This pretty pink cake is baked from scratch and topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting studded with fresh strawberries. Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting is one of my new favorite summer dessert recipes!
According to the official food blog calendar, I should be here today with a fresh and healthy summer salad to help us all get ready for bikini season. But, no, not me. For some odd reason I’ve had all kinds of desserts coming out of my kitchen for the past several weeks.
Okay, the official food blog calendar doesn’t really exist but regardless, I still feel like a bit of a rebel.
This cake made me do it.
This cake is a super impressive and entirely delicious choice if you’re heading to a potluck for the 4th of July or anytime this summer. If you’ve got a baby or bridal shower coming up… stop looking, this is your cake!
Don’t let the fact that it is baked entirely from scratch scare you off. The recipe is quite simple and I’m confident you will be very pleased with the result.
I’ve used a little baking trick in this recipe that I picked up some time ago from Joy the Baker. By adding a little cornstarch to the all-purpose flour it creates a wonderful, tender texture that is similar to what you would get if you used cake flour. Since I don’t always have cake flour in my pantry, I’m loving this technique.
The cream cheese frosting is studded with fresh, chopped strawberries. If you’d like, you can add a little gel food coloring to tint it pink but I just love the contrast of the white frosting with those pretty strawberries peeking out.
The cake itself is tinted pink with the help of a little strawberry jello; an easy, effective way to add color and some nice strawberry flavor that enhances the chopped fresh strawberries added to the cake batter.
More desserts that have recently happened in my kitchen:
7UP Sheet Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting – a semi-homemade, super tender, incredibly scrumptious cake. Try it!
Potato Chip Brownies – OMG… that is all.
Easy Blueberry Cheesecake Dessert – I updated this post with a fun new video.
Creamy Lemon Raspberry Pie – fresh, light, summer-lovin’ fun!
Stay tuned in the next few days for a fast and easy Cherry Crisp that I’ve been baking forever and I cannot believe has not made an appearance on the blog yet.
Then we’ll get to those salads… I promise!
Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons strawberry jello
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ⅔ cup chopped fresh strawberries
For the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ⅔ cup sugar, divided
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
- 1 drop pink food coloring gel, optional (see recipe note)
Instructions
Strawberry Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 13- x 9-inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Sift the flour together with the cornstarch into a large medium mixing bowl. Add strawberry jello, baking soda, and salt. Stir until well combined. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat softened butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, in increments, alternating with the buttermilk. Beat on low in between additions, until all of both have been added. Beat just until combined. Use a spoon to gently stir in chopped fresh strawberries.
- Transfer cake batter to the prepared baking dish.
- Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely (about 1 hour). Spread with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat cream cheese and ⅓ cup sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Set aside
- Beat heavy cream and lemon juice at medium speed until foamy; increase speed to medium-high, and slowly add remaining ⅓ cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream mixture into cream cheese mixture with a spoon. Add strawberries and stir, just until combined.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Adapted from Southern Living
I would like to make this cake for a birthday get together with my family. Does this cake freeze well? Or will it stay fresh for a couple of days without the icing?
Hi Mala. I have not frozen this cake but I do think it would freeze well. Although, if you are only storing it for a couple of days, I would just cover and refrigerate it. Then, just frost it before serving.
Can’t figure out how to get the recipe. Picture is nice. How o I get to the recipe
Hi Debbie. The printable recipe card is just above this comment section.
I’ve felt like baking too recently, despite the heat. This cream cheese frosting looks delicious!
I’m glad to hear I’m not alone! Thank you, Katherine 🙂