Strawberry Cake

Stephanie Hamley
5 days ago
5 min read

This is the ultimate fresh strawberry cake recipe crafted with real strawberries (no Jell-O, no boxed mix, no artificial flavors). The key is a slowly simmered strawberry reduction incorporated into both the cake batter and the strawberry buttercream, delivering a rich fresh strawberry taste in every bite.

strawberry cake on white pedestal — strawberry cake

Vibrant and full of flavor and one of my favorite strawberry cake recipes! There are a few steps you have to take but I promise, the end result will be worth it!

Strawberry Reduction

32 ounces fresh or frozen strawberries thawed
4 ounces sugar optional
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 pinch salt

Strawberry Cake

8 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
10 ounces granulated sugar
6 ounces egg whites room temperature
4 ounces milk room temperature, whole milk is best
6 ounces strawberry reduction room temperature
2 ounces vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice fresh
½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 ½ teaspoon strawberry emulsion or extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon Pink food color
14 ounces all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

4 ounces pasteurized egg whites
16 ounces powdered sugar
16 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces strawberry reduction room temperature

How to make it

Instructions -

Before you begin: Make the strawberry reduction the day before so it has time to cool completely. On bake day, set butter, egg whites, milk, and reduction out at room temperature for at least 1 hour before mixing. Grease and line two 8" cake pans with parchment and preheat the oven to 350º F.

Strawberry Reduction Instructions

I recommend making this reduction the day before you're ready to make your cake. Place your thawed or fresh strawberries into the blender and blend until smooth.
Place the strawberry puree, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice into a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil.
Once bubbling, reduce heat to medium-low and slowly reduce the puree until you have two cups of liquid and the mixture is very thick like tomato sauce. This can take between 40 to 60 minutes. Occasionally stir the mixture to prevent burning. You will use some of the reduction for the cake batter, some for the frosting. You can also use the rest for filling between the cake layers for extra moisture.

Strawberry Cake Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, strawberry reduction, strawberry emulsion, vanilla extract, lemon zest, lemon juice, and pink food coloring. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add room temperature butter to your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds.
Gradually sprinkle in the sugar, beat until the mixture is fluffy and almost white, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the egg whites one at a time, beating 15 seconds in between. Your mixture should look cohesive at this point. If it looks curdled and broken, your butter or egg whites were too cold.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, strawberry reduction, strawberry emulsion, vanilla extract, lemon zest, lemon juice, and pink food coloring.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Mix on low speed and add about a third of the dry ingredients to the batter, followed immediately by about a third of the milk mixture, mixing until ingredients are almost incorporated. Repeat the process 2 more times. When the batter appears blended, stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. If it looks like ice cream, you did it right.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake at 350º F until the cakes feel firm in the center and a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs, about 30 to 35 minutes.
Place pans on a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Flip the cakes onto the racks and cool completely. Wrap each layer in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze before assembling.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Buttercream Instructions

Place pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Attach the whisk and combine ingredients on low, then whip on high for 5 minutes.
Add the softened butter in chunks and whip on high for 8 to 10 minutes until very white, light, and shiny. It may look curdled and yellow at first, this is normal. Keep whipping.
Add the strawberry reduction, vanilla extract, and salt and continue whipping until incorporated. Optional: switch to the paddle attachment and mix on low for 15 to 20 minutes to make the buttercream very smooth and remove air bubbles.

Assembly

Layer the chilled cakes with strawberry buttercream. For additional flavor and moisture content thin spread of extra strawberry reduction between each layer.
Crumb coat the cake, chill, then apply the final coat of buttercream and decorate as desired.

Notes

Ingredient notes:

All ingredients (egg whites, milk, butter, reduction) should be at room temperature, not cold or hot.
Use a kitchen scale for accurate weight measurements. Converting this recipe to cups can lead to failure.
Americolor deep pink is what keeps the cake from turning gray during baking. It looks like cheating but it isn't optional if you want a vivid pink color.
Use only egg whites. Whole eggs tint the cake peach.
LorAnn's strawberry bakery emulsion is more concentrated than regular extract. If you can plan ahead and order it, you'll get better strawberry flavor. Regular extract works in a pinch.

Reduction notes:

Goal: get as much liquid out as possible without burning the strawberries. The mixture should look like thick tomato sauce and have reduced by about half.
Use some for the cake batter, some for the frosting, and the rest between the cake layers for extra flavor.
Leftover reduction stores in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for 6 months.

Strawberry buttercream notes:

Whip the buttercream until light and very white before adding the reduction. If it still tastes like butter, keep whipping until it tastes like sweet ice cream.
If the buttercream looks curdled after adding the reduction, it's too cold. Microwave ½ cup of buttercream for 10 to 15 seconds until just barely melted, then pour it back into the mixer while it's running. It will come together creamy.

Critical do-nots:

Don't substitute cake flour for all-purpose. The cake will be too soft and may sink.
Don't use whole eggs. The yolks tint the cake peach instead of pink.
Don't skip the pink food coloring. The cake will bake out gray.
Don't substitute jam, preserves, or strawberry Jell-O for the reduction.
Don't add fresh chopped strawberries to the batter. The water content ruins the cake's structure.
Don't use cold ingredients. Everything must be room temperature.

Watch me Make it Here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r-QR6nDENI

Special Tools & Equipment Links:

Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission at NO additional cost to you. 😁 This is not a sponsored post. Thank you for your support ❤️

Mixing Bowls – https://amzn.to/44EAVCm

Stand Mixer - https://amzn.to/4lEgwmV

Handheld Mixer - https://amzn.to/3PFxoyW

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Parchment Paper – https://amzn.to/4lYCfFU

Offset Spatula: https://amzn.to/3RcNsZQ

8" cake pans: https://amzn.to/4eWQHh4

Cake turntable: https://amzn.to/4h8qCNl

Precut 8" Parchment Rounds: https://amzn.to/4pk6euW

Green Scoop: https://amzn.to/3R5jlna

LorAnn Strawberry Emulsion - https://amzn.to/4yAodSf