Triple Strawberry Layer Cake
This triple strawberry layer cake is the ultimate homemade strawberry cake and a strawberry lover’s dream! It’s bursting with fresh strawberry flavor from start to finish. No artificial extracts, no boxed shortcuts, just pure strawberry goodness from real, fresh strawberries. I’m not gonna lie, it took me many trials to crack the code on this one, but after plenty of baking experiments (and taste tests, of course), I finally nailed the texture, sweetness, and strawberry punch I was after.
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This recipe celebrates the best of strawberry season even though you can use frozen strawberries and get identically delicious results. Soft, tender strawberry cake layers, a rich strawberry filling, and a silky strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream, all stacked into one glorious dessert. And yes, it’s 100% worth the extra steps to build all those layers of fresh strawberry flavor! Whether you’re making it for a birthday, a brunch, or just to spoil yourself, this triple strawberry layer cake is a showstopper that tastes like the strawberry cake you wish the boxed cake mix could be (except this one’s all homemade)!
Looking for something else? Try some of my other cake recipes like this honey lemon layer cake or this carrot layer cake!
How did I come up with this Triple Strawberry Cake Recipe?
I tried more than a handful of methods with my end goal being the flavor of a box cake mix but without any of the artificial stuff and just plain fresh strawberries. How hard could that be, right? Well, the answer is “very”!
So what methods did I try before for a fresh strawberry cake? I tried making a strawberry reduction and using freeze-dried strawberries but these gave the gave a sour flavor and a dense texture (likely due to the extra fiber from the fruit). Then I tried using strawberry yogurt but I still wasn’t able to escape the tart flavor and it honestly felt like cheating using an already strawberry-flavored ingredient.
The tart flavor/sourness from the strawberries was an easy fix – milk! For this recipe to avoid a batter that was too thin I opt for dry milk powder.
The texture however took more than a few trials to nail. Unfortunately when I added more strawberries in a reduction form it made the cake texture dense and more similar to blondie. Meanwhile dialing back the reduction amount did the same to the strawberry flavor. Finally I figured to leave the fibrous part of the strawberries out of the cake layers – by only using the syrup in the cake layers and saving the rest for the filling and the buttercream.
Key Ingredients for the BEST Fresh Triple Strawberry Layer Cake
Strawberries. The strawberries only need to be real for this recipe – no strawberry extract. Either fresh or frozen will work.
All-purpose flour. I found that the difference between cake flour and all-purpose flour in this recipe was minimal so I opted for all-purpose to simplify things.
Granulated sugar. Acts as a sweetener in the cake but also in the strawberry syrup and filling to potentiate the strawberry flavor. White sugar also helps to stabilize the whipped egg whites incorporated in the cake batter.
Eggs. The eggs are separated in the cake for maximum leavening and a soft texture in the cake.
Vegetable oil. Gives the cake a soft texture and helps to keep it soft even after refrigeration. I opted for grapeseed but any neutral-flavored oil can be used.
Dry milk & vanilla extract. Used to mute the tart flavor of the strawberries for more familiar tasting strawberry cake without the use of any artificial strawberry extract. The dry milk powder also helps mitigate too much liquid being added to the cake batter which would be the case if whole milk was used.
Red food coloring. This is optional and only needed if you want a more vibrant pink hue to your cake batter.
Tips for the Best Fresh Strawberry Layer Cake
- Whip the egg whites to soft peaks only. As a rule of thumb, whipped egg whites shouldn’t be any stiffer than the batter it will be folded into. This is so that it folds in easily and more quickly to the batter. An extended folding time increases the risk of deflating the egg whites.
- Given the soaring cost of eggs, I opted to use meringue powder as a substitute of egg whites for this recipe. You could also use carton, egg whites however they may not be as voluminous as meringue powder or shell egg whites. If you opt for whole eggs from the shell be sure to check out some of my homemade ice cream recipes so that the egg yolks don’t go to waste!
