Triple-layer Strawberry Cake (from Scratch)

Perfect for any occasion, this Southern-style Triple-layer Strawberry Cake is a moist, amazingly delicious cake with a fresh, luxurious strawberry buttercream frosting. (Made from scratch - no boxed cake mix!)

Jump to:

• What's the Story Behind this Recipe?
• Why this Recipe Works
• Fresh Strawberry Cake Ingredients
• How to Make this Strawberry Cake Recipe
• Substitutions
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top Tips
• FAQ
• More Fresh Strawberry Recipes
• What to Serve with Strawberry Cake
• Triple-layer Strawberry Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

What's the Story Behind this Recipe?

For me, baking is often about memories. Sometimes I bake memories for people I love: pineapple-upside down cake when we go camping, peach cobbler in August, pumpkin pie for my mother's birthday. Other times, baking is a path that takes me back in time.

In the summer of 2018, Mr B and I traveled to Tennessee, where we had the honor of attending the Change of Command and Retirement Ceremony for one of his best friends from his Navy days.

If you’ve never attended the retirement rites of a senior military officer, I highly recommend it. It may very well renew (or redeem) your faith in both our country and the people who protect it. (And if the flag passing ceremony of Olde Glory doesn’t move you to tears, I don’t know what will.)

After the formal ceremonies concluded, we were ushered into a reception room filled with sailors decked out in their full dress whites, along with families and friends. My eyes roamed from one small cluster to the next; to the smiling faces, the convivial conversations, the warm embraces.

In the middle of the reception room was a long refreshment table with two large, beautifully decorated cakes on either end. Centered between them sat a modest, unpretentious pale pink layer cake.

A memory flickered.

That pink cake. My mother always told me that Southerners love their cakes. I plated a small piece and took a bite.

In an instant, I was four...maybe five, sitting on my stool at my Pop's yellow chrome and formica kitchen table. I don’t know the occasion, but I remember that cake. Smooth, sweet, pink, and perfectly strawberry.

It tasted like summer.

Standing in that reception room in Tennessee, I had not tasted strawberry cake in fifty years, but as that single bite melted on my tongue, it was yesterday.

When Mr B and I returned home to Oregon, I set about baking myself a memory.

Why this Recipe Works

Perfecting a recipe for a Strawberry Cake from scratch wasn’t easy. Nearly every source I could find required a boxed cake mix, and I was determined to create a *scratch* strawberry cake recipe.

In my quest, I consulted at least fifteen different recipes, cookbooks, and bakers' websites before I finally felt confident about my game plan. However, once I got the ratios for everything right (the sugar levels were especially tricky) and recognized that those whipped egg whites make all the difference, it all fell into place.

I couldn’t be happier with the outcome!

This strawberry scratch cake is far and away easier to make than you might imagine; and in my opinion, working with three thinner layers is easier than two thicker layers. This Strawberry Cake results in a moist, amazingly delicious cake with a fresh strawberry buttercream frosting. You are going to love it!!!

Fresh Strawberry Cake Ingredients

All ingredients should be room temperature.

• Strawberries: Either fresh and frozen will work. Thoroughly defrost frozen berries before using.
• Cake flour: It's important to use cake flour for this cake. Cake flour is a finely milled, delicate flour that results in a fine crumb and a good rise. My personal cake flour preference is Bob's Red Mill Super Fine Cake Flour.
  • I cannot stress this enough: when it comes to flour in baking, sift first, THEN measure.
  • The primary difference between cake flour and all-purpose flour (AP) is that cake flour has slightly less protein, which translates to less gluten in your cake, which means you will have a more tender cake.
• Eggs: I use USDA Large eggs (EU Medium) to make this cake. Both egg whites and yolks should be room temperature before using.
• Unsalted butter: Do not use butter substitutes. Butter should be room temperature.
• Sugar: Use white granulated sugar.
• Powdered sugar: i.e., Confectioner's/ icing sugar.
• Jell-O®: Y'all know that I try to avoid the boxes, but this recipe just doesn't fly without Jell-O®. If possible, avoid using off-brand gelatin: the strawberry flavor in them usually tastes like cheap kids' candy.
• Milk: I use whole milk to make this recipe. It has not yet been tested using low-fat milk or alternative milks.
• Lemon zest: Use fresh lemon zest.
• Vanilla: Use pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste.
• Strawberry jam: Use any strawberry jam that you like. (I use strawberry freezer jam.)
• Salt: Use fine sea salt or table salt.
• Baking powder

How to Make this Strawberry Cake Recipe

Strawberry Puree

Combine fresh strawberries and two tablespoons of sugar in a blender. Pulse until strawberries are reduced to a pulp.DO NOT blend until smooth. (You will use ½ cup of the puree for the cake. Reserve the remaining puree to use in the frosting.) 

Set aside and allow to the strawberries to macerate further while you perform next few steps.

