Stunning, fresh and beautiful! This Strawberry Shortcake Cake is loaded with fresh strawberries and whipped cream cheese frosting. It’s the perfect cake for any summer gathering.
You know summer is approaching when you see the shelves of the produce section packed with fresh fruit. This is another reason why I love summer! I love experimenting with fresh fruit in my recipes.
Strawberries are an all-time favorite fruit of mine, and once summer hits, I love using them in any recipe. I can remember back to when I was a kid, my dad just loved strawberry shortcake. My mom did too and thus we often has this delicious treat after dinner in the summer.
We recently celebrated my mom’s birthday so I replicated a favorite cake of hers that my dad used to order for her birthday. Strawberry shortcake cake that we all thoroughly enjoyed. It’s stunning and absolutely delicious. This cake is great anytime and your guests will love it!
Strawberry Shortcake Cake-Ingredients
Milk, vegetable oil, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, vanilla extract, almond extract, butter, eggs.
Shortcake Cake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut parchment paper for the bottom of three 9 inch cake pans. Spray the sides with baking spray with flour.
- Mix dry ingredients together.
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Add oil, vanilla and almond extract and beat until combined.
6. Drop eggs in one at a time and beat after each addition.
7. Add 1/2 the dry ingredients with 1/2 the milk and beat-repeat.
8. Divide batter evenly between three pans.
9. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
10. Cool completely in pans before removing.
Strawberry Filling
Wash and cut one, 16oz container, of strawberries and add to a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and let sit for 1-2 hours. Wash and dry the other container of leaving strawberries whole with stems on for the top of the cake.
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting/Filling
Using a hand mixer, put the cream cheese in a large bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat. Add 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar with 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and beat. Add the other cup of heavy whipping cream and beat until smooth.
Glaze for the Strawberries
In a small pan over low-medium heat, add 1/4 cup of water, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Stir until dissolved.
In a small bowl mix 3/4 teaspoon with 1 tablespoon of water.
Add mixture to pan and stir over medium heat until thick.
Building the Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Place the first layer of cake on a plate. Add a thick layer of the whipped cream cheese frosting/filling, and spread to the outer edges. (I use a flat cake decorating knife, but a butter knife will do).
Next add about 1/2 the strawberries to the cake.
Repeat until all the layers are done.
For the final layer, using a piping bag with a large star tip, swirl dollops of frosting. Lay the full strawberry on the top of the dollop. Taking a silicone brush, paint the glaze over the fruit on the top of the cake. This makes the strawberries shine and adds a sweetness to them as well.
Refrigerate until you are ready to serve. For best results, put the cake together the day you are going to serve it.
For other fruit desserts try my:
“Easy as Pie” Cherry Turnovers
Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Equipment
- Three 9 inch round cake pans
- Stand Mixer
- hand mixer
- Small stove top pan
Ingredients
Strawberry Shortcake Cake
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup milk
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting/Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
Glaze for Strawberries
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp water
Strawberry Filling for the Layers/Top of the Cake
- 2 16oz container of strawberries divided, one for the filling, one for the top of cake
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Instructions
Strawberry Shortcake Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare three 9 inch round cake pans, cut parchment paper in three circles and add to bottom of cake pan. Spray pan sides with baking spray with flour.
- In a bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking powder.
- Using a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add vegetable oil, vanilla and almond extracts.
- Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined.
- Add 1/2 dry ingredients and 1/2 milk and beat.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients and remaining milk and beat until smooth-do not over mix.
- Divide evenly between the three cake pans.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
- Cool completely in pan.
Strawberry Filling
- Wash and dry one 16 oz container of strawberries, leaving them whole with the stems on. Set aside.
- Using the other 16 oz container, wash and cut the strawberries into slices. Place them into a large bowl
- Add 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and mix.
- Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. The longer you let sit the more juices you will get.
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting/Filling
- Just before you are ready to put your cake together, make the whipped cream cheese frosting.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and pure vanilla extract.
- Add powdered sugar and 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and beat well.
- Add the other cup of the heavy whipping cream and beat until smooth. Frosting should be thick and fluffy.
Glaze for Strawerries (top of cake)
- In a small pan, over low-medium heat, add water, vanilla and sugar stir until sugar is dissolved.
- In a small bowl, add cornstartch. Add water and stir until completely combined and smooth.
- Add the corn starch mixture to the pan. Over medium heat, stir continuously until thickened.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
Building the Strawberry Shortcake Cake
- Remove cake from pan and place on a plate.
- Add a thick layer of the whipped cream cheese frosting/filling and spread evenly to the outer edges. (use a flat decorating knife if you have one, but a butter knife will do).
- Add 1/2 of the strawberry filling to the cake layer.
- Repeat until all layers are done.
- For the final layer, using a piping bag with a large star tip, swirl dollops of frosting all around the outer edge of the top layer of the cake. Using the other 16 oz container lay a full washed and dried strawberry on top of the dollop.
- Taking a silicone brush, paint on glaze over the strawberries on the top of the cake. This makes the strawberries shiny and adds sweetness as well.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- For best results, put together the cake the day you are going to serve it.
How tall is this cake? I’m trying to find the right cake stand and cover to ensure the cake fits and there is no smudging of the top & sides.
It is approximately 8 inches high. It will depend on how thick your icing layers are and how big the strawberries on top are.
Thank you for your response. One other question…unless I missed it, the recipe doesn’t say how many strawberries to have. Is there a specific amount you recommend?
Thanks! Approximately 2 16oz containers 1 for the filling and another on for the top. Sorry about that missing we will update the recipe.