A delicious, made-from-scratch, best-ever Strawberries and Cream Cake with a thick cream cheese frosting and garnished with sugared strawberries. The perfect cake for Mother’s Day!

A slice of Strawberries and Cream Cake on a plateStrawberries and Cream Cake

Right in time for Mother’s Day, I’ve got you covered for dessert! ๐Ÿ™‚ This Strawberries and Cream Cake is relatively simple to make (no worrying about different pans and layering cakes with frosting in between), moist and flavorful, packed with strawberries, and it’s beautiful! I  mean, who could ask for more?! And after your mom absolutely flips over this cake, then you’ll want to use this recipe for all kinds of occasions – a baby girl shower, a pink-themed party, Easter Sunday, a gorgeous spring/summer cake…there are so many times when you’ll need a delicious-from-scratch pink strawberry cake!

Process shots: Beat room-temperature butter until light; mix in sugar; briskly whisk eggs in a separate bow.

A slice of Strawberries and Cream Cake on a plate.

More Strawberry Desserts:

4.72 from 25 votes

Strawberries and Cream Cake

This made-from-scratch Strawberries and Cream Cake is a dream, topped with rich cream cheese frosting and sugared strawberries. Perfectly sweet for Motherโ€™s Day or any celebration!
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 1 (9 x 13) cake

Equipment

  • Baking dish 9 x 13-inch
  • Hand mixer

Ingredients 
 

Strawberry Cake

  • 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 cups + 3 tablespoons flour
  • 5 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 3 tablespoons strawberry Jell-O mix dry, not prepared
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk or milk mixed with lemon juice, see note 1
  • 3 to 4 drops red food coloring optional
  • 2/3 cup finely diced fresh strawberries

Frosting

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese at room temperature; not low fat
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar depending on desired consistency; I usually use 3 cups
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Sugared Strawberry Topping (optional)

  • 1-/12 cups sliced strawberries
  • 1-1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Instructions 

Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350ยฐF. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch pan and set aside.
  • Beat room-temperature butter with a hand mixer until light and creamy. Slowly add the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
  • In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs; add to butter mixture and mix. Add 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice. Beat in the buttermilk (see note 1). If desired, add the red food coloring and mix it in.
  • In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and cornstarch, then add the Jell-O mix, baking soda, and salt. It is important to use separate bowls so the cake isnโ€™t over-beaten, which will result in a dense cake.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat at low speed until just combined.
  • Remove stems from the strawberries and chop finely. Add finely chopped strawberries to the cake batter.
  • Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake 30โ€“40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.
  • Cool the cake for at least 1 hour, then refrigerate for another hour.

Frosting

  • Beat the softened butter and room temperature cream cheese until completely creamy. Beat in vanilla and salt. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until smooth and your desired consistency.
  • Spread the frosting evenly over the cake.

Sugared Strawberry Topping (optional)

  • Stir together the sliced strawberries and sugar in a medium bowl. Let them stand at room temperature about 20โ€“30 minutes to develop the syrup. Add them to the cake only when serving and not beforehand.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: If you donโ€™t have buttermilk, remove 1 tablespoon from your milk and replace it with fresh lemon juice or white vinegar. Mix and allow to sit for 5 minutes before using.
Storage: Store leftover frosted cake in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 920kcal | Carbohydrates: 145g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 132mg | Sodium: 506mg | Potassium: 256mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 111g | Vitamin A: 1109IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 150mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

 

Meet Chelsea


Hello, and welcome to Chelseaโ€™s Messy Apron! Iโ€™m Chelsea, the recipe developer, food photographer, and writer behind the site. Iโ€™m passionate about creating simple, reliable, and delicious recipes that anyone can make.

Thanks for stopping byโ€”I hope you find something delicious to make!

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4.72 from 25 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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152 Comments

  1. Becca says:

    You say the flour and cornstarch gives you DIY cake flour but If you have cake flour can you use that ? If so, how much?

  2. AshleyB says:

    5 stars
    This is my favorite cake to make! Everyone loves it! Question: if I wanted to make cupcakes (12) at a time how long should I set a timer?

  3. Pamela says:

    Hi! I want to make this for a friend’s birthday party set for the weekend, but I wanted to ask, how many days in advance can I bake the cake layers since it has fresh strawberries in it? Thank you.

  4. Gigi says:

    I want to use this recipe in a layer bay cake. Is it safe to say double recipe for 2 9″ rounds?

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      I’m so sorry I’ve never tried this cake recipe in round cake pans

  5. Brittany Johnson says:

    My moms birthday is Friday, the day after Thanksgiving!! I am making her a Strawberry cake for her bday and taking it tomorrow ๐Ÿ™‚ I will be using your recipe! I can’t wait to try it out!! Thanks for sharing, it sounds wonderful!!

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      I hope you and your mom loves it! Happy Birthday to her! ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Zaryahlin Neula says:

    hi

  7. Karen says:

    If I use cake flour, how much, and do I eliminate the 5 Tbsps. of cornstarch? Thank you

  8. Angelica says:

    Can I skip the strawberry jello mix in the Strawberries and cream cake?

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      The jell-o mix adds lots of the strawberry flavor and color, so I wouldn’t recommend leaving it out unless you don’t mind a very muted flavor

  9. Cin says:

    Can I use AP flour instead of white flour.

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      yes

  10. Adina says:

    I made this recipe twice and it came out bad both times. I donโ€™t blame the recipe but I donโ€™t know how to make it right. The cakes kept sinking in the middle and sticking to the pans. The middle of the cakes almost had a hole from sticking to the pan. Do you know why that happened?

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      Shoot I’m so sorry; would love to trouble shoot with you though!! Do you live at a high altitude? Did you make ANY changes to the recipe?