Fresh Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Introduction & Inspiration

This Fresh Strawberry Cake is a true celebration of spring and summer’s favorite berry! It features incredibly tender cake layers infused with vanilla and a hint of orange, generously frosted with a unique, light-as-air cream cheese frosting studded with fresh, finely chopped strawberries. It’s pure, sweet, fruity bliss in every slice.

My inspiration for this recipe comes from wanting to create a strawberry cake that truly tastes like fresh strawberries, not artificial flavoring. The frosting technique, folding freshly whipped cream and chopped berries into a cream cheese base, achieves just that – a light, fluffy frosting bursting with authentic fruit flavor.

This cake is perfect for birthdays, brunches, showers, or any occasion that calls for a beautiful, seasonal, and utterly delicious dessert. It’s a step above a standard strawberry cake and well worth making from scratch. It is a perfect dessert to celebrate spring.

Nostalgic Appeal

Strawberry cake is a beloved classic, evoking feelings of sunny days, picnics, and sweet celebrations. Cream cheese frosting adds another layer of comforting familiarity and nostalgic charm. This cake combines these elements beautifully.

The focus on fresh strawberries brings back memories of berry picking and homemade desserts enjoyed during peak season. It’s a flavor profile that feels both timeless and refreshingly bright.

This recipe takes those classic, nostalgic components and elevates them slightly with cake flour for tenderness and a unique frosting method, resulting in a cake that feels both familiar and special. A perfect cake to share with family and friends.

Homemade Focus

This Fresh Strawberry Cake is proudly homemade from top to bottom. We’re crafting the tender cake layers using cake flour and sour cream for a delicate crumb, and creating a unique frosting that relies on freshly whipped cream and chopped strawberries folded into a cream cheese base.

Making both the cake and the frosting from scratch allows for control over the ingredients, ensuring a light texture and authentic fresh fruit flavor. Using cake flour makes a noticeable difference in the tenderness, and the frosting method is key to incorporating fresh fruit successfully without making it watery.

It’s about celebrating fresh ingredients and classic baking techniques to create a truly exceptional cake. The homemade quality shines through in the tender crumb and the bright, fresh frosting. The homemade taste is incredible.

Flavor Goal

The primary flavor goal is a harmonious blend of tender, buttery cake with hints of vanilla and orange, creamy-tangy frosting, and bright, sweet, fresh strawberry flavor. The cake should be moist and delicate, providing a perfect backdrop.

The frosting is key: it should be light, fluffy, not overly sweet, with the tang of cream cheese balancing the sugar and the fresh strawberries providing bursts of authentic fruit flavor and texture. The chopped berries should be noticeable but integrated into the creamy frosting.

The overall experience should be light yet satisfying, bursting with fresh strawberry flavor, and perfectly balanced between sweet and tangy. It’s designed to be the ultimate fresh strawberry layer cake. A perfect balance between flavour and texture.

Ingredient Insights

For the Cake:

• Cake Flour: Has lower protein content than all-purpose flour, resulting in a more tender, delicate crumb. Sifting is recommended.
• Baking Powder: Primary leavening agent.
• Salt: Balances sweetness and enhances flavors.
• Butter (Room Temperature): Adds flavor, richness, and tenderness. Must be properly softened for creaming.
• Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the cake and aids in creaming for a light texture.
• Eggs + Egg White: Provide structure, richness, and leavening. The extra egg white adds structure without extra fat, contributing to a lighter texture. Use room temperature eggs.
• Sour Cream: Adds significant moisture and a slight tang for a very tender crumb. Room temperature preferred.
• Vanilla Extract & Orange Extract (Optional): Vanilla is essential; orange extract adds a lovely citrus note that complements strawberries beautifully.
• Milk: Adds moisture. Room temperature preferred.

