This delicious from scratch Strawberry Cake recipe has no artificial colors or flavours! Paired with fresh strawberries and mascarpone buttercream.
“Blue Monday is a name given to a day in January (typically the third Monday of the month) claimed to be the most depressing day of the year.” (source: Wikipedia).
Well, here we are, the third week in January. We’re dealing with post-holiday doldrums, crappy weather (in most places), and NY resolutions that you’ve likely already broken or cheated on (it’s ok, happens to everyone). Are you feeling it? I know I certainly am.
Further in the article… “The date is generally reported as falling on the third Monday in January, but also on the second or fourth Monday, or the Monday of the last full week of January.” So, every Monday in January? Sounds about right!
This time of year is always challenging for me, so I try to focus on some bright and vibrant things to bake (you know, to help with those resolutions!). Today, I’m bringing you this cheery Strawberry Cake with Mascarpone Buttercream!
How to make this Strawberry Cake recipe
A strawberry cake recipe has been on my radar since last year, but it kept getting postponed. I thought this would be the perfect way to say goodbye to the holidays and look ahead to better, non-January times.
Initially, I was planning on using pureed fresh strawberries in this cake and frosting, but I wanted to try something different to give it a more intense strawberry flavour and color (without using something like Jell-O or artificial color gel). I knew that fresh strawberries would not give me the result I wanted, so I decided to hunt down some freeze-dried strawberries.
It is ridiculously hard to find freeze-dried strawberries in Vancouver. I checked like 5 or 6 stores before giving up and ordering them online from Amazon. Apparently they are available on every corner in the US (exaggerating, but still). They are available in most grocery stores and you can get them for a deal at Trader Joe’s. I wish we had a Trader Joe’s here!!
Is there a difference between freeze-dried and dehydrated fruit?
Freeze-dried fruit is different from dehydrated fruit. Dehydration, which typically involves slicing fruit and then dehydrating it in an oven or a food dehydrator, removes about 90% of the moisture. Freeze drying, which involves freezing the sliced fruit (which releases more moisture) and vacuuming out the moisture, removes about 98%.
Though that may not seem like a huge difference, you cannot use regular dehydrated fruit in place of freeze dried in most recipes (including this one).
Freeze-dried fruit is less perishable, but often more expensive than dehydrated due to the process. And it is perfect for baking!! The flavour and colors that come through are amazing. I’ll probably still scour the stores here to see if I can come across some raspberries or blueberries to give them a try.
I bought sliced freeze dried strawberries because I wanted to chop some up for garnish, but you could just by freeze-dried strawberry powder for ease. I put the strawberry powder in both the cake layers and the frosting.
Initially I was going to pair this cake with a cream cheese frosting, but I decided to do mascarpone for something different but equally delicious. If you don’t like mascarpone, you could totally do a cream cheese frosting or even an American Butterceam or Swiss Meringue. All would work perfectly well.
I used whole eggs in this Strawberry Cake recipe, but using just egg whites would take away the yellowish tint from the layers. Either works perfectly fine, it’s just a matter of preference. I just didn’t want to waste good yolks! Use 5 large egg whites instead of 3 whole eggs if you’d like to go this route.
I sliced fresh strawberries to put in between the layers, but should have sliced them thicker. I used my food processor for ease, but should have adjusted the setting — oh well! Learn from my mistakes, people. Cut your strawberries thicker, and press them into the frosting between the layers.
This cake has an intense and wonderful strawberry flavour. The mascarpone buttercream is a perfect match. If you are a strawberry fan, you will LOVE it.
More Berry Cake Recipes you might like:
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cake
- Raspberry Mango Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Blueberry Banana Cake
- Chocolate Raspberry Cake
- Chocolate Strawberry Cake
Tips for making this Strawberry Cake recipe:
- The recipe as-is will also work in two 8″ pans. For three 8″ pans, 1.5x the recipe.
- To make cupcakes, all you need to do is reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so.
- You can purchase freeze-dried strawberry powder instead of whole freeze-dried strawberries, if it’s easier to find. Do not use dehydrated strawberries — they must be freeze-dried.
