Strawberry Cake

I flavored the cake and buttercream with strawberry preserves but you can make a fresh reduction if you have some spare fruit and a few extra minutes. This cake is a TOTAL crowd pleaser so be forewarned, you might need to double or triple the recipe as people will be going in for seconds!

I partnered with Wilton, who sponsored this post, showing you how to make this beautiful strawberry birthday cake! Part of the reason I call my blog Preppy Kitchen is the belief that you can make anything if you’re properly prepared, and that starts with having the right tools for the job. Wilton makes great products so I was happy to eat up with them and share some of my favorite products! 

If you find cake decorating to be a bit intimidating then check out my How to Decorate a Cake post, it has lots of helpful tips and a full how to video.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I put strawberries in cake mix?

You can add fresh strawberries in cake mix but they need to be washed, hulled and cut into small pieces. I dredge them in flour to help them float in the batter instead of sinking to the bottom. For this cake you could add 1/2 cup fresh strawberries.

Adding strawberries to the batter also decreases the shelf-life of of your cake so there is a tradeoff for all that delicious flavor.

 What icing goes with strawberry cake?

Lemon buttercream goes well with Strawberry cake but you have lots of options. Add strained strawberry jam to American, Italian, or Swiss meringue buttercreams. You can also pair it with a plain vanilla frosting or a mascarpone whipped cream icing.

Steps to Make Strawberry Cake

How do you make a homemade strawberry cake?

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour three 6-inch pans. Warm and strain the strawberry preserves. Some will be used for the buttercream. Zest a lemon. Sift dry ingredients (including sugar). Whisk to combine.
2. In another bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (including lemon zest). Combine wet and dry mixtures. Whisk until combined. Add a few drops Wilton Color Right Base Pink food coloring until you reach a desired hue.
3. Combine wet and dry mixtures. Whisk until combined. Add a few drops Wilton Color Right base pink food coloring until you reach a desired consistency. If you’re adding fresh strawberries then fold into the batter now. Evenly distribute the batter into the prepared cake pans. Add damp Wilton Bake Even Strips to pans to get flat layers with fluffy edges.  Bake for about 30 – 38 minutes or until the centers are set and springy to the touch or a toothpick comes out clean.
4. In a stand mixer, cream the butter until fluffy. Sift in half of the confectioners sugar. Mix, then add the rest. Add salt. Separate into 3 batches. Add in 1 tbsp of strained strawberry preserves to one batch. Mix until combined.
5. Add a drop of Wilton Color Right base pink food coloring to the strawberry batch. Add lemon juice to the other batch and mix until combined. Add a drop of Wilton Color Right base yellow food coloring until you reach a desired color. Leave the last batch plain white. Save about a cup of the plain for the roses and set aside. 
6. Transfer the plain buttercream to a Wilton Disposable Decorating Bag and snip off the tip. Transfer the pink and yellow to piping bags fitted with Wilton Color Swirl piping nozzle, this will be used to pipe a beautiful two-tone interior swirl. 
7. Add Wilton Color Right Crimson and Wilton Color Right Base Red Food Coloring until you reach a desired saturation for your red roses.
8. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton Master Decorating Tip Set 104 tip. Cut a square of parchment paper. Use a tiny bit of buttercream to glue down the paper onto a piping nail. Pipe a swirl around the base.
9. Pipe petals until you reach a desired rose look.  
10. Pipe the Wilton Color Swirl piping nozzle in between each layer. Fill in gaps on the outside of cake. Smooth out with a bench scraper. Transfer to the fridge to chill. Pipe a layer of white buttercream on the outside of the cake. Smooth out with a bench scraper and offset spatula. Chill in the fridge.
11. Pipe a layer around the edge of the cake. 
12. Transfer roses and small strawberries to the ring to create a wreathe. 

Pro Tips for this Strawberry Cake Recipe

• If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
• If you see little clumps of butter after you mix the wet ingredients don’t panic, it all works out by the time you mix in the dry ingredients. You can even use melted butter and warm the milk and sour cream up a bit if you like.
• You can substitute whole milk yogurt for the sour cream if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.
• To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set online or even make your own. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
• If American buttercream is a bit sweet for you whip up a batch of Italian meringue buttercream!
• To pipe the two-tone frosting you fill one bag (1/2 way full) with yellow frosting, one bag with pink frosting and then put both bags in a third piping bag. No need for a tip, just snip about an inch off each bag.

If you’ve tried this strawberry cake out then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!