Strawberry snack cake is a moist and flavorful cake. Made from scratch using fresh strawberries and topped with a strawberry cream cheese frosting. Perfect for summer parties, potlucks and birthdays.
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You know how much I love a simple and flavorful cake! As someone who is a busy baker and has been baking cakes for a few decades, I especially love one like this snack cake.
This ultra moist strawberry snack cake is quick and easy to make, packed with strawberries and mixes up in one bowl. Does it get any better than that? Well, it does when you top it with the homemade strawberry cream cheese frosting!
I walk you through how to get all the strawberry flavor without a cake mix; and how to use fresh strawberries without having a super soggy cake. And for the frosting we use freeze dried strawberries, like we do in strawberry white chocolate cookies and strawberry coconut chocolate bars. Get ready to fall in love!
💗 why you will love this from scratch cake
- With fresh strawberries in the cake and freeze dried strawberries in the cream cheese frosting, this snack cake is bursting with flavor.
- The cake crumb is moist and soft.
- Simple to make ~ just a whisk and spatula needed for the cake batter.
- Bakes in an 8x8 pan, so no stacking and fussy decorating.
🍰 what is the difference between a cake and a snack cake?
To me, a snack cake is a smaller, basic cake. One that is easy to make and baked in a single layer in a square or round baking pan.
We aren't talking about a processed single serve cake, like Little Debbie snack cakes.
🍓 ingredients needed and substitutions
Please scroll to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the full list of ingredients and baking directions.
- Unsalted butter ~ the butter is melted for this strawberry snack cake. If you only have salted butter, leave out the kosher salt. You will use room temperature butter for the strawberry frosting.
- Sugar ~ granulated sugar brings sweetness to the cake and confectioners' sugar or powdered/icing sugar is needed for the buttercream frosting.
- Vanilla ~ brings the vanilla flavor to this easy homemade cake. The recipe card is not a typo, we want a full tablespoon in the cake! Also used in the frosting.
- Kosher salt ~ balances the flavors. If you only have table salt, use half the amount.
- Baking powder ~ brings some height to the cake. I use aluminum free baking powder.
- Eggs ~ 2 large eggs are needed, they should be at room temperature.
- Milk ~ I use 1%, but buttermilk or kefir can also be substituted here.
- Sour cream ~ brings extra moisture by working to shorten the gluten strands in the flour, which results in a tender and snack cake. For the best cake, use full fat sour cream and bring it to room temperature.
- All-purpose flour ~ use a kitchen scale for the most accurate measurement or be sure to use the spoon and level method. {Fluff the flour in the container, then spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife}.
- Strawberries ~ fresh strawberries are best for the snack cake.. I do not recommend frozen strawberries as they will add too much moisture. Chop them in small pieces and pat them dry between paper towels. You will use freeze dried strawberries in the strawberry cream cheese frosting.
- Cream cheese ~ block cream cheese is needed at room temperature for the frosting. I use full-fat, but suspect you can get away with a lower fat version.
Remember to pin this recipe to Pinterest! Use the button on the recipe card or the share buttons on the side or bottom of this page.
🥣 how to make this fresh strawberry cake
To keep the homemade strawberry cake moist, but not soggy, you will want to remove some of the moisture from the fresh strawberries.
Start by washing the strawberries, then slice the tops off and chop the strawberries small like you do for strawberry filled cupcakes. Lay down two layers of paper towels and spread the chopped strawberries in a single layer over the towels. Take another paper towel and place it over the top of the berries and lightly press to help remove any excess moisture.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare an 8x8 baking pan by lining it with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium to large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar until fully combined.
Then whisk in the vanilla, kosher salt and baking powder.
Now whisk in the eggs.
Then stir in half of the flour with a spatula.
Once mostly combined add the milk and sour cream and mix until combined.