Cake Layers

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans. 

HINT: Line the bottom of the pans with parchment rounds for easy release and clean-up.

In a medium bowl, combine sifted flour and baking powder. Set aside. 

Whisk together milk, strawberry puree, lemon zest, and vanilla. Set aside. 

Use an electric stand mixer to cream together butter, sugar, dry strawberry Jell-O®, and salt. Beat in eggs yolks one at a time. 

Turn the mixer on low, and add the flour mixture into batter alternately with strawberry-milk mixture. Remove the mixing bowl from the stand and set aside.

In a clean, medium mixing bowl, whip the eggs whites until they form medium peaks. (Medium peaks can hold their shape, but the peak curls over when the beaters are lifted.)

Use a clean spatula to fold the whipped egg whites into the batter. 

Pour the cake batter evenly into the three prepared cake pans. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean. 

Allow cakes to cool in their pans over wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully tap out onto wire racks to cool completely. 

Wrap layers in plastic and chill in refrigerator for at least an hour before frosting.

Strawberry Frosting

Using an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high until light and fluffy. 

With mixer on low, add powdered sugar to the whipped butter alternately with ⅓ cup pureed strawberries. Combine thoroughly into a soft, creamy mixture that will hold its shape.

Cool in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, or until the frosting firms up slightly.

Frosting the Cake

Spread the top of the bottom layer of cake with frosting.

Add the middle layer and refrigerate again until the frosting has firmed up a bit; about 10 minutes. Add the top layer and repeat. 

For a cleaner frosting, apply a crumb coat to the entire outside of the cake first to keep the crumbs out of your final frosting. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.

Complete frost the cake and decorate with fresh strawberries as desired.

Decorate with fresh strawberries if desired. 

Frosting Philosophy

There are two basic schools of thought about frosting: (1) the cake is a necessary conveyance for getting as much frosting as possible into your mouth; and (2) the cake is the star, and frosting is, well… frosting. It is for sealing the cake and adding additional texture and sweetness, but don’t go all crazy and let it overpower the cake.

I belong to the second, “less-is-more” group. You may notice that, in the images here, there is only enough frosting between the layers to hold them together, and that the outer frosting isn’t spread on very heavily. For my tastes, this amount of frosting provides the perfect balance for this cake.

If, however, you lean toward the first, “the-more-frosting-the-better” group, be assured that you will not run short of strawberry frosting with this recipe. I had well over a cup leftover when this cake was done. (Hello, late-night frosting-n-graham-crackers!)

Substitutions

Easy Cake Flour Substitute*: If you can't buy/find cake flour, try this easy substitute. For each cup of cake flour, measure out 1 cup of flour, then remove 2 tablespoons from the cup. Add 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and sift together.

*Note: I have never made this particular cake using this cake flour substitute, so substitute at your own risk.

Homemade Powdered Sugar: To make powdered sugar, combine granulated sugar and cornstarch in a ratio of 1 cup to 1 tablespoon. Place them in a high-powdered blender (i.e., Vitamix, Blendtec) and blitz until the mixture is ground to a soft powder.

Equipment

Use the Right Cake Pans

The kind and quality of baking pans you use can have a great impact on the success of your cake. For this recipe, I recommend using three 8-inch stainless steel round cake pans, lined on the bottom with parchment rounds. (I love the weight of these pans!)

If you use glass or dark pans, or pour only two cake layers instead of three, you will need to adjust the baking time and/or temperature.

Storage

Store cake on the counter in a covered cake plate or wrapped in plastic wrap. It will last about a week before it starts to get stale.

How to Freeze Cake Layers

Cake layers can be baked well ahead of time, then frozen for up to 3 months, until you are ready to frost them.

• To freeze cake layers, first bake and completely cool the layers. 
• Wrap each layer individually in plastic wrap.
• Wrap each plastic-wrapped layer in aluminum foil.
• Use a permanent marker to label and dates the layers
• Bonus: place each wrapped, labeled layer in a reusable freezer bag.

Top Tips

How to Know When a Cake is Done

1. The edges of the cake pull away from the sides of the pan.
2. The cake springs back when gently pressed.
3. When inserted near the center, a toothpick comes out clean.
4. The internal temperature, measured on an instant-read thermometer, is 210°F (99°C).
5. If you listen very carefully, you can hear the cake layers sing as they bake. You will heat a faint crackling or sizzling sound, as the steam from the liquid ingredients cooks out. As the cake gets closer to being done, the sound will become softer and slower, becoming a barely audible whisper when the cake is done.

FAQ

More Fresh Strawberry Recipes

What to Serve with Strawberry Cake

A slice of strawberry layer cake and a scoop of fresh strawberry ice cream (or homemade vanilla ice cream) is a memorable summer treat! (For a real down-home meal, serve up some Nashville Hot Chicken, Memphis coleslaw, and fried green tomatoes for the main dish!)

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