Welcome! You are in for a treat with this French Strawberry Cake. Mixed in one bowl with the season’s freshest strawberries, this cake bakes up with a custardy middle and crackly, sugary top. This cake has thousands of fans. Read on to see why…
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This French Strawberry Cake will be your new favorite summertime treat. Reminiscent of a classic French Apple Cake it has a crumb that is sweet and custardy with a top that bakes up light and crumbly. This cake is the perfect way to show off those fresh picked strawberries!
I have Southern Cast Iron magazine to thank for the original recipe. I picked up their Spring 2016 issue because the collection of recipes looked so irresistibly delicious. The Strawberry Skillet Cake was the first I chose to make but my cast iron skillet is much bigger than 9-inches in diameter. So I decided to see how this cake fared in a traditional 9-inch cake pan.
After being wowed by the look of it coming out of the oven my family and I were even more impressed with the taste. The 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 am calling it French Strawberry Cake.
Watch how to make French Strawberry Cake:
Helpful tips for making French Strawberry Cake:
- 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 may 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 the photographs.
- Use full-fat sour cream, not low fat.
- Full fat, plain Greek yogurt may be used as a substitute for the sour cream.
- Read the comments below for more helpful information regarding this cake.
- I bake the cake and serve it straight from the 9-inch baking pan. Find the baking pan I use for this cake here.
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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. 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, 5 to 7 minutes.
- 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 butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
- Fold in strawberries. Spread the batter 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 pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.
- Let the cake cool completely in the pan and slice and serve the cake from the pan.
Notes
Nutrition
More strawberry recipes:
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberry Shortcake Baked Donuts
- White Chocolate Strawberry Mini Cheesecakes
- Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake Pie
- Spinach Strawberry Salad
- Summer Broccoli Pasta Salad
Jess says
We have made this for two summers and just love it. Sweet but not too sweet. Could be eaten for a scrumptious breakfast.
foodtasticmom says
I love a slice of this cake for breakfast! Thanks so much for taking the time to rate and review.
Roslyn Freeze says
I made a double recipe and found that it made three cakes. I use three heaping cups of strawberries that were imported from South Carolina, the very best I’ve ever tasted. I am just thrilled to have this recipe that I can share with my neighbors.
foodtasticmom says
Thanks for sharing your experience. This cake really is the best for showing off fresh strawberries like that. I’m so happy you appreciate it!
Ragan M says
-Please forgive my typos- I have cake in my mouth! 🤣😉
foodtasticmom says
Love this! You’re welcome. 😉
Mia says
I made this for my mom & daughter (the biggest strawberry lover ever). We all loved it! They both asked that I make it again. Would it be possible to make this into mini muffins? My daughter’s 6th birthday is coming up and this would be a great class treat to share.
foodtasticmom says
I’m not sure about mini muffins, but I think other readers have converted this cake recipe into regular sized muffins with success! One recipe of the French Strawberry Cake should yield 12 muffins. Here’s a great article that goes more in-depth about how to convert cake to cupcakes. Enjoy!
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2019/04/25/how-to-convert-cake-to-cupcakes
Becky says
Did you make this as muffins? Wondering the same thing.
foodtasticmom says
I’ve not personally tried this but I think some other readers have. Here’s an article for how to turn cake into cupcakes – https://www.bhg.com/recipes/how-to/bake/convert-a-cake-recipe-into-cupcakes/
You should be able to follow my recipe and bake the batter in a muffin tin for about 15 – 20 minutes. Let me know how they turn out.
Suzie says
Can you use canned strawberries?
foodtasticmom says
No I would not recommend it.
Paige Hill says
This is a 10!! Easy recipe and absolutely delicious! We’ll make this again soon.
foodtasticmom says
Yay! So glad you all liked my cake!
Rosie Spain says
Could this be baked in a 9” springform pan? And use the sparkling sugar for sprinkling on top to give it more of a crunchy texture? I would think it would look amazing displayed on a nice cake plate or stand for a brunch.
foodtasticmom says
Yes. Other readers have successfully baked this cake in a springform pan. And I think sparkling sugar should work fine and look pretty!
Solsmiles says
Delicious!! Do you think peaches subbed in for strawberries would work? Fresh or frozen?
foodtasticmom says
Yes I think peaches would work. Since this recipe is written for fresh strawberries, I would use fresh peaches. Hope you like it!
Denise says
I’m having my “girls” over for breakfast next weekend and plan on trying this in individual ramekins. AND making it triple berry, fingers crossed they like it
foodtasticmom says
Oh that is a great idea!! Have fun.