Finally add the remaining half of flour and chopped strawberries and fold in until just fully combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
Bake until the edges are set and a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
Allow the cake to cool completely {it can stay in the baking pan} before frosting. If you need to rush the cooling process, you can place the cake in the refrigerator once the pan is cool enough for you to pick it up with bare hands.
🍓how to make strawberry cream cheese frosting
I tested with frosting with strawberry jam, but found it didn't give a strong enough strawberry flavor. Freeze dried berries make a flavorful buttercream without adding extra sugar or moisture.
You can crush the strawberries with the back of a spoon in a bowl. I like to use my mini Cuisinart for grinding the strawberries most of the time, but I did more of a rough crush with a spoon for this frosting.
Start by using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand held mixer and beat the butter and cream cheese on medium-high until creamy.
Then scrape up and down the bowl, then add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and crushed freeze dried strawberries
Mix on low until the sugar is incorporated, then increase the speed and beat on medium high for another 1-2 minutes until the buttercream is smooth and creamy.
💬 frequently asked questions
can you put cut strawberries in a cake?
Yes, strawberries are a great addition to a cake! For a different variation of fresh strawberry cake, try my strawberry vanilla cake.
how do you keep strawberries from making a cake soggy?
Fresh strawberries have a lot of moisture in them. If you don't pat enough moisture out of the strawberries before adding them to the batter, they will add too much liquid to snack cake recipe.
can I use frozen strawberries for this strawberry cake?
No, this strawberry snack cake needs fresh strawberries. Frozen strawberries would add too much moisture and the cake would be soggy.
where do I buy freeze dried strawberries?
I buy mine at Trader Joe's or Target. They are usually found with the dried fruit or snacks.
👩🏻🍳 tips for the best from scratch cake
- Use a scale to measure your ingredients for the best results. If you do not have a kitchen scale, see the notes in the ingredient section on how to measure the flour.
- Pat the moisture out of the cut strawberries before adding to the cake batter. I like to do this when I pull the eggs, milk and sour cream out of the refrigerator to warm to room temperature.
- Don't over mix the cake batter. When combining the wet and dry ingredients mix until everything is just combined.
- Once the batter is in the prepared pan, drop the pan on the counter a time or two to help remove any air bubbles in the batter.
- For the best, moist and tender cake, don't over bake it. Remember your oven is different than mine and baking times may vary a little. The easy strawberry snack cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
- Allow the fresh strawberry cake to cool completely before you add the cream cheese frosting. Otherwise the frosting will melt off it.
💡 other frosting ideas
Strawberry buttercream ~ if you prefer frosting without cream cheese, just use all butter in the frosting recipe. You will need 8 tablespoons or ½ cup of butter and you may need to add 1 - 2 tablespoons of milk or cream to reach a creamy consistency.
Lemon buttercream frosting ~ use this recipe to frost this homemade snack cake. For a strawberry lemon frosting, add the same amount of freeze dried strawberries {8 grams} to the lemon buttercream.
Strawberry jam frosting ~ I tested using jam instead of freeze dried strawberries in the frosting, but it didn't have enough strawberry flavor to it. Feel free to add up to two tablespoons of strawberry jam to the frosting if you wish.
Cream cheese frosting ~ leave out the freeze dried strawberries from the recipe below.
🫙 how to store
Store any leftover strawberry snack cake covered in the refrigerator for up to five days. The strawberries can start to get a little soggy after three or four days.
My testers were split on whether the cake is better at room temperature or cold. Personally, I like it best at room temperature.
I did not test freezing this homemade strawberry cake. I do worry that the fresh berries will make it soggy when they defrost.
Remember to snap a picture and tag me @twosugarbugs on Instagram if you make this Strawberry Snack Cake. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!
more recipes with strawberries
If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating. I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!
📖 recipe
Fresh Strawberry Snack Cake
recipe created and tested by:
I highly recommend using weight (metric) measurements when available for more accuracy and the best results.
Please note
When using 2x or 3x ingredients, the grams in parenthesis DO NOT adjust, you will have to manually do that.
