My Strawberry Shortcake Cake recipe is so famous, I made it for my pal Al Roker’s 70th birthday on the Today Show. It’s that good boos. My vanilla cake layers are fluffy, moist and sweet. I add sweetened sliced strawberries to the layers along with homemade whipped cream. It’s a straight up hit! Check out my tutorial video below.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Video Tutorial
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Make the Cake
Step 1: In your mixer bowl, add oil and butter and beat for 2 minutes on high speed. Slowly add in sugar and beat on high speed for an additional 4-5 minutes until very pale yellow and fluffy. Next, add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed.
Step 2: Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into batter in two increments then baking powder, salt and baking soda. Be careful not to over beat once you add your dry ingredients.
Step 3: Lastly, mix in sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract, scrape down sides and mix until just combined and turn off mixer.
Step 4: Evenly pour cake batter into prepared baking pans and place in oven to bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs but don’t over bake!)! Remove cakes from oven and rest in pans for 10-15 minutes. Invert cakes from pans onto cooling racks until cooled.
Make the Strawberries and Whipped Cream
Step 5: While cake layers cool, stir strawberries together with warmed jam and sugar. Once combined, pop the berries in the fridge.
Step 6: Add heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla to your mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until medium to stiff peaks have formed.
Assemble
Step 7: Add first cake layer to the center of your serving cake plate. Spread a third of your whipped cream to the layer with an off-set spatula.
Step 8: Then add some strawberries along with juice on top of the whipped cream.
Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Step 9: Carefully add your next layer of cake. Repeat with another spread of whipped cream and strawberries.
Add the final layer of cake then finish with whipped cream and add final strawberries or even a few fresh strawberries if you want for garnish. Drizzle on any remaining strawberry juices on top of the cake. Refrigerate the cake until you are ready to serve it up. Best served the day it is assembled.
Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?
I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour sifted
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/4 cup sour cream room temperature
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
For the Strawberries
- 3 cups diced fresh strawberries
- 2 tbsp strawberry jam warmed
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
For the Whipped Cream and Assembly
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream cold
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Whole strawberries for garnish
Instructions
For the Cake
- Start by preheating your oven to 325°F then liberally spray 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with non-stick baking spray or grease with butter and flour. You can also line with round parchment paper circles.
- In your mixer bowl, add oil and butter and beat for 2 minutes on high speed. Slowly add in sugar and beat on high speed for an additional 4-5 minutes until very pale yellow and fluffy. Next, add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed.
- Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into batter in two increments then baking powder, salt and baking soda. Be careful not to over beat once you add your dry ingredients.
- Lastly, mix in sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract, scrape down sides and mix until just combined and turn off mixer.
- Evenly pour cake batter into prepared baking pans and place in oven to bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs but don’t over bake!)! I personally start checking the cakes around 16 minutes just to be sure since everyone’s oven is different.
- Remove cakes from oven and rest in pans for 10-15 minutes. Invert cakes from pans onto cooling racks until cooled.
For the Strawberries
- While cake layers cool, stir strawberries together with warmed jam and sugar and pop in the fridge.
For the Whipped Cream
- Add heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla to your mixer bowl.
- Whip on high speed until medium to stiff peaks have formed.
To Assemble
- Add first cake layer to the center of your serving cake plate. Spread a third of your whipped cream to the layer with an off-set spatula then sprinkle a third of your strawberries on whipped cream.
- Carefully add your next layer of cake. Repeat with another spread of whipped cream and strawberries.
- Add the final layer of cake then finish with whipped cream and add final strawberries or even a few fresh strawberries if you want for garnish. Drizzle on any remaining strawberry juices on top of the cake. Refrigerate the cake until you are ready to serve it up. Best served the day it is assembled.
Notes
Storage
If you’ve made it this far, you’ve put a lot of work in and I’m sure y’all are not looking to waste that. A frosted cake will last 3-4 days at room temperature. Just be sure either use a cake cover or an overturned bowl to protect the cake. If you prefer refrigeration or freezing, tightly wrap the cake in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. In the fridge, the cake will last 3-4 days. In the freezer, 3 months.Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Make sure the butter, eggs, sour cream and milk are brought to room temp so the batter is smooth before baking. Leaving the eggs and butter out a few hours before starting is the best move.
- Don’t Overmix: When I add the dry ingredients, I like to sometimes turn off the mixer and stir by hand so I don’t overmix and make the cake too dense.
- Whip Cold!: For the whipped cream, make sure the heavy cream is cold and the bowl is cold so those peaks stick.
- Stabilize: If you plan on having this cake in a non-cold environment, I suggest stabilizing the whipped cream with a little cornstarch so it doesn’t melt down so quickly.
- Cool Completely: Before you assemble, make sure the layers are completely room temp so the cream doesn’t melt off the cake boos.
Recipe Help
Yep for sure boos. You can refrigerate the layers or even freeze them up to 2 months ahead then thaw and assemble.
Not necessarily. The layers don’t bake up perfectly flat but they bake up flat enough since the style of decorating is more rustic. It doesn’t have to be perfect boos.
pinterest 
facebook 
twitter 
email
The swiss meringue buttercream was a challenge on my first go, but this is hands down my family’s new favorite recipe, so i’ll have plenty more opportunities to practice!
Absolutely outstanding! I made this for my Dad for Father’s Day and the whole family loved it. Especially the icing. My mom said it was my best cake yet. I have feeling this recipe will be requested for years to come. Thank you for sharing the recipe!!
I love this cake sooo much. It’s a must make for any summer gathering , or heck just to eat on a Sunday
If we don’t have any strawberry jam on hand, do you have a suggestion for a replacement or do you think we could leave it out? Thank you!
Yes you can definitely leave it out or you can use a little strawberry puree if you want (take some strawberries and add to a food processor or blender and grind them out).
Made this for my friend’s birthday this weekend and it turned out beautiful! Soooo good. Also, this was my first time making Swiss meringue buttercream and your instructions were on point! I felt like I was on GBBO ☺️
this cake was absolute delicious! made it for a graduation party and it was a huge hit. i can’t believe how soft the cake was and it was perfectly balanced by the strawberries and buttercream. i’ve never tried this type of frosting before but it’s my new favorite. i can’t wait to try more of the cake recipes now 🙂
Made it for a birthday party and was a HUGE hit!!! Ended up doing 2 layers instead of 3 (smaller group), but it was perfect and delicious!
Do you think I could use a 9×13 cake pan? I’m just looking for a good shortbread/vanilla cake recipe to go with the traditional berries and whipped cream.
Yes it should work out but you will just adjust for baking time.
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour sifted
how many GRAMS do you use?
i don’t want to screw this up!
In your pics, there’s a mound of strawberries on top, but I don’t see that in your assembly directions. Is it ok to add strawberries to the top like that, or will all that juice make the icing run?
Yes I like to give everyone freedom when it comes to decorating their cakes so their creativity can shine through. But here yes you can use fresh clean berries to decorate the cake. After serving the first day, I would probably remove them.