- Have a third bowl when separating the egg whites from the yolks just in case one of the yolks break. Any fat present in the egg whites (including from the egg yolks) will prevent them from whipping up to the needed volume.
- Use a kitchen scale! For best results with this cake, measure the ingredients. Measuring with cups (particularly the flour) can throw off the texture and flavor of this cake. If you insist on using measuring cups and measuring by volume spoon the flour into your measuring cups to avoid packing the measuring cups and adding too much flour.
- Use an oven thermometer. Ovens can have hot spots or run hotter (or cooler) than the displayed reading. An oven thermometer helps to take out the guess work to ensure consistent and predictable results!
- The butter should be softened just to the point where you can barely leave an impression with moderate pressure. If the butter is too soft it will result in a greasy buttercream.
How to Make this Triple Strawberry Layer Cake
Make the Strawberry Syrup
Step 1. Add the whole, hulled strawberries and 110g (½ cup) of sugar to a large saucepan. Cover with lid over low-medium heat until a syrup with a consistency similar to hot maple syrup forms. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Ensure that the heat isn’t too high to prevent the syrup boiling over.
It’s okay to slice the strawberries if you like but do not blend them.
Step 2. Pour the strawberry syrup through a strainer to separate the syrup and the strawberry chunks. Set both aside.
Step 3. Add the remaining 90g (6 TBSP) of the granulated sugar to the strawberry chunks. This will be reduced later to make the strawberry filling for the cake.
Make the Strawberry Cake Layers
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Step 2. Combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside. This ensures that everything, particularly the baking powder & salt are evenly incorporated to avoid any unsavory pockets of those unmixed ingredients.
Step 3. Return 300mL (1¼ cups) of the strawberry syrup to the saucepan along with the dry milk, and oil. Stir til smooth and return to stove over low heat to keep the mixture hot until ready to be incorporated. Add any remaining or leftover strawberry syrup to the strawberry chunk mixture set aside earlier.
Step 4. Add the egg whites to the bowl of your stand mixer affixed with a whisk attachment. Whip on high speed and once egg whites begin to get foamy gradually add in 110g (½ cup) of the granulated sugar. Whip the egg white until they form soft peaks. At soft peaks the egg whites ribbon on itself in the bowl & flop over easily like a Santa’s hat when the whisk is inverted.
Avoid whipping to stiff peaks as it can result in a dry, almost cotton-like texture to the cake. In addition stiff peaks are more difficult to incorporate evenly into a cake batter and you end up beating the air out during folding.
Transfer the whipped egg whites to a separate bowl & set aside. There’s no need to clean the bowl or whisk attachment before the next step.
Step 5. Add the egg yolks, 365g (1½ cups) of the granulated sugar for the cake layers & the vanilla extract to the bowl of the stand mixer. Whip on high speed until the mixture is a very pale yellow and fluffy (it should at least double in volume).
Step 6. Turn the mixer down to low speed. Add the mixture of all-purpose flour, baking powder & salt set aside earlier to the whipped egg yolks. Continue to mix on low speed just til the flour is completely incorporated. It will resemble clumpy sand at this point.
Step 7. Remove the strawberry syrup mixture from the stove. With the mixer turned to low speed, slowly stream the strawberry syrup mixture into the mixing bowl with the flour/egg yolk mixture. Add the red food coloring to the batter now if using. Once all the strawberry syrup mixture has been added, stop the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Mix again on low speed for 10-20 seconds to evenly incorporate.
Step 8. Add the whipped egg whites prepared earlier to the cake batter and fold in by hand using a spatula. Be sure to scrape along the bottom of the bowl and bring that batter up over the egg whites so that the batter is even. Be gentle so the egg whites don’t deflate.
Step 9. Prepare 3 8-inch cake pans with baking spray and divide the strawberry cake batter among the 3 pans. Bake the strawberry cake layers for 22-26 at 325°F minutes or until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs.
