French Strawberry Cake is mixed in one bowl with fresh summer strawberries. It bakes up with a tender custardy middle and crunchy sugary topping.
If you like this cake, check out my Chocolate Strawberry Cake next!
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French Strawberry Cake will be your new favorite sweet treat. Reminiscent of a classic French Apple Cake, it has a crumb that is tender, sweet and custardy. And a delightful sugar crunch topping. This cake is so easy to make. And it’s a great way to show off freshly picked summer strawberries. This cake is a fan favorite!
More favorite strawberry recipes
I have Southern Cast Iron magazine to thank for this original recipe. I picked up their Spring 2016 issue because the collection of recipes looked so irresistibly delicious. Their Strawberry Skillet Cake was the first I chose to make from that issue. But my cast iron skillet at the time was too large. So I decided to bake it in a traditional 9-inch round cake pan.
After being wowed by the look of it coming out of the oven, my kids and I were even more impressed with the flavor. This cake is moist and custardy in the middle. I looked up the ingredients for a classic French Apple Cake and other than the addition of sour cream this is basically the same cake but with strawberries instead of apples. So I have officially christened this cake to be known as a ‘French Strawberry Cake‘.
Ingredients for french strawberry cake
- Strawberries – Fresh strawberries are best for this cake. I’ve only ever baked it with fresh strawberries. But some readers have had success using frozen strawberries.
- Butter, Eggs, Sour Cream and Vanilla – I have only tested this recipe using full-fat sour cream. Some readers have had success replacing the sour cream with plain yogurt.
- Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder and Salt – I’ve only tested this recipe using all-purpose flour. The granulated sugar is divided, with one cup sugar mixed into the cake batter. And a quarter cup sprinkled on top. Most readers describe the cake as not overly sweet or just sweet enough.
Pro tips
- From the comments it is reinforced that oven temperatures vary wildly. My oven bakes this cake in about 40 minutes. For others they’ve left the cake in for much longer. The center of this cake when baked will still have a custard-like texture. Not raw but more moist than other cakes you might be used to.
- Be sure to dry your strawberries thoroughly before mixing them into the batter.
- Save a few strawberries (about 1/2 cup) to place on top of the cake before sprinkling it with sugar if you want the cake to look like my pictures.
- Read through the many reader comments below for more helpful information regarding this cake.
- I bake the cake and serve it straight from its 9-inch round cake pan.
- Some readers have had success baking it in a springform pan. And then transferring it to a platter before serving.
Kitchen tools
- My favorite inexpensive paring knife for slicing the strawberries
- Nine-inch round cake pan for baking the cake
- My favorite set of magnetic measuring spoons and measuring cups for baking
Video
French Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 16 ounces fresh strawberries sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip together the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
- Fold in strawberries using a rubber spatula. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared cake pan.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar evenly over the top of the cake batter.
- Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
- Let the cake cool completely in the pan and slice and serve the cake from the pan.
Notes
Nutrition
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More versions of this cake
fraisier cake, sponge cake, moisture, preheated oven, large bowl, bite
Nic says
Probably a dumb question, but as the recipe calls for 1 stick of butter, how much is that exactly? I buy Irish butter in large chunks or squares and it would be too much 😅
Jill McOwen says
Not a dumb question at all, Nic! One stick of butter is 8 tablespoons, which is 1/2 cup or 4 ounces (about 113 grams).
Katie says
Made with blueberries and turned out amazing!! Everyone loved it. Especially love the crackle top.
Sandi Brim says
I made an extra one. Can this cake be frozen?
Pam says
Found this recipe while looking for a way to use up a lot of less than perfect strawberries so my berries were more like chopped than sliced. Recipe worked perfectly. I did use turbinado sugar on top for extra crunch. Was a hit with my dinner guests. Next time I think I’ll try adding chopped pecans on top.
Lorri says
What can I substitute for sour cream? Crème frâiche? Thanks! Eager to try this dessert!!! Looks amazing!
Jill McOwen says
I think other readers have had success using plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Enjoy!
Lorri says
Thank you!!
Lorri says
Forgot to ask if I can use organic cane sugar, also. Thanks!
Sam says
Made it for the first time just yesterday. I have a family member with gluten issues so I used King Arthur All-Purpose flour, which is gluten-free. I don’t know if it changed anything about it or not because I haven’t made one with regular flour but I loved it! And so did my gluten-free person.
Jill McOwen says
Oh good, I’m so glad to hear that you were able to modify the recipe to be made gluten-free. Thank you so much for the feedback!