An easy, moist, fluffy, made-from-scratch strawberry cake made with fresh strawberries and frosted with strawberry buttercream. If you’re looking for a homemade high altitude strawberry cake that’s full of fresh strawberry flavor, made without any strawberry gelatin, boxed cake mixes or freeze dried strawberries, then you’ll love this cake!
Looking for more strawberry recipes? You’ll love this strawberry rhubarb pie, strawberry pop tarts with sprinkles, mini strawberry shortcakes, and strawberry vanilla bean ice cream.
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Why You’ll Love This Cake
Easy to Make.
You only need a bowl and whisk to make the cake batter!
Made with Fresh Strawberries & Perfected for High Altitude.
I’m not kidding when I say I’ve tested this strawberry cake recipe over a dozen times over the last few years to try to get it just right. I’ve tried freeze dried strawberries, which add a strong strawberry flavor, but an odd texture. I’ve tried simple pureed strawberries to replace the liquid, but the cake ends up gummy, dense and lacking in strawberry flavor. And I’ve tried strawberry gelatin, which made the worst cake of them all.
So I went back to my popular vanilla cake as the starting point. I thought that by reducing the sugar a little and adding a concentrated strawberry reduction, I could keep the cake’s soft, fluffy and light texture with as much natural strawberry flavor as possible. I also compared the results of using sour cream, melted butter or vegetable oil, and oil was the clear winner for the softest cake with the best rise and most tender, fluffy texture. And when I got it right, I knew this would be the strawberry cake recipe that high altitude bakers have been waiting for.
Versatile Decorating Options.
While recipe testing, I played around with a few different ways to frost and decorate my cake. One option is with a more natural, subtle pink buttercream, with frosting swirls on top of the cake and fresh strawberries. This is a classic look, and always so pretty. The other look I’ve featured is a cake with a deeper pink buttercream (helped by a few extra drops of food coloring), some simple piped rosettes and a few pink and gold sugar pears. This look is sophisticated and a bit fancier. Which do you love most?
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Strawberry Reduction
- Strawberries. You can use either fresh or frozen strawberries for the reduction. By simmering the strawberries, you’ll be cooking off some of the water for a more concentrated strawberry flavor in your cake.
Cake
- Whole Milk. Adds moisture and fat for a tender, flavorful cake crumb.
- Lemon Juice. The acidity in the lemon juice enhances the flavor of the strawberries and also makes the cake more tender.
- Strawberry Reduction. The strawberry reduction gives the cake its strawberry flavor.
- Eggs + Egg Whites. Gives the cake strength and structure.
- Vegetable Oil. Makes the cake moist, light and fluffy.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Cake Flour. Flour gives a cake structure, and the lower protein content of cake flour makes a softer, fluffier cake than if you used all-purpose flour.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and moisture.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent to help the cake rise.
- Salt. Enhances flavor and balances sweetness.
Buttercream
- Butter. Makes a rich, buttery, fluffy buttercream. I use unsalted butter, but if you use salted, just leave out the extra salt.
- Strawberry Reduction. Gives the buttercream its strawberry flavor and a natural pale pink color.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
- Meringue Powder. Adds stability and improves the texture.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Food Coloring. This is optional, but you can add a few drops of red or pink gel food coloring to deepen the pink color of the buttercream.
Instructions
Make the strawberry reduction.
- Wash and hull the strawberries, then use a small food processor to puree the strawberries.
- Scrape the pureed strawberries into a small saucepan. Over medium low heat, simmer the strawberries, stirring frequently to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until reduced to 3/4 cup. This may take up to 30 minutes.
- Once reduced, transfer the strawberry reduction to a container, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until needed. You can make the reduction up to 2 days in advance. You’ll be using the strawberry reduction in both the cake and the buttercream.
