When you think of Strawberry Shortcake, do you think of cake or biscuits? Since I have such a sweet tooth, I always think of those little round sponge cakes you often see in the produce section, right by the strawberries. Cake is more exciting than biscuits anyway. Lately, I’ve tried to stay away from traditional recipes and instead put a twist on something familiar. However, I just couldn’t do that with the classic Strawberry Shortcake – two layers of sponge cake, whipped cream, and fresh strawberries.
This is the cake that first failed when I made my Strawberry Shortcake Truffles. I made too much batter and overfilled the pans. I knew I had a great recipe brewing, so I tried again, this time cutting my recipe in half and successfully baked two layers.
Of course you can’t have strawberry shortcake without whipped cream. I kept the filling and topping very simple and used only whipped cream and strawberries. The difference is sliced strawberries are folded into whipped cream for the filling while halved strawberries are piled on whipped cream for the topping.
Fun fact – even though I may be a great baker, I cannot tie a bow. See that cake stand? My awesome friend Miriam sent that to me as a birthday gift. However, I changed out the ribbon and spent at least a half hour trying to tie a “perfect” bow. It’s definitely not the same as tying your shoe.
Did you know that tomorrow is National Strawberry Shortcake Day? Me neither until a few days ago. Do I have great timing or what? Now I think we are obligated to make this to celebrate, don’t you?
Looking for more strawberry cake recipes? Check out Strawberry Layer Cake, Strawberry Cupcakes, and Strawberry Snack Cake. All are made from scratch without Jello or cake mix.
Layered Strawberry Shortcake
Yield: 10-12 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 cup milk, room temperature
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Strawberries
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 16 strawberries, halved
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 8-inch round pans (1 1/2 inches deep, 4 cups volume) then line with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom of the pans.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and melted butter until smooth, roughly 1-2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time for 1 minute each, then add vanilla. Alternating between the flour mixture and milk, gradually add the flour in three parts and the milk in two parts, starting and ending with the flour. Beat until the remaining flour is just moistened and incorporated - do not overbeat.
- Divide the batter evenly into the pans then bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes then turn out of the pans onto a wire rack and cool completely.
- For the whipped cream: In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream on high speed until thickened and soft peaks form (when you pull the beater(s) straight up, peaks form but tips fall over). Gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla then beat until stiff peaks form (tips do not fall over). Keep chilled until ready to use.
- For the filling, mix together 1 cup sliced strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Fold them into 1/2 cup whipped cream. Set aside the rest of the whipped cream for the topping.
- Place one cake layer onto a plate or cake stand. Top with the strawberry whipped cream filling. Place the other cake on top and gently push down. Top with remaining whipped cream and strawberry halves. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Source: Cake recipe adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes
Miriam @ overtimecook says
So happy to see the cake stand in use! This cake is gorgeous and I *need* a slice.
Btw your bow is great. ;)
Jen @ Savory Simple says
This looks out of this world, Carla! I love it.
Jennifer {Bake or Break} says
Yum! And you know I just picked up all those strawberries at our CSA last night!
[email protected] is How I Cook says
It’s always nice to find new ways to make strawberry shortcake! And this one looks very good!
Heather @ Snookie's Cakes says
I didn’t even notice the wonky bow until you pointed it out. At least the cake is cute! Looks delicious.
Aya @sukarah says
I also prefer cake to biscuits. Its not that biscuits are bad (its dessert afterall) its just that cake is always more induglent and fancy. Btw, strawberries and whipped cream were made for each other. You’re cake looks gorgeous, if it tasted as half as good as it looks than your job as a food blogger is accomplished :) xoxo Aya
Sarah Reid, CNP (@jo_jo_ba) says
Reminds me of the one I made in pastry school, gorgeous!
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
Mmmm…I’ll happily eat strawberry shortcake with any delicious carb. This cake looks beautiful, Carla. And I think your bow is lovely too. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with it!
Leyla says
Just made this today. It looked too good to pass up. Just a note, I used a 9inch and the cake is much thinner. (possibly half the side of yours). Also you didnt mention what to do with the lemon juice or powdered sugar. I just coated my halved strawberries in lemon juice and plan on dusting with powdered sugar just before they leave the house.. I think this is what you intended?
Carla says
See that’s what happens when you blog late at night. You combine the sliced strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice together before folding into the whipped cream. Thanks for pointing that out!
