Our favorite strawberry cake
We’ve been in full Strawberry Week mode over on Instagram/Facebook, and I’ve been saving the best for last! This Strawberry Cake is my crowing achievement of Spring 2025. I’ve been making a sourdough variation of this cake (from Amy Bakes Bread) since last year. We’ve enjoyed it, but it was just a little too “sourdough” for the kids and I to really get into. So I decided to try and make up my own version…and it worked!
This cake is moist, with a little crackle from the sugar on top and just right right texture on the the crusty edges. It isn’t fancy, and requires very little fussy work, but looks elegant and feels like a splurge when you set it on the table. In short, it’s all of the good things.
**Note: the products linked in this article are affiliate links on Amazon and I will earn a teeny tiny commission if you choose to purchase those products **
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons softened butter
1 ¼ cup sugar
1 egg
⅓ cup buttermilk (full fat, if you can find it)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 ¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 pound of strawberries, tops removed, sliced in half lengthwise
Additional sugar for sprinkling
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a 9'“ springform pan by spraying liberally with baking spray (I always use this), or coating throughly with butter. If you want the cake to come off the bottom of the springform pan, pay extra attention to the edges and this is where the cake tends to stick. I usually just serve mine on the bottom part of the pan.
In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until white and fluffy.
Add egg and vanilla, mix until combined.
Add in buttermilk and mix well. The batter will look a little curdled looking after adding the buttermilk - totally normal, nothing to worry about.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and mix together well to avoid clumps, then add to the wet ingredients in the mixing bowl.
Mix for about one minute, until very thoroughly combined. Batter will be thick.
Pour batter into prepared pan, and smooth. Gently place the strawberries on top of the dough. Pack them in as tightly as you can! Some of the berries will sink to the bottom of the pan during the bake.
Sprinkle sugar liberally on top of the strawberries. I like to use about 3T. The sugar will make a nice crust on the finished cake and help the berries develop a jammy consistency while baking.
Bake 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean of cake pieces (though if you stick it through a berry it will still look a little wet).
Remove from the oven and let the pan cool for 10 minutes, then remove the springform ring carefully. Some pieces of berry may be stuck to the sides, so take it slow.
Serve with whipped cream.
Do you really need a springform pan?
The short answer: yes, it will make this so much easier and cuter. I always use a 9” like this one, but you could use a slightly bigger or smaller size and adjust your cooking time accordingly.
The longer answer: you can make it work without one, but you would definitely want to use a parchment paper sling in order to remove your cake. I would use an 8x8 glass dish, use two sheets of parchment paper to make a thick and sturdy sling, and then remove it from the pan after cooling completely so the cake doesn’t slump to one side.
