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. 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
Anberlin says
This was BEYOND AMAZING!! I made this for Mother’s Day and everyone who took a bite said whoa or oh my gosh this is amazing! This will forever be my go to recipe when I need to whip something up for a gathering! So easy and pretty quick to put together!
I was going through the comments while I had passed the 40 minute timer (still wet in the middle) wondering where I went wrong! Thank goodness others had said it took them an extra 15 minutes because that’s exactly how long it took! It came out perfectly browned! I used a 9″ spring form pan that I sprayed well beforehand, it worked perfect. I think all ovens tend to cook slightly different.
One question though, how long should this last in the refrigerator? I let it cool a good hour on a cooling rack then transferred to the refrigerator when cool to the touch.
Thanks again for sharing such a yummy recipe!!
foodtasticmom says
That is so wonderful to hear! I’m glad you all liked the cake and that the additional comments helped. I would say a couple of days at most to keep the cake in the fridge – though it never lasts that long in my house 🙂
Tracy Reifer says
I made this yesterday with gluten free flour (Bob’s Red Mil 1-for-1) and it turned out perfectly! I even doubled it and used 2 – 9 inch cake pans. I had just picked fresh strawberries and wasn’t sure how many cups to use since I don’t have a scale. I found the conversion online and used 3 cups of halved berries per cake. I baked for 35 minutes and they were perfect. I took them to a family gathering yesterday and they were a hit! Delicious!!! Thanks for the great recipe!
foodtasticmom says
Perfect. That’s really good to know that this recipe works with gluten free flour too. Thanks for commenting!
Tara says
I made this to take to church. It looked good but was definitely undercooked when it was cut open. Kinda like blcake batter in the middle and I even let it bake for ten extra minutes. The flavor is great, the texture not so much. I’m guessing at least an extra 15 minutes would have helped, so a total of 65 minutes in the oven. I used fresh strawberries and Greek yogurt. The top jiggled when I took it out but I should have left it in even longer. Wasn’t sure if it’s supposed to be like that… I will definitely try it again though. Thanks for the recipe!
foodtasticmom says
I guess that just goes to prove how differently everyone’s ovens bake! I hope it works better the next time you try it and thank you for the detailed feedback. It’s always helpful to hear everyone’s experiences 🙂
Tara L Briner says
Hi! I tried the recipe again and this time it came out PERFECTLY! I used plain Greek yogurt just like last time (to cut a few fat grams) but this time I left the cake in the oven for 65 minutes. It was a work of art, and the people at church couldn’t stop commenting on how delicious it was…Perseverance! 🙂
Thanks again for posting it!
foodtasticmom says
That’s fantastic. So glad to hear it. Yay for strawberry cake and church people 🙂
Beth says
I can’t wait to make this next weekend for my father-in-law’s birthday. I saw the comments about the cake taking longer to cook – I wonder if the poster used margarine instead of butter? Just a thought…
foodtasticmom says
That’s a good thought. Margarine would likely change the texture and way the cake bakes.
Lisa says
My granddaughter and I made this cake today and it came out great! Delicious and beautiful, too, just like the photos. I used a 10″ round cake pan and it worked perfectly. Thanks so much for this recipe, definitely a keeper!
foodtasticmom says
Wonderful, so happy you enjoyed it!
Donna says
Can you substitute the sour cream with cream cheese? I’m thinking this would make an interesting combination.
Donna
foodtasticmom says
I’m not sure about cream cheese. I know people have substituted the sour cream with creme fresh, but not cream cheese
Linda says
Looks delicious!! Could I use Self-Rising flour and skip the baking powder?
foodtasticmom says
You could try but I personally have never had good luck using self-rising flour.
Debbie says
I did what I am not supposed to do (but do all the time) and made this cake for the first time for company. It was perfect, exactly what I wanted and so easy to make! This will probably be my go to summer dessert! Thank you for the recipe!
foodtasticmom says
Haha, I always try out new recipes on my company. I’m so glad it turned out for you!