- If you like, you can add some pink or red color gel to the cake batter to make the color more vibrant.
- You can use 5 large egg whites instead of 3 large eggs so the yolks don’t affect the color.
- In hindsight, I should have either cut my strawberries thicker or added more of them between the layers. The thickness or amount is up to you, but note that adding too much can make the cake a bit unstable and hard to stack (it will slide around) — try to press the berries into the frosting to avoid this.
- I added in the strawberry dust from the bottom of the freeze-dried strawberry container into the frosting, as I wanted some seeds showing throughout it.
- Learn how to keep your cakes moist using Simple Syrup.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, see my Flat Top Cakes post.
Strawberry Cake with Mascarpone Buttercream
Ingredients
Freeze-Dried Strawberry Powder
- 3 oz freeze-dried strawberries approx. 4.5 cups *
Strawberry Cake:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberry powder
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups milk room temperature
Strawberry Mascarpone Buttercream:
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 6 oz mascarpone cheese room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup freeze-dried strawberry powder more if desired
Assembly:
- 6 large fresh strawberries thinly sliced
- freeze-dried strawberries finely chopped, optional
- thyme sprigs optional
Instructions
Strawberry Powder
- Pulse freeze-dried strawberries in a coffee grinder or food processor to a fine powder. Pass through a fine mesh strainer. Measure out 1/2 cup for the cake batter and 6 Tbsp for the frosting (more if desired). Set aside.
Strawberry Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 6" cake rounds and line with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, 1/2 cup strawberry powder, baking powder, and salt. Sift to ensure it's well combined. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins). Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition.
- Bake for 35-40 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
- Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.
Strawberry Mascarpone Buttercream:
- Beat butter until smooth. Add mascarpone cheese and beat until smooth and combined.
- Slowly add in powdered sugar (1/2 cup at a time). Add vanilla and 1 Tbsp cream and beat on med-high for 5mins. Reduce speed to low and beat for 2mins. Add more cream if desired.
- Strawberry powder to be added during assembly below.
Assembly:
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with approximately 1 cup of buttercream, spread evenly. Top with a thin layer of sliced strawberries.**
- Repeat with remaining layer and apply a thin layer of frosting all over to crumb coat the cake. Chill for 20mins.
- While cake is chilling, add 1/4 cup strawberry powder to the remaining frosting. Beat to combine.***
- Frost the top and sides of the cake and smooth with an icing scraper. Using a 1M tip, pipe dollop ruffles onto the top of the cake. If desired, sprinkle top with chopped freeze-dried strawberries and garnish with thyme sprigs.
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Notes
** The thickness or amount is up to you, but note that adding too much can make the cake a bit unstable and hard to stack -- try to press the berries into the frosting.
*** I also added in the strawberry powder from the bottom of the freeze-dried strawberry container as I wanted some seeds throughout the frosting.
Ciara says
February 28, 2019 at 5:24 AMHi just curious why wouldn’t one want to use cake flour instead of all purpose?
Olivia says
March 1, 2019 at 9:51 AMHi Ciara! You can use cake flour if you like. I find most people have AP flour in their kitchens rather than cake flour, so I tailor my recipes to that.
Melanie says
February 3, 2019 at 1:53 PMIn the process of pre baking and freezing ahead for my daughter’s bday party. I’m thinking about adapting the flavors a bit. Is the mascarpone frosting sweet enough to balance a small amount of lemon curd between layers in lieu of fresh strawberries? As A side note I love a dense cake which is what I got in baking. I did have some cracking but I’m assuming that is moreso due to my oven (we’re in a love hate relationship these days) I also split this between 9 in cake pans.
Olivia says
February 6, 2019 at 1:27 PMHi Melanie! The cracking would be due to an oven that might be too hot — do you have an oven thermometer to test if the temp is off? I have a love/hate relationship with my oven too!! The mascarpone is pretty mild (not as tart as cream cheese) so I think it would work well with lemon. If you’re concerned though, you could just swap more butter instead of the mascarpone.