Ingredients
strawberry cake
- 1 cup fresh strawberries* finely chopped (about 8 medium strawberries/160g)
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted (113g)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150g)
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (219g)
- ½ cup milk I use 1%, room temperature (120mL)
- ¼ cup full-fat sour cream room temperature (60g)
strawberry cream cheese frosting
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature (70g)
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature (112g)
- 1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar (180g)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup freeze dried strawberries** crushed to a fine powder (8g)
Instructions
- For the fresh strawberry cake: Prepare the fresh strawberries by washing them. Then slice off the tops and chop into small bite size pieces. Lay down two layers of paper towels and spread the chopped strawberries in a single layer over the towels. Take another paper towel and place it over the top of the berries and lightly press to help remove any excess moisture. Set aside. I like to do this when I pull the eggs, milk and sour cream out of the refrigerator to warm to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare an 8x8 baking pan by lining it with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium to large bowl, whisk together the melted butter (½ cup/113g) and sugar (¾ cup/150g) until fully combined. Then whisk in the vanilla (1 tablespoon), kosher salt (½ teaspoon) and baking powder (2 teaspoons).
- Now whisk in the eggs (2 large). Then stir in half of the flour (total amount is 1 ¾ cup/219g) with a spatula. Once mostly combined add the milk (½ cup/120mL) and sour cream (¼ cup/60g) and mix until combined. Then add the remaining half of flour and chopped strawberries (approx. 8 medium strawberries*/160g) and fold in until just fully combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 28 - 32 minutes or until the edges are set and a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Allow the cake to cool completely (it can stay in the baking pan) before frosting.
- For the strawberry cream cheese frosting: Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand held mixer, beat the butter (5 tablespoons/70g) and cream cheese (4 ounces/112g) on medium-high until creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape up and down the bowl, then add the confectioners’ sugar (1 ½ cups/180g), vanilla (1 teaspoon) and crushed freeze dried strawberries (8g) and mix on low until the sugar is incorporated, then increase the speed and beat on medium high for another 1-2 minutes until the buttercream is smooth and creamy.
- Frost the cooled cake, slice and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information is based on third-party calculations, is an estimate only and may not be entirely accurate. Actual nutritional values will vary based on brands used and portion sizes.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls says
I love how you packed in both fresh and freeze dried strawberries to make this one massively awesome strawberry temptation! I want a slice right now!!
Tasia says
Thank you Heidi, wish I could hand you a slice!
Cynthia Quon says
can you double the teceipe? 13x 9 pan?
Tasia says
Hi Cynthia, I didn't test this in a 9x13, but think it should work for you. Let me know how it goes!
PD says
I read the recipe incorrectly but also think it's misleading. When you said to put in half the flour and 1 3/4 is in parentheses, I thought that was half. Ended up like glue and then I realized you were just repeating the original measurements.
Fortunately enough ingredients to double the recipe. Batter is tasty - hoping it's tasty too
Tasia says
Hi PD, sorry for that confusion. I changed the recipe card to reflect that is the total amount of flour. Happy to hear the batter was tasty and hope you loved the cake!
Kathleen says
In the oven now, the frosting is sublime (I might have licked the beater!) and the cake smells heavenly! The perfect not-to-big dessert!
Tasia says
Thank you Kathleen! Love that you licked the frosting beaters!
Michelle says
The boys were begging for a strawberry cake -- and this one fit the bill! So tender, and simple to make! They loooooved the strawberry cream cheese frosting though! Will have to make another batch soon.
Tasia says
Aww, I love this! So happy to hear you and your boys loved this strawberry cake!
Jane says
Made this for my bible study group and everyone loved it! The cake was so moist and flavorful and the frosting is to die for.
Ben | Havocinthekitchen says
What a lovely summer cake with an irresistible aroma of fresh strawberries and cozy vanilla. I'd have added a bit of lemon zest too for even more accentuated freshness!
Tasia says
Thank you Ben!