This Small 6 Inch Strawberry Cake is made from scratch using fresh strawberries. No cake mix and no strawberry jello! Makes enough cake to have dessert for two.
Earlier this week I shared my recipe for Small Batch Cream Cheese Frosting. Today I’m sharing the cake recipe I used it for – Small 6 Inch Strawberry Cake. I tested this recipe 5 times to get the ingredient list just right without it sinking in the middle.
I decided to do a miniseries of 6 inch cakes after posting my Small Chocolate Cake and Small Yellow Cake recipes. When you’re making dessert for two, you definitely don’t need a large layer cake! I’m hoping to redo a lot of my past layer cakes into small one layer cakes. Leave a comment below if you have a special request!
Two weekends ago Dad and I went strawberry picking like we do every summer. We walked away with about 5 pounds of fresh berries. I knew right away I wanted to work on a small strawberry cake.
Over the years I’ve been working on several strawberry cake recipes. The problem with most strawberry cake recipes is they’re usually made with a cake mix. Or if they are made from scratch, they’re made using jello and not fresh strawberries.
The problem with using fresh strawberries, however, is it tends to add too much liquid to the batter. The solution?
Cooking the strawberries down to a jam-like consistency. This allows you to add fresh strawberry flavor while also controlling the amount of excess liquid added.
Using only egg whites instead of a whole egg means the pink color shines through. However, that also means leftover egg yolks. No worries! Check out my list of recipes using leftover egg yolks.
If you don’t have one already, you’re going to need a 6 inch round cake pan. You can buy one either on Amazon (affiliate link) or you can buy one in the cake decorating section of your local craft store.
I frosted this particular cake with traditional cream cheese frosting, but you can also use Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting or even Chocolate Frosting.
More Strawberry Cake Recipes
- Strawberry Layer Cake – This recipe makes more than dessert for two, but it’s perfect for celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries.
- Strawberry Snack Cake – Made in an 8 inch square pan, this cake is ideal for small get togethers.
- Strawberry Cupcakes – Makes only 6 cupcakes!
Small 6 Inch Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons milk
- Few drops red food coloring (optional)
- Small Batch Cream Cheese Frosting (get recipe here)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease one 6-inch round cake pan then line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a small saucepan, stir together 3/4 cup strawberries, water, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for 4-5 minutes or until the strawberries cook down and are a jam-like consistency. You should have about 2 heaping tablespoons of cooked strawberries. Remove from the heat and cool 15 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and cornstarch. Stir in the baking powder and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl on medium speed, beat together the butter and remaining 1/2 cup sugar until creamy, 1-2 minutes.
- Beat in the egg whites, one at a time, then add the vanilla.
- On low speed add the flour mixture alternating with the milk, adding the flour in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions (begin and end with dry ingredients). Do not overmix.
- Stir in the cooked strawberry mixture and remaining 1/4 cup strawberries. At this point if the batter isn't pink enough, add a few drops of red food coloring if desired.
- Transfer the batter to the cake pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes then invert cake onto cooling rack. Cool completely.
- Frost cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (get recipe here).
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