Sherry Sprich says
February 1, 2019 at 9:24 AMDo you measure out the 3 cups of freeze dried strawberries whole/straight from the bag, or do you blend them down to powder form first then measure 3 cups?
Olivia says
February 1, 2019 at 1:47 PMHi Sherry! The 3 cups is *whole* freeze-dried strawberries that you blend down to a powder and measure out from that for the rest of the recipe.
Paulina says
January 16, 2019 at 6:40 AMHi Liv! I was wondering if you thought I could swap out the milk for buttermilk?
Olivia says
January 16, 2019 at 4:33 PMHi Paulina! That should work fine I think. Let me know if you try it!
Yvonne says
February 13, 2019 at 4:38 PMHi Paulina, did u try using buttermilk? I’m considering the same since I have some left over from making a chocolate cake.
Maureen says
January 2, 2019 at 6:59 AMHi! May I ask if I were to swap the freeze-dried strawberries with strawberry Nesquik do I need to cut down some of the sugar?
Olivia says
January 2, 2019 at 2:11 PMHi Maureen! I’m not sure how using Nesquik will affect the overall texture of the cake, but yes, I would reduce some of the sugar if you try that.
Alisha Lord says
December 10, 2018 at 10:16 AMIs there a way to make this gluten free? My niece is allergic to gluten.
Olivia says
December 10, 2018 at 4:53 PMHi Alisha! You can use a GF all-purpose flour blend.
Alisha Lord says
December 11, 2018 at 7:42 AMThank you!
Jenn says
September 2, 2018 at 1:07 PMFor those asking about 9” pans, I just made this and made 1 1/2 batches of cake batter for 3 9” cake layers. I had two small bags of freeze dried strawberries that yielded exactly enough for the cakes AND icing. I did not have to make extra icing, although I didn’t pipe on top. Very excited to try the cake tomorrow. The batter tasted delicious. And unlike most American buttercreams, it wasn’t too sweet- the addition of marscapone helps with that.
Olivia says
September 4, 2018 at 3:23 PMThanks so much for the tips Jenn! I hope you liked it 🙂
Regina says
February 12, 2019 at 1:41 PMDid you bake for the time indicated in the recipe when using 9″ pans? I want to make this for a friend’s birthday on Saturday
Esther says
August 22, 2018 at 7:18 AMBeautiful cake!!! I’m trying this today!!! Also what green herbs did you put on the cake to garnish?
Olivia says
August 24, 2018 at 5:23 PMHi Esther! It’s fresh thyme. I hope you like it!
Xena says
July 24, 2018 at 5:13 AMThis recipe looks awesome – do you think I can make it in a sheet pan i.e 9X13 and adjust the cooking time?
I’m also from Canada and found freeze dried strawberries online at Walmart Canada. Hope that helps!
Olivia says
July 24, 2018 at 9:38 AMHi Xena! Thanks for the tip about Walmart! I think it will work fine in a 9×13 pan, though the layer might be a bit thinner, so definitely adjust the baking time 🙂
Lindsay says
June 6, 2018 at 8:18 PMI love all your cakes! About to try this and Pina colada for my daughters 16th. Do you have any recommendations for freezing them after made?
Olivia says
June 11, 2018 at 1:32 PMHi Lindsay! I always portion my cakes into slices, wrap them in plastic wrap, and stick them in a freezer bag 🙂
Lilian says
June 4, 2018 at 5:08 AMIs this cake supposed to taste nauseatingly sweet? I made it for a birthday party and people didn’t finish their slices saying it was way too sweet. I tried it and it tasted like I was eating jam on cookies with butter, definitely not a fresh summer cake like described above. four cups of powdered sugar in the icing alone? Cmon. At least it was pretty, I am a bit emberassed to this day when I remeber that birthday party.
Olivia says
June 5, 2018 at 4:22 PMSorry to hear this wasn’t to your liking! 4 cups of powdered sugar is actually much less than a typical American buttercream would have. Perhaps you’d prefer meringue frostings better.
natalie waldron says
June 2, 2018 at 3:00 AMHi Olivia,
This cake looks amazing! thank you for the recipe. May I ask if you use freeze-dried powders in your personal time too, for yogurts or smoothies or milkshakes etc? Or do you just like them for baking?