Bake the cake.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray. If making half the recipe for a smaller cake, use three 6-inch round cake pans.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, lemon juice, 1/2 cup strawberry reduction, eggs, egg whites, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until well combined. Whisk in the food coloring, if using. I added 2 small drops super red gel food coloring; without the food coloring, the cakes will be a paler pinkish tan color.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, then whisk until everything is evenly distributed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and whisk for about 10-15 seconds, until combined.
- Divide the batter between the pans, then bang the pans on the counter a few times to pop any large air bubbles.
- Bake the cakes until the tops spring back when gently touched, or a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, about 21-25 minutes for three 8-inch cakes, and about 18-20 minutes for three 6-inch cakes.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting.
Make the buttercream.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter for 1 minute until smooth. Beat in the remaining 1/4 cup strawberry reduction and the vanilla.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and the salt.
- Increase speed to medium (#6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer) and beat for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until very light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to “stir” and mix for 1 more minute to pop any large air bubbles. If desired, beat in a few drops of red or pink gel food coloring for a deeper pink color.
- Remove the cooled cakes from the pans, and stack, fill and frost the cake with the buttercream. See How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost a Layer Cake for more tips.
- Fit a piping bag with tip 1M, fill with any remaining buttercream, and pipe swirls on top of the cake, if you like. Then top with fresh strawberries just before serving.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour?
Yes, but your cake won’t be as light and fluffy.
Can I use strawberry jam instead of making the strawberry puree?
No, these are not interchangeable, since strawberry jam will contain extra sugar, and will not work in this recipe.
Do I have to reduce the pureed strawberries first?
Yes, you have to reduce the strawberries as instructed in the recipe. Otherwise, they’ll contain too much liquid, resulting in a gummy, wet texture and a lack of strawberry flavor.
Do I need to strain the seeds out of the strawberry puree?
There’s no need to strain out the seeds, since they are undetectable in the cake and buttercream.
Can I use melted butter instead of vegetable oil?
I’ve tested this recipe with both melted butter and vegetable oil, and the oil makes a better cake. With butter, the cakes didn’t rise as well, and were more dense, while the oil based strawberry cake was very soft, light and fluffy.
How long does this cake stay soft?
Store your cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature to keep it soft and fresh.
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High Altitude Strawberry Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Strawberry Reduction
- 12 oz fresh or frozen strawberries
Cake
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup strawberry reduction, completely cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites only (save the extra 2 yolks for another use)
- ½ cup vegetable oil (do not substitute with melted butter)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 small drops pink or red gel food coloring, optional
- 3 ¼ cups cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
Buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup strawberry reduction, completely cooled
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1-2 drops pink or red gel food coloring, optional
Instructions
Strawberry Reduction
- Wash and hull the strawberries, then use a small food processor to puree the strawberries.
- Scrape the pureed strawberries into a small saucepan. Over medium low heat, simmer the strawberries, stirring frequently to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until reduced to 3/4 cup. This may take up to 30 minutes.
- Once reduced, transfer the strawberry reduction to a container, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until needed. You can make the reduction up to 2 days in advance. You'll be using the strawberry reduction in both the cake and the buttercream.
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.If making half the recipe for a smaller cake, use three 6-inch round cake pans.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, lemon juice, 1/2 cup strawberry reduction, eggs, egg whites, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until well combined. Whisk in the food coloring, if using.I added 2 small drops super red gel food coloring; without the food coloring, the cakes will be a paler pinkish tan color.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, then whisk until everything is evenly distributed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and whisk for about 10-15 seconds, until combined.
- Divide the batter between the pans, then bang the pans on the counter a few times to pop any large air bubbles.
- Bake the cakes until the tops spring back when gently touched, or a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, about 21-25 minutes for three 8-inch cakes, and about 18-20 minutes for three 6-inch cakes.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter for 1 minute until smooth. Beat in the remaining 1/4 cup strawberry reduction and the vanilla.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and the salt.
- Increase speed to medium (#6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer) and beat for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until very light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to "stir" and mix for 1 more minute to pop any large air bubbles. If desired, beat in a few drops of red or pink gel food coloring for a deeper pink color.
