Straightforward Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe

This Strawberry Shortcake Cake is a simple twist on the traditional with layers of moist vanilla cake, juicy strawberries, and fluffy whipped cream. The proper solution to take pleasure in contemporary summer time strawberries!

Strawberry shortcake cake on a serving platter.

This publish is sponsored by Challenge Butter, however all opinions are my very own.

The Greatest Strawberry Shortcake Cake

There’s nothing fairly like summer time strawberries. They’re so juicy and flavorful. I don’t find out about you, however for me, biting right into a candy, ripe strawberry by no means fails to place a smile on my face. Placing this pleasant fruit middle stage in a scrumptious dessert simply is sensible. This shortcake cake does it proper.

This strawberry shortcake cake takes the traditional dessert manufactured from biscuits, strawberries, and whipped cream and turns it into a stupendous layered cake that’s excellent for summer time gatherings. It’s even higher, although, since you don’t have to fret about making particular person biscuits. It’s made up of three important components:

  • Vanilla cake – This vanilla cake is gentle and moist with an important vanilla taste. It makes use of equal quantities of butter and vegetable oil to offer you a cake with an important buttery taste and moisture that lasts for a number of days.
  • Strawberries – Mixed with slightly sugar, they make up the “sauce” that’s drizzled over the cake layers.
  • Home made whipped cream – You’re going to wish to use a stabilized whipped cream, so that you just’re cake doesn’t crumble. I take advantage of powdered sugar to stabilize it and it’ll keep in place for weeks on finish. Your cake received’t final lengthy sufficient to see that, however with the powdered sugar added to your whipped cream, it would undoubtedly make it keep put.

In search of methods to take pleasure in strawberry shortcake? Do this traditional strawberry shortcake recipe with biscuits constructed from scratch! Or, take a look at this straightforward strawberry shortcake trifle.

A slice of strawberry shortcake cake on a plate with a fork near fresh strawberries.

Why You’ll Love This Strawberry Cake Recipe

I really like this straightforward, elegant cake for a lot of causes however right here come a few of my favourite issues about it.

  • Fantastically easy. This recipe is made up of three scrumptious, easy parts none of which overwhelm one another. The vanilla cake, the whipped cream, and the candy strawberries all shine in their very own proper
  • Simpler than the unique. This layered dessert is simply pretty much as good as traditional strawberry shortcake however a lot simpler to throw collectively. As an alternative of baking and filling a mess of particular person biscuits, you solely need to bake 3 cake layers and stack them with macerated strawberries and whipped cream.
  • It received’t weigh you down. This cake is something however heavy. The vanilla cake and the whipped cream are each fluffy and lightweight and the strawberries are so contemporary and brilliant. It’s the right dessert for hotter summer time months.

What You’ll Want

Right here’s a listing of components you’ll want. Take a look on the recipe card beneath for precise measurements.

Ingredients for strawberry shortcake cake; separated.

Cake Layers

  • All-purpose flour – You should use a 1:1 gluten-free flour as a substitute should you’d like.
  • Baking powder – For the right rise and texture.
  • Salt – Salt brings out the flavour of the cake. Don’t go away it out.
  • Unsalted butter – The butter must be at room temperature in any other case it is not going to cream correctly with the oil, sugar, and vanilla, supplying you with a dense cake. Challenge butter is my favourite. It’s so creamy and constructed from the freshest milk. It goes from farm to fridge in simply two days. Plus, there aren’t any progress hormones, synthetic preservatives, fillers, or dyes. Give it a strive.
  • Vegetable oil – The addition of vegetable oil right here makes the cake completely moist.
  • Sugar – For moisture and nice texture.
  • Vanilla extract – For taste.
  • Eggs – Eggs have many capabilities in a cake, together with including construction and moisture.
  • Milk – I like utilizing complete milk or 2%.

Strawberries

  • Contemporary strawberries – The strawberries play the starring position on this dessert, so select correctly. Choose small, brilliant pink berries that odor candy.
  • Sugar – The sugar will draw moisture out of the berries, creating the “sauce”.

Whipped Cream

  • Heavy whipping cream – The heavy whipping cream must be chilly. In any other case, it is not going to whip up or maintain quantity as successfully. Nobody needs a flat whipped cream.
  • Powdered sugar – The powdered sugar helps not solely to sweeten the whipped cream but additionally to stabilize it, maintaining your dessert from collapsing.
  • Vanilla extract – For taste.