I’m curious because I just see them for just baking at the moment. I would like to start a line of them, but for all uses. Would be great to hear your thoughts if you have the time.
Many thanks,
Natalie
Olivia says
June 5, 2018 at 4:07 PMHi Natalie! I’ve only used them for baking so far, but I think they would be delicious in smoothies, ice cream, etc.
Stephanie N says
May 28, 2018 at 4:40 AMHi Olivia! Thank you for this recipe! I just made (yesterday) a strawberry cake with freeze dried strawberries (3 cups) and fresh Purée (2 cups). It was way too intense in flavor, and the texture was very dense. I’m excited to try this recipe omitting the purée, as I think it was make a better flavored, less dense cake!
Will let you know how it turns out!
Olivia says
May 29, 2018 at 5:32 PMHi Stephanie! The puree would definitely have a huge impact on the texture, especially that much of it :\ I hope it’s better the second time around!
Robin says
May 27, 2018 at 3:45 PMI just made this recipe and still have to assemble so I’m not sure how it has turned out. My cakes looked great out of the oven. I let the cool slightly then turned them out. I just went in to check them and the middle of each cake has sunk in. Any idea what could have caused this? I believe they got bake through, my toothpick was clean and they were pulling away from the pan.
Olivia says
May 29, 2018 at 5:31 PMHi Robin! I find that with the freeze-dried berries I need to cook my cakes a little bit longer. How much did they sink? Are you at high altitude by chance?
Danielle says
May 20, 2018 at 1:08 AMCan i put the whole cake in the refrigerator until ready?
Olivia says
May 25, 2018 at 3:40 PMHi Danielle! Yes, that will work fine. Take it out 2-3 hours before serving.
Kelly says
May 13, 2018 at 12:05 AMOk I tried to bake this cake. I am a novice baker so this was my first time with 6″ pans and the cake strips and I did 5 egg whites. My cakes turned out raw. They looked done and toothpick came out clean. I just don’t have a clue what happened. Do I need to bake longer with cake strips? I baked for 38 minutes.
Olivia says
May 17, 2018 at 2:57 PMHi Kelly! Yes sometimes you need to increase the baking time when using the strips. Oven temperatures vary too, so that could be a factor as well. Wait until the cake starts to just pull away from the pans and springs back when you press it lightly.
Charlene LiuChen says
May 10, 2018 at 7:28 PMHow fluffy and moist are these cakes? I’m concerned about it being a little dry
Olivia says
May 11, 2018 at 3:11 PMHi Charlene! They should not be dry if properly baked, but they are a bit on the denser side. You could always brush them with simple syrup if you want them extra moist 🙂
Rachelle says
November 11, 2018 at 6:26 PMHi Olivia
Mine came out a litt Dry also. Can you please tell me how to make a simple syrup for this cake, please
Olivia says
November 13, 2018 at 2:01 PMHi Rachelle! For a simple syrup all you need is to boil equal parts of sugar and water for about 3mins, then cool completely. I hope that helps!
Kelly says
May 6, 2018 at 6:20 PMHey Liv, Is it possible to replace the mascarpone cheese with goat cheese?
Olivia says
May 7, 2018 at 5:08 PMHi Kelly! I’m not sure that would work well as the texture is quite different, I think? You can give it a try though, but make sure the cheese is at room temperature.
Erin says
April 24, 2018 at 2:27 PMHi! I want to use this cake batter recipe to make cupcakes. Do you know how many regular sized cupcakes this recipe will make and can I substitute with other freeze dried fruit such as mango? Thanks!
Olivia says
April 24, 2018 at 2:36 PMHi Erin! I haven’t made this into cupcakes but I would guess about 20 depending on the size? And yes, you can totally use any freeze-dried fruit!
Timm says
April 4, 2018 at 8:05 PMHello! This cake looks awesome. Can you tell me if other other cake tin sizes would work? As in larger rounds. Would this be enough batter for two 8 or 9 inch rounds? Going to attempt to make this for my mothers birthday on Friday. Thank you!
