This easy Southern Strawberry Cake starts with a simple cake mix but tastes completely homemade thanks to a few special touches. Made with strawberry puree, fluffy whipped egg whites, and rich strawberry cream cheese frosting, this moist strawberry layer cake is perfect for Mother’s Day, birthdays, church dinners, potlucks, baby showers, and summertime gatherings.
Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers! I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than with a delicious, beautiful, pink strawberry cake. I love, love, love this Strawberry Cake!! It’s simply the best. I don’t think I have ever met anyone who doesn’t just absolutely adore this cake.
It’s light, moist, yummy, sweet, pink, – there aren’t enough adjectives to describe it. It’s totally “strawberry deliciousness.”
That’s the best way for me to describe it.
You are in for a treat if you have never experienced eating a strawberry cake. My daughter always requests this cake for her birthday. It’s her favorite. Her birthday is this month so I’ll be making another one again soon. We enjoy strawberry cake all though the month of May. It makes a perfect cake for Mother’s Day, showers, luncheons or any special occasion.
We do use a cake mix as a base for this cake but no one will ever know it. It will taste just like it was made from scratch.The layers are light and fluffy with bites of delicious fresh strawberries throughout. The strawberry cream cheese frosting is what dreams are made of! It’s rich, smooth and creamy, and it compliments the strawberry layers.
We do use a cake mix as a base for this cake but no one will ever know it. It will taste just like it was made from scratch.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Starts with a cake mix for an easy, foolproof dessert
- Tastes completely homemade with a few special touches
- Soft, moist cake layers with real strawberry flavor
- Light and fluffy texture thanks to whipped egg whites
- Rich strawberry cream cheese frosting that isn’t overly sweet
- Perfect for birthdays, Mother’s Day, church dinners, and potlucks
- Can be made as a layer cake or sheet cake
- Beautiful spring and summer dessert everyone loves
What You’ll Need to Make Southern Strawberry Cake
- White cake mix (I use Duncan Hines perfectly moist)
- Strawberry gelatin
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
- Strawberry puree
- Strawberry juice
- Whole milk
- Vanilla extract
- Butter
- Cream cheese
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Heavy whipping cream
- Optional red food coloring
How to Make Southern Strawberry Cake
Start by preparing your cake pans and preheating the oven. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, strawberry gelatin, and oil until just blended.
Puree the strawberries in a food processor. 
Separate the egg yolks and egg whites into two bowls. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and place them in the refrigerator while preparing the batter. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks before adding them to the cake mixture.
Stir in the strawberry puree, strawberry juice, milk, and vanilla extract. Be careful not to overmix the batter. Since this cake contains oil, overmixing can make the cake layers too dense instead of light and tender.
Gently fold the stiffly beaten egg whites into the batter. This is one of the secrets to creating soft, fluffy cake layers that taste bakery-style and homemade.
Beating the egg whites makes the layers light and fluffy.
Pour the batter evenly into prepared cake pans and bake until the centers are fully set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake layers to cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting, beat together the butter and cream cheese until light and creamy. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, cream, strawberry puree, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy.
The Secret to Light and Fluffy Strawberry Cake Layers
One of the biggest secrets to this cake is separating the egg whites and egg yolks. Folding stiffly beaten egg whites into the batter creates incredibly light and tender cake layers.
Another important tip is to lightly beat the egg yolks before adding them to the batter. Since this cake contains vegetable oil, you want to avoid overmixing the batter, which can make the cake heavy and dense.
These extra little steps make this strawberry cake taste homemade and special instead of like a simple cake mix recipe.
Entertaining Tips
This classic Southern Strawberry Cake is perfect for:
- Mother’s Day brunches
- Birthday parties
- Baby showers
- Church potlucks
- Easter dessert tables
- Summer cookouts
- Ladies’ luncheons
- Family reunions
Serve the cake chilled straight from the refrigerator during warm weather. Garnish with fresh strawberries for a beautiful presentation.
