Vanilla Strawberry Cake

This vanilla strawberry cake is going to be your new go-to birthday cake! It has soft and fluffy vanilla cake layers sandwiched with a homemade strawberry filling. It’s then frosted with strawberry buttercream that’s naturally pink!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Low Lactose, Vegetarian

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 30

Servings slices

Calories 470

Author Gabby Kislanko

Equipment

Handheld or Standing Mixer
2 8 inch round cake pan
Mixing Bowls
medium/large pan

Ingredients

Strawberry Cake Filling

3 cups fresh strawberries, chopped into small pieces (may sub frozen)
½ cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoon cornstarch

Vanilla Cake

½ cup butter, softened (regular or dairy free)
½ cup sunflower, grapeseed, or canola oil
3 eggs
1½ Tablespoons vanilla extract
1¼ cup granulated sugar
2⅓ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
2½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1½ cup milk of choice (regular or dairy free)

Strawberry Buttercream

1½ cup butter, softened (regular or dairy free) SEE NOTES
3-3¾ cups powdered sugar (icing sugar)
¼ cup strawberry cake filling from recipe above

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Strawberry Cake Filling

In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch and water together until combined and set aside.
Add chopped strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a medium or large pan on medium low heat.
Stir to combine and continue stirring every few minutes until the mixture reaches a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture has reduced. This should take around 8-10 minutes.
Add the cornstarch slurry into the pan and stir to combine. The mixture will continue to thicken for a few more minutes. Remove from heat when the mixture sticks to the back of a spoon.
Set aside and allow the mixture to cool completely (it will continue to thicken as it cools).
Once cooled, transfer the filling to an airtight container or a bowl tightly covered with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before using.

Vanilla Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare two 8 inch round cake pans. Spray the inside with cooking spray, then cut out pieces of parchment paper so that they fit in the bottom of each pan (do not skip this step!). Set the pans aside.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and oil together until combined. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract.
Mix in the granulated sugar.
Add in flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder to a separate bowl and whisk together.
Alternate slowly adding in the milk and the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
Divide the cake batter between the two cake pans and bake for 24-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then remove them from the pan (by running a butter knife or offset spatula around the edges and then flipping the cake upside down onto a cooling rack). While the cakes cool, make the buttercream.

Strawberry Buttercream

Add the butter to a large bowl. Slowly add in powdered sugar, using a standing mixer or handheld mixer to mix until combined.
Add ¼ cup of the strawberry cake filling to the buttercream and mix until fully combined. If needed, slowly add in more powdered sugar until it reaches your desired consistency. If using dairy free butter, the buttercream won't be as firm as traditional buttercream because of the strawberries.
Cover and refrigerate until the cakes have cooled completely.

Assembling the Cake

Once the cake layers and filling have cooled completely, assemble the cake. Place one cake layer onto your cake plate and pipe a thick layer of frosting on top of the cake along the edges, like a border (photos in the post above for reference).
Scoop the strawberry filling onto the cake, so that there is a circle of buttercream around it. Place the second cake layer on top.
Frost the cake and decorate as desired. Remaining buttercream can be frozen.

Video

Notes

PLEASE NOTE: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your dry ingredients. Metric measurements are found above under the "Metric" tab.

PARCHMENT PAPER LINING: I highly recommend not skipping this step. It is highly likely that the cake may break when you try to remove it from the pan if you do. Lining the round pan with parchment paper will make your life so much easier when removing the cakes from the pan, trust me. To do this, trace then cut a circle in the shape of your cake pan out of the parchment paper and place it inside the pans.

MEASURING FLOUR: Either measure your flour using a kitchen scale or use the proper scoop and level method: fluff the flour in the bag/container with a fork then use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then run the back of a knife along the top of the cup to even it out.

BUTTERCREAM: This recipe provides enough buttercream to allow for piping and decorating. If you don'd need that much buttercream, you can make ⅔ of the buttercream recipe, or freeze the leftovers.

Dairy Free Butter: If you are using dairy free butter, the buttercream won't be as firm as traditional buttercream because of the strawberries. If you have access to freeze dried strawberry powder, you can leave out the strawberry filling from the buttercream and add 1¼ cup of freeze dried strawberries, ground into a powder. This will also add more strawberry flavor to the buttercream.

Nutrition