Olivia says
April 5, 2018 at 4:40 PMHi Timm! Yes, this recipe would work as is in two 8″ pans. It would work in 9″ too but the layers would be quite a bit thinner.
Sammi Harasymchuk says
March 31, 2018 at 7:46 PMHi,
When you measure out your ingredients, are you weighing them or doing the spoon and scoop method? I weighed them for this recipe and my cake turned out to be dense and too moist, but cooked through. I’m just wondering if I had the measurements wrong. Every time I have a baking fail, I want to know why! It’s definitely something on my end because your cake in the pictures are perfect! P.s I’m a big fan girl since discovering your blog a few weeks ago!
Olivia says
April 2, 2018 at 3:15 PMHi Sammi! So glad to have you following!! 😀 I usually fluff up my flour and then scoop it. It would be more accurate to spoon and level, but I just can’t be bothered.
When you made this recipe, did you use the metric conversion button below the ingredients or did you convert on your own? Also, did you use freeze-dried strawberries and everything else exactly as listed (at room temp)? I have to ask to help identify the issue!
If everything was followed correctly then perhaps the batter was overmixed? That’s often one of the main culprits for dense cakes. I only mix mine until the flour is just barely incorporated and often do the last little bits by hand.
Laura says
November 9, 2018 at 7:24 AMI was disappointed that I had the same issue. It was not terribly dry but an extremely dense more like a quick bread than cake. Frosting was amazing. I used homemade stawberry preserves as filling with the freeze dried strawberries. NOt sure I will make this again.
Angela says
March 25, 2018 at 11:43 AMI’m excited to try this recipe! I just purchased 12 .71 ounce bags from the dollar tree online for $12.00. Amazon is selling the identical item for $12.00 for three bags! Now that I have my freeze dried strawberries I’m ready to try this gorgeous cake!
Olivia says
March 26, 2018 at 2:55 PMAwesome!! I hope you like it 😀
Jenny says
March 25, 2018 at 9:02 AMThanks for this recipe! I just finished making it this morning and will serve it this afternoons! I didn’t have 6″ pans, so I used 2-9″ pans and it turned out lovely. We are practically neighbors, except I’m just across the border. I bought my freeze-dried berries at Bellingham Trader Joe’s for $3.69/1.2 oz bag. I just bought 2 bags but had more than enough for the recipe!
Olivia says
March 25, 2018 at 10:55 AMHi Jenny! You are so lucky to have a trader joes close by! I snagged some bags of freeze-dried berries when I was there recently. So glad you liked this cake!!
Meg says
March 17, 2018 at 8:32 AMMade for my daughter’s BIrthday. IT was a big hit
Olivia says
March 21, 2018 at 3:38 PMSo glad you liked it Meg!
Leandi says
March 25, 2018 at 4:20 AMThis is a beautiful cake. Do you think I would be able to put fondant on this cake and frosting ?
Olivia says
March 25, 2018 at 10:54 AMHi Leandi! The frosting is a bit on the softer side, so I would definitely refrigerate it before doing the fondant. I don’t do fondant cakes though, so you may want to sanity check that with someone else!
Joanna says
September 23, 2018 at 9:40 AMI would use a different icing- a swiss or italian meringue buttercream would be best so it doesnt get too sweet. Good luck!
Kim says
March 12, 2018 at 8:12 AMI made this over the weekend for a get-together with some friends and it was a huge hit. It was stunning and absolutely delicious. Loved it!
Olivia says
March 12, 2018 at 10:03 AMSo glad you guys liked it Kim!
Sarah says
March 10, 2018 at 1:23 PMThis cake is so pretty! You might want to know: I found freeze dried strawberry powder at Gourmet Warehouse in Vancouver. You probably checked there, but were still looking for the whole freeze dried berries. I also recently tried making French buttercream with a homemade raspberry curd mixed into it to flavour it, and that was absolutely amazing. I imagine you could do the same with strawberries, so I will try that and let you know how it works! Do you ever make French buttercream? It’s my new favourite thing!
