This moist vanilla cake with strawberry filling and buttercream icing is the perfect celebration cake for birthdays and summer parties. Made with real, fresh strawberries, this cake is full of delicious flavor.
If you love strawberries, then you must try this cake! It is everything you would ever want out of a vanilla cake with strawberry filling.
Moist, tender cake? Check. Fresh strawberries for real strawberry flavor? Check. The easiest from-scratch cake recipe? Check.
The vanilla cake uses my fool-proof one bowl vanilla cake recipe. It is super easy to make, doesn't need a mixer, and comes out moist and fluffy every time.
The real strawberry butter is sweet and flavorful. I won't be surprised if you want to lick it off the spatula! Making the strawberry sauce for the buttercream means you can sneak a few dollops of strawberry sauce between the layers for added flavor.
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I was inspired by my strawberry chiffon cake with sliced strawberries as well as my strawberry layer cake. This version is different because of the easy vanilla cake frosted and filled with strawberry buttercream.
Ingredients
This vanilla cake starts with basic pantry staples, eggs, milk, and melted butter.
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Kosher salt
- Baking powder
- Milk (whole milk is preferred but any percentage or non-diary milk is fine)
- Vanilla extract
- Large eggs
- Unsalted butter - for flavor and the buttercream
- Avocado or canola oil - for extra moisture
- Fresh strawberries
- Icing or powdered sugar
- Cornstarch - for thickening the buttercream
- Fresh lemon juice - balance the sweetness in the buttercream
See recipe card for quantities.
Tools and Equipment
This easy can recipe can be made with an electric mixer or stirred together by hand. But for the frosting, you will want an electric mixer and some basic cake decorating tools. Here's a list of everything used to bake it:
- Electric mixer
- Saucepan
- Small food processer
- Mesh sieve
- Various mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Three 6-inch cake pans
- Offset spatula
- Rotating cake stand
- Piping bag and tips
- Serrated knife
Steps for Baking a Vanilla Strawberry Cake
Make the cake batter - this easy cake batter can be made with a mixer or stirred together by hand in a large mixing bowl.
Bake the cake - as the cake bakes, get started on the strawberry sauce so both have time to cool.
Cook the strawberry sauce - puree and cook the strawberries until they thicken into a sauce.
Finished the buttercream - after the strawberry sauce cools, mix it into whipped buttercream frosting
Finally, Assemble the cake - use the strawberry buttercream for filling and frosting. Decorate as desired.
Assembling the Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Filling
If you are new to cake decorating, read up on how to stack and fill a cake for my best tips tricks. Follow it up with how to ice a cake for full step-by-step photos.
Firstly, pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake layers to keep the strawberry filling from leaking.
Swirl on a couple spoonfuls of strawberry sauce between the layers for extra flavor.
Stack the layer as evenly as possible. Adjust them as needed before you start icing the cake.
Next, ice the cake in a thin layer of buttercream frosting first, chill, then add a smoother out layer to finish.
Tessa's Tips
Always make sure to use a buttercream dam to hold in loose fillings like jam. Consequently, if the strawberry sauce begins to leak out as you stack the cakes, scrape it out and start again with a buttercream dam.
If the buttercream is too soft to pipe, add in a bit more powdered sugar - a ½ cup at a time. If it is too stiff, add a bit more strawberry sauce - a tablespoon at a time.
Substitutions
Non-Dairy - This recipe should be fine to using non-dairy milk and plant-based butter.
Cornstarch - It is not absolutely necessary to use if you are in a pinch, but the cornstarch will help thicken the strawberry sauce before being added to the buttercream. You can also use arrowroot flour or tapioca starch.
Variations
Vanilla Cake with Raspberry Filling - use the raspberry frosting from these raspberry cupcakes instead.
8-inch Cake - bake the batter in two 8-inch round cakes (make sure not to fill them more than ¾ of the way). Adjust bake time accordingly.
Strawberry Cream Filling for Cakes
The strawberry sauce for the strawberry buttercream begins the same way as this strawberry cream cheese frosting.
