Easy Strawberry Cake is sweet, soft, and bursting with fresh berries in every slice! Buttery homemade vanilla cake is studded with juicy strawberries and baked to golden perfection before being served with a generous sprinkle of powdered sugar on top.
Easy Strawberry Cake
The beauty of this cake recipe is the simplicity of it. No frosting, no complicated layers, and simple ingredients that you likely already have in your kitchen! Since it’s baked in a 9×13 dish, it’s big enough to serve a crowd, so consider making it for your Fourth of July bash. I most recently made it just for my family and we enjoyed sneaking slices for days! The cake itself is heavenly soft with the best buttery touch and the strawberries get so juicy and sweet when baked. It’s simple to make and so easy to love!
Enjoy more of my favorite easy strawberry dessert recipes like strawberry pie, strawberry shortcake, and fresh strawberry crisp.
How to Make Easy Strawberry Cake
- Prepare. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Beat the wet ingredients. Beat together the softened butter with 1 1/2 cups of the sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in both eggs and vanilla and beat on medium until combined.
- Make the batter. Add half of the flour and beat for 30 seconds, then half of the milk and beat for another 30 seconds. Repeat with the remaining flour and milk and mix just until the batter comes together.
- Assemble the cake. Pour the batter into the baking dish and use a spatula to gently smooth the top. Top the batter evenly with the strawberries, cut side down, until all of the batter is covered. Then, sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
- Bake. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
Why did my cake sink in the middle?
There’s usually two main culprits for a sunken middle. Either it’s underbaked, or there was too much moisture from the strawberries. Make sure to genly pat the berries dry if they’re wet and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean!
Storing Strawberry Cake for Later:
You can store your strawberry cake in an airtight container (like the dish it was baked in topped tightly with foil) at room temperature for up to 1 week. It can also be stored in the refrigerator if you’d prefer a chilled slice!
Ingredient Notes
- All-Purpose Flour – For the most accurate measurement, spoon the flour into the measuring cup. If you dunk the cup straight into the bag, it’ll get packed.
- Baking Powder – Always double check the expiration date on your baking powder! If it’s expired, it won’t be potent and your cake will fall flat.
- Salt – Just a pinch helps to enhance the other flavors without making it taste salty.
- Butter – It’ll need to be totally softened to room temperature so it can be easily mixed with the other ingredients.
- Sugar – You’ll need it both for the cake batter and for sprinkling some on top before baking.
- Eggs – When baking cakes, I like to use room temp eggs so they mix into the batter seamlessly.
- Vanilla Extract – You can also add a small splash of almond extract if you want a more bakery-like flavor. Just be careful, because a little goes a long way!
- Milk – You can swap the milk for buttermilk for a slightly tangier cake.
- Fresh Strawberries – Try to avoid using frozen berries if you can help it. Frozen strawberries will release a lot of liquid as they bake, which will change the texture of the cake.
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Easy Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 8 Tablespoons Butter Softened to room temperature
- 1 1/2 Cups plus 4 Tablespoons Sugar, divided
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 3/4 Cup Milk
- 1 1/2 Pounds of Fresh Strawberries hulled and cut in half
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a second large bowl or bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the softened butter with 1 1/2 Cups of the sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add in both eggs and vanilla and beat on medium for another 1-2 minutes until combined.
- Add half of the flour and beat for 30 seconds, then half of the milk and beat for another 30 seconds. Repeat with the remaining flour and milk and mix just until the batter comes together.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and use a spatula to gently smooth the top.
- Top the batter evenly with the strawberries, cut side down, until all of the batter is covered. Then, sprinkle with the remaining sugar evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
- Let it cool for 1 hour before dusting with powdered sugar, then slicing and serving.
