This homemade Strawberry Shortcake Cake starts with a real butter cake, dense and rich, stacked with pillowy whipped cream and juicy macerated strawberries. It looks like a showstopper and is best made a few hours in advance, perfect for a party.
Strawberries and cream on the buttery-est cake!
Every other strawberry shortcake cake goes light and fluffy. Mine is a butter cake, a full cup of it, so the crumb is dense and rich like pound cake. I did that on purpose. A fluffy cake goes limp the second wet berries and whipped cream touch it. Dense and buttery holds its ground, and it tastes about ten times better while it does it.
The other trick is draining the macerated strawberries and brushing only about half of that juice onto the layers. The cake soaks up all the flavor without going mushy and you can add the extra leftover juice to each slice when serving. Make it, chill it, slice it, and watch it disappear!
— ♥︎ Jess —
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Visit the recipe card below for the ingredient amounts and full directions.
1
SUGAR THE BERRIES
Toss sliced strawberries with sugar. Let them chill in the fridge while you bake and cool the cake.
2
MAKE THE BATTER
Whisk the dry ingredients together. Cream the butter and sugar a full 3 minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, then alternate the dry ingredients with the milk.
3
BAKE AND COOL
Divide the batter between two greased 9-inch pans. Bake at 350°F for 18 to 22 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.
4
WHIP THE CREAM
Beat the cold cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to soft peaks. Chill your bowl and beaters first if you have time.
5
ASSEMBLE AND CHILL
Drain the strawberries over a bowl and save the juice. Brush half of the juice over the tops of the cake. Top one layer of cake with half the cream and the berries. Stack the second layer, spread on the rest of the cream, and chill at least 1 hour.
Jessica’s Tips
- Do not overmix the batter. Once the flour goes in, mix just until you do not see dry streaks. Over-mixing builds gluten and turns the crumb rubbery instead of tender.
- Slice the berries about 1/4 inch thick. Even slices lay flat between the layers and keep the cake level. Big chunks make the top layer wobble.
- Start the cream cold. Cold heavy cream whips faster and holds better. I chill the bowl and beaters too if I have time. Whip just to soft peaks so it stays pillowy.
- Cool the cakes completely. Warm cake melts whipped cream into a runny mess. Let the layers cool all the way before you even think about stacking.
- Use a serrated knife to level the layers. This cake domes a little from all that butter. Saw the tops flat before you stack and the whole thing sits straight instead of sliding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, I often use strawberry compote instead! Simmer the berries with sugar and a cornstarch slurry until thickened. The sauce spreads more evenly and won’t weep, but you lose that fresh-berry bite. I go this route when I’m using frozen strawberries.
Start with cold cream and whip only to soft peaks. If you want it sturdier, you can beat a little softened cream cheese into the cream to stabilize it, which helps the cake hold its shape longer in the fridge.
Yes. Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 pan for a sheet cake, or line a muffin tin for cupcakes. Both bake faster than layers, so start checking early.
Yes. If you are short on time, a vanilla or white boxed mix baked in two 9-inch pans works fine. The from-scratch cake has more flavor and a better crumb, but the assembly is exactly the same.
4 to 6 hours ahead is the sweet spot. It needs at least an hour of chill time for the flavors to settle, and past about eight hours the berries start softening the cream. You can always bake the layers up to 48 hours ahead as well.
“This is a stunning and tasty recipe and looks very inviting in a dome covered dish. The made-from-scratch butter cake holds up really well to the cream and juicy, sugared berries. I boiled the extra leftover syrup from the macerated berries and added about a teaspoon of cornstarch in a slurry to give it a little more body, so it wouldn’t run all over the cake plate when I drizzled it over the top.” — Shannon, skilled home cook for over 30 years.
Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk
For the Filling:
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the sliced strawberries and granulated sugar. Cover and refrigerate them while you bake and cool the cake.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, being careful not to over-mix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Smooth the tops with a spatula. I like to weigh each pan to make sure they have the exact same amount of batter.
- Place cake pans in the preheated oven on the middle rack. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cakes are cooled, drain the juice from the strawberries and brush half of it over the top of each layer. Reserve the remaining juice for serving.
- In a medium sized bowl, whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. I like to do this with a hand mixer (or stand mixer) but you can also do it by hand.
- Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread half of the whipped cream over the cake layer. Spoon the macerated strawberries out of the remaining juice and spread them over the whipped cream. Place the second cake layer on top and press gently. Spread the remaining whipped cream over the top. Save the leftover extra juice for serving, storing it in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
- Cover the assembled cake loosely with a cake dome or an inverted bowl and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour (or up to 8 hours). Plastic wrap pressed against the whipped cream will drag it off, so give it some air space.
- Decorate the top of the cake with extra fresh sliced strawberries right before serving. Drizzle leftover strawberry juice over the top of each slice, if desired.
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Notes
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More Summer Desserts To Try
- Lemon Brownies – These are thick, chewy, and glazed to sweet lemony perfection.
- Homemade Strawberry Cake – Made with real fresh strawberries.
- No-Churn Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream – It takes just 15 minutes to prep.
- Blackberry Pie Bars – Crumbly pie crust and sweet berries.
- Banana Split Dump Cake – A warm, gooey cake with the elements of a classic banana split.
- Strawberry Ice Cream Cake – Easy 4-ingredient no-bake dessert.
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