Firstly, puree fresh strawberries in a mini food processor or small blender.
Cook down the strawberry puree until slightly reduced then add cornstarch to thicken.
Whip together the butter and sugar for the frosting then add the cooled strawberry sauce.
Mix the strawberry cream filling until smooth and spreadable.
Serving and Storage
Serve this strawberry vanilla cake at room temperature. Keep at a cool room temperature over night.
Store leftovers covered in plastic in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
You can freeze unfrosted cake layers by wrapping them well in plastic or foil. Place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen cakes layers in the refrigerator overnight.
Likewise, wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for 1 to 3 months. Thaw frozen cake sliced in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Vanilla Strawberry Cake Recipe FAQs
No, but it should not sit out a room temperature more than 24 hours. The assembled cake can sit in a cool temperature up to over night.
Broken buttercream happens when too much liquid is forced into the butter and sugar mixture.
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Related Recipes
Love this recipe? Here are more strawberry cake recipes to try:
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Recipe
Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Filling and Buttercream
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cake
- 2 ¼ cup (280g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cup (300g) granulated sugar
- 2 ½ tea baking powder
- ½ tea kosher salt
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tea vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120ml) avocado or canola oil
- ¼ cup (60 ml) unsalted butter melted
For the Strawberry Filling
- 2 cups sliced strawberries lightly packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- pinch salt
- 2 tea cornstarch
- ¼ lemon juice squeezed
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 4 whole strawberries sliced in half
Instructions
To Make the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 6-inch cake pans and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the milk and eggs. Pour in the butter, oil, and vanilla. Using a hand mixer or whisk, blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Finish by folding together with a rubber spatula until smooth.
- Tip the mixture into the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Completely cool the cake before frosting.
To Make the Strawberry Filling and Buttercream
- Puree the diced strawberries in a mini food processor or blender. Pour into a saucepan along with the granulated sugar and salt. Cook to simmer then reduce the heat to low.
- Continue to cook to reduce the sauce and make the flavor more concentrated, about 15 minutes. Do not reduce to less than 1 cup of puree.
- Make a slurry by whisking the cornstarch with a couple teaspoons water until dissolved. Pour the slurry into the strawberry sauce. Add a squeeze of a ½ lemon and stir to combine. Keep stirring the sauce until it thickens then remove from the heat to cool completely.
- When ready, use an electric mixer to mix the butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined.
- Add about 4 tablespoons strawberry sauce. Mix to combine.
To Assemble
- Place one layer of cake on cake board or serving dish. Fill a piping bag with a plain tip with strawberry buttercream.
- Pipe a ring of buttercream around the outer edge of the cake, about ½-inch tall. Fill the center with buttercream and spread with the back of a spoon to create a shallow bowl.
- Dollop 2 to 3 tablespoons strawberry sauce and gently swirl to combine, making sure none of the sauce reaches the edges of the cake. Top with the next layer and repeat.
- Cover the cake with a thin layer of buttercream all over. Chill the cake for 15 minutes or until firm.
- Smoothly ice the cake with buttercream frosting. Use any remaining frosting to decorate. Add fresh strawberries, if desired.
Paula
I love your books and site! A question: I notice that some (or one) of your vanilla cakes is made with both all purpose flour and cake flour. This particular recipe only uses ap flour. Do you choose the flour(s) based on a particular recipe and advise not to stray from the type of flour(s) named? I ask because I struggle with making a vanilla cake that I truly love and not sure why. I am curious to try this one as it uses melted butter which I have not tried in vanilla cake yet.
stylesweet
Hi there! Thank you for reaching out with some great questions. Cake flour has less protein than all-purpose flour and usually results in a softer cake texture. For cakes made with oil (not the creaming method), I generally reach for the all-purpose flour since they tend to be pretty moist. Also, some brands of cake flour make almost too soft cakes, so that is why sometimes I use a mix of both. So it kind of depends on preference. I hope that helps!
