Easy Strawberry Cake
10
Last updated on Feb 28, 2025
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This easy strawberry cake is made with cake flour, fresh strawberry puree and Greek yogurt. It’s light and fluffy and topped with a decadent homemade strawberry buttercream frosting.
I gave a sneak peek of this easy strawberry cake over on Instagram a few months ago, because it was too good to not share, but today I’m finally sharing the full recipe on the blog!
This recipe is packed with fresh strawberry flavor and is made with cake flour, resulting in a super tender and soft cake. Plus, we’re using less sugar and oil than traditional cake recipes so it’s definitely EBF-approved.
And let’s not forget about the decadent strawberry buttercream frosting that we’re making from scratch. It’s seriously SO GOOD. I can’t wait for you to try it!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Made with real strawberries – No artificial flavors, no food coloring—just fresh, juicy strawberries blended into a smooth puree.
- Healthier than traditional strawberry cake – Made with Greek yogurt, avocado oil, and maple syrup for a lighter, more wholesome dessert.
- Soft, fluffy, and moist – The combination of cake flour and strawberry puree makes for a cake that’s tender and perfectly moist without being too dense.
- Perfect for any occasion – Whether it’s a birthday, brunch, or just a weekend treat, this strawberry cake recipe is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients Needed
- cake flour – the key ingredient for a tender, light cake texture. Cake flour (I like using King Arthur’s cake flour) has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour, resulting in less gluten formation and a delicate crumb.
- eggs – what gives this cake structure. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature before baking this cake. I won’t get into the science behind it but it’s key for a fluffy cake!
- granulated sugar or pure maple syrup – both maple syrup and granulated sugar will work as the sweetener for this cake, maple syrup will just result in a darker colored batter.
- strawberry puree – made by blending fresh strawberries until they form a puree, this strawberry puree adds natural sweetness and a delightful fruity flavor to the cake.
- plain full-fat Greek yogurt – adds moisture without a ton of oil and helps create a tender crumb. I recommend using full-fat plain Greek yogurt for the best results, but 2% will work just fine.
- avocado oil – a mild-tasting oil that contributes to the moistness of the cake. You can also use another neutral oil of your choice like olive oil or coconut oil. Melted butter will also work.
- strawberry buttercream frosting – a simple homemade buttercream frosting made with by whipping together softened butter, strawberry puree, vanilla extract and powdered sugar until it’s nice and fluffy!
Find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card below.
Substitutions & Notes
- Flour: For the best results I recommend using cake flour as it provides a lighter, softer texture, but you can use all-purpose flour or pastry flour in this recipe if that’s all you have on hang. Keep in mind that the texture of the cake will be slightly denser.
- Gluten-free: I tested this cake with Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1:1 all-purpose flour and it turned out okay, but I had to add 1/2 cup more milk to the batter because it was quite thick. The cake also was a little bubbly on top, didn’t rise as much and had a slightly gummy texture, so I wouldn’t recommend using a gluten-free flour. That said, feel free to experiment with your favorite gluten-free flour and let me know how it turns out for you!
- Dairy-free: For a dairy-free version, use dairy-free yogurt in the cake batter and vegan butter in the frosting.
- Vegan: I haven’t tried a substitute for the eggs and I wouldn’t recommend it as the eggs give this cake structure.
How to Make Easy Strawberry Cake
Make strawberry puree: If you haven’t already made the strawberry puree, wash and hull your fresh strawberries and add them to a blender and blend until smooth and no chunks remain. You should end up with 1 ¼ cup strawberry puree. Set aside.
Preheat: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray three 6-inch cake pans or two 8-inch cake pans with cooking spray and set aside.
Mix dry ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Whisk wet ingredients: Add your eggs, sugar or maple syrup, strawberry puree, yogurt, oil and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and using a hand mixer whisk on medium-high speed until fully combined and smooth.
Combine: While running the hand mixer on low speed pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix until batter is fully combined and smooth. Just be careful to not over-mix!
Bake: Pour batter into prepared round cake pans and bake for 20-23 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 5-10 minutes then remove the cake from the pans and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make frosting: While cake is cooling make frosting by whipping butter, vanilla and strawberry puree together with a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, whipping on medium speed until fully combined and creamy.
Frost and serve: Once at room temperature frost it, layer cake, cut cake, serve and enjoy!
Brittany’s Tips
- Boost that berry flavor: If your strawberry puree looks a little watery, let it simmer on the stove for a few minutes to concentrate the flavor. This makes for a more vibrant strawberry taste and keeps the cake from getting too moist. Totally worth the extra step!
- Room temp is the way to go: Cold eggs, yogurt, or butter can mess with the texture of your cake, so let them sit out before baking. This helps everything mix together smoothly for a lighter, fluffier cake. No one wants a dense cake, right?
- Less mixing, more fluff: The second you stir in the dry ingredients, take it easy! Overmixing can make the cake tough instead of soft and tender. A few lumps? No big deal. Just mix until combined, and you’re golden.
How to Decorate Strawberry Cake
I love keeping this cake simple with just the strawberry buttercream frosting and some fresh strawberry slices on top, but here are some other fun ideas of how you could decorate this cake:
- Sprinkles: Add a fun and colorful touch to your strawberry cake by mixing in your favorite sprinkles and adding some on top!
- Strawberry jam swirls: Add an extra burst of strawberry flavor by swirling some strawberry jam (you can use store-bought or make this strawberry chia jam) and swirl some into the frosting.
