If you are looking for a show stopping cake, this white layer cake is perfect! With a delicious strawberry filling, the vanilla cake is topped with whipped cream frosting for a wonderful dessert center piece.
Strawberry Filled White Layer Cake
Let’s be honest, cake is never a bad idea, and this white layer cake is such a treat! Pretty straight forward to make, this vanilla cake is so light and fluffy and the fresh strawberry filling is, for want of a better phrase, the icing on the cake!
This is a great occasion cake that’s perfect to serve up for Christmas or Valentine’s and is an elegant birthday cake too.
For more show stopping cakes, be sure to check out my Black Magic Chocolate Cake and Velvet Chocolate Cake Recipe with Chocolate Ganache Icing.
Why you’ll love this White Layer Cake Recipe:
- Simple: Although this cake looks super impressive, it only takes about 20 minutes to prep it.
- Make ahead: The elements of this cake can easily be made ahead of time, perfect if you are planning to serve it as a dessert for a big feast.
- Delicious! The vanilla sponge cake is wonderfully light, fluffy and moist and the strawberry filling is perfectly fresh and sweet. The whipped cream frosting is rich and creamy.
How to Make White Layer Cake with Strawberry Filling
You can jump to the recipe card for full ingredients & instructions!
For the strawberry filling
- Cook the strawberries in the cornstarch mixture with sugar and lightly mash them.
- Cook until the sauce thickens.
- Add lemon juice.
- Let cool and store.
For the whipped cream frosting
- Beat the whipping cream until thickened.
- Beat together the rest of the ingredients in another bowl.
- Add the whipped cream to the other ingredients until firm peaks form.
For the cake
- Sift the flour into a bowl, set aside.
- Cream together the butter, coconut oil, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Mix in the egg whites.
- Slowly ad in the flour and buttermilk.
- Divide the batter into cake pans and bake.
To fill and frost
- Place a cake layer on a plate or cake stand and spread the frosting evenly on top.
- Add the strawberry filling.
- Add the next layer of cake and top again with the frosting and strawberries.
- Frost the sides of the cake.
- Arrange strawberry halves on top.
Make it ahead of time
Although it may seem like a lot to make it one go, you can either make it and serve it on the same day or make the different elements ahead of time and build it the day you want to serve it.
- Strawberry filling: Can be made up to 5 days ahead.
- Frosting: Can be made 6 hours ahead.
- Cakes: Make these 24hours ahead of time.
How long does it keep?
This white layer cake is best served within six hours of you constructing it. If you do have leftovers, keep them covered in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. It will dry out a little but it will still be pretty delicious!
Can you make this a 3 layer cake?
I made this a 2 layered cake, but you can easily turn it into 3 or even 4 layers. Use 3 8×3-inch aluminum pans for a 3 layer cake and 4 for a 4 layered. You can use the same amount of ingredients.
Tips!
- Don’t over mix the cake batter, the dry ingredients should be just combined.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the tins so that the layers cook all the way through at the same time.
- For the base White Layer Cake we used Stella Parks’ recipe for White Mountain Layer Cake, and in my humble opinion, it is the BEST white cake recipe – ever! I am not exaggerating or kidding. It is phenomenal. Thank you, Stella Parks! You can find her book HERE.
- Serve the cake within 6 hours of making it.
This cake makes such a great dessert for Valentine’s Day, Easter, anniversaries, and birthdays!
More Cake Recipes
If you like the recipe below, be sure to check out our other fave cake recipes!
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe.
Recipe
White Layer Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting and Strawberry Filling
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Serves16 slices
If you are looking for a show stopping cake, this white layer cake is perfect! With a delicious strawberry filling, the vanilla cake is topped with whipped cream frosting for a wonderful dessert center piece.
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Filling (Make ahead 2 hours to 5 days ahead)
- 2½ pounds fresh strawberries 1,134 grams, washed, stemmed, and divided
- 1 cup water 227 grams
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch 21 grams
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100 grams
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice 28 grams, from 1 lemon
- Red food coloring if needed and/or desired
For the Whipped Cream Frosting (It may be made up to 6 hours ahead.)