Step 10. Once the cakes or pans have cooled where they are comfortable enough to handle cover or wrap the layers with cling wrap to lock in moisture and flavor. Some of the compounds in strawberries are quite volatile and are lost during evaporation at the cooling stage; the plastic wrap will help to lock all the strawberry flavor in!
Make the Strawberry Filling
Step 1. Puree the strawberry chunk mixture set aside earlier and transfer to a saucepan. Allow the fresh strawberry puree to reduce over low-medium heat for 10-20 minutes until it reaches a deep red color but the mixture is still easily spreadable (similar to preserves). The low heat helps ensure that the strawberry filling doesn’t dry out and burn before the flavor deepens.
Step 2. Once the strawberry filling is ready, transfer it to an airtight container and set aside until you are ready to assemble your cake. Refrigerate it if not assembling the cake on the same day. A portion will be used in the strawberry Swiss meringue frosting.
Make the Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Step 1. Add the meringue powder, water, granulated sugar and salt to the clean bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk over a double boiler until the sugar is completely dissolved (5-7 minutes). Test by rubbing a little of the mixture between 2 fingers. If it feels gritty, return the meringue mixture to the double boiler until it feels smooth.
Opt for a metal bowl as a glass bowl may crack over a double boiler (I am sadly speaking from experience).
Step 2. Once all the sugar has dissolved, attach the bowl to a stand mixer affixed with a whisk attachment. Whip the meringue on high speed until the bowl is no longer warm to touch. To help speed up this process, you can hold a bag of frozen vegetables to the side of the bowl. This cools the meringue faster so that the butter doesn’t melt once added.
Step 3. Once the bowl feels like room temperature, add all the butter at once. You are probably used to hearing that you should add butter a little bit of a time for meringue frostings – me too but turns out it’s not completely necessary. Cutting the butter in cubes before adding it to the meringue helps it to mix in more easily and evenly (so no butter chunks)!
Step 4. Add 225g (1 cup) of the strawberry reduction along with the confectioner’s sugar and whip again until completely incorporated. Store the frosting in an airtight container until you are ready to assemble your triple strawberry layer cake.
Assembling the Triple Strawberry Layer Cake
Step 1. Using an offset spatula, spread a thin layer of the strawberry buttercream on top of a cake circle. This will help the cake layer stick and prevent it from sliding during decorating.
Step 2. Place a cake layer down in the center of the cake circle and spread a layer of buttercream on top using the offset spatula to create a well in the middle as shown below. Alternatively, you could use a piping bag to pipe a border around the edge of the cake. This will help to hold the strawberry filling in once added.
Step 3. Add the strawberry filling in the center of the well you created with the buttercream. Use about 3-4 tablespoons. Be careful not to overfill the well with the strawberry filling as this will affect the stability of the cake. The strawberry filling should not surpass the height of the lip of the well.
Step 4. Add the second cake layer on top of the buttercream/strawberry filling layer. Center the cake, aligning it with the edges of the base cake layer. Use the offset spatula to spread and gently press any buttercream along the edges into the gaps between both cake layers.
Step 5. Repeat step 3-4 again with more buttercream, the remaining strawberry filling and the last strawberry cake layer.
Step 6. Spread a thin layer of strawberry frosting across the top of the layer cake and over any uncovered spots on the side. This will serve as the crumb coat to trap any cake crumbs so they don’t end up in the final buttercream coat of the cake. If you are more or less a novice at cake decorating I suggest refrigerating the cake before doing the final coat of buttercream. This helps to “set” the crumb coat and the final layer of buttercream will be easier to spread and get a clean finish.
Step 7. Add the final layer of the strawberry buttercream over the entire cake and spread evenly using a cake scraper.
Step 8. Arrange the fresh strawberries on the cake as desired. This cake can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days – after that it needs to be refrigerated. For optimal taste enjoy within 5 days.
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Equipment
- stand mixer with whisk attachment
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Syrup & Filling
- 900 grams strawberries, hulled 32oz or 2 lbs
- 200 grams granulated sugar, split in 110g (½ cup) & 90g (6TBSP) portions total 7 oz or about 1 cup minus 3 TBSP
For the Strawberry Cake Layers
- 300 ml strawberry syrup (homemade from this recipe) 300g or 10¼ oz or 1¼ cups
- 345 grams all-purpose flour 12¼ oz or about 2½ cups
- 475 grams granulated sugar, split in 365g (1½ cup) & 110g (½ cup) portions total 20¼ oz or about 2 cups
- 5 large eggs, separated
- 160 ml neutral-flavored oil 157 g or 5⅜ oz or about ⅔ cup
- 60 grams dry milk 2¼ oz or about ⅔ cup
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- red food coloring optional
For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 225 grams strawberry filling (homemade from this recipe) 8oz or 1 cup
- 455 grams granulated sugar 16 oz or about 2¼ cups
- 50 grams meringue powder 1¾ oz or about ⅓ cup or 8 large egg whites
- 170 ml water, room temperature 170g or 6 oz or ¾ cup
- 450 grams unsalted butter, cubed & at room temperature 4 sticks or 16 oz or 1 lb
- 85 grams confectioner's sugar 3 oz or about ¾ cup
- ¼ tsp salt
- fresh strawberries for decorating
Instructions
Make the Strawberry Syrup
- Add the whole, hulled strawberries and 110g (½ cup) of sugar to a large saucepan. Cover with lid over low-medium heat until a syrup with a consistency similar to hot maple syrup forms. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Ensure that the heat isn't too high to prevent the syrup boiling over.
- Pour the strawberry syrup through a strainer to separate the syrup and the strawberry chunks. Set both aside.
- Add the remaining 90g (6 TBSP) of the granulated sugar to the strawberry chunks. This will be reduced later to make the strawberry filling for the cake.
Make the Strawberry Cake Layers
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- Return 300mL (1¼ cups) of the strawberry syrup to the saucepan along with the dry milk, and oil. Stir til smooth and return to stove over low heat to keep the mixture hot until ready to be incorporated. Add any remaining or leftover strawberry syrup to the strawberry chunk mixture set aside earlier.
- Add the egg whites to the bowl of your stand mixer affixed with a whisk attachment. Whip on high speed and once egg whites begin to get foamy gradually add in 110g (½ cup) of the granulated sugar. Whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks (peaks should flop over easily like a Santa's hat). Transfer to a separate bowl & set aside. No need to clean the bowl or whisk before the next step.
- Add the egg yolks, 365g (1½ cups) of the granulated sugar for the cake layers & the vanilla extract to the bowl of the stand mixer. Whip on high speed until the mixture is a very pale yellow and fluffy (it should at least double in volume).
- Turn the mixer down to low speed. Add the mixture of all-purpose flour, baking powder & salt set aside earlier to the whipped egg yolks and continue to mix on low speed just until the flour is completely incorporated. It will resemble clumpy sand at this point
- Remove the strawberry syrup mixture from the stove. With the mixer turned to low speed, slowly stream the strawberry syrup mixture into the mixing bowl with the flour/egg yolk mixture. Add the red food coloring to the batter now if using.
- Once all the strawberry syrup mixture has been added, stop the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Mix again on low speed for about 10-20 seconds to ensure everything has been evenly incorporated.
- Using a spatula, gently fold the whipped egg whites from earlier into the cake batter. Be sure to scrape along the bottom of the bowl and bring that batter up over the egg whites so that the batter is even. Be gentle to avoid beating out the air that has been incorporated.
- Prepare 3 8-inch cake pans with baking spray and divide the strawberry cake batter among the 3 pans. Bake the strawberry cake layers for 22-26 at 325°F minutes or until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs.
- Once the cakes are comfortable enough to handle cover or wrap the layers with cling wrap to lock in moisture and flavor. Keep wrapped until you are ready to decorate the cake.
