Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake

Why I Love This Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake

• Classic flavors. This cake has layers of classic white cake, homemade whipped cream, and fresh strawberry cake filling. It’s light and fruity, and easy to make.
• Rich homemade cake. While you can use any cake recipe you like, or even a box cake mix, the tender buttermilk white cake in this recipe is a perfect pairing for a strawberry and cream combo. Of course, if you’re making it gluten-free, you can always use a gluten-free white cake instead.
• Real strawberries and cream. I’ll say it right now, that making freshly whipped cream is a must! The fluffy cream and ripe, juicy berries are the stars of this cake. If you can make it in strawberry season, all the better.

Ingredients

With layers of white cake, fresh strawberries, and homemade whipped cream, this cake is all about making simple ingredients shine. I’ve included some notes on what you’ll need below. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for a full list with amounts.

• Cake Flour: Cake flour is the key to baking incredibly soft, light, and springy white cakes like angel food cake. All-purpose won’t give this cake the same moistness and texture.
• Leavening: Baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Check the best before dates on your leavening to make sure they’re as fresh as possible.
• Butter: I like to bake with unsalted butter, but salted is also fine.
• Sugar: I recommend granulated white sugar for the most consistent texture.
• Egg Whites: Separating the egg whites from the yolks is easiest to do when the eggs are cold from the fridge.
• Vanilla: Make sure it’s real vanilla extract or equal parts vanilla paste.
• Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute 1 1/2 tablespoons of vinegar plus enough milk to equal one cup. Or, substitute or one cup of milk with half a cup of Greek yogurt.
• Fresh Strawberries: Rinse, dried, and hulled before you slice them and macerate them with sugar. If you can’t find fresh strawberries out of season, you can make this cake with frozen berries instead. In this case, thaw them completely and drain them well beforehand. You don’t need to macerate frozen and thawed strawberries.
• Whipped Cream: I use the same homemade whipped cream in my strawberry shortcake recipe. All you need is full-fat heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar (also called confectioner’s sugar), and vanilla extract.

How to Make Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake

You don’t need to be a master baker to make this easy strawberry whipped cream cake from scratch. That being said, you can just as easily make this cake with your favorite boxed white cake, too! It’s one of my best 4th of July desserts because it’s simple and refreshing no matter which cake recipe you use.

For now, here are the steps to make the white cake layers and the strawberries and whipped cream filling. Scroll down to the recipe card after the post for the printable instructions.

• Prep. Start by preheating the oven to 350ºF and lining three round cake pans with parchment paper. Grease them lightly with cooking spray.
• Sift the dry ingredients. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
• Mix the wet ingredients. Next, cream the butter and sugar with the egg whites and vanilla.
• Combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with buttermilk until everything is just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
• Bake. Now, divide the cake batter evenly between your prepared cake pans. Bake at 350ºF for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes before removing them to wire racks to cool completely.
• Make the strawberry filling. Meanwhile, toss the strawberries with sugar, and then set them aside to macerate and release the juices while you whip the cream.
• Make the whipped cream. Using a stand mixer, beat heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a cold bowl until soft peaks form.

Assemble the Cake

Assembling a layer cake is a lot easier than it looks! Here’s how to put everything together to make your strawberry whipped cream cake:

• Start with the first layer. Place the first cake layer on a plate. Cover the cake with about 1/2 cup of whipped cream, and a layer of sliced strawberries. Spread another 1/2 cup of whipped cream over the berries.
• Repeat. Add another layer of cake, followed by the berries and whipped cream. Top the cake with the final layer.
• Frost the whole cake. Spread the remaining whipped cream over the top and sides of the cake so that it’s covered completely. Garnish with extra fresh strawberries, and serve!

Tips for Success

• Measure the flour correctly. The best way to measure accurately is to use a kitchen scale. If you don’t own a scale, use the spoon and sweep method: spoon the flour from the bag into the measuring cup (never scoop straight from the bag!), and level off the top with a knife afterward. This avoids overmeasuring, which can lead to a dry, crumbly cake.
• If you don’t have cake flour, try substituting 3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour combined with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch (a suggestion courtesy of King Arthur Flour!).
• Use a huller. A strawberry huller makes quick work of getting the bitter, bland hull out of your strawberries. I find the easiest thing to do is to pull off the leaves before you remove the hull, so that you don’t end up with bits of leaves in your cake.
• Time-saving tip: If you’re short on time to make the white cake from scratch, use your favorite box of white cake mix from the grocery store.
• Use fresh filling ingredients. Even if you use a store-bought cake mix, I recommend using fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream whenever possible. You’ll taste the difference!
• Chill the bowl when making whipped cream. Put the bowl that you’ll use for whipping the cream in the freezer for 5-10 minutes beforehand, and use very cold heavy cream to help it whip better. Try to whip the cream just before you are going to assemble the cake.
• Don’t over-whip the cream. Be sure not to overbeat the whipped cream or it will separate and turn into butter.
• Make this cake in advance. You can serve the cake right away, but I recommend making it a few hours in advance or the night before. This way, the cake gets super moist from absorbing some of the moisture from the whipped cream. However, I don’t recommend storing the leftover cake for more than a day or so. It tastes best when fairly fresh (see below for storage tips).

How to Store

• Refrigerate. Store this strawberry whipped cream cake covered airtight in the fridge as soon as possible after frosting it (unless you’re serving it right away). It’ll last for 1-2 days before the whipped cream starts to weep.
• Freeze. I don’t recommend freezing the frosted cake, however, you can freeze the baked and cooled cake layers for up to 2 months. Wrap the cakes tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap. Thaw the cakes at room temperature before filling and frosting the cake.

More Strawberry Desserts

• Strawberry Shortcake Trifle
• Strawberry Fruit Dip
• Gluten Free Strawberry Muffins
• Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits
• Strawberry Icebox Cake
• Gluten Free Strawberry Crumble