- Chocolate chips: Scatter some chocolate chips over the frosting for a delicious chocolate-strawberry combination that’s hard to resist.
- Fresh berries: Arrange fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and/or raspberries on top of the cake for a beautiful, fresh decoration that also adds a burst of fruity flavor.
- Frosting: If you’re a chocolate lover, my chocolate buttercream frosting would be an incredible match for this strawberry cake—because let’s be real, chocolate and strawberry together is chef’s kiss! You also can’t go wrong with a classic vanilla buttercream frosting. Looking for a healthier option? Try my healthy chocolate frosting, peanut butter Greek yogurt frosting or healthy cream cheese frosting. Any of these would be delicious!
How to Store Leftovers
Store any leftover cake in an airtight container on the counter for 1-2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. I haven’t tried freezing this cake, but I would imagine it would freeze just fine either frosted or unfrosted.
If you’re making this cake ahead of time for a special occasion and want to store it in the freezer, I would store the individual layers separately in an airtight container or bag (I love my Stasher bags). The day before you’re ready to serve, let the layers thaw in the fridge then assemble and decorate as desired!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This cake can be made 1-3 days in advance. To make ahead of time, let the cake layers cool completely and store them in the fridge, covered until you’re ready to assemble and serve. Alternatively, you can frost and decorate the cake and store it covered in the fridge until ready to serve!
Yes, this recipe works in different pan sizes. If using two 8-inch cake pans, bake for about 20-23 minutes until golden brown on top. For cupcakes, the batter makes around 15, and they’ll need 15-20 minutes in the oven. A 9×13-inch pan should work for a sheet cake, but the baking time may vary, so it’s best to check for doneness as it bakes. An 8×8 or 9×9-inch square pan should also be fine, though I haven’t tested it. The bake time will likely be around 20-30 minutes.
Cake flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour, which results in a softer, more delicate crumb. This makes it ideal for cakes, especially ones like this strawberry cake. If you use all-purpose flour instead, the cake will turn out denser. I recommend sticking with cake flour for the best texture.
More Cake Recipes to Try
- Healthy Birthday Cake
- Vegan Coffee Cake
- Protein Cake
- Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- Oatmeal Carrot Cake
- Healthy Pumpkin Cake
- French Yogurt Cake
- Healthy Chocolate Cake
Be sure to check out all of the dessert recipes here on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Easy Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
Strawberry Puree
- 1 lb fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
Cake
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar or pure maple syrup
- 1 cup strawberry puree
- ½ cup plain full fat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fresh strawberries, for topping (optional)
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature (vegan butter works)
- ¼ cup strawberry puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- If you haven't already made the strawberry puree, wash and hull your fresh strawberries and add them to a blender and blend until smooth and no chunks remain. You should end up with 1 ¼ cup strawberry puree. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray three 6-inch cake pans or two 8-inch cake pans with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients: cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add your eggs, sugar, 1 cup strawberry puree, yogurt, oil and vanilla extract. Using a hand mixer whisk on medium high speed until fully combined and smooth.
- While running hand mixer on low speed pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix until batter is just combined and smooth. Don't over-mix!
- Pour batter into prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 20-23 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 5-10 minutes. Remove cake from pans and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
- While cake is cooling make frosting by whipping butter, vanilla and ¼ cup strawberry puree together with a hand mixer on medium speed. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, whipping on medium speed until fully combined and nice and fluffy.
- Once cake is at room temperature frost it. Cut cake and serve.
- Store cake in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the fridge for about 5 days.
Notes
- Storage: Store any leftover cake in an airtight container on the counter for 1-2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Frosting options: This cake isn’t just meant for strawberry frosting, you could try it with my healthy chocolate frosting, vanilla buttercream frosting, peanut butter Greek yogurt frosting or healthy cream cheese frosting.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I reduce the strawberry puree for a more concentrated flavor?
Hi Lauren – Are you looking for more or less strawberry flavor? If you reduce the strawberry puree that will throw off the liquid to dry ingredient ratio, so if you did that you’d probably need to substitute it with some more liquid. Let me know if you try it and how the cake turns out.
If I use two 9″ pans, do you know how that would change the baking time? Thanks.
Hi Bran – If using two 9-inch pans, it shouldn’t be that much of a difference in bake time, but I would start checking the cake at 20 minutes and pull once an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let me know how it turns out for you!
I made this cake for my hubby’s birthday and everyone LOVED it! I followed the recipe exactly as written and it turned out GREAT. Great Strawberry flavor in the cake itself as well as the icing. Very easy to follow recipe an the result was DELICIOUS! Thank you for creating such a great cake recipe!
WOO! I am so glad your husband loved this cake and it turned out amazing for you, Courtney. Thanks so much for coming back and sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
Made this yesterday for my daughter’s 3rd birthday and it was delicious. A hit with kids and adults alike. The icing is to die for.
Ah this is so great, Caitlin! I am happy to hear that you’re re loving this recipe and it turned out great for your daughters birthday. Thanks for your review + star rating, it means the world to me. ❤️
This cake was delicious:) I subbed in Truvia Sweet Complete Confectioners for the icing and it worked out fine. This recipe was easy to make, the strawberry flavor was perfect and my harshest critic (the nine year old) gave it a 10/10! I’ll make this again.
WOO! This is the best, Beth. I am so glad this recipe was a hit of you and your family and it turned out great. Thank you so much for sharing your review + star rating, I appreciate it!