- 4 cups heavy whipping cream 908 grams (1 quart)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar 85 grams, divided
- 16 ounces cream cheese 454 grams, room temperature (2 bricks)
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract 6 grams
- ¾ teaspoon almond extract 3 grams
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the White Layer Cake
- 4 cups bleached cake flour 454 grams (16 ounces), such as Swan's Down
- 8 ounces unsalted butter 226 grams (2 sticks), pliable but cool (about 65°F)
- ⅔ cup virgin coconut oil 113 grams (4 ounces), solid but room temperature
- 2¼ cups granulated sugar 454 grams (16 ounces)
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder 10 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda 6 grams
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt (half as much if using table salt)
- 1 cup egg whites 241 grams, room temperature (8½ ounces, from about 8 large eggs)
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract 8 grams
- 1 teaspoon almond extract 4 grams
- 2 cups cultured low-fat buttermilk 454 grams (16 ounces), room temperature
- 1 pound fresh strawberries 454 grams, washed, dried, hulled and halved
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
Instructions
For the Strawberry Filling
- Rough-chop 1½ pounds (about 3 cups) strawberries.2½ pounds fresh strawberries
- Halve the remaining 1 pound of strawberries and reserve for the topping.
- In a large saucepan, whisk together the water and cornstarch until smooth.1 cup water, 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- Add strawberries, sugar, and salt; stir well.½ cup granulated sugar, ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring often. After the strawberries cook about 3 minutes, mash about half of them.
- Continue cooking and stirring the mixture until thickened, about 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Add lemon juice and stir well.2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- If desired, add red food coloring; stir well.Red food coloring
- Pour the mixture into a heat-resistant, airtight refrigerator container. Cool to room temperature, stir, cover and refrigerate until ready to use (at least 2 hours and up to 5 days).
For the Whipped Cream Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the whipping cream on medium-high speed until thickened. Add ½ cup powdered sugar and whisk until very stiff peaks form. Set aside.4 cups heavy whipping cream, ¾ cup powdered sugar
- Place cream cheese, ¼ cup powdered sugar, vanilla, almond, and salt in another mixing bowl. Whisk on medium-high speed for 4 minutes, scraping downs the sides as needed, until creamy and fluffy.16 ounces cream cheese, 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract, ¾ teaspoon almond extract, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Add the whipped cream and whisk, on low speed, until fully incorporated.
- Increase the speed to medium-high and whisk until light and fluffy and the mixture has firm peaks.
- Keep refrigerated in an airtight container up to 24 hours
For the White Layer Cake
- Adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.
- Line 2 (if making a 4-layer cake) and 3 (if making a 3-layer cake) 8×3-inch aluminum cake pans with parchment and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl; set aside.4 cups bleached cake flour
- Add butter, coconut oil, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment. Set the mixer to low to moisten, then switch to medium speed and cream until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping as needed.8 ounces unsalted butter, ⅔ cup virgin coconut oil, 2¼ cups granulated sugar, 2½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- With the mixer running, add egg whites, one at a time.1 cup egg whites
- Add vanilla and almond extracts and mix 30 seconds.2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Scrape down the bowl and paddle.
- Set mixer to low speed and slowly add one-third of the flour, followed by one-third of the buttermilk. Mix just until each addition is roughly incorporated. Add the remaining flour and milk, alternately, one-third of each at a time. Mix just until smooth.2 cups cultured low-fat buttermilk
- Turn off the mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape all dry ingredients from the bottom. Mix on low speed just until dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake about 40 minutes or until the cakes internal temperature registers 210°F. The cakes should be pale, brown around the edges and firm. A toothpick inserted in the middle of each cake should come out almost clean – with just a few crumbs attached.
- Transfer cakes to a wire rack and cool 15 minutes. Remove cakes from the pans and remove the parchment. Return them to the wire racks to cool completely.
- If not serving the cake within a couple of hours, wrap the cake layers tightly with plastic wrap up to 24 hours ahead. Keep the frosting and filling refrigerated until ready to frost.
Assembly
- If the Whipped Cream Frosting is too stiff to spread, leave it on the counter for about 15 minutes, stir or beat it for a few seconds and it should be good as new.
- Place one cake layer on a plate or cake stand and spread about 1½ cups Whipped Cream Frosting on top. Spread it evenly while building a ½-inch “barricade” of frosting around the edge to keep the filling from leaking out.
- Add about ½ cup Fresh Strawberry Filling in the middle of the frosting and spread it out evenly to the frosting “barricade”.
- Add the next layer of cake and add the filling and frosting as before.
- After adding all the layers, frost the sides of the cake with Whipped Cream Frosting.
- For the top of the cake, arrange halved strawberries as desired.1 pound fresh strawberries
- Refrigerate until ready to serve and serve within 6 hours.
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
Adapted by Susie Gall
- For the base White Layer Cake we used Stella Parks’ recipe for White Mountain Layer Cake, and in my humble opinion, it is the BEST white cake recipe – ever! I am not exaggerating or kidding. It is phenomenal. Thank you, Stella Parks! You can find her book HERE.
- Don’t over mix the cake batter, the dry ingredients should be just combined.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the tins so that the layers cook all the way through at the same time.
