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.
Robin
I am making this for a birthday on Tuesday, 2 days from now. How long can this be refrigerated without getting soggy?
Celebrating Sweets
It is best assembled the day it is going to be eaten. You can make and store the components (cake, chopped berries without jam, whipped cream) separately until you are ready to assemble. The whipped cream and berries should be refrigerated. Enjoy!
Shoena
I made this cake today for mothers day with a twist, made 2 lawyers and added blueberries and raspberries. It blew the rest away. The whip cream is delicious. I will be making it a lot more
Celebrating Sweets
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂 -Allison
Melissa
Could I use Allpourse flour or is it the same thing cake flour
Celebrating Sweets
Cake flour is different. It creates a lighter, fluffier cake. You can use all purpose, but the cake itself will be heavier. You can try making your own cake flour: https://joythebaker.com/2009/09/how-to-make-cake-flour/
anyce
Can you use Almond flour?
Celebrating Sweets
No. Almond flour is not actually “flour”, it is just ground almonds, that will not work with this recipe. If you need this to be gluten free, I would suggest using a “cup-to-cup” gluten free flour blend in place of the cake flour. The texture will be a bit different, but hopefully still ok once you add the berries and frosting. Enjoy!
jackie
Great recipe. Very easy, came out beautifully.
Celebrating Sweets
Fantastic! I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Enjoy!
Katie
Hello,
I am interested in making this for my daughter’s birthday, however, she lives about an hour away. I know that I can add gelatin to help keep the form, but will it help hold the cake from melting or getting soggy? I haven’t had to transport a cake that far before, so I am unsure of the best way to do it without ruining the integrity of the cake.
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Katie. When transporting it make sure it’s kept fairly cool. Heat will definitely make the whipped cream thin out even though it is stabilized with a bit of cream cheese.
It shouldn’t get soggy as long as your consuming it within a couple hours of assembling. And if some of the juices soak into the cake I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.
You can also frost the outside of the cake (that should make it a bit more stable for transport). Several other people have frosted the outside, see the photos in this pin. Lastly, you can always bring everything (cake layers, strawberries, whipped cream frosting) and assemble there, if you’re worried about it. Good luck! Enjoy!
Susan
Can you bake this in 2 13×9 pans? Should I double the recipe?
Celebrating Sweets
Are you planning on stacking TWO 13×9 rectangles? If so, then yes, you can double it (although, I have never doubled this recipe, so I can’t guarantee that will work). If you’re just looking for a single layer 13×9, I think doubling will be too much. Best of luck playing around with it!
Noelle
I have always had a sweet spot for strawberry shortcake, this recipe did not disappoint! Thank you
Celebrating Sweets
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Carrie
My household loves Strawberry shortcake. This recipe is totally awesome. Thank you for sharing it.
Tatiana
Followed recipe exactly, only changed the oven time a bit (but I’m pretty sure the problem is my oven).
Came out perfectly! super moist and fluffy!
Celebrating Sweets
Wonderful! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.
Lauren
How would you change this to do 3 6″ layers?
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Lauren. I don’t think halving the recipe would produce enough batter, plus tweaking the proportions could get tricky. I suggest making the full cake recipe, and filling your 6-inch pans about one third to halfway full with batter. You will have some batter leftover, you can either throw it away or make a few cupcakes with it. I would guess that half a frosting recipe would probably be enough, especially if you leave the sides exposed like I did. Enjoy!