If you are looking for a show-stopping cake, this Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Filling is perfect! With a delicious strawberry filling, the vanilla cake is topped with whipped cream frosting for a wonderful dessert centerpiece.
What’s in White Cake with Strawberries?
Let’s be honest, cake is never a bad idea, and this white layer cake is such a treat! Pretty straightforward 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!
- Fresh Strawberries: Provide a rich, fresh strawberry flavor to the filling and make for a fresh and beautiful cake topping.
- Water: Hydrates the cornstarch to help thicken the filling.
- Cornstarch: Thickens the filling.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the strawberry filling and the white cake, while powdered sugar sweetens the whipped cream frosting without making it grainy.
- Kosher Salt: Enhances the natural flavor of the strawberries and the cake.
- Lemon Juice: Cuts the sweetness of the strawberries. Use fresh lemon juice for the best results.
- Food Coloring: Red food coloring can help enhance the natural color of the strawberry filling, if desired.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: Forms the base of the frosting.
- Cream Cheese: Adds structure and tanginess to the frosting.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the frosting and the cake.
- Almond Extract: Adds a hint of nuttiness to the frosting and cake.
- Bleached Cake Flour: Lower in protein than all-purpose flour, cake flour makes this cake ultra-light and tender. Using bleached cake flour helps the cake stay super white in color. I like Swan’s Down.
- Unsalted Butter: Adds richness, moisture, and flavor to the cake.
- Virgin Coconut Oil: Adds additional moisture to make the cake extra tender.
- Leavening: Baking powder and baking soda combine to make this cake extra light and fluffy.
- Egg Whites: Give the cake additional structure without changing the color.
- Buttermilk: Cultured low-fat buttermilk adds moisture and tanginess to the cake without making it too rich.
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.
Variations on Strawberry Filled White Cake
You can easily change up the fruit in the filling of this cake. Simply swap in an equal amount (by weight) of the fruit of your choice. I like raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries!
You can also try using a different frosting. For a lighter version of this whipped cream frosting, try my stabilized whipped cream recipe. For a bit heartier of a frosting, try my vanilla frosting, cream cheese frosting, or strawberry cream cheese frosting!
We take a few steps to keep this cake super white. First, we use bleached cake flour. Yes, even the color of your regular flour can make this cake look dingy. Then, we use only egg whites (no egg yolks). Egg yolks are often responsible for the yellow color in yellow cake. Finally, if you can get a hold of clear vanilla extract, that will keep this cake the whitest!
Yes, you can use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour in white cake. Cake flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour, which results in a lighter and more tender cake. However, you may need to adjust the amount of flour in the recipe to achieve the desired texture.
To make a white cake moist, you can add sour cream, yogurt, or buttermilk to the batter. These ingredients add moisture and tanginess to the cake, making it more flavorful and tender. In this recipe, we chose buttermilk, but you can sub for sour cream or yogurt if you don’t have any on hand.
I made this a 2 layered cake, but you can easily turn it into 3 or even 4 layers. Use three 8×3-inch aluminum pans for a 3-layer cake and four for a 4 layered. You can use the same amount of ingredients.
How to Make Ahead
Although it may seem like a lot to make it in 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 24 hours ahead of time.
How to Store and Freeze
This white layer cake is best served within 6 hours of you constructing it. If you do have leftovers, keep them covered in the fridge for 3-4 days. It will dry out a little but it will still be pretty delicious!
To freeze this cake, wrap it whole (or individual slices) in 2 layers of plastic wrap and 1 layer of aluminum foil. You can freeze it for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this cake with dollops of lemon curd or a drizzle of lemon sauce to really set off the strawberry flavor.
I love to enjoy this cake with a glass of oat milk, a Starbuck’s Pink Drink, or strawberry lemonade. For a boozier accompaniment, try strawberry margarita punch, strawberry frosé, or strawberry Palomas.
I loved this recipe!! This was my first time baking a cake from scratch, but it turned out amazing. Everyone at the party loved it!!
That cake looks so beautiful, Ysa! Thanks so much for sharing!
I made this for my son’s birthday. I am definitely a “rookie” and the cake and icing turned out great. I used our favorite organic strawberry preserves for the filling.
That looks SO beautiful, Linda! Thanks so much for sharing. We’re so happy you had success with this recipe!!
My daughter has requested this for her birthday but would like chocolate instead of a vanilla cake. Your site and recipes are always a hit when I use them – is the a recommendation for modifying this for that?
We recommend our favorite chocolate cake recipe!
I’ve made this cake 3 times in the last year and it is perfect each time. I make the cake layers a day ahead. Strawberry filling 6 hours ahead and whipped cream frosting an hour ahead and then refrigerate. It’s always perfect.
Wow, that cake looks amazing, Sherry! Thanks so much for sharing your success with us!
After reading the reviews I instantly knew how to fix the whipped cream frosting. After whipping the cream cheese in you put 2 tsp of non flavor gelatin with 8 tsp of water, dissolve in microwave 8 secs, wait 2 minutes whip into prepared whipped topping. Use right a way before it sets.
That cake looks beautiful, Carolyn! Thanks so much for sharing what worked for you!
I borrowed the frosting and strawberry filling recipe to dress up a boxed cake for my husbands birthdya. Everything came out AMAZING. I even accidentally used granulated sugar in the frosting instead of powdered but it still came out perfect.. I used half frozen and half fresh strawberries I reduced the water to about 1/4 cup and the filling came out perfect. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
I made it and it turned out beautifully! My dad, who is a picky dessert person voluntarily told me he gave it a 11 out of 10😊 I had no issues making the frosting,
The cake was a flop. The frosting is too runny and can’t support the cake of this density. The recipe if for two 8” cakes, each with two cake layers, one middle filling layer, and one top layer. I would look for another recipe. I won’t make this again.
We’re sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work out for you, Emina! The cake should be light and fluffy, not dense. Did you use cake flour? If so, you may have overmixed it! As for a runny frosting, we would recommend adding more powdered sugar until it comes together, as it sounds like there may have been too much liquid!
I made the cake and filling as directed. It was delicious! I was afraid to try the frosting because of some comments so I did my own whipped buttercream. Will make again!
We’re so happy to hear you loved this cake, Shannon! We do hope you’ll give the frosting a try!
I’m so disappointed in this frosting. It is runny and has not firmed up after a long time of beating. I’ve added a lot of extra powdered sugar to try and thicken it but it’s a point where it’s ridiculously sweet because of how much powdered sugar has gone into it. Many comments say not to beat too much because the whipping cream will curdle. I have reread the recipe probably 10+ times at this point to figure out where I went wrong and I have not found any discrepancies.. I followed this exactly. I’m so disappointed because this frosting is quite literally the “icing on the cake” and the cake looks awful.
We’re so sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you, Anora! Try adding a tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken next time!