You can also make this cake in a sheet pan for easy serving at larger gatherings and potlucks.
Tips for Success
- Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form for fluffy cake layers
- Fold the egg whites gently into the batter instead of stirring
- Do not overmix the batter once the wet ingredients are added
- Make sure cream cheese and butter are softened before making frosting
- Divide the batter evenly between cake pans for even baking
- Check cakes carefully near the end of baking time to avoid overbaking
- Allow cake layers to cool completely before frosting
- If making layer cakes, gently spread batter slightly toward the edges of the pans for more even baking
Storage Tips
Store the cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
You can also make this cake ahead for parties and gatherings. The cake layers freeze beautifully for up to 2 months. Wrap layers tightly in plastic wrap and thaw overnight in the refrigerator before frosting.
This cake is especially delicious served chilled the next day after the flavors have had time to blend together.
This cake is made with three layers, but you can also make it in a sheet pan as well.
Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I have. Thank you for stopping by. I’ll be back soon with more delicious Southern recipes.
Check out these recipes too. I know you will love them.
The Best Strawberry Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze (Super Moist Recipe)
Moist Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins
Be sure to leave a comment below if you have any questions about the recipes. I would love to hear from you and if you make it, be sure to use #deliciouslysouthern and let me know how you like it. Lastly, please follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.
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Strawberry Cake
Prep Time: 1 hour (Included baking time and frosting)- Total Time: 1 hour (Included baking time and frosting)
Yield: 16 to 20 servings
Category: Desserts
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This easy Southern Strawberry Cake starts with a simple cake mix but tastes completely homemade thanks to a few special touches. Made with strawberry puree, fluffy whipped egg whites, and rich strawberry cream cheese frosting, this moist strawberry layer cake is perfect for Mother’s Day, birthdays, church dinners, potlucks, baby showers, and summertime gatherings.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix
- 1 (3-ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs, separated
- ½ cup of strawberry puree (you can puree fresh or frozen strawberries)
- ¼ cup strawberry juice Note: If using fresh strawberries, gently press strawberries until they release 1/4 cup of juice)
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup (1stick butter), softened
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 6 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup strawberry puree
- 1 to 2 drop red food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 8 or 9-inch round cake pans. (Tip: For cake layers not to stick to pans, after greasing pans place a small circle of wax paper or parchment paper in the center of each cake pan.)
- In a large mixing bowl, add cake mix, dry gelatin, and oil. Beat UNTILL just blended.
- In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff and set aside in the refrigerator.
- Beat egg yolks in a separate bowl and add them to the cake mix mixture. Beat just enough to mix well. Sir in ½ cup pureed strawberries, strawberry juice, milk and vanilla. (Stir do not beat)
- Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until done. (Be careful not to over bake) cool cake completely before frosting.
- To make the Frosting, cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add 3 cups confectioners’ sugar and ¼ cup heavy cream. Continue to beat; add the remaining 3 cups of confectioners’ sugar, vanilla beat until smooth and creamy. Stir in the strawberry puree and a few drops of red food coloring.
Notes
Do ahead tip/Freeze: You can make this cake up two days ahead. Store in the refrigerator. You can freeze this cake up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Recipe Tip: To make this cake in a sheet pan, pour batter into a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Let it cool before frosting.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 575
- Sugar: 66 g
- Sodium: 350 mg
- Fat: 28 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 79 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 85 mg
The cake was delicious. I had one problem With the cake, I had a hard time getting the center of the 3 layers to cook done. It happened both in the layers and the sheet cake. Am I doing something wrong.
Hi Pat! I’m glad that you like the cake. I’m not sure what happened to the layers. Just make sure that when you pour the cake batter into the pans, you evenly distribute the batter. I try to make sure more batter is towards the edges of the pan. I use a spatula and work the batter from the center to the edge of the pan. That might help.