Madison says
What do the instructions mean by steam the strawberries?
foodtasticmom says
“stemmed”? It means to remove the stems from the strawberries. I double-checked to make sure I did not type “steam”.
Sherry says
This looks so delicious, I can’t wait to make (and eat) this cake! I do have one question that I haven’t seen anyone else ask yet– is it possible to use a springform pan for this recipe, or would it not bake the same?
foodtasticmom says
If it’s still 9-inch, a springform pan should be just fine to use!
mushfika says
Hi can’t wait to make this I just wanna know if the sugar you used in the recipe is icing sugar of normal sugar thanks…
foodtasticmom says
So sorry for the late reply. The recipe uses granulated (normal) sugar.
ANNA RODRIGUEZ says
How far in advance can this be made?
foodtasticmom says
No more than a day
Heather @ Dredge and Drizzle says
Hey Jill! I’m stopping by other blogs saying hi to fellow bloggers who are also attending EFC in a couple weeks. I can’t believe it’s almost here!
I saw this cake and OMG. I had to schedule it to a few of my boards. Gotta get the ol’ springform pan out!
Hope to meet you at the conference!
foodtasticmom says
Sorry, just now seeing this comment. Did you enjoy the conference? I sure did!
Sandra says
Made this for Easter, the night before, used fresh strawberries, and used the 9 inch cake pan, and the batter overflow the pan why? I used all the strawberries in a 16oz. container like it called for. Plus had to cook it longer to almost 55 min. It smell and taste really good, but I might cut down on the strawberries the next time I make it. Also will be trying it with apples when my trees are fill with fresh apples this fall.
April 17, 2017
foodtasticmom says
I make a Kentucky Apple Skillet Cake – same recipe using apples and it is delicious! I’m sorry you had trouble. Everyone’s ovens are definitely treating this recipe differently. Other people have had to bake the cake longer than I had to as well.
Jan Lynch says
I made this today for Easter. The cake was delicious! It looked nothing like your picture. Mine was really dark. It wasn’t light like your cake. I wonder if anyone else’s came out different.
foodtasticmom says
What color was your pan? I wonder if that had anything to do with it? Mine was a silver pan. I know dark pans can sometimes make the cake brown more.
Lynda says
Or guessing how many strawberries in 16 oz. Help,
foodtasticmom says
Depends on size. I bought a standard 16 oz. container at the store. Maybe 12 – 15 decent sized strawberries?
Jen says
Im at 45 minutes and still very much raw in center… Yes I used fresh strawberries. Hope this turns out as it’s Easter dessert.
foodtasticmom says
I hope it turned out for you Jen! I guess there is quite a bit of variance in how everyone’s ovens bake.
Laura says
I’ve made this 3 times already. Thank you for the recipe! Absolutely delicious. Everyone had loved it. It reminds me of strawberry shortcake. Like others have noted,testing with a toothpick isn’t the best way to go because it is so custardie. It takes 42 min in my oven.
foodtasticmom says
I’m so glad you like this cake. Good to know about the time. I know ovens can vary quite a bit!
Shaunna says
I’m about to make this for the second time! My family loved it so much that they asked me to double the recipe to make a bigger cake. What are your thoughts? Will that work?
foodtasticmom says
I’d be concerned about making one big cake as there have been a few comments about the center being difficult to get “done” in some people’s ovens. So I’d just make two separate cakes 🙂
Tammy says
I have this cake baking right now, it smells heavenly in here!
foodtasticmom says
It does smell wonderful. Hope you like the taste too!
Angela says
This looks amazing!!! Do you think this recipe would turn out in the throw away aluminum pans? I wanted to make a few & give them to family. I’ve never had much luck using them..especially with breads, so let me know what you think. Tysm!
foodtasticmom says
I think the cake would be just fine baking in a foil pan. Good idea!