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
NanaToTwo says
AHHMAZING!
First I made this with frozen strawberries and it turned out wonderful!
But I wanted something bigger so I doubled the recipe and put it in a 9″ spring form pan. I used regular cherries(frozen and sour!) mixed with rhubarb(frozen and sour!). I baked it in my convection oven for 1 hour, it didn’t need to be covered. It turned out PERFECT!!
Thank you for the recipe!!
foodtasticmom says
So glad to hear this. One, that you can use frozen strawberries and two, that you were able to successfully double the recipe! You’re welcome 🙂
Lizzy says
I have made this twice for my family and it is a huge hit. One of the best cakes I’ve ever made! I was wondering if anyone has tried doing a cupcake/muffin version of this? I wanted to make it for my neighbors. If so, how do you think times would be adjusted?
foodtasticmom says
I feel like maybe someone tried but there are so many comments on this recipe now I am having trouble finding. Here’s a link for how to convert a cake recipe to cupcakes: http://www.thekitchn.com/heres-how-to-convert-a-cake-recipe-to-make-cupcakes-instead-tips-from-the-kitchn-219545
This recipe should make about 12 cupcakes and will probably bake in 20 minutes, though you should start checking at 15. Let us know how it goes!
Kris says
Should I sift the flower first? Maybe that’s why people are gettng soupy underdone cake.
foodtasticmom says
A good point? I’ve never sifted flour (I’m always in too much of a hurry, LOL) but I think it’s worth a try.
Debra Ducsay says
Made this yesterday, it was so good! Thank you for sharing. I will be making this again for sure!
foodtasticmom says
Thanks so much for the positive feedback Debra!
Amanda says
I don’t ever leave comments on blogs but I had to tell you how much I love this cake! I’ve made it numerous times, each time turning out flawlessly and so delicious. Today, I’m mixing it up and adding blueberries (my kiddos ate the strawberries at breakfast without knowing mommy needed them for the cake!). But I’m confident it will turn out just as well. Thank you for posting such a fantastic recipe to share with friends and family! I look forward to making it in the years ahead 🙂
foodtasticmom says
Love hearing this Amanda and thank you for taking the time to comment!
KM says
Can I use cake flour instead of all purpose flour?
foodtasticmom says
From the Joy of Baking, “To substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour for every cup of all-purpose flour.”
Karina Reyes says
Jill help me! I’m living in Brazil. You can say me how many grams is an stick of butter?
foodtasticmom says
1 stick or 1/2 cup butter is equal to 4 ounces, or 113 grams
(so sorry for the late response – was on vacation and not looking at my comments)
Magan says
I never leave comments on recipes, but I thought I should for this AMAZING cake! My plan to make it was almost derailed as I found bugs in my nearly brand new bag of KA AP flour! I have never had that happen before:( Luckily I did have a new un-opened box of KA cake flour and used it instead by adding 2 additional TBs as mentioned in another comment. I baked it for around 45 minutes in a round 9 inch Wilton cake pan and it came out perfectly! I cut into it while it was still warm, and OMG it was too die for!!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
foodtasticmom says
Bummer on finding bugs in your flour. Hope that is only a one time occurrence for you! I’m so glad you were able to keep going and the recipe turned out for you. Thanks for the positive review 🙂
BootzB says
I made this yesterday. I decided to use two aluminum loaf pans (smallest size) and a tiny spring form (dark) 4″ pan. It was all a test to see which worked best. They all turned out great, I pulled one loaf pan out at 50 minutes, but decided to go 60 minutes for the others. For my oven, I think 55-60 minutes will be best, I liked the browned top and the sugar crunch better than the one baked at 50 minutes. I had sour cream that had mistakenly been frozen, so as not to have a complete disaster result I decided to use half Greek yogurt and half sour cream, no issues, it could have been all of either! I also prefer Dermerara sugar so my ratio was close to 50:50, the cake color was not pure white like yours, but I loved the extra crunch in the topping so I may adjust accordingly. BTW, I liked this better the second day, {It spent the night in the fridge}. Next time, and there WILL be a next time, I will use 2 regular size loaf pans b/c I like to share with neighbors. AND, thank you for the whipped cream in a bell jar tip! It will be easy to send that along with the cake.
This is a wonderful (base) cake batter and enhanced by the fruit selected. I could even envision the cake, baked sans fruit, with a fresh fruit mix on the side and a dollop of Crème fraîche or whipped cream. Thank you for such a delight!
Dorie says
Just made this cake! I used a 9″ springform pan. It came out wonderful!! It’s a keeper! 🎂💕
Devon Leguillette says
I made this cake in a spring form pan with 8 ounces of strawberries and 8 ounces of blueberries. It was delicious and everyone wanted the recipe.
I wasn’t sure if the “ounces” meant wight or volume. I went with volume = 2 cups.
Would this cake freeze well?
Khau Trang Hoat Tinh La Gi says
Hi there, everything is going sound here and ofcourse every one is sharing data,
that’s truly excellent, keep up writing.
Samantha Bulzomi says
I made this with my niece a few nights ago because we both thought it sounded delicious. Oh…my..gosh…it is AMAZING !! Everyone who tried it kept telling us how good it was and it really was ! I’m making this again for a birthday party because I know everyone will love it.
**the first time I baked it I put it in two 8 inch round cake pans because I misread the directions and left them in for a little over the time it recommended above and they came out perfect !! This time I’m using one 9inch pan 🙂
Pamela says
Made this today….wowza! Fantastic! I used frozen strawberries and patted them down to remove moisture before lightly folding them in. I live at 6500 ft and did zero adjustment to recipe for altitude adjustment. Baked it for 40 minutes and it was perfection. We added vanilla ice cream which somehow even bumped up the flavor a bit more. Thanks for this crazy awesomeness:)
Sharmeen says
I am going to make this tomorrow for my hubby’s birthday! It looks and sounds great and reading all the comments has made me more excited.
Can you please clarify what 1 stick of butter means? How many gms is that approximately?
foodtasticmom says
So sorry for the late reply. A stick is 8 tablespoons. Here are the conversions –
8 tablespoons equals 1/2 cup equals 113.4 grams
diane says
Hello and thank you for posting this delicious looking recipe. Could I substitute whole milk yogurt for sour cream? It’s what I have on hand. Thank you in advance for your reply!
foodtasticmom says
I’m sorry for the late reply. Yes you may substitute yