🍓🍰 My Strawberry Layer Cake with Strawberry Frosting is a soft, tender cake loaded with real strawberries and a sweet strawberry frosting! Easy to make, it’s perfect for parties and special occasions, and strawberry fans LOVE it!
Easy Strawberry Layer Cake Recipe
I adore strawberries and strawberry desserts like my strawberry poke cake, fresh strawberry pie, and strawberry lemonade bars. However, this strawberry cake with strawberry frosting is one of my favorites.
I first made it using cake mix for my parents when they came to town for a visit for my birthday, and we all loved it. Soft, tender, moist, and loaded with so much strawberry flavor, the fluffy pink layers are almost too pretty to eat. It’s an easy recipe with just 15 minutes of prep time!
Ingredients You’ll Need
The use of pre-made cake mix eliminates the need for a million ingredients like cake flour or all-purpose flour, baking powder, etc. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- White cake mix: Vanilla cake mix will also work
- Strawberry gelatin
- Eggs: Let come to room temperature for easy mixing
- Canola oil: Vegetable oil also works well
- Fresh strawberries: I do not recommend using frozen strawberries. They have too much liquid, and the excess fruit juice will make the cake batter runny
- Cream or half-and-half: Substitute milk or water if needed, keeping in mind the taste and texture won’t be quite as tender or rich
- Frosting: Unsalted butter, strawberry preserves, almond or vanilla extract, confectioners’ sugar, cream or half and half, and optional red food coloring. Make sure you use a thick jam with strawberry chunks and not thin and runny jelly, so your frosting has wonderful strawberry flecks throughout
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make a Strawberry Layer Cake
This homemade strawberry cake recipe looks impressive with beautiful cake layers and flecks of strawberry throughout, but it’s SO simple to make:
- Beat all the ingredients except the strawberries in a large bowl. Then, gently fold in the diced berries.
- Divide batter between round pans lined with flour, parchment paper, or cooking spray. Bake just until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the cakes in the pans slightly. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In the meantime, prepare the frosting by beating all the ingredients in a bowl. Add cream as needed to achieve a thick, yet spreadable consistency. Feel free to include red food coloring for a brighter color, too. Or, substitute cream cheese frosting like the one used for my strawberry cake mix cookies.
- Smooth about 1/3 of the frosting over one of the cakes, spreading it out evenly. Then, place the second cake on top, and repeat. If you’re feeling fancy, you can try adding strawberry filling, spreading strawberry puree or strawberry jam over the frosted cake layers, piping a ring of frosting to prevent running. Spread the remaining frosting down the sides, and garnish with fresh strawberries before serving.
Do I Have to Make This as a Layer Cake?
No, I baked the cake in two 9-inch rounds because I love the presentation pop that a layer cake lends, but you can make it as a 9×13-inch cake if you prefer.
Strawberry Layer Cake with Strawberry Frosting
Equipment
- 2 (9-inch) cake Pans
- 1 Stand Mixer Fitted with a Paddle Attachment
- 1 Wire Rack
Ingredients
Cake
- one 15-ounce box white cake mix
- one 3-ounce box of strawberry gelatin
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 cup finely diced fresh strawberries, from about 1 pint
- ¼ cup cream or half-and-half, milk or water may be substituted
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks, softened
- heaping 1/2 cup strawberry preserves, thick jam with strawberry chunks, not runny jelly
- 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 to 4 tablespoons cream or half-and-half, as needed for consistency
- red food coloring, optional and as necessary
- fresh strawberries, optional for garnishing
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans (or one 9×13-inch pan) with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pans; set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric handheld mixer), add all ingredients except strawberries, and beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add the strawberries and beat to incorporate.
- Turn batter out into prepared pans, divided evenly, and bake for about 30 to 34 minutes, or until done and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow cakes to cool in pans, on a wire rack, for about 15 minutes before inverting and removing cakes to cool completely on wire racks.
- Make sure cakes are completely cooled before frosting them.
Frosting
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric handheld mixer), add the butter, and beat on medium-high speed to smooth it.
- Add the strawberry preserves, extract, 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, and beat on medium-high speed to blend.
- Add 1 additional cup confectioners’ sugar, and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until very well whipped, light, and fluffy. As necessary, drizzle in the cream to thin frosting to a thick, yet spreadable, consistency.
- Optionally add red food coloring to make the frosting pinker; I added about 10 drops.
- Add about one-third of the frosting to the top of one of the cakes and smooth it with a spatula or knife. Place the other cake on top, add about one-third of the remaining frosting, and smooth it. Add the remaining amount of frosting to the sides of the cake and smooth it.
- Optionally add fresh strawberries for garnishing before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I’ve never made a cake (or frosting) before, but I do have a 9 x 13″ pan and was thinking of trying this one for mother’s day…These might be stupid questions, but I’m wondering: will there be enough frosting just to put it on top and then serve it out of the same pan that I baked it in, or am I intended to take the cake out of the pan and then frost the top and sides?
If I take the cake out of the pan, how would I transport it to my grandmother’s house? When I look for 9×13″ cake storage or cake carriers on amazon, I’m not really finding much…most of them seem to just be baking pans that come with lids. Is that how a 9 x13″ cake is served?
Hi, wondering if I can use heavy whipping cream instead of cream or half and half?
Probably but just play it by ear when you’re adding it so the frosting is the correct consistency for you.
HI! I have made this before and it turned out wonderful. Can you alter the recipe to make it a 3 layer cake in 8 in pans? Thanks!
I am sure it could work, but I have only made it as written so really can’t speak to how things will go or the changes you’d need to make.
This cake was easy to make and tasted delicious! I made it for my two-year-old son’s bday as he had requested a pink strawberry cake– this one fit the bill!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad this cake was a perfect cake for your son’s birthday! How cute!
I am 80 yrs. old and this the second cake i have made, when i saw this recipe i knew i had to make this cake and i did, took it to family reunion and it was a hit. thanks for the recipe
Thanks for trying the recipe and that is wonderful that you’re baking at 80! Glad it was a big hit at the reunion!
This is just superb! This looks so tasty, wonder how good will it taste :)
Hi, I am wondering if this recipe can be made into cupcakes and what the baking time would be for cupcakes?
Thank you.
Yes you can make cupcakes. Most cupcakes take between 18-20 minutes but I can’t say for sure because I’ve only made the recipe as a cake.
hey girl- this cake looks so yummy!
It was the perfect summer (birthday) cake! Have a great weekend!
My goodness the entire page is full of wonderful looking strawberry recipes! Just beautiful. That cake looks absolutely delightful. My daughter always asks for strawberry cake for her birthday so I’ll be saving this recipe for her next birthday.
Thanks for the compliments and enjoy the cake on her next birthday!
This is so gorgeous and easy!!
Thank you! We both have pretty cakes up right now! :) Love your pineapple masterpiece!
Happy belated birthday! I love the look of layer cakes (and the extra frosting in the middle). This one is so pretty and the strawberry buttercream sounds amazing as well. Sounds like a perfect birthday cake to me!
Thanks Paula! It was definitely a great birthday cake! :)
Averie, this had to be amazing by your standard. You rarely post layered cakes (even though I wish you would more)… So I can just imagine how well you made it
It was such a pretty cake to look at for the days it lasted at my house! I actually have another layer cake recipe coming up in a few weeks. I realized I don’t have many and am trying to do more :)