- Remove the cooled cakes from the pans, and stack, fill and frost the cake with the buttercream. See How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost a Layer Cake for more tips.
- Fit a piping bag with tip 1M, fill with any remaining buttercream, and pipe swirls on top of the cake, if you like. Then top with fresh strawberries just before serving.
hi! I am an at home baker and just wanted to say that after trying MANY "popular" vanilla cake recipes online I was still unsatisfied with my results until I stumbled upon yours! I couldnt believe how simple and delicious it was, but it is now my FAVORITE! Thank you! Now I will be trying this strawberry one! Have a great day! 🙂
I'm so happy to hear you loved the vanilla cake recipe!
Can this recipe be used in regular altitude?
It’s possible you’d need to decrease the flour by a few tablespoons and increase (or even double) the baking powder. My FAQs page has some helpful links about altitude adjustments: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/baking-faqs/
Can this recipe be used for cupcakes?? I know some cake recipes are strictly cake recipes and I was hoping this one was adaptable.
I haven’t tested this particular recipe as cupcakes. I do have a great strawberry cupcake recipe, though, with vanilla cupcakes, filled with strawberry compote, and strawberry buttercream.
https://curlygirlkitchen.com/strawberry-cupcakes/
I made these for my niece’s birthday party. Talk about a hit! Your recipe was delicious. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad everyone loved the cake! 🙂
When I made this 2 years ago it used freeze dried strawberries- what happened to that ?
Kecia, in retesting the recipe, I decided to leave the freeze dried strawberries out, partly to make the recipe better and partly to make it more accessible to people who can’t get that ingredient. I hope you try the updated version – it’s wonderful!
Does the cake itself have a strong strawberry flavor, or is the flavor dependent on the icing? I’ve tried so many variations, and if I want to use cream cheese buttercream or vanilla buttercream, the cake itself needs to have the flavor. I’m in looove with the texture of your cakes, so I’m sticking with that base, just messing around with flavors 🥰 thank you!
Both the cake and the buttercream taste like strawberries! If you want to add even more strawberry flavor, consider adding a filling, like strawberry jam, between the cake layers.
Hi!
I have also struggled with creating a tasty strawberry cake without using gelatin. My question is, how would I adjust this recipe to accommodate regular altitude?
Thank you for you help!
It’s possible you’d need to decrease the flour by a few tablespoons and increase (or even double) the baking powder. My FAQs page has some helpful links about altitude adjustments: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/baking-faqs/
Hello Heather,
Your blog is so beautiful, well written and easy to navigate!
Is the recipe listed correctly with 1/2 cup of oil? Normally your recipes call for 1 cup of oil/butter so I just wanted to make sure.
Thanks!
Thanks so much! Yes, it’s just 1/2 cup of oil. This recipe also has 1/2 cup of reduced strawberry puree, which makes up for the rest of the liquid and keeps the cake moist. 🙂
Would you have any recommended adjustments for baking this @ our higher elevation here in Breckenridge, CO? (9,000’+) Wanting to make it for my Granddaughter’s 3rd birthday this week 🙂
Susan, this is a good article on making specific adjustments for various altitudes: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
To go from 5,000 to 9,000 feet, I might decrease the sugar by 1-2 tablespoons, add 2-3 tablespoons more flour, and probably reduce the baking powder by half. Generally I’d add a few more tablespoons of liquid, too, but I hesitate to suggest that since too much liquid can make a strawberry cake gummy, but it’s possible you’d need 1-2 extra tablespoons of milk to avoid it drying out from the increase in flour. The cake might also bake a little more quickly, so keep an eye on it. I really hope it works out for you! I’ve never tested any of my recipes at such a high elevation as yours.
This looks gorgeous! McCormick makes strawberry extract; I just bought some for a cookie recipe. Maybe that would be an option for someone who wants the strawberry flavor in the frosting as well. It’s a clear liquid.
