! The assembled cake? No. You can make the cake layers and freeze(tightly wrapped), but they might get a bit sticky on top.
Janet
How long after removing cake from oven should the cakes be removed from pans? I don’t want the cakes to stick to pans from not removing correctly. Thank you!
Elaine
Made this recipe for Easter. I used a bought mix for the cake. But used this recipe for the filling and icing. Both were awesome. Everyone loved it! It was all gone by end of day. Great recipe.
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Yesenia
I made this cake for my wife’s birthday and she said it’s hands-down the best cake she’s ever had! I did two layers instead of three and stored the extra frosting in the freezer to use later. The cake layers are soft and moist, and the icing is INCREDIBLE. Seriously, we had to stop ourselves from eating it straight out of the bowl!
Although the recipe says the cake is best the day it’s made, we also had a slice for breakfast the next morning and it was equally (if not more) delicious!
Allison
Thanks for the kind review. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Jimanna Hutchison
Second time I made this cake! It’s quickly becoming a family favorite!
Allison
I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Sayde
Hello how many boxes of cake mix would I need for the three layers? Maybe that’s a silly question but wanted to ask as I will need to substitute. Thanks!
Allison
Hhhhmm, I’m not sure. One would probably be enough. I think two would be too much.
Cindy
Can this be made as a sheet cake?
Allison
Yep! That recipe is here: Strawberry Shortcake Sheet Cake.
Cheryl Marsenich
Is it possible to make 2 9” cake’s instead of 3 8” cakes?
Allison
I haven’t tried it but that should be fine. I’d guess the bake time would be somewhere between 20-25 minutes.
Krystal
Followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfectly delicious! Was enjoyed by my whole family and friends.
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