This Strawberry Cake is just about the quickest and easiest cake you will ever make. Loaded with 500g / 1 lb of strawberries IN and ON the cake, it’s a great way to use strawberries when they’re in season! Yogurt makes the crumb moist, it’s not too sweet and you’ll love the hint of lemon.
No stand mixer, no creaming butter. Just one bowl and a wooden spoon!
Strawberry cake
A pink sponge cake with pink frosting made entirely with fresh strawberries without cheating* is a recipe that’s officially been in development for 3 years.
I’m confident 2020 will be The Year when I finally crack it. I’m getting close – and I’m SUPER excited to share it with you. And while infinitely doable by any home cook, it is quite an involved recipe.
So for now, here’s the cake you make with all those strawberries – the best easy cake recipe you will ever make bursting with fresh strawberries!
* No cheating = no food colouring, no strawberry flavouring, no fancy pants ingredients like freeze dried strawberries.
The cake is made with a yogurt and oil based batter which keeps the crumb beautifully moist for days and gives it more structure than delicate sponge cakes made with creamed butter so it can stand up to the weight and considerable juices that sweat out of the strawberries.
It’s still a beautifully soft crumb, it’s just not as delicate as traditional butter and sponge cakes. I’ve used it for Blueberry Cake and this Lemon Yogurt Cake if you’d like to read feedback from people who have tried it (spoiler: it’s good!)
What goes in Strawberry Cake
So here’s what you need:
Strawberries – 500g/1 lb to be exact! Some goes in the cake, most goes on top;
Flour, sugar, egg, baking powder, vanilla, salt – all the usual suspects in cakes;
Lemon – the freshness of lemon works so well in cakes made with berries! Proof -> Strawberry Cheesecake, Blueberry Cake, Blueberry Cheesecake Bars, Blueberry Lemon Loaf; and
Oil and yogurt or sour cream – as noted above, this is what keeps the crumb really moist as well as adding a touch of tang, reinforcing the brightness we get from the lemon.
How to make this easy Strawberry Cake
Being that this doesn’t have creamed butter in it, it’s a one-bowl, hand mixed batter. Whisk Wet ingredients first, then mix the dry in.
Some of the strawberries go inside the cake – not too much, I was a little overenthusiastic about this at first but the strawberries made the batter so wet and weighed it down so much it took 1 hour 40 minutes to cook! Most go on top – they hold their form pretty well but burst with juice when you bite into them.
I’m so unoriginal that whenever I see strawberries and baked goods, I immediately think cream. So for me, a (big!) dollop of freshly whipped cream is mandatory for serving.
Though recently, I really showed my wild side when I served it warm with ice cream – and it was to die for. As with most cakes, the inside is a little “pudding like” when it’s still warm from the oven (hence why most cake recipes sternly instruct you to be patient and let the cake cool fully before serving).
But for this Strawberry Cake, that “pudding like” texture with the warm strawberries just seemed to enhance the eating experience. Especially with that (adventurous! risky!) scoop of ice cream I plonked on the side.
It’s terrific both ways – at room temp OR warm. You choose! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Strawberry Cake (really easy cake recipe)
Ingredients
Strawberries
- 500g / 1 lb strawberries , hulled (ie tops removed)
WET:
- 1 cup sugar , caster/superfine best but granulated ok too
- 1/2 cup oil , canola or vegetable oil
- 2 eggs , large (~50g/1.75 oz each)
- 1 tbsp grated lemon rind
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (1 large lemon)
- 1 cup plain yoghurt , unsweetened (Greek or just plain)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or essence)
DRY:
- 2 1/4 cups flour , plain/all purpose
- 4 tsp baking powder (or 1 1/4 tsp baking soda)
- Pinch of salt
SERVING:
- Whipped cream
- Extra strawberries
- Icing sugar/ powdered sugar , for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
- Grease and line a 23 cm / 9" cake pan with baking paper/parchment paper. (Any type of cake pan is fine)
Strawberries:
- For inside of cake: Dice some strawberries into ~1.5cm / 1" pieces to make 1 cup (about 1/3 of the strawberries)
- Topping: Cut the remaining strawberries in half.
Cake:
- Place Wet ingredients in a bowl and whisk well for 1 minute.
- Add Dry ingredients then whisk well until lump free.
- Pour half into cake pan, smooth surface. Scatter over diced strawberries.
- Top with remaining batter. Smooth surface, then top with halved strawberries, cut face down.
- Bake 50 minutes or until skewer inserted into centre comes out clean. (Note 1) If you need to cook longer, cover with foil if it starts getting too golden.
- Stand 15 minutes in the cake pan before turning out onto cooling rack.
