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French Strawberry Cake

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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…

slice of french strawberry cake on plate with whole strawberry and whipped cream

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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!

overhead view of french strawberry cake in pan

 

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.

overhead view of french strawberry cake slice

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.

side view of french strawberry cake in pan

 

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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Made in one bowl. So easy but so impressive! #frenchstrawberrycake #cakerecipes

French Strawberry Cake | Foodtastic Mom #frenchstrawberrycake #cakerecipes

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French Strawberry Cake
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4.91 from 116 votes

French Strawberry Cake

French Strawberry Cake makes a stunning presentation straight out of the pan it is baked in - plus it is mixed together in just one bowl. An easy and impressive cake for strawberry season.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 430kcal
Author Jill McOwen

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

I used a 9-inch, light silver metal cake pan for this cake. I also used fresh, not frozen strawberries.
The cake is meant to be "custard-like" in the middle. Not under baked but not "crumby" like a traditional cake.
Some people have reported needing to bake the cake longer than the recommended time of 35 - 40 minutes. Color of cake pans, size of strawberries and individual ovens will all factor into the correct baking time.

Nutrition

Calories: 430kcal
French Strawberry Cake

More strawberry recipes:

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sarah @ Champagne Tastes says

    This looks AMAZING!!! I love French cobbler.. this looks just as delicious. I’m going to need to have recipes stockpiled for summer strawberries yum.

    Reply

  4. Melissa Duff says

    I made this recipe last week to test it out for a party I’m throwing today. It was amazing! I making it again today. I recommend doing the good old jiggle test rather than inserting a toothpick because the crusty top gave me an incorrect impression that the cake was done before it actually was. Other than that, it was perfect!

    Reply

  6. Marn says

    Thanks for sharing. I’ll be trying the apple version too. I’m sure that it would be a winner with peaches as well.

    Reply

  7. Susan says

    Just stumbled upon this recipe and cannot wait to give it a try! I’m wondering about the whipped cram in the mason jar. What would be the measurements for the cream and sugar? Sorry new to cooking….

    Reply

  9. Allison says

    This was AMAZING. Made it last night for a dinner party with friends and on the first bite everybody went “whoa.” Storing this one away for sure!

    Reply

  10. Cari says

    Just made this today! It is delicious!!!! Does it need to be refrigerated? It should last a while in my house as I am the only one who likes strawberries!

    Reply

    • foodtasticmom says

      Yay, so glad you liked it. I think that yes after a day it should be refrigerated. And make sure to seal it well before you put it in the refrigerator. Thanks for stopping by to give me feedback 🙂

      Reply

  11. Diana says

    Tried this yesterday. The cake tasted great, but didn’t have the crackly top. It came out flat topped, even though I followed the recipe exactly. I wonder why!

    Reply

    • foodtasticmom says

      I’m glad the taste was great! Did you sprinkle the sugar on top before baking? I’m not an expert so I’m not quite sure. Differences in humidity could have an effect on it possibly. Kind of like humidity effects a pie crust and how much water you need to add to the dough. That is my best guess.

      Reply

  13. Danielle says

    I’ve been cooking for 80 minutes now at 350 in a 8.5″ metal cake pan and the center is STILL wet and uncooked. The edges keep getting more brown. I’ve never had to double the cooking time on baked goods (maybe meats). Help!

    Reply

    • foodtasticmom says

      Did you use fresh strawberries, not frozen? The only think I could think of is the high water content in store-bought frozen strawberries would definitely affect the baking. Otherwise it should have been fine. I’ve made this cake many times according to the directions I published and never had an issue. Always used fresh strawberries. I hope that helps. I’m so sorry you had issues!

      Reply

      • Louisa says

        5 stars
        I made this recipe today in a 9″ square pan and it turned out fantastic! My stepson was helping me and he said he preferred the square pan to the round one and he told me it would be fine as I told him I was nervous about using the wrong shaped pan, and turns out he was right!

        Reply

  15. Danielle says

    Do you think this recipe would work for cupcakes? I have been requested to make fresh strawberry cupcakes for a birthday party and this looks delicious!

    Reply

  16. Sam says

    I had the same issue as the above poster. Cake was still wet even at 45 minutes. I am putting it back in for 20 minutes. Sides have already browned so I don’t think this will turn out well. I’m in salvage mode now. 🙁

    Reply

      • mary says

        It’s the strawberries. Most recipes have you dry out some of the moisture in the strawberries first by putting them in the oven at 300 for 20 minutes

        Reply

        • foodtasticmom says

          This is a very good point. I feel like that might have been addressed in some of the comments. But yes, I’m sure it can have an effect and does… based on the wide range of baking times people have reported to me over the years.

          Reply

  17. Melanie says

    This is currently in the oven and smells AMAZING! Super easy to make. Can’t wait to taste it! I am using a convection oven and I’m already at almost 40 mins bake time (usually convection takes half the time). I am using the jiggle test method…
    Thank you for sharing this beautiful cake recipe.

    Reply

    • Melanie says

      Just to add – it is Delicious! I think I may have overcooked it waiting for the toothpick test to come out clean. I think it doesn’t have to be clean – but not totally wet. The jiggle test was probably the better indicator. Anyhow, it is amazing and easy. Make sure to spread out the strawberries evenly or risk getting a cake-only bite, which is still yummy. Thank you for this! I can’t wait to impress my dinner guests “look what I can do!” 🙂

      Reply

  19. Carly says

    I used pie glass pan to bake it and it came out perfectly! And I’m curious will it go well for blueberry Leno?? Thanks!

    Reply

    • foodtasticmom says

      I have made it with fresh sliced apples. I’m sure blueberry and lemon would translate well too. Good to know it can be made in a glass pie pan too. Thanks for the comment!

      Reply

  20. P Preston says

    I made this for a friend to take home but i was nota able to get it out if the pan. I let it cool completely because I noticed it was sinking as it cooled so I didn’t want to disturb it but it was stuck when I turned it upside down. I sprayed my pan with bakers spray so it shouldn’t have been an issue. Just looking for a guideline for removing the cake from the pan. Thanks!

    Reply

    • foodtasticmom says

      I should edit the instructions because I’ve only ever let it cool in the pan and served it directly from the pan. I would say that if you want it to remove easily to line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and then grease and flour the pan (not just cooking spray). That’s what all the pros do! Hope that helps.

      Reply

      • robin j henderson says

        My family loves this recipe. I think it has become our #1cake.
        We bake it in a springform pan so it comes out of the pan easily for serving even if it is custardy in the middle. I think we actually prefer it that way…we have had it in different degrees of creaminess in the middle.

        Reply

    • T Jones says

      5 stars
      I have made this several times and always use a 9″ spring form pan and line the bottom with parchment as well as spraying everything with coconut oil prior to pouring the mix to bake it. I also used half the amount of sour cream and used buttermilk for the other half because I love what buttermilk adds to my baked goods.

      Reply

  21. Janet Brown says

    I am thinking this would also be very good with blueberries or peaches. This is something that will remain in my deserts for light & fluffy.

    Reply

  22. Diana Murray says

    Made this cake yesterday, used frozen strawberries but the result was still so good. I’m sure it will be a favourite in our house, am going now to buy more frozen red globes of summer!

    Reply

  23. Debby says

    Help the recipe doesn’t say whether or not you take the cake out of the pan to finish cooling or not . I’m literally along it now and really need to know thank you. It looks and smells wonderful

    Reply

  25. Rob c says

    Absolutely amazing- cake was soft and very moist and all around just perfect strawberry’s did not sink- I always add extra vanilla and it worked perfectly- will continue to make this recipe, even without strawberry’s !!

    Reply

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