Strawberry Shortcake Cake is the recipe that Teresa made the first summer she decided that all the flavors she loved most about classic strawberry shortcake deserved to live inside a proper layer cake that could be sliced and served at celebrations rather than assembled at the last minute in individual portions. She made three layers of the most moist and tender vanilla sour cream cake, let them cool while she macerated the strawberries with jam, whipped the cream cheese frosting until it was light and billowy, and assembled the whole beautiful thing in under an hour. When she carried it to the table on its stand the entire room went quiet for a moment before everyone started reaching for plates.
Strawberry Shortcake Cake is the three-layer summer celebration cake that combines all the classic flavors of strawberry shortcake into the most beautiful and impressive layer cake format imaginable. Moist and tender vanilla cake layers made with sour cream for extraordinary tenderness, macerated fresh strawberries in strawberry jam for a vibrant and flavorful filling, and a light and billowy cream cheese whipped cream frosting that is simultaneously rich and airy and completely extraordinary. Come follow us on Pinterest where we share beautiful summer cake recipes and easy celebration bakes from our kitchen every single week.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
This Strawberry Shortcake Cake recipe is the summer celebration cake that delivers a genuinely impressive and beautiful result from a process that is accessible and achievable for any home baker in under an hour of active work. The sour cream in the cake batter is the ingredient that makes these layers so extraordinarily moist and tender. Sour cream adds fat, acidity, and moisture to the batter simultaneously, and its slight tang enhances the vanilla flavor beautifully while producing a crumb that is noticeably softer and more delicate than a plain milk-based cake.
The cream cheese whipped cream frosting is the element that makes this cake so completely unique and satisfying. Beating softened cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and then folding in whipped heavy cream produces a frosting that is simultaneously rich and stable from the cream cheese and light and airy from the whipped cream. It holds its shape beautifully for hours, tastes genuinely extraordinary, and complements the fresh strawberry filling in the most perfectly balanced way imaginable. Our Raspberry Tiramisu makes a beautifully elegant and equally fresh-fruit-forward companion dessert for a complete and stunning summer celebration spread alongside this cake.
Ingredients Needed for This Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
For the Cake:
- 2¾ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3 tsp Baking Powder
- ¾ tsp Salt
- 1¾ cups Granulated Sugar
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 Egg Whites
- 2½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ tsp Almond Extract
- ⅔ cup Sour Cream, room temperature
- ¾ cup Whole Milk
For the Filling:
- 3 cups Fresh Strawberries, hulled and sliced into ¼-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp Strawberry Jam
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz Full-Fat Cream Cheese, softened
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2¼ cups Heavy Whipping Cream
How to Make This Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine the granulated sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, egg whites, vanilla extract, almond extract, and room-temperature sour cream. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes until well combined and slightly lighter. The sour cream must be at room temperature to blend smoothly without creating lumps in the batter, cara mia.
With the mixer on low speed, add half the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add the milk and mix until incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix on low until smooth and no visible flour streaks remain. Do not overmix at any stage.
Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared pans. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops spring back gently when touched. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely to room temperature before assembling. For the cleanest and most professional assembly, freeze the completely cooled layers for 30 minutes before frosting as firmer layers resist crumbling.
While the cakes cool, prepare the strawberry filling by combining the sliced fresh strawberries with the strawberry jam in a small bowl. Stir gently and allow to macerate for at least 15 minutes. The pectin in the jam draws out the strawberry juices and creates a lightly syrupy and deeply flavorful filling.
For the frosting, beat the softened cream cheese with the sifted powdered sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until completely smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, whip the cold heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream gently into the cream cheese mixture using wide circular strokes until fully incorporated with no white streaks remaining.
To assemble, place the first cake layer on a serving plate. Spread a generous layer of the cream cheese frosting. Spoon a portion of the macerated strawberries and their accumulated juices over the frosting. Repeat with the second layer, frosting, and strawberries. Place the third layer on top and cover the top and sides generously with the remaining frosting. Arrange extra strawberry slices decoratively on top. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing for the cleanest presentation.
How to Serve This Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
Serve this cake on a beautiful cake stand for the most stunning presentation. Bring out of the refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes before serving so the frosting softens slightly and the cake layers return to their most tender texture.
Slice with a sharp knife warmed under hot water and wiped completely dry between each cut for the cleanest cross-section revealing the beautiful white frosting layers and the ruby strawberry filling inside each layer. Our Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes make a beautifully bright and individual companion treat for a complete and vibrant summer celebration dessert spread alongside this spectacular cake.
How to Store This Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
Store the assembled cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 days. Because the cake contains fresh strawberries and a cream cheese whipped cream frosting, refrigeration is required at all times after assembly. Allow to sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
The unfrosted cake layers can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before assembling. For the best result, assemble and frost the cake on the day of or the morning of the celebration.
Tips to Make This Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
Use room-temperature sour cream, eggs, and oil for the most smoothly combined and uniformly textured batter. Cold sour cream added to the batter can create lumps that do not incorporate even with extended mixing and produce an uneven crumb in the finished cake layers.