- Cool 15 minutes+ before serving warm or at room temp. Dust with icing sugar, and serve with cream or if serving warm, ice cream!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published as this Upside Down Strawberry Cake in August 2017 which, due to lack of reader interest (ie virtually ZERO readers!) and some technicality issues, has been replaced with this sparkling new easy Strawberry Cake recipe!
More strawberry recipes
Life of Dozer
When the video camera kept focussing on his big golden head instead of the darn cake!!!
Love this cake! Tastes amazing and easy recipe
Great, easy recipe but the inside took quite a bit longer to cook which meant the top got a little over cooked with the strawberries looking a bit too dark. Is there any solution for this? I stuck to 1 cup of strawberries in the middle.
Hi Nagi. I’ve just made the strawberry cake and it’s in the oven. I never leave comments but I must commend your recipe compilation. It is easy to follow, covers everything and it’s so refreshing to have commonsense comments like any tin will do. Best online recipe presentation I’ve ever seen. Looking forward to trying the cake👍
Nagi. I’ve just made the strawberry cake. I never leave comments but I must commend your recipe compilation. It is easy to follow, covers everything and it’s so refreshing to have commonsense comments like any tin will do. Best online recipe presentation I’ve ever seen. Looking forward to trying the cake👍
This is so easy and so delicious! It looks brilliant too. I’d run out of plain flour and used Self Raising but it worked just as well! Love your recipes.
This was fantastic!
I made this a couple of days ago, the first cake I’ve ever baked! Followed the recipe to a tee but like a few others have said, the batter was REALLY thick – I just gradually whisked a bit of water in to thin it out to a consistency closer to Nagi’s. It worked a treat, was delicious, and with the yoghurt, lemon & strawberries it even feels almost healthy! I’ll definitely make it again.
Hi Nagi! Is there any cause for concern if the strawberries or blueberries aren’t sweet on their own ?
They will be fine paired with the cake Tanya! N x
Hi, here too. I think I should have put foil on halfway. 200 does seem hot, doesn’t it? Next time I’ll go lower and longer.
Best tasting and the easiest recipe ever. I used 50g less sugar and it was just perfect for me! Thank you for sharing it ❤️
Thank you for this easy recipe! I think my oven runs hot so it took less time, I was also hesitant to add too many berries inside for the first time. It smells amazing! Can’t wait to cut into this beautiful easy cake. Thank you!
Sorry you had issues here Kathleen, my recipes are tested a number of times to ensure accuracy. Sounds like your oven runs hot or your oven thermostat may be out unfortunately! N x
I’d love to try this! What do you recommend I use in place of eggs? We eat only plant based foods in our home.
I use organ egg replacer (made with tapioca) and it turns out beautifully
i loved it!!!
I have made this recipe many times and it is as promised the tastiest, quickest and simplest of strawberry cakes. Also it looks fantastic when sprinkled with icing sugar. I tried this with raspberries and it didn’t work so I’d say to other cooks don’t bother with other types of berries other than strawberries. Thanks Nagi we really love your recipes. Making your Pad Thai tonight for a change without chicken!
Hi Tracy, yes raspberries are softer and higher in water content so will affect the cook of this recipe and change the texture of the crumb unfortunately. Thanks so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it!! N x
Hi Nagi! I made this cake for family bday last year and it was a hit! Am now wondering if I could make it muffin tins with paper liners using the same recipe (esp. baking time). Also, could I use frozen strawberries instead of fresh? Thanks, Nagi! 🙂
I have just made this cake & the batter was soooo thick I had to use my fingers/ spoon to spread it. I followed the recipe … what do you think went wrong?
Thanks
Tonight we are having beef short ribs in red wine sauce and for dessert strawberry cake with ice cream cannot wait. Thanks Nagi i just love all your recipes you make me look like i can cook…
YUMMMMM!!! Enjoy Janine! N x
Has anyone tried this with non-dairy yogurt such as coconut or soy yogurt?
Nagi, what happened to your Strawberry Upside Down cake recipe? It was amazing and I can’t find it anywhere. This strawberry cake is good, but my family asks for the Upside Down recipe. Thanks!
Hi Nancy, I’ve just updated it with an easier version that I think is just as good. If you shoot me an e-mail I can send you through the old recipe. N x
I made this today with strawberries I picked on the farm. This recipe is very easy and the cake is moist and delicious without being overly sweet. I added a pinch of cardamom powder with the dry ingredients which was lovely with the strawberries in the cake. Nagi, I’ve been a home cook for well over 20 years and have used countless websites looking for good recipes. Now I only come to you because your recipes always deliver fantastic results. Thank you for all the hard work you’ve put into this site and for inspiring us all to cook well.
Sheeba, you’ve made my day – that’s truly amazing to hear, thank you so so SO much!!! N x
Hi Nagi
Can i use frozen strawberries instead of fresh?
Thanks.