Fresh Strawberry Cake With Whipped Strawberry Frosting

This Fresh Strawberry Cake is one of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh strawberries. I find myself making this dessert often in the summertime when berries are in abundance, but it’s truly an incredible dessert any month of the year. It’s very similar to strawberry shortcake but with even more strawberries in the cake batter and the fluffy frosting on top. This cake is SO easy to whip up and it is always a crowd-pleaser. Even my husband who doesn’t really like fruity cakes LOVED this one! The frosting is light and creamy and brings out all that fresh strawberry deliciousness.

Ingredients in Fresh Strawberry Cake

Take some help from the store with this recipe! Grab a box of cake mix and that takes a lot of the work out of a homemade cake. Here’s what you need: FOR THE CAKE:

White cake mix – one box dry, unprepared cake mix. This flour mixture has all of the dry ingredients you need (baking powder, salt, all purpose flour, etc.) and it so much easier than baking from scratch. Strawberry gelatin – one 3-ounce box dry, unprepared mix Fresh strawberries – one cup of strawberry puree, blended using a blender or food processor. Vegetable oil – one cup Buttermilk – half a cup. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own! Just add one tablespoon of white vinegar and enough milk to make one cup. Eggs – Four large eggs. Crack each large egg, one at a time and use the paddle attachment to incorporate each egg on low speed until completely mixed together.

FOR THE STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

Cream cheese – 16 ounces, or two packages of cream cheese, softened to room temperature. Fresh strawberries – blend another ¾ cup of fresh strawberries into a strawberry puree, either with a food processor or blender. blended Powdered sugar – about two cups, sifted and measured. Set aside some extra if you want a bit thicker frosting. Cool Whip – one cup. If the tub has been in the freezer, make sure to thaw in the refrigerator before mixing into the stand mixer. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to get all the yummy goodness mixed in.

Can I Use Other Berries?

If you are not a strawberry fan, you can easily sub out a different type of berry and change this fresh strawberry cake into a totally different flavor. Some fruits that would work well instead of strawberries are:

Blackberries Raspberries Blueberries Cherries Huckleberries

Cake Texture

This cake is a moist, dense cake. It’s not quite as airy as some versions, but that’s thanks to the fresh strawberries added in. The cake will still puff up in the oven, but you will need to make absolutely sure the cake is done baking or it may fall once it cools.

Fresh Strawberry Cake Frosting

Cool whip and cream cheese serve as the base for this yummy frosting, along with blended fresh strawberries. When making the frosting, you need to make sure both the cool whip and the cream cheese are at room temperature or you risk the frosting separating. For extra pink color, whisk in a drop or two of red food coloring. If you prefer, you can use whipped cream in place of the cool whip. Again, just make sure it is at room temperature before mixing, and whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. You can make this more of a buttercream frosting by substituting one cup of unsalted butter in for one of the 8-ounce packages of cream cheese. Strawberry buttercream is so yummy on this cake as well! Frost the cake using an offset spatula.

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes

This fresh strawberry cake recipe makes an awesome cupcake as well. To convert this recipe into a cupcake, simply pour the batter into cupcake liners rather than the pan. You will need to adjust the cooking time down to baking for 15-20 minutes—just check for doneness before pulling the cupcakes out. Cool on a wire rack before frosting.

Make it a Chocolate Strawberry Cake

If you are a chocolate lover, this cake also works incredibly well as a chocolate strawberry cake. Just sub out the white cake mix and instead use a chocolate cake mix. Nothing else in the recipe changes. READ NEXT: 30+ Strawberry Recipes

Looking for more tasty summer desserts like this Fresh Strawberry Cake? Try these!

Slow Cooker Peach Crisp: Want a warm dessert without having to heat up the house? This is the perfect solution. This peach crisp is SUPER easy to make and you don’t have to turn on a hot oven. Just throw it all in the crockpot and forget about it. Tastes best a la mode! Raspberry Almond Fudge Ice Cream Cake: What do you get when you combine fruit, chocolate, ice cream, and a touch of almond? Pretty much the most amazing Summer dessert ever. Everything that makes a delicious, refreshing Summer dessert all in one easy recipe. Pink Lemonade Ice Cream Pie: We had this ice cream pie all the time growing up. It is so easy to make and as kids, we LOVED it. We all loved pink lemonade when we were kids (still do) and this was just like Pink Lemonade but in ice cream form and served like pie. WIN. WIN. The sweet and tangy flavors taste just like Summertime – if Summertime had a taste. Orange Pineapple Cake: This is another favorite fruity cake but instead of the highlight being berries, this has a more citrus, island-y twist. This is a great one for any island-themed summer parties. So so easy to make and deliciously refreshing. Hawaiian Wedding Cake: OK this is called Hawaiian wedding cake but I am 100% sure that no one has had this for their wedding cake in Hawaii. Maybe as a side dish cake? I don’t know. This is another great cake for an island summer party. Light, refreshing, and cool (as in, chilled). Raspberry Lemon Cake: This cake is a little bit berry, a little bit citrus. Reminds me of a raspberry lemonade in cake form! Whenever we make this cake for potlucks it ALWAYS gets polished.