- Serve the cake within 6 hours of making it.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1slice Calories: 811kcal (41%) Carbohydrates: 77g (26%) Protein: 11g (22%) Fat: 53g (82%) Saturated Fat: 34g (213%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g Monounsaturated Fat: 12g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 128mg (43%) Sodium: 514mg (22%) Potassium: 357mg (10%) Fiber: 3g (13%) Sugar: 49g (54%) Vitamin A: 1636IU (33%) Vitamin C: 60mg (73%) Calcium: 165mg (17%) Iron: 1mg (6%)
Did You Make This?I want to see! Be sure to upload an image below & tag @thecookierookie on social media!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! What can I substitute the coconut oil for since I have a coconut allergy? Would you just recommend using another vanilla cake recipe? Do you have another good one on hand? Thank you!!!!
You can use more butter or try vegetable oil instead!
I’m reading comments about the icing recipe having a chunky, watery texture. I’ve read where you said it takes a long time to come together or the cream cheese wasn’t softened enough. The simple truth of the matter is that the heavy cream has curdled. You can only whip heavy cream to a point, & if you continue whipping, the cream curdles & you get a chunky, watery consistency that will not come back – no matter what you do. As an experienced baker who has worked with frostings containing heavy cream, I am very leery about trying this because your recipe calls for whipping it not just once, or even twice, but 3 times! Please inform your readers that they must be careful when using heavy cream as over whipping will cause the cream to curdle.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Vickie!
not to sound ignorant.. 😬… but instead of whipping cream for the frosting, could pre whipped cream such as cool whip be used? Also, can the strawberries be less cooked for the center filling, for a more fresh strawberry filled center? Thanks for the tips y’all!
Unfortunately, pre-whipped whipped cream will not work here, as it will overwhip in the mixer when you add the cream cheese.
just blend cool whip and a can of cream cheese frosting from favorite brand together until smooth! so yummy and quick :)
Can this recipe be made with 1-1 Gluten free flour?
Absolutely!
I made this cake for my granddaughter’s 7th birthday. Making the cake and strawberry filling in advance helps, there is lot to do. The cake seemed dense and heavy, and the strawberries runny. The frosting came out okay, but started breaking down once no longer refrigerated. I wasn’t thrilling with the cake the day of, but the next day leftovers were absolutely delicious with the strawberry seeping into the cake.
I’m sorry this didn’t quite work out for you, Rebecca! For the cake, I definitely recommend using the spoon and level method for the dry ingredients in order to prevent using too much flour, etc. I would also encourage you to double-check that your baking soda and baking powder are not expired, as that’s another common issue. For the strawberries, definitely don’t be afraid to cook them down for longer if they seem too runny! Unfortunately, whipped cream frostings don’t usually last very long outside of refrigeration, but they sure are delicious!
While I was trying to make the whipped cream frosting, mixing the 2 combinations went fine, but then the mixture wasn’t getting stiff peaks so I kept on mixing, next thing I know the mixture became this chunky watery consistency. What went wrong?! My cream cheese was softened and everything was measured correctly. Any ideas about what happened???
(I tried to make this frosting recipe twice and it failed both times.)
It sounds like the cream cheese mixture may have been overbeaten. When this happens, I like to chill the frosting for 30 minutes, then try again. If that doesn’t work, you can usually salvage it by adding up to ¼ cup of cornstarch.
I had the same problem. I made this cake for my son’s 25th birthday. I tried chilling the frosting for 3 hours, then tried adding corn starch. It’s so liquid it’s slopping out of the mixing bowl if I go beyond medium speed.
Try adding more powdered sugar until it reaches the desired consistency!
I made this cake but with peaches! I was so good, very light and perfect for summer.
Looks delicious!!
We made this cake super late. Finished at 2am LATE. We dropped the first slice on the floor. So we call it the 2am floor cake. My boyfriend says this cake has ruined him for any other cake.
What a great story! Love it!
Absolutely love this recipe !!! I’ve made this cake several times and it always a winner. I even had several people ask me to make it for them again. Definitely recommend this recipe!
That looks absolutely beautiful! Great work!!
I think there is something wrong with the ratio of powdered sugar to whipped cream/cream cheese. 3/4 cups of powdered sugar is no where near enough to adequately sweeten and to thicken the frosting. I just made this frosting as written and ended up with essentially a cool-whip consistency, which just ran down the side of the cake and was definitely not thick enough to create any kind of barrier.
It takes a lot of whisking!
I’m trying to make a half sheet (18×12) cake with this recipe, do you think doubling the recipe will yield enough batter? (I’m still learning 😬)
Thanks!
Yes!