Make the Strawberry Filling
- Puree the strawberry chunk mixture set aside earlier and transfer to a saucepan. Allow to reduce over low-medium heat for 10-20 minutes until it reaches a deep red color but the mixture is still easily spreadable (similar to preserves).Do not allow heat to exceed low-medium. The sugar content will cause it to burn before it is properly reduced.
- Once the strawberry filling is ready, transfer it to an airtight container and set aside until you are ready to assemble your cake. Refrigerate if not assembling the cake on the same day.
Make the Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Add the meringue powder, water, granulated sugar and salt to the clean bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk over a double boiler until the sugar is completely dissolved (about 5 minutes). To test, rub a little of the mixture between 2 fingers. If it feels gritty, return it to the double boiler until it feels smooth.
- Once all the sugar has dissolved, attach the bowl to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whip the meringue on high speed until the bowl is no longer warm to touch.You can hold a bag of frozen vegetables to the side of the bowl to speed up the cooling process.
- Once the bowl feels like room temperature, add all the cubed butter at once.
- Add 225g (1 cup) of the strawberry reduction along with the confectioner's sugar and whip again until completely incorporated. Store the frosting in an airtight container until you are ready to assemble the cake.
Assembling Your Triple Strawberry Layer Cake
- Using an offset spatula, spread a thin layer of the strawberry buttercream on top of a cake circle to help the cake stick and prevent it from sliding during decorating.
- Place a cake layer down in the center of the cake circle. Spread a layer of buttercream on top whilst creating a small well in the middle to hold the strawberry filling in once added.Alternatively, you could use a piping bag to pipe a border around the edge of the cake on top of an even layer of buttercream.
- Add the strawberry filling in the center of the well you created with the buttercream. Use about 3-4 tablespoons. Be careful not to overfill the well as this will affect the stability of the cake. The filling should not surpass the height of the lip of the well.
- Add the second cake layer on top of the buttercream/strawberry filling layer. Ensure that you center the cake, aligning it with the edges of the base cake layer. Use the offset spatula to spread and gently press any buttercream along the edges into the gaps between both cake layers.
- Repeat the last 2 steps again using the remaining strawberry filling and the last strawberry cake layer.
- Crumb coat the cake by spreading a thin layer of strawberry frosting across the top of the layer cake and over any uncovered spots on the side.
- Cover the cake using the rest of the buttercream and spread evenly using a cake scraper.
- Arrange the fresh strawberries on the cake as desired. This cake can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days – after that it should be refrigerated. For optimal taste enjoy within 5 days.
Notes
- For best results use a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients! Measuring with cups (particularly the flour) can throw off the texture and flavor of this cake. Although I’ve provided alternative measurements in cus please note that these are ESTIMATES and may not give the same results.
If you insist on using measuring cups and measuring by volume, spoon the flour into your measuring cups to avoid packing the measuring cups and adding too much flour. - Ensure your bowl and whisk are completely clean and free of any fat/oil when whipping the egg whites or in the beginning when making the Swiss meringue buttercream. Fat will prevent the the egg whites from whipping to maximum volume
- If you end up with strawberry cake layers that are not even in height use the thickest one as the base layer for the cake. It will give a stable foundation. Conversely, stacking a heavier layer on lighter ones can cause the cake to collapse on itself.
- Refrigerate the cake after the crumb coat for 15-20 minutes before doing the final coat of buttercream. This helps to “set” the crumb coat and the final layer of buttercream will be easier to spread and get a clean finish. You can also opt for a naked cake and decorate like this honey lemon layer cake
Hi there…can you please review your recipe for the buttercream? It does not list granulated sugar measurement…..I followed the recipe and just put in 85 gr of confectioner to my meringue powder, whipped it, etc., added all the butter and now i have just a big blob lol. I will start over but how much granulated sugar to the 50 grams of meringue powder, water and salt in step one?
Hi Donna! thanks for pointing out the missing measurement! I’m so sorry! I have updated the recipe card to reflect the granulated sugar in the buttercream now. Thanks again!