Never frost warm or even slightly warm cake layers. Warm cake melts the cream cheese frosting on contact and the whole assembly becomes soft and unstable rather than holding its beautiful layered structure. Completely cold or even frozen layers produce the crispest and most professional frosting application.
Helpful Notes for This Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
The almond extract in the cake batter is a small quantity that most people cannot identify specifically as almond but that adds a warmth and complexity to the vanilla background flavor that makes the cake taste noticeably more interesting and layered than a plain vanilla batter. It pairs particularly beautifully with the strawberry filling. If almond extract is not available or preferred, simply increase the vanilla extract by half a teaspoon.
Fresh strawberries are essential for the filling in this recipe and cannot be replaced with frozen strawberries. Frozen strawberries release too much liquid when thawed and will make the filling excessively watery which will cause the frosting layers to slide and the cake layers to become soggy from the excess moisture.
Variation of This Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
Maria made a version adding a layer of additional strawberry jam spread directly on each cake layer before the frosting for an extra intense and concentrated strawberry flavor layer that made every bite taste even more completely strawberry shortcake. Teresa tried a lemon version by replacing the almond extract with a teaspoon of lemon zest and the lemon-vanilla combination with the fresh strawberry filling was completely extraordinary.
For a summer birthday cake, decorate the top with a ring of piped whipped cream rosettes, each topped with a whole fresh strawberry, for a presentation that looks bakery-professional and completely stunning. Our Strawberry Milkshake Pound Cake makes a wonderfully different and equally strawberry-forward companion for a complete summer strawberry celebration.
FAQs About This Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
Can I substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream?
Yes. Full-fat Greek yogurt is an excellent one-to-one substitute for sour cream in this recipe and produces virtually identical results in texture and moisture. Both provide the fat and acidity that make this cake so extraordinarily moist and tender. Use the same room-temperature technique with the yogurt as specified for the sour cream.
Why does the recipe use both whole eggs and egg whites?
The two whole eggs provide richness, structure, and a small amount of fat from the yolks. The additional egg whites contribute structure and lift without adding any fat or the yellow color from the yolks. The combination produces a cake that is both structured enough to hold three layers and light enough to have the delicate and airy texture that makes every bite so completely pleasant.
How far in advance can I make and assemble this cake?
The cake layers can be baked up to 2 days in advance and stored wrapped in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer. The cream cheese frosting can be made up to 1 day in advance and stored covered in the refrigerator. Assemble the cake the morning of the day it will be served for the freshest strawberries and most vibrant presentation.
Conclusion
This Strawberry Shortcake Cake is the summer layer cake that makes every celebration feel more beautiful and every person at the table feel genuinely cared for and celebrated through something genuinely made with love and made from scratch. Moist, fresh, creamy, and completely extraordinary in every single beautiful layered slice. We hope it brings the same wow moment and the same deeply satisfied gathering to your summer table that it has always brought to ours. Make it, share it, and come back to tell us all about it. With all our love, Maria, Lucia, and Teresa.
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Strawberry Shortcake Cake The Most Moist and Beautiful Summer Cake You Will Ever Bake
- Total Time: 1 hour plus cooling
- Yield: 16 slices 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The most moist and beautiful Strawberry Shortcake Cake made with three tender sour cream vanilla cake layers filled with macerated fresh strawberries in strawberry jam and frosted with a light and billowy cream cheese whipped cream frosting. A completely stunning summer celebration cake ready to assemble in under 1 hour.
Ingredients
2 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
3 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Salt
1 3/4 cups Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
2 large Eggs
2 Egg Whites
2 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
2/3 cup Sour Cream room temperature
3/4 cup Whole Milk
3 cups Fresh Strawberries hulled and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
2 tbsp Strawberry Jam
8 oz Full-Fat Cream Cheese softened
1 cup Powdered Sugar sifted
1 tsp Vanilla Extract for frosting
2 1/4 cups Heavy Whipping Cream cold
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 8-inch round pans and line bottoms with parchment.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
3. Beat sugar, oil, eggs, egg whites, vanilla, almond extract, and room temperature sour cream 2 minutes until combined.
4. Add half dry ingredients on low. Mix until just combined.
5. Add milk and mix. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Do not overmix.
6. Divide batter among three pans.
7. Bake 18 to 22 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
8. Optionally freeze layers 30 minutes before frosting for cleaner assembly.
9. Combine sliced strawberries with jam. Let macerate 15 minutes.
10. Beat softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla 2 minutes until smooth.
11. In separate bowl whip cold heavy cream to stiff peaks.
12. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until no streaks remain.
13. Layer cake with frosting and macerated strawberries between each layer.
14. Frost top and sides generously. Refrigerate 30 minutes before slicing.
- Prep Time: 30 to 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 310
- Sugar: 28g
- Sodium: 240mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 68mg
Keywords: strawberry shortcake cake, moist strawberry shortcake layer cake, cream cheese whipped cream frosting cake, easy summer celebration cake
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