Donna says
This is a delicious, easy dessert. I love a recipe that uses fresh fruit and I see from other comments, just about any fresh fruit will work. I will try apples & peaches when in season. My 2 years old grand daughter loved it so much that she asked for it for her 3rd birthday cake this weekend!
First time I made it I thought it was under baked but in hind sight I needed to be more patient and not cut into it so quickly (hard as it is cuz it’s so yummy). It sets up nicely after cooling completely.
foodtasticmom says
Awe, that makes me so happy to hear that your grand daughter requested it for her birthday cake!! The cake is a little more custardy in the middle than some. But yes allowing it to fully cool helps a lot. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a nice review!
Elizabeth Connolly says
This recipe was phenomenal. I needed to use a whole container of strawberries before they turned. So glad to I close this to do the trick! I topped it with lemon whipped cream. Perfection.
foodtasticmom says
Happy you had such a great experience with this cake. Lemon whipped cream sounds fantastic too!
Lind says
Delicious Will make again. Would like to try black berries!
foodtasticmom says
The blackberries right now (at least in Ohio) are fabulous! That would be so good!
Jennifer Brooks Esperanza says
How would you store this? Counter or Fridge
foodtasticmom says
I personally like the leftover cake cold. You can store it on the counter, be sure and keep it sealed with plastic wrap for up to two days. But I like to store it in the refrigerator too, also covered well. Both work.
Kristen says
This is my absolute favorite cake now! So grateful I found this recipe. I often have to make two so we can have leftovers. How do you recommend storing it?
foodtasticmom says
So happy to hear this! I keep it covered on the counter (in the pan, cover with plastic wrap) for a couple of days. Longer than that (up to five days), refrigerate it. I personally like the leftover cake cold!
Jan says
I love this recipe so much! I’ve made it four times in the last month and a half! How long is the cake good for? I baked it on Thursday afternoon for an event that got cancelled. I can take it to a friend’s house on Saturday. Will it be ok to wait two days? If so, should I store it in the fridge or freezer? Can it be frozen?
foodtasticmom says
I would store it in the fridge. I think it’s good cold. But you can leave it out before serving to bring it to room temperature. For just two days I wouldn’t mess with freezing it. Probably any longer than 4 days, then you should freeze it. Wrap it in plastic wrap first before putting it in the freezer.
Although to be honest, I’d rather bake another cake than freezing the leftovers. So happy you love it!
Jen says
6 year old decided he doesn’t like strawberries anymore so had a container. No ingredients for the usual strawberry desserts so tried this. It came out looking like a magazine cover and it tastes amazing. My husband has proclaimed it his favorite cake.
foodtasticmom says
Isn’t that just like a six year old?? lol So happy you had a reason to try my cake. Thanks for such a great review!
Jay says
So good! Recipe is easy to follow, didn’t take too long to make, and the cake turned out so delicious. Really liked the slight crunch from the sugar on top and the toned down sweetness. I made a lemon curd to pair the cake with.
foodtasticmom says
Great idea to pair it with lemon curd. Thank you for taking the time to leave a positive comment and rating. I appreciate it!
Elaine says
Oh my!! This was absolutely delicious. It was light with the perfect touch of sweetness. I’ve made the French Apple one a few times before which I really love, but something about the softness of the strawberries gives this a nice touch. I did make a couple of modifications; I put 2 Tbsp of dark rum, and made a crumble topping to give it a little crunch. I topped it off with a little bit of homemade whipped cream. This one’s a keeper! Thank you
foodtasticmom says
Oh I’m liking the addition of rum and a crumble topping. That sounds fabulous! So happy you appreciate this cake recipe! 🙂
Hope says
Have you ever doubled it and baked in a 9×12?
foodtasticmom says
I haven’t, but I think some of my readers have. You can definitely fit a doubled recipe into a 9×13 pan. It might take a few minutes longer to bake.
kelli WEISS says
HI,
HAVE MADE a very similar cake several times in the past, using sour cream, yogurt, and there always lovely but as i give everything to the 1st responders i my life, haven’t always tasted them, but everyone seems very happy after getting one! i normally use a 9in s’form pan, but used the pan you suggested and it almost overflowed while baking, but as it cools has fallen a bit! i love baking with sour cream and ricotta, but used Greek yogurt this time! think 16oz of berries is a bit much for this size, and not a fan of adding more sugar on top, but followed your recipe exactly, adding more berries on top! getting the cake out seems like a challenge, but will share this with friends, neighbors, so wont be a catastrophe. theres another French s/berry cake i’ve made and its quite delish! thx for sharing:) kelli
Daisy says
Lovely cake.
Chelse says
I’ve made this with blackberries and twice with cranberries. I have gotten great results each time. It is delicious. I will try this with strawberries this summer I think. But I might try peaches first. Thanks for sharing the recipe!