Olivia says
March 11, 2018 at 3:48 PMHi Sarah! Yes! I had just seen the freeze-dried berries there a few weeks ago! I bought some blueberries 🙂 I’ve only made French buttercream once here (https://livforcake.com/french-opera-cake/), but it was SO good that I have to try it again 🙂
Manju says
February 17, 2018 at 4:18 AMHi, what’s the alternative to the freeze dried fruit?. I get only fresh strawberries. Can I use puree?
Olivia says
February 18, 2018 at 4:01 PMHi Manju, no puree won’t work with this recipe, only freeze-dried. You can try the puree in the frosting though like I did here:
https://livforcake.com/chocolate-strawberry-cake/
Alyssa says
February 7, 2018 at 10:10 AMHi! Do you think the 1/2 cup of freeze dried strawberry powder could be added to any vanilla cake recipe without altering the moisture/texture??
Olivia says
February 9, 2018 at 9:56 AMHi Alyssa! What I did was alter my fave vanilla cake recipe – I added 1/2cup freeze dried strawberries and increased the milk by 1/2cup to compensate. Not sure if the extra milk was necessary, but it worked out!
Kiesha says
February 6, 2018 at 6:16 AMI love Trader Joes, but it is about 50 miles from me, so I rarely go🙁. Going to have to make a trip though because one small bag of freeze dried berries in most stores is 4-6 bucks…… and that bag will only make about 1/4 cup powder, if that. That would make this cake cost prohibitive for me☹. I even looked into a freeze drier lol. Quickly abandoned that idea.
Olivia says
February 9, 2018 at 9:51 AMLOL, I don’t blame you — they are pricey for sure!! Lucky that you have a Trader Joes down there 🙂 Let me know if you try this one!
Harriet says
February 12, 2018 at 10:38 PMAldis and Target ($3.49) sell the bags of freeze dried fruit.
Olivia says
February 14, 2018 at 3:16 PMThanks for the tip, Harriet!!
L.Conner says
January 31, 2018 at 4:39 PMHello Liv-
Are you using 6” “Fat Daddy’s”?
Olivia says
January 31, 2018 at 4:53 PMHi! Yes, 6″ round and 2″ tall. 3″ tall would work too though.
L.Conner says
February 2, 2018 at 4:15 PMGreat, Thanks.? Also, which attachment did you use for the frosting?
Olivia says
February 5, 2018 at 3:33 PMI used the paddle on my KitchenAid 🙂
Zana says
January 17, 2018 at 5:25 PMHi Olivia
I watched your video tips just now. It’s a good tips. But where can i get the cake strip?
Olivia says
January 17, 2018 at 5:35 PMHi Zana! You can find them here: http://amzn.to/2ESTDaF
Nancy says
January 15, 2018 at 1:02 PMThis looks so yummy! I’m going to make this for my sister’s birthday in a couple weeks! I am so sad that you don’t have Trader Joe’s! Are you close enough to the border that you can do to Bellingham? I think that Target has a variety of freeze dried fruits as well, I seem to remember seeing them while shopping awhile ago. Thank you for the recipe and brightening this most depressing day!
Olivia says
January 15, 2018 at 2:43 PMHi Nancy! I really should head across the border to get some — Bellingham is not that far — but the exchange rate isn’t the best. Still though, I’ve actually ever been to a Trader Joe’s before so I should head down just to check it out! We used to have a Target here, but it’s gone 🙁 Another reason for me to head across the border I suppose! I hope you and your sister like this recipe! Please let me know how it turns out 🙂
Lorraine Parente says
January 15, 2018 at 10:44 AMI noticed all your layer cakes are made in 6 inch round pans, which I do not have. Could they be made in one 6 or 7 inch pan that is 4 inches tall which I could then cut into the 3 layers?
Olivia says
January 15, 2018 at 2:39 PMHi Lorraine! One 6″ pan that is 4″ tall might not be tall enough for all of the batter. You could try it with a 7×4″ though, and just be sure to not fill it more than 2/3rds full. Let me know how it turns out!