Sadie
hello! I was wondering if you could also include the grams along side in the recipes. not trying to say one is better than the other but weighing is definitely more accurate for me lol I don't trust my flour scooping skills haha Thank you! much appreciated 🙂
stylesweet
Hi! Thank you for asking. I always include grams in my newsletter recipes and cookbooks, but never sure if readers are concerned here or not. I will try to add both options more - starting with this one!
sadie
thank you so much!! (insert teary eyed happy face) lol I was a little scared of sounding like a naggy commentator but your response was very kind <3 btw I ended up making this cake anyway bc I just couldn't wait (google helped with the grams haha) and it turned out so good (unsurprisingly ofc)!!
sadie
oh and I forgot to add...this is such an easy recipe! melted butter, no mixer etc...I think im making this my go to vanilla cake recipe!
stylesweet
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! And thank you for the feedback. I know I need to add weight measurements to more recipes.
Toni
Great recipe! Thank you. Will make it again
Caitlyn Jones
For a layer cake made from scratch, this recipe was easy to follow and tasted great! I don't make a lot of cakes so it can get a little overwhelming. But totally worth it! Will make it again.! Thank you
Kim
Can I substitute butter with something else in the vanilla cake?
stylesweet
Hi! You can try a plant-based butter. I wouldn't really replace with oil because you need something solid to cream with the sugar to make it fluffy. Happy baking!
stylesweet
Hi there! Just reviewing my previous reply. This recipe uses melted butter - not creaming method. So you can use the equivalent amount of oil. Apologies for the mix up. Happy Baking!
Dana
Should I save a couple of tablespoons from the strawberry sauce to add between the layers? This is what I understood from the pictures, but it's not mentioned in the recipe.
Also, can I add some cream cheese instead of 1 cup unsalted butter to the strawberry filling?
Thanks!
stylesweet
Hi! The assembling instructions include the strawberry sauce between the layers. You could replace a few tablespoons of the butter with cream cheese to make it a little tangy. But not too much or it will be too soft to support the cake. Happy Baking!
Olivia
The cakes are flat as pancakes. I used Oat Milk instead of standard, haven't tasted them yet but feeling disappointed
stylesweet
Hi there! I am sorry that happened. I am not sure how given then amount of baking powder. Perhaps yours has expired? I have not made this recipe with oat milk, but I wouldn't think it would change how the cake rises. The texture and flavor will be different though.
stylesweet
Another culprit may be from over-mixing. This can make a cake dense.
Rosie P.
This is the best cake ever! I made it for Valentine's Day. But I bet it's even better when it's actually strawberry season. Def making again this summer.
Felicity Greenfield
I love this cake. I've made it a couple times already and just checking the recipe so I can make again for Easter!
Joanna
I have just made this for my granddaughter’s birthday. As the strawberries are a little flavorless right now I added a TBSP of freeze dried strawberry powder to the strawberry which really amped up the flavor of the strawberry filling. Tastes like summer 🙂
stylesweet
Hi! I am so glad you liked it. Freeze dried strawberries add so much more flavor. I wish they were to easier to find everywhere though! Thank you for the comment.
Mahsa
Can I freeze the strawberry sauce before adding the butter until I use it for the cake?
stylesweet
Hi! This might work, but I have not tested freezing the strawberry sauce. Instead, I would recommend making and keeping in the refrigerator overnight until ready.
Adrianne Ennis
Hi would it be possible to make this cake bigger? Say 3 8 inch cake pans? If so how much would you increase the measurements by? Thanks so Much
stylesweet
Hi! Yes; it is actually really similar to this sheet cake recipe: https://stylesweet.com/2021-8-15-one-bowl-vanilla-cake-1/ You can use these quantities for three, 8-inch cakes. Happy Baking!
Avigail Buko
Hey can I use frozen strawberries?
stylesweet
Hi! Yes, this should be okay. Often frozen strawberries have more water content, so you may need to cook it just a little bit longer. Happy Baking!