This delicious from scratch Strawberry Cake recipe has no artificial colors or flavors! 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 flavor 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 flavor 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 flavor. 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 or 5 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 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 extract
- 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.
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.
Allison says
Hi Olivia!
Made the cake, it was delicate and not too sweet. Now I’m attempting different variations of frosting to see which pairing I prefer. If I’m switching out the marscapone and using cream cheese, would it be the same measurements for each ingredient for the frosting?
Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Allison! Let me know how you like it with the CC. I would use the same measurements, but this king of buttercream is very forgiving. You can experiment a bit and add more/less CC or sugar.
Dee mee says
Can I put fondant over this cake because of the marscapone cheese, will it be ok? Can I stack it?
Olivia says
Hi Dee! I’m not sure – I’d compare it to cream cheese frosting so if you can use fondant on that then this should work fine.
Gio Andino says
I would like to try! For know, I’m going to make your buttercream with mascarpone for my daughter’s birthday. Can I use gel coloring. for buttercream without affect texture? Thanks in advance.
Olivia says
Hi Gio! You can but be careful not to overmix the buttercream as the mascarpone can split if too overwhipped.
Eva says
Hi!
The cake looks amazing! And im trying it out today! I was doing it in cups and then measuring it in grams to have it for later. I do have few questions thou.
Do you turn the batter around to cool down or just take it out of the pan and why?
When you measure the flour, do you sift/sieve it and than measure?
If you bake the batter a day or two before how do you recommend to store it. Wrapped in plastic and refrigerate?
Thansks for your help. I love your cakes and the pictures are amazing🙂
Olivia says
Hi Eva! I don’t totally understand your first question. I let the cakes cool for 10mins in the pans and then turn them out to cool completely. Any less time in the pans and they might break when you flip them out. Any more time and they’ll stick to the pans.
I don’t sift my flour before measuring, but be sure to spoon and level the flour into your cups rather than using the cup to scoop it.
For baking in advance, I always recommend wrapping the cakes in plastic wrap and freezing. The fridge tends to dry cakes out but the freezer doesn’t. If only a day or two though they will be fine in fridge or even on the counter. I hope that helps!
Kat says
After reading through the comments, I made sure to not overmix the batter, and I was rewarded with a very soft, delicate crumb. It was not dense or dry or hard at all. Great flavors! Next time, I might sub out some of the vanilla extract in the cake for a bit of natural strawberry extract, just to intensify the strawberry flavor further. I think the mascarpone is perfect to add that bit of tang to contrast with the sweetness of the cake and frosting. Sometimes I feel like cream cheese goes overboard in that department, but the mascarpone definitely provided a happy medium.
Olivia says
Hi Kat! So happy to hear you loved this recipe! I love the mascarpone pairing too 🙂
Wendy Christopher says
This recipe sounds amazing – but do you have any European equivalents for the measurements? We use either ounces or grams, and have no idea how much a ‘cup’ would be. (Especially us Englishers – we even have different sized cups for our tea and coffee. 🙂 )
Olivia says
Hi Wendy! There is a metric converter below the list of ingredients 🙂
April says
My daughter has requested mango and strawberry for her birthday cake. My thought is to adjust or double the recipe and do half with freeze dried mango and half with the strawberry. Do you think that will work? I’ll probably use excess batter for cupcakes.
Olivia says
Hi April! Yes, I think that would work fine! or you could do a berry cake with mango frosting like I have done here: https://livforcake.com/raspberry-mango-cake/
Ciara says
Hi just curious why wouldn’t one want to use cake flour instead of all purpose?
Olivia says
Hi 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
In 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
Hi 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
Do 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
Hi 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
Hi Liv! I was wondering if you thought I could swap out the milk for buttermilk?
Olivia says
Hi Paulina! That should work fine I think. Let me know if you try it!
Yvonne says
Hi Paulina, did u try using buttermilk? I’m considering the same since I have some left over from making a chocolate cake.
Maureen says
Hi! 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
Hi 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
Is there a way to make this gluten free? My niece is allergic to gluten.
Olivia says
Hi Alisha! You can use a GF all-purpose flour blend.
Alisha Lord says
Thank you!
Jenn says
For 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
Thanks so much for the tips Jenn! I hope you liked it 🙂
Regina says
Did 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
Beautiful cake!!! I’m trying this today!!! Also what green herbs did you put on the cake to garnish?
Olivia says
Hi Esther! It’s fresh thyme. I hope you like it!
Jeannie Christian says
I have tried for years to get a strawberry cake just right and the strawberry powder made all the difference. Thank you for this brilliant idea, so much better than the puree. I even used the strawberry powder to make scones.
Olivia says
Hi Jeannie! So happy you loved this. The powder really is a game changer!
Xena says
This 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
Hi 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
I 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
Hi Lindsay! I always portion my cakes into slices, wrap them in plastic wrap, and stick them in a freezer bag 🙂
Lilian says
Is 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
Sorry 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.
Olivia says
i mix and match cakes and frostings. this time i used a different cake recipe with this frosting recipe. i read all the comments ahead of time, and was very cautious in pouring powdered sugar since it specifically said 4 cups. initially i marked by it maybe reduce down to 2 cups. when i started making this buttercream i decided to try sweetness as i go, as my family doesn’t like super sweet cake. i used tablespoons to measure out cups. i only used about 9 TBS of powdered sugar and the buttercream came out pretty nicely. 9 TBS is less than one cup….. our sugar preference may not be typical, but i would suggest to measure out sugar either tablespoon by tablespoon, or cup by cup to find your own preferred sweet level. other than this tweak, this frosting worked out really nicely and i love the strong strawberry flavor infused into it with freeze dried strawberries. thanks Olivia for the recipe!
Olivia says
Hi Olivia! Thanks so much for all your tips! So glad you liked it 🙂
natalie waldron says
Hi 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
Hi 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
Hi 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
Hi 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!