Strawberry Layer Cake

Enjoy the summer and strawberry season with my fresh strawberry layer cake recipe as delightful as my beloved strawberry whipped cream cake recipe.

This dessert features a fluffy vanilla sponge filled with creamy vanilla frosting and fresh sliced strawberries to celebrate the sweetness of strawberries in every heavenly bite.

this recipe

Jump to:

• Why you'll love this recipe
• More Strawberry Cake Recipes
• Ingredients you need
• How to Make Homemade Strawberry Fraisier Layer Cake
• Storage and Recipes Variations
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Strawberry Layer Cake

Why you'll love this recipe

The strawberry season is open, and this strawberry layer cake is the ultimate dessert to fully enjoy it and share a moment of joy with your loved ones on any occasion.

• This delightful dessert begins with a light and airy vanilla sponge made following my Molly cake recipe made with egg white to get this white cake finish.
• Layered with creamy vanilla diplomat cream filling made with vanilla pastry cream and whipped cream.
• With juicy, fruity and fresh strawberries that create an incredible combination of flavors in every bite.
• Covered with Swiss meringue buttercream for a perfect finish and a beautifully decorated cake perfect for your events and celebrations like a birthday cake or a wedding cake.

More Strawberry Cake Recipes

Ingredients you need

Here's an overview of the ingredients and possible substitutions to make this fresh strawberry cake recipe at home, scroll directly down the page to see the recipe card.

Vanilla cake

• Egg whites: Use only egg whites at room temperature, which gives a sponge cake with a lighter, fluffier texture, more delicate crumbs and a more neutral flavor than with egg yolks.
• Sugar: If possible, use extra-fine white granulated sugar to help it blend in better, but no flavored sugar to preserve flavor.
• Flour: Use only cake flour for a tender, fluffy cake, If you don't have any, you can make a mixture of all-purpose flour and add a tablespoon of cornstarch.
• Baking powder: There's no need for baking soda here, as baking powder is all you need to grow the cake.
• Heavy cream: Use full-fat and cold heavy cream that will be whipped before being added to the recipe. It replaces unsalted butter and gives a lighter, more neutral-tasting crumb, giving the cake a perfect balance between moistness and softness.
• Vanilla and salt: Pure vanilla extract is essential for flavoring the cake, but you can also use vanilla bean seeds and salt helps bring out all the flavors.

Materials you need : Top 10 tools to make the most beautiful cakes!

Vanilla filling

• Egg yolks: Use only egg yolks to make a more rich and flavorful pastry cream.
• Sugar: Preferably white granulated sugar to preserve the taste.
• Cornstarch: Or the same amount of flour to thicken the pastry cream.
• Milk: Preferably whole milk, but I very often make mine with semi-skimmed milk and it works very well.
• Vanilla: A vanilla bean split in 2 and scraped to infuse in milk for a delicious vanilla fragrance.
• Heavy cream: Classic diplomat cream is made using only whipped cream made with full-fat heavy cream or whipping cream. Here I use a mixture of mascarpone cheese and whipping cream for a more creamy texture.

Meringue Buttercream

• Egg whites: Use room-temperature egg whites to create a beautiful meringue.
• Sugar: A white granulated sugar, extra fine if possible, which should melt completely into the egg whites to give a smooth texture.
• Butter: An unsalted butter with a softened but not too softened texture.
• Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract for flavoring buttercream frosting, or vanilla bean seeds or vanilla paste.

⚠️ You'll find ingredient quantities and full instructions in the recipe card at the end of the page.

How to Make Homemade Strawberry Fraisier Layer Cake

Cake batter

1. Mix and sift together dry ingredients, cake flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
2. Place the room-temperature egg whites, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed for 10 minutes until the mixture doubles in volume.
3. In the meantime, whip the cold heavy whipping cream with an electric mixer for 3 - 4 minutes until you have a whipped cream and set aside.
4. Lower the speed of the stand mixer and add flour mixture into the egg mixture and mix just until they are incorporated.
5. Add the whipped cream and fold in gently with a flexible spatula until the mixture is soft and smooth.
6. Preheat the oven to 320°F/160°C and prepare 3 round cake pans with parchment paper.
7. Divide the mixture into 3 and fill the prepared pans.
8. Bake in the oven about 40 - 45 minutes until golden brown on top.
9. Let cool completely your baked cake on a wire rack then wrap them in plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge until assembly.

Tip: At the end of the baking time check the baking with a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake and it should come out clean when the cake is done.

Diplomat cream

1. Rehydrate gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water and set aside.
2. Place milk and vanilla bean in a saucepan and heat until boiling, then remove from heat and let infuse for 10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and cornstarch for 1 minute.
4. Then add the hot milk, remove the bean beforehand, and whisk to combine.
5. Return to the saucepan and heat over medium heat while stirring constantly with a hand whisk until the mixture thickens.
6. Remove from the heat and add the gelatin leaves, previously squeezed out, and mix vigorously to melt them into the pastry cream.
7. Pour into a dish and cover with cling film and place in the fridge until the pastry cream is completely chilled.
8. Then place the cold heavy cream with the mascarpone in a medium bowl and beat with an electric whisk for 3 - 4 minutes until you have a whipped cream.
9. Take the cold pastry cream out of the fridge and put it in a large bowl and mix with the electric mixer to soften it.
10. Add the whipped cream and fold it in gently with a spatula and set aside until you are ready to assemble the cake.

Assemble the cake layers

1. Place the first layer of cake on a cake board on your turntable and pipe an outline of buttercream to secure the filling inside.
2. Add some diplomat cream, then sliced fresh strawberries, and cover again with cream.
3. Place the second cake layer and repeat the last step until you reach the last layer of cake.
4. Cover with a thin layer of buttercream to enclose the crumbs and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Frost the cake

1. Cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting and smooth the excess frosting with icing smoother until the frosting is smooth.
2. Decorate the top of the cake with a piping bag and buttercream and add whole fresh strawberries.
3. Place your frosted cake in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before place it on a cake stand and serving it with strawberry compote.

You may also like: How to frost a cake for a perfect finish

Storage and Recipes Variations

Store in the fridge: Store leftover cake in the fridge for around 5 days, in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap.

How to freeze? Cut the strawberry cake into slices and wrap in plastic film or place in storage bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months (defrost gently in the fridge).

Switch Fresh strawberries with fresh raspberries, fresh blueberries, exotic fruits, or other fresh berries like this delicious berry naked cake.

Add a fresh strawberry puree or other, such as my strawberry compote,or a strawberry puree like in my strawberry vanilla cake, raspberry compote or lemon blueberry compote.

Make a pink cake by adding gel food coloring to the sponge cake mixture and strawberry extract or freeze-dried strawberries powder to make a strawberry sponge cake like my recipe for strawberry buttercream cake.

Strawberry frosting: I've got a delicious strawberry whipped cream frosting recipe perfect to replace diplomat cream and for a sweet strawberry flavor.

Frequently Asked Questions

You will also love

• Strawberry tart
• Strawberry galette
• Strawberry coffee cake
• Strawberry macarons
• Strawberry cupcakes
• Fresh Strawberry charlotte cake

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