How one can Make a Strawberry Shortcake Cake

This cake is straightforward to place along with simply 3 parts. Right here’s do it. Please confer with the recipe card beneath for extra detailed directions.

To make the desserts

  • Prep. Line the underside of three 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles and grease the edges. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Mix the dry components. Whisk collectively the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • Cream. Beat the butter, oil, sugar, and vanilla extract till gentle in coloration and fluffy.
  • Add the eggs one by one, mixing after every addition.
  • Put all of it collectively. Add half of the dry components to the batter. Combine to mix. Slowly add the milk. Combine to mix. Add the remaining dry components. Combine to mix.
  • Bake. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
  • Cool. Cool the desserts of their pans for 2-3 minutes earlier than turning them out onto cooling racks to chill utterly.

For the strawberries

  • Put together the strawberries. Wash, stem, and slice the strawberries.
  • Toss the strawberries along with the sugar.
  • Chill the sugar-coated strawberries within the fridge for at the least 1-2 hours.

Whipped cream and meeting

  • Whip the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract on excessive pace till medium to stiff peaks type.
  • Assemble. Place the primary cake layer on a cake plate. Add a layer of whipped cream. Add half of the strawberries on prime. Repeat with the second cake layer and prime the strawberries with the ultimate cake layer.
  • Adorn the highest of the cake with whipped cream swirls and contemporary strawberries. Drizzle any leftover juices from the strawberries on prime of the cake or over particular person slices.
  • Refrigerate the cake till able to serve.
Strawberry shortcake cake with a slice taken out of it.

Ideas for Success

This cake is straightforward to make, however there are nonetheless a number of issues to bear in mind. Simply comply with the following pointers and tips and also you’ll be in your method.

  • Room temperature butter. You should definitely begin with room-temperature butter. It is not going to cream correctly with the oil, sugar, and vanilla whether it is too chilly or melted.
  • Don’t skimp on the cream time. You should definitely cream the butter, oil, and sugar collectively for the total period of time prescribed within the recipe. It will add air to the cake which can assist it rise.
  • Don’t over-mix. When combining the moist and dry components for the cake batter, it is vital to not over-mix. Over-mixing will trigger the glutens within the flour to over-develop, leaving you with a dense, powerful cake.
  • Choose good strawberries and loads of them. That is strawberry shortcake in spite of everything. You wouldn’t wish to use mediocre fruits because the star ingredient, now would you? Intention for small, brilliant pink strawberries that odor candy. And seize a number of greater than you assume you want. It’s at all times good to have some extras to garnish.
  • Don’t skip the chilliness. After coating the strawberries in sugar, allow them to sit within the fridge for at the least 1-2 hours. The sugar will draw the juices out of the strawberries, making a candy, flavorful syrup that actually takes this cake to the following degree. The longer they sit, the extra juice they launch.
  • Use the powdered sugar. The powdered sugar stabilizes the whipped cream, in order that it doesn’t wilt. It would keep put for days and days.
  • Take pleasure in contemporary. Be happy to make the desserts forward of time however I might wait to make the strawberries and whipped cream and assemble the cake till you’re able to slice and serve.
Side view of strawberry shortcake cake.

How one can Retailer Leftovers

Whereas this dessert is by far greatest served contemporary, you may retailer leftovers to take pleasure in later. Simply observe that the strawberries will get mushy over time. One of the best ways to retailer it’s to seal the cake in an hermetic cake service. In case you don’t have a cake service, wrap the cake in a double layer of plastic wrap. Use toothpicks to prop the plastic away from the whipped cream. Retailer the cake within the fridge for as much as 4 days.

How To Make This Cake Forward

One nice solution to protect the freshness of this cake (should you don’t plan on consuming it straight away) is to make the cake layers beforehand and wait to assemble the cake till you’re able to serve. Retailer the cooled, baked desserts in an air-tight cake service or wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap at room temperature for as much as 1 day or within the freezer for as much as 3 months. The strawberries want an hour or two within the fridge, however I wouldn’t allow them to sit for much longer than that, as they launch extra juices as they sit and might begin to get mushy. If you find yourself able to serve, make the whipped cream and assemble the cake. Thaw the desserts within the fridge first, if relevant.

Extra Straightforward Strawberry Dessert Recipes

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Strawberry shortcake cake on a serving platter.