This cake does have the reduced strawberry puree in both the cake and the buttercream, so there’s plenty of strawberry flavor in both. You can certainly add the extract if you like.
Is there any changes to be made for not at high altitudes?
It’s possible you’d need to decrease the flour by a few tablespoons and increase (or even double) the baking powder. My FAQs page has some helpful links about altitude adjustments: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/baking-faqs/
This turned out great! I needed a full 16 oz container of fresh strawberries to get to 3/4 cup puree, but maybe I reduced it too much? I realized too late that I didn’t have 3 8-inch pans so made it in 2 9-inch ones and it worked out fine. This frosting is really amazing! Like strawberry ice cream. 🙂
I’m so glad to hear it! Yes, it’s possible yours reduced more quickly – it’s going to depend on how high your heat is. I’m so happy you love the cake!
Instead of milk + lemon juice, can I just use buttermilk in the cake? I have buttermilk in the fridge I’m trying to use up!
Yes, you can do that!
Hi Heather,
I’m excited to make this for my son’s birthday next month. I’m hoping to use two 9 x 13 cake pans for a larger cake. I believe I would need to double the recipe, but I’m not sure how long to bake the cakes. What do you suggest? Thank you so much for your help!
The recipe is enough for a 9×13 cake, so if you’re making two of them, then definitely double it. Although that’s a lot of batter, so you may only want to make one batch at a time unless you’ve got a really big mixing bowl. I don’t make sheet cakes often, but I’m guessing it would take about 35-40 minutes. I’d also advise lining the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper for easy release, if you’re planning on turning the cakes out of the pans.
Hi Heather…I live in Bozeman, MT, and have found that your recipes truly are dialed in for the problems that higher elevation baking brings…so thank you for doing all the legwork! I have a reputation amongst friends and family of being the “dessert person” and do all sorts of events and special occasions, including tiered wedding cakes, so I’m not an inexperienced baker. I just made this strawberry cake and buttercream recipe of yours for a nursing school graduation party table for my niece. I did it as cupcakes and they were amazing! About 19 minutes, perfect texture and crumb, super moist. Made exactly 24 cupcakes. And the buttercream was also stupendous, with lovely strawberry flavor. I did have to cook down a higher quantity of strawberries to get the amount of concentrated reduction needed, but that method works like a charm. I really appreciate your aesthetic of flavor coming from real ingredients. Overall, a huge fan of your flavor profiles, your straight-forward recipes, and photography…stunning! Thanks for all you do!
Beth, thank you so much for your kind comment 🙂
Hello!
I’ve had great success with all of your recipes and am very excited to try this. Do you know if this will bake up well in a Bundt pan? I assume I’d have to increase my baking time. I live at just over 5,000 ft in elevation in Utah. Would you recommend any other adaptions or should I scrap the Bundt idea?
Thank you!
I haven’t tried this in a bundt pan, and I’m not sure if this batter will be too sticky for a bundt pan or not. I usually bake bundt cakes at 325 instead of 350, since they need to bake longer. The cake will have much more of a crust on it, too.
If i don’t have meringue powder, what could I use as a replacement?
The meringue powder adds stability to the buttercream, but you can leave it out if you need to. There’s no good replacement for it.
Hi Heather! I am in the process of making this cake and realize I have two, 9 inch round cake pans and 1, 8 inch round. I am hoping you might be able to help me in deciding how I should go about this. I was thinking maybe I just do two layers instead of three and use the 9 inch rounds only. Or I use more batter in the two 9 in rounds and less in the 8 inch? Thank you for your help! I cannot WAIT to try this cake! I already made the icing and it is DELICIOUS!
Ashley, I would just use the two 9-inch pans if you don’t have three 8-inch pans.
Hello!
Could I bake this in a 1/2 sheet pan or 1/4 sheet pan?
Thank you!
Yes, you can make this recipe in a 9×13 pan (1/4 sheet).