For the Strawberry Frosting:

• Heavy Whipping Cream: Whipped to stiff peaks to provide the light, airy structure of the frosting. Must be very cold.
• Cream Cheese (Softened): Provides the tangy, creamy base and structure. Use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese, fully softened.
• Vanilla Extract: Flavors the frosting.
• Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the cream cheese base before the whipped cream is added.
• Fresh Strawberries (Finely Chopped): The star flavor! Finely chopping them ensures they distribute well throughout the frosting without releasing too much moisture. About 2 cups after chopping.

Essential Equipment

• Three 9-Inch Round Cake Pans: Note the larger size compared to previous recipes.
• Parchment Paper (Recommended): For lining pans.
• Non-stick Cooking Spray: For preparing pans.
• Sifter: For cake flour mixture.
• Stand Mixer (Highly Recommended): With paddle and whisk attachments. Needed for creaming butter/sugar, mixing batter, beating cream cheese, and whipping cream effectively.
• Mixing Bowls (Multiple Sizes): For dry ingredients, frosting components.
• Rubber Spatula: For folding whipped cream and scraping bowls.
• Offset Spatula (Long/Skinny): Essential for smoothly frosting the cake layers and sides.
• Wire Cooling Racks: For cooling cake layers completely.
• Serving Platter or Cake Stand:

Ingredients

Cake:

• 4 1/2 cups cake flour
• 3 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs + 1 egg white, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon orange extract (optional)
• 3/4 cup + 6 tablespoons milk (equals 1 cup + 2 tbsp total), room temperature

Strawberry Frosting:

• 3 cups heavy cream, cold
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened (brick style, full fat)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2-3 pints fresh strawberries, finely chopped (to yield about 2 cups chopped)

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Prepare Oven and Pans:

• Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).
• Prepare three 9-inch round cake pans by spraying liberally with non-stick cooking spray. Lining the bottoms with parchment paper is also recommended.

2. Mix Dry Ingredients:

• Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.

3. Cream Butter and Sugar:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the room temperature butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth, light, and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes).

4. Add Eggs and Wet Ingredients:

• Reduce mixer speed to medium-low. Slowly add the room temperature eggs and egg white, one at a time, mixing well until combined after each addition. Scrape down the bowl.
• Stir in the room temperature sour cream, vanilla extract, and optional orange extract. Mix well until combined.

5. Alternate Dry Ingredients and Milk:

• Scrape the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add about half of the flour mixture. Stir until just incorporated.
• Slowly stream in the room temperature milk while the mixer is running on low.
• Add the remaining flour mixture and stir only until the flour is fully incorporated. Do not overmix. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it one final gentle stir with a spatula.

6. Bake the Cakes:

• Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared 9-inch round baking pans. Smooth the tops.
• Bake in the preheated 325°F (160°C) oven for about 35 minutes. Cakes are done when the tops spring back with a light touch, or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Allow cakes to cool in the pans on wire racks for about 10-15 minutes before carefully inverting them onto the racks to cool completely.

7. Prepare Frosting Components:

• Whip Cream: In the clean bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer and a chilled bowl), beat the cold heavy cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside, preferably in the refrigerator. (Chill the bowl and whisk beforehand for best results).
• Beat Cream Cheese Base: Fit the paddle attachment onto your mixer (clean the bowl if you only have one). Beat the softened cream cheese on high speed until completely smooth and fluffy, scraping the sides a couple of times.
• Add the vanilla extract and granulated sugar to the cream cheese. Beat on medium speed until fully incorporated and smooth.

8. Combine Frosting:

• Remove the mixer bowl from the stand.
• Stir the finely chopped strawberries into the cream cheese mixture using a spatula on low speed just until distributed.
• Gently fold the reserved whipped cream into the strawberry-cream cheese mixture with a spatula until evenly combined and no streaks remain. Be careful not to deflate the whipped cream too much.

9. Assemble the Cake:

• Ensure cake layers are completely cool. If desired, level the tops with a serrated knife.
• Place the first cake layer on your serving platter or cake stand.
• Top with a generous layer of the strawberry frosting (about 1/2-inch thick, maybe slightly more), spreading it evenly to the edge.
• Place the second cake layer on top and repeat with another layer of frosting.
• Place the third cake layer on top (upside down for a flat surface).
• Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining strawberry frosting using an offset spatula. Smooth the top and sides as evenly as possible.

10. Garnish and Chill (Optional but Recommended):

• Top with additional sliced strawberries for garnish, if desired.
• Chill the cake for at least 30 minutes to an hour before serving to allow the frosting to set slightly.

Troubleshooting

• Cake is Dense/Tough: Overmixing after adding flour, butter/sugar not creamed enough, or ingredients not at room temperature.
• Frosting is Runny: Cream cheese too warm/soft, heavy cream not whipped to stiff peaks, or strawberries released too much liquid (ensure they are just chopped, not pureed or macerated for too long). Chilling the finished frosting briefly might help.
• Frosting Looks Curdled: Usually happens when folding whipped cream into cream cheese mixture if temperatures are too different or if overmixed. Ensure cream cheese is smooth first, then fold gently.
• Strawberries Weeping in Frosting: This can happen over time. Finely chopping helps minimize it. Best to serve the cake within a day or two.

Tips and Variations

• Room Temperature Ingredients: Crucial for the cake batter (butter, eggs, sour cream, milk) and frosting base (cream cheese) for smooth incorporation. Cold cream is needed for whipping.
• Cake Flour: Provides a noticeably more tender cake than all-purpose flour in this recipe.
• Finely Chopped Strawberries: Chop the strawberries quite small so they distribute evenly in the frosting without making it too wet or chunky.
• Stabilize Whipped Cream: For a more stable frosting, especially in warm weather, consider adding a tablespoon of instant vanilla pudding powder or dissolved gelatin to the heavy cream as you whip it.
• No Orange Extract? It’s optional; the cake will still be delicious with just vanilla. You could add 1 tsp of orange zest instead for a similar note.

Serving and Pairing Suggestions

• Serve Chilled or Cool Room Temperature: The frosting is best when cool. Let sit out briefly before serving if refrigerated for a long time.
• Spring/Summer Celebrations: Perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day, showers, birthdays.
• With Tea or Coffee: A lovely afternoon treat.
• Keep Refrigerated: Due to the fresh cream and cream cheese, leftovers must be refrigerated.

Nutritional Information

(Note: Estimated, per slice, assuming 12 slices from a 3-layer 9-inch cake)

• Calories: 500-650+
• Fat: 30-40g+
• Saturated Fat: 18-25g+
• Cholesterol: 120-160mg+
• Sodium: 200-300mg+
• Total Carbohydrates: 55-70g+
• Dietary Fiber: 1-2g+
• Sugars: 35-50g+
• Protein: 6-8g+

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Recipe Summary and Q&A

Summary: This Fresh Strawberry Cake features three layers of tender vanilla-orange cake made with cake flour and sour cream. It’s filled and frosted with a unique light and fluffy frosting made by beating cream cheese and sugar, then folding in freshly whipped cream and finely chopped fresh strawberries. The process involves baking the cake layers, cooling them, preparing the frosting components separately, combining the frosting, and assembling/frosting the cake.

Q&A:

• Q: Can I use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour?
  • A: You can, but the cake will be slightly less tender and delicate. If substituting, use the same amount (by weight preferably, or reduce volume slightly – about 2 tbsp per cup).
• Q: Can I use frozen strawberries in the frosting?
  • A: Fresh strawberries are highly recommended for the best texture and to avoid adding excess water. If you must use frozen, thaw them completely and drain them very thoroughly, then pat dry before finely chopping. The frosting might still be looser.
• Q: My frosting seems very soft. Will it hold up?
  • A: This frosting is naturally softer than a traditional buttercream due to the high cream content and fresh fruit. Chilling the cake after frosting helps it set. For more stability, especially for intricate decoration or warm conditions, consider adding a stabilizer to the whipped cream (see Tips).
• Q: How far in advance can I make this cake?
  • A: You can bake the cake layers a day ahead, cool, wrap well, and store at room temp. Make the frosting and assemble the cake the day you plan to serve it, or up to one day before. Keep refrigerated once assembled.