This Strawberry Shortcake Cake is an easy twist on the classic dessert with layers of moist vanilla cake, juicy strawberries and fluffy whipped cream! The perfect dessert for fresh summer strawberries!
Looking for a traditional strawberry shortcake? Try this strawberry shortcake recipe with biscuits made from scratch!
Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Cake
This post is sponsored by Challenge Butter, but all opinions are my own.
One of the best things about summer is the fresh berries and ever since I was a kid, strawberries have easily been my favorite. Strawberries and cream make the perfect combination and when paired with any kind of cake or biscuit, it’s a great summer treat.
This Strawberry Shortcake Cake takes the classic dessert using biscuits and turns it into a beautiful layered cake that is perfect for a summer potluck or BBQ – or even a strawberry-lover’s birthday. It’s actually an awesome way to enjoy strawberry shortcake because you don’t have to worry about making individual biscuits. Just bake the cake layers and layer with fresh strawberries and cream! Easy peasy!
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake Cake
There are three main elements to this cake. The moist vanilla cake, sugared strawberries and homemade whipped cream.
Vanilla Cake
This vanilla cake is light and moist with a great vanilla flavor. It uses equal amounts of butter and vegetable oil to give you a cake with a great buttery flavor and moisture that lasts for several days.
As I’ve mentioned before, a great quality butter goes a long way and I’m a big fan of Challenge Butter. It’s such a creamy butter made from the freshest milk and goes from farm to fridge in just two days. Plus, there aren’t any growth hormones, nor do they use any artificial preservatives, fillers or dyes. You know you’re getting a high quality butter when you get Challenge and it shows in it’s creamy texture.
The butter, oil and sugar are creamed together for several minutes, which adds air to the batter to give the cake it’s light texture. One of my favorite vanilla cakes!
Strawberries
Next are the strawberries. Fresh summer strawberries have the best flavor and I find that the best way to pick them out at the store is to smell them. I hold the package right up to my face. No shame here! Give me my yummy berries! If they don’t smell sweet and yummy, they won’t taste that way either.
Slice the strawberries and combine them with a little sugar, then let them sit for an hour or so. The sugar brings out the juices from the berries, which goes great drizzled over your cake. If you’re really into the juices, you could add even more sugar and let the strawberries sit a little longer.
Whipped Cream
You’re going to want to use a stabilized whipped cream, so that you’re cake doesn’t fall apart. I use powdered sugar to stabilize it and it will stay in place for weeks on end. Your cake won’t last long enough to see that, but with the powdered sugar added to your whipped cream, it will definitely make it stay put.
Tips for a Perfect Strawberry Shortcake Cake
- Be sure to cream the butter, oil and sugar together for the full amount of time. It adds air to the cake that helps it rise when baking.
- Do not over mix the cake batter. It can leave you with a dense, tough cake.
- The more strawberries, the better. Having some extra on hand to garnish cake slices with is never a bad thing.
- This is a cake that’s best when made fresh. The cakes can be baked a day ahead and the strawberries can be prepped ahead too. I’d make the whipped cream just before layering the cake though. Put everything together the day you’ll be serving it so that maintains its fresh look.
This Strawberry Shortcake Cake is what summers are made for! Fresh, light and delicious! You’ll want to make it all summer long!
More Great Strawberry Dessert Recipes
- Classic Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberry Shortcake Trifle
- Strawberry Shortcake Popsicles
- Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake
- Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes
- Strawberry Whipped Cream
Strawberry Shortcake Cake
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 14 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Strawberry Shortcake Cake is an easy twist on the classic dessert with layers of moist vanilla cake, juicy strawberries and fluffy whipped cream!
Ingredients
Cake Layers
- 2 1/2 cups (325g) all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (112g) unsalted Challenge butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups (310g) sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) milk
Strawberries
- 1 pound fresh strawberries
- 3 tbsp (39g) sugar
Whipped Cream
- 2 1/2 cups (600ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 1 1/4 cups (144g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Prepare three 9 inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
3. Add the butter, oil, sugar and vanilla extract to and large mixer bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time. You should visibly see a change in color and texture.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until mostly combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
6. Slowly add the milk and mix until well combined.
7. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated. Do not over mix the batter.
8. Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pans and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
9. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.
10. To make the strawberries, wash them and cut the stems off, then slice them.
11. Add the sliced strawberries and sugar to a large bowl and toss together. Set in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours to let the sugar bring out the juices from the berries. The longer it sits, the more juices you’ll have.
12. When you’re ready to put the cake together, make the whipped cream. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until medium to stiff peaks form.
13. To build the cake, place the first cake layer on a cake plate or other serving platter. Add a layer of whipped cream. I used Ateco tip 808 to pipe dallops around the outer edge of the cake, then filled it in. You could also just spread a layer of whipped cream.
14. Add about half of the strawberries on top of the whipped cream.
15. Add the second layer of cake, another layer of whipped cream and another layer of strawberries.
16. Add the final layer of cake, then finish it off with some whipped cream swirls and fresh strawberries. If you have any leftover juices from the sliced strawberries, you could also drizzle that on top or serve it with the cake slices.
17. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. The cake layers and strawberries can be made up to a day ahead, but the cake is best if layered together the day it’ll be served.
Keywords: strawberry shortcake cake, strawberry vanilla cake, how to make strawberry shortcake cake, strawberry cake recipe
Enjoy!
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This is the best strawberry shortcake I have ever eaten. My family just loved it. I did have to substitute maple syrup for the vanilla as a family member has many food sensitivities.
