Name: Strawberry Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 15.25 oz white cake mix; 3 ounce vanilla pudding mix; ½ cup freeze-dried strawberries (ground); 1 cup pureed strawberries; 4 large eggs; ½ cup vegetable oil; ½ cup water; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 12 ounces cream cheese (slightly softened); 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened); 6 ½- 7 cups powdered sugar; ½ cup + 2 tablespoons freeze-dried strawberries (ground); 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; Fresh strawberries (for garnish)

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This easy strawberry cake recipe is one I love to make in the spring. It’s super simple to make, (I cheat a lil on this one with a cake mix, but it still tastes like something you’d get from a bakery). I mix in strawberry purée and ground-up freeze-dried strawberries to really pack in the strawberry flavor without using artificial stuff. The frosting is a strawberry cream cheese situation. A little sweet, tangy, and creamy. I usually throw a few fresh strawberries on top and call it a day.

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Strawberry cake on a white cake stand in white kitchen with strawberries on countertop

Table of Contents

Strawberry Cake Ingredients

Easy strawberry cake recipe ingredients in white bowls on white countertop

White cake mix: I use a standard 15.25 oz box of white cake mix. Any brand works. You could also use yellow cake mix if that’s what you have, but the color might be a little deeper.
Vanilla pudding mix: This gives the cake a soft, moist texture and a little extra vanilla flavor. If you don’t have it, you can leave it out, it’ll still work, just won’t be quite as rich.
Freeze-dried strawberries: These are key for getting a concentrated berry flavor. I grind them into a powder using a blender or food processor. If you can’t find freeze-dried strawberries, you could use strawberry Jell-O powder (3 tablespoons of Jell-O powder in place of the ½ cup of ground freeze-dried strawberries in the cake), but it’ll definitely change the flavor and sweetness a bit.
Strawberry purée: Just blend fresh or thawed frozen strawberries until smooth. If your purée feels a little watery, you can simmer it for a few minutes on the stove to thicken it up.
Eggs, oil, and water: I use vegetable oil, but you can sub in avocado oil or melted coconut oil if you want.
Vanilla extract: If you’re using a cake mix that’s already flavored, feel free to skip it.

For the Frosting

Cream cheese: Make sure it’s softened, but not melted. You can use regular or light cream cheese, but skip whipped—it’s too soft to hold up for frosting.
Unsalted butter: Softened so it whips up light and fluffy with the cream cheese. If you only have salted, just leave out the added salt in the frosting.
Powdered sugar: Adjust based on how sweet and thick you like your frosting. I usually start with the lower amount and add more if needed.
Freeze-dried strawberries: Same deal as in the cake—ground up for a natural strawberry flavor and color in the frosting. (2 tablespoons of Jell-O powder instead of the ½ cup + 2 tablespoons of freeze-dried strawberries in the frosting)
Vanilla extract + salt: The vanilla rounds it all out and a little salt keeps it from being overly sweet.
Fresh strawberries (for topping): Optional, but I love the way they look and taste on top. You could also add a few mint leaves if you want to get fancy.

Cake base: To keep things a little low key, I start with a white cake mix combined with vanilla pudding mix. Trust me, you won’t be able to tell this wasn’t made from scratch. You can also swap in a vanilla or yellow cake mix as well, and it will perform well.
Strawberries: I use both freeze-dried for deeper flavor and puree to add the juiciness of the berries into the batter. Freeze-dried strawberries can be found near the dried fruits in your grocery store or online. To grind freeze-dried strawberries, place in a small blender and blend until a fine powder.
Eggs, Oil and Water: These provide your binders and moisture elements.
Vanilla: It tones down the strawberry notes with some warmth. You can also omit here if you don’t want any vanilla flavor.
Cream cheese and Butter: These are the base of the frosting making it super smooth and rich.
Powdered Sugar: This provides that fluffy sweetness to our frosting.

How to make Strawberry Cake

Cake mix, pudding mix and freeze-dried strawberries in a glass bowl on countertop

In a large bowl, stir together cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, and ground strawberries.

Eggs and oil mixed into strawberry batter in a glass bowl

Whisk in pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, water and vanilla.

Easy strawberry cake batter in a glass bowl

It should be nice and smooth.

Cake batter divided into two cake pans before baking

Divide evenly into non-stick baking spray prepared pans, place in 350°F oven,

Baked strawberry layers in cake pans cooling on countertop

Bake for 30 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center to see if it comes out clean (tiny moist pieces of cake are ok too). If not, let the cakes bake another 3 minutes until done. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then, remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack, about 30 minutes.

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Butter and cream cheese mixed in a stand mixer bowl

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add cream cheese and butter and beat on medium low speed until fluffy, 3 minutes.

Strawberry powder in creamed butter mixture in stand mixer

Turn off the mixer and add half of the powdered sugar and ground strawberries.

Strawberry cream cheese frosting being mixed in a stand mixer

Turn to low speed until the sugar and strawberries are incorporated, about 1 minute.

Powdered sugar and vanilla added to strawberry cream cheese icing in stand mixer

Add in remaining powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and mix on low speed until incorporated.

Fluffy strawberry cream cheese frosting in a stand mixer bowl

Turn to medium speed and beat until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes.

Strawberry cake layer split in half on cutting board

Once the cakes are fully cooled, using a serrated knife, cut each cake in half horizontally so you have 4 rounds.

Strawberry frosting being added to a layer of strawberry cake

Place the first round on your cake plate and top with icing. Spread into an even layer about ½-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining cake layers and icing.

Frosted strawberry cake recipe on white countertop

Top the last cake round with most of the rest of the icing and smooth over the top and let some hang over the edge. Using an offset spatula, spread the icing all around the sides of the cake vertically, using the remaining icing to fill as you go. Once smooth, decorate with sliced strawberries, slice, and serve.

A slice of strawberry layer cake on white plates with a full cake in the background

Recipe Tips

Room Temp: Make sure your eggs, cream cheese and butter are room temp for this recipe so they blend perfectly in the batter and frosting without clumping up.
Add color: The color of this cake is very natural with a hint of pink. If you want more pink, I suggest adding a little red food coloring until it gets to the color you want.
Chill frosting: This frosting can get soft pretty quickly so I suggest making ahead and adding to the fridge for about 30 minutes before frosting your cake so it is more stable.