Moist Strawberry Cake

This homemade strawberry cake is so moist and soft, it gives any bakery or boxed cake a run for its money. The cake is made with fresh strawberry puree as well as strawberry powder for an intense fruity flavor and light and fluffy texture. It's coated with a creamy strawberry buttercream frosting that's thick and super easy to work with!

what makes this strawberry cake so good?

This is the strawberry cake that ruined the boxed version for me. Making it at home will quickly make you realize what you're missing out on when you use a boxed mix. Homemade strawberry cake has a much better, bright and fresh flavor. It's tender, soft, and SO moist - and really doesn't have that much work involved for something that's made from scratch. Here's a closer look at the features that make this cake so amazing:

• Cornstarch - Taking out a bit of flour and adding in cornstarch serves as kind of a DIY cake flour. Cornstarch absorbs liquid more efficiently than flour and it also has no protein - so it'll give us an extra light and tender cake that still has the perfect consistency.
• Strawberry in THREE forms - I wanted this cake to be undeniably "strawberry" so we're using it in THREE ways to ensure we have plenty of flavor and color! The cake uses fresh strawberry puree along with some freeze dried strawberries for added "kick". The frosting is made using freeze dried strawberries and strawberry jam so it's flavorful but still perfectly thick and strong enough to hold up the cake layers.
• Oil based cake - This cake doesn't feature any butter, which helps make the cake extra moist and soft! Since the strawberry flavor is so front and center, we don't really need to use any butter because the flavor gets masked anyways. Oil (unlike butter) remains liquid even at room temperature, so it will hold moisture in the cake and will prevent it from "setting" or firming up once it's cooled.
• Brown sugar - A hint of brown sugar in this cake adds even MORE moisture thanks to the molasses in it. It makes for an extra soft and spongy cake!
• Heaping tablespoon of vanilla - Finally, this may seem like it would cover the strawberry flavor, but adding a good amount of vanilla actually enhances it. The flavors compliment each other so well and they give the cake a bakery quality taste.

how to make homemade strawberry cake

Making this strawberry cake from scratch couldn't be any easier. Since the cake batter is oil based, you don't need to bring any of the cake ingredients up to room temperature and you also don't need to whip together any ingredients in any special way. It's basically just a little bit of whisking here and there! Here's a quick breakdown of how this cake is made:

Dry ingredients: The recipe starts by whisking together the dry ingredients to combine. When measuring the flour, it's best to use a scale to weigh it for the most accurate measurement. If you prefer using cups, don't scoop the cup directly into the bag of flour - this will pack the flour in and leave you with more weight and a drier cake! Instead, use a spoon to lightly scoop the flour into the measuring cup so it's not tightly packed.

Wet ingredients: Next, the wet ingredients are mixed together in 3 additions so they combine more easily and evenly. First, the sugars are whisked with oil to moisten before the eggs are added in. Lastly, the sour cream and vanilla are whisked in. It's just the strawberry puree that gets left out during this stage because it'll be added in the final finishing steps.

Alternate wet and dry: If you try to add all the dry ingredients in at once, it can make the batter difficult to mix and increases the chance of under or overmixing. To ensure everything comes together more seamlessly, we're alternating adding in the dry ingredients and strawberry puree to gradually finish off the batter. In this step, it's just important to watch out for over mixing, otherwise the cake will end up tough. Just mix until the ingredients are combined - no more, no less!

Baking and cooling: This goes without saying, but watch out for overbaking to ensure the cake is perfectly moist. You'll know it's ready to come out of the oven once it's puffed and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean of any batter but with a few moist cake crumbs on the tip. Then, make sure to let the cakes cool completely before you try to frost them or the frosting will melt.

strawberry frosting

After the cakes have fully cooled, it's time to move onto making the frosting. The process of making this frosting is very simple: the butter, sugar, and salt are first creamed together before the remaining ingredients are mixed in. Here are a few tips to ensure your frosting comes out perfect:

• Butter - In order to ensure the frosting whips up smooth and fluffy, make sure the butter is at room temperature. It should be able to hold its shape (not too soft) but should be easy to indent with your finger if you poke it. Usually, about 1 hour at room temperature is the perfect amount of time - but that can change slightly depending on how warm your home is. If you take the butter out of the fridge while the cake is baking, it usually is perfect to use by the time the cake has fully cooled.
• Powdered sugar - When measuring the powdered sugar, it's best to weigh it if you have a food scale. Otherwise, if you prefer to use cups, it's a lot like measuring flour: use a spoon to scoop the sugar into your cup. Don't scoop the cup directly into the sugar, otherwise (like flour) it will pack it in and make the frosting overly sweet. If you notice the sugar is clumpy (which can happen if it's been exposed to moisture or stored for a long time), it's best to sift it before using so the frosting is nice and smooth.
• Salt - This is such an important ingredient in desserts but especially important in buttercream frosting! The salt balances the sweetness and makes it much more palatable. You can also adjust the salt slightly to customize the sweetness more or less depending on your preference.
• Strawberries - For the most flavor and pretty color, we're using both freeze dried strawberries and strawberry jam for the frosting. Freeze dried strawberries can be found in most grocery stores as well as Amazon. You can use powdered freeze dried strawberries (although it's a bit harder to find) or just buy whole / sliced freeze dried strawberries and blend it in a food processor until fine and powdery.
• Vanilla - A little bit of vanilla enhances the strawberry flavor and makes it taste brighter and fresher - so I would definitely include it!

FAQs

How do I get freeze dried strawberry powder?
You can find it in most grocery stores - usually in the specialty section where they keep the organic stuff. It's also available on Amazon. If you can't specifically find the powdered version, you can buy whole or sliced freeze dried strawberries and grind them up in a food processor until fine and powdery.

Can I skip the freeze dried strawberries?
Technically yes, but you'd be losing a lot of the flavor and color! The nice thing about freeze dried strawberries is that they're very concentrated but don't introduce any additional liquid. So they add SO much flavor and color without interfering with the consistency of the cake or frosting.

Can I add more freeze dried strawberries?
Yes! If you want more flavor, it doesn't impact the cake or the frosting, so you can add more if you like! Just keep in mind that it's quite strong, so be careful not to go too far.

Can I use frozen strawberries for the puree?
Yes! You should be able to puree them straight from the freezer if you have a strong enough blender. But if they're giving you trouble, just set them aside to thaw before blending and continue on with the recipe as normal. I do find that frozen strawberries create a slightly duller strawberry flavor though, so just keep that in mind if you are using them.

How do I store strawberry cake?
Keep the cake covered with a cake dome or an inverted bowl and it will keep for about 5 days in the fridge. If you slice the cake, I'd recommend also pressing a piece of plastic wrap against the exposed cake to help keep it moist!

check out these other strawberry recipes!

• Strawberry Cupcakes
• Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
• Giant Strawberry Pop Tart
• Gooey Strawberry Cheesecake Butter Cake
• Strawberry Shortcake Cake
• Strawberry Sheet Cake

Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.

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Enjoy!

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