Sarah says
This cake was amazing! Not only was it easy to make, it was a crowd pleaser!! Thanks so much
becky says
hey… I literally just put this cake in the oven. It is barely even 2″ in ONE 8″ pan!!
I pray that this cake rises 3 more inches in the oven!!!
Carla says
As long as you followed the ingredient list, it’ll rise! :)
Suzie says
My cake didn’t rise either. In 8″ pans, they’re barely an inch high. I’m newish to cake baking – did I over/under beat something?
Carla Cardello says
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. Here are several troubleshooting tips:
1. Make sure your pan is 8 inch and not 9 inch. As silly as that sounds, one time I bought 9 inch pans that measured at 8 inches…
2. Make sure your baking powder is fresh and not expired.
3. Make sure your eggs are room temperature (I didn’t indicate that – fixed!)
4. Do not overbeat your batter after adding the dry ingredients.
5. Make sure your oven temperature is accurate. If it’s not a true 350F, it does mess with the cake rising.
6. Make sure you beat the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes as indicated and not 30 seconds or anything. This step adds air to the batter.
Kim says
This cake looks great! One question, how far in advance can you assemble it with the strawberries and whipped cream so it won’t be soggy?
Carla Cardello says
Personal choice would be serving it the day you assemble it. However, for this cake I assembled it one day then the next day I took it into work for coworkers and wasn’t soggy, so you can get away with assembling it the day before.
aruj says
Can I just say I love how easy your recipe was to make ! Everyone loved it and I love your blog!
Carla Cardello says
Thank you so much for letting me know. I love it when I hear positive feedback :)
Taz says
Hey Carla,
This was an awesome recipe. I’d probably vote it around 9/10.
To be honest though, I only really made your cake base, and used a tart raspberry reduction as the filling and topping –> Still Great :).
One problem I had though was that the cake was wayyyyy too sweet (at least for my family who prefers less sweet desserts), and that was with using 4/5 rather than 1 cup granulated sugar. Im probably going to use 2/3 cup sugar next time.
Other changes I made included:
1) I used a electric beater (I wasn’t entirely sure if the recipe wanted hand beating so I chose the easier and quicker option)
2) I baked all the batter in one pan together ( I turned the temp down to 340 F and baked it for 26 mins) and then sliced it in half after it had cooled down.
Even with these change it still turned out great.
Carla says
Glad you enjoyed the cake even with the changes! This is a sweet dessert since it is a cake, but as you suggested, if your sweet tooth isn’t as big as mine, you can reduce the sugar :) All of my recipes use a hand or stand mixer when beating unless otherwise indicated, so sorry for not clarifying that.
b-rice says
Any suggestions for preparing this recipe in high altitude?
Carla says
I personally don’t have experience with high altitude baking, but I asked my friend Barb of http://www.creative-culinary.com/ who lives in Denver and she says: “It can depend on what altitude but I can speak for Denver area at 5280′ to start the conversation. In order to counteract the faster rise of leavened doughs, raise the temperature of the oven about 10 degrees. Baked goods deflate because they rise too fast in our thinner air and without being baked enough, they get to maximum volume and then deflate before they are set. Raising the temp can hep offset that effect. In conjunction the baking time will be lower so I just suggest testing about 10 minutes prior to the information in your instructions. Higher altitudes will need more adjustments; starting with a eliminating small amounts of leavening to slow that rise even more. There is a very dramatic different between Denver at 5,280 and mountain towns that can be several thousand feet higher”
Hope that helps and good luck!
b-rice says
Thanks! I’m in Denver too, so this is extremely helpful.
Beth says
Made this cake today after strawberry picking. As the taste was good, I also had the same issue as other people with the cake not rising properly. As an experienced baker I’m not sure where this went wrong. Such a disappointment! Would have been better in much smaller cake pans.
Carla says
I’m so sorry you had some difficulties. I just quadruple-checked my cake pan measurements. 8-inch round cake pan, 1-1/2 inches deep, 4 cups volume.
Jackie says
I just made this today, and it has such a great flavor and texture! I used 9 inch pans, because I wanted the cake to be a little flatter. It was a hit with my family, even my very picky mother!
Sharon Senior Jeffrey says
Thank you for the recipe. I made it for a friends birthday in Feb 2018 and now his wife wants one for her birthday aug 2018.
Carla says
Awesome! Glad everyone enjoyed the cake.