My favorite cake is strawberry cake with cream cheese. Love this recipe.
★★★★★
If I make this as a 12×18 sheet cake, does it change the baking time?
Yes, it would bake for more like 12 to 15 minutes.
How many cups of whipped cream does this recipe yield?
I’m not sure because I did not measure it. But it should be about 16 ounces.
I love allll of your recipes so much!
Can I use gluten free four for this recipe??
Thank you, I’m so glad to hear that! I haven’t tried gluten-free flour but I think it would be fine.
Wanted to make a dessert using the strawberries we picked this afternoon at a local farm. This is an easy to follow recipe, great tasting cake!🍓🍰🍓
I made this and it came out absolutely amazing!!!
★★★★★
I love this cake recipe! I will use this recipe over and over again!
★★★★★
I don’t have any unsalted butter, would it be ok to use salted butter?
The only thing about salted butter is that it will taste REALLY salty, which comes across as being a really heavy butter taste. You can do it, it just probably won’t taste like you want it to.
My family says this is the best thing I have ever baked. The vanilla cake is perfect, not too much vanilla and the texture is amazing. I will definitely be making this again and again!
★★★★★
This is the most amazing strawberry shortcake I’ve ever had and would give it 10 stars if I could! The cake in itself is light and so delicious!! I did have to make a couple of adjustments since the only major ingredient I had were the strawberries! I didn’t have 3 9” pans so I used 2 square pans and one round one which I froze for another time. I didn’t make the whipped cream since I didn’t have the cream but I did have an 8 oz container of cool whip which was perfect for 2 layers! The next time I will make the whipped cream which I’m sure will take this over the moon! I will NEVER lose this recipe!
★★★★★
Perfectly amazing! The cake was light and the whipped cream was so good, with the extra sweetness from the powdered sugar. The cake was a good balance though and not overly sweet at all. The only thing I’d say is make sure you let the cakes cool in the pan about 10 mins not 3 like the recipe said because mine was too hot and cracked.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it!
Im planning on making this cake, but I’m wondering if you have any tips for not getting dark edges. My cakes always come out with dark edges and since this is naked it seems important that is the same color as the cake.
Cake pans naturally brown the sides of the cake. A lighter cake pan is going to brown it less.
This recipe was amazing! I saw where you said it could also be made as a large sheet cake (12×18)…would the baking time be different for that or the same?
I’m not sure. Based on my vanilla sheet cake recipe, I would say probably around 12-15 minutes. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/vanilla-sheet-cake/
I made this cake for my Mom’s birthday and it was a hit, Absolutely delicious!!! I’m making it again for the holidays so I have a question. Last time, the sides were slightly brown, nothing too bad, but is there a way to prevent this?
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed it! The browning is from the cake pan. Not sure you can really avoid that.
Hi, It look soo good.. I am planning to bake this for my daughter’s birthday. I only have 10″ pans. How much should I increase the amount of ingredients? Thank you…
I haven’t tried that size pan, so I’m not sure. You could try doubling it.
Trying this recipe this weekend! I usually layer my tiered strawberry shortcake with the whipped cream and a strawberry preserve. Will these sponges hold up to a three-tiered cake layering that way?
Thank you!
Using strawberry preserves instead of fresh strawberries should be just fine.
Hi! Wondering if I could half the recipe?? I don’t need a big cake because I’ve made another cake as well:)
Yes, that should be fine. Just not sure what size pan I’d recommend, since I haven’t done it.
I am going to attempt this for my daughters 16th birthday.
Hey there! I made your cake for a graduation and my family loved it! However, three layers was a lot for me to manage. Could I split the batter into two cake pans for a 2 layer cake instead of 3? Thanks!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it! Two layers should be fine, you’d just need to increase the baking time. I also think the layers turn out a little more dense that way.
Ive made this cake multiple times throughout these few months, and it just tastes so amazing! It turns out well everytime. I was wondering if i would be able to halve this recipe to make a 6 inch cake?
★★★★★
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it! I don’t really make 6 inch cakes, so it’s hard to say. But that seems like it’d be fine.
Do the eggs have to be room temperature?
★★★★★
Not really. Having them at room temperature can help them incorporate more easily, but it doesn’t hurt your cake if they’re cold.
Awesome thank you so much!
Hi Lindsay,
I use the metric system (I live in Europe) and noticed that in your recipe it says to use 1/2 cup of butter and then behind it it says 168 grams. But 1/2 cup of butter weighs 113 grams. I noticed someone named Marcia asked in a comment on June 21, 2020 @ 11:30 am if it was a typo but she never got a reply.
★★★★★
I’m not sure that I ever saw the other comment, but the butter measurement in grams has been updated. Thanks!
How would you recommend transporting the cake. I wanna make it for a family function but I’m unsure how he will hold on a 40 min drive
★★★★★
I’ve been known to heavily tape (using packing tape) an ice pack to the inside of a cake carrier before. Not super fancy, but it works.
This was absolutely delicious. It was my first attempt at a homemade strawberry shortcake and I will likely make it again. My only regret is that it isn’t strawberry season but next strawberry season, I definitely see me making this again. And it was so beautiful!! I wish I could upload a picture!
★★★★★
So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
This cake was amazing! My husband wanted strawberry shortcake for his Birthday. I was nervous as i had never made this before! The recipe, directions and hints were perfect! It came out wonderful and my husband and family loved it! Thank you!!
★★★★★
Hi can you use vegetable shortening instead of veg oil ?
★★★★★
I supposed you could. You could also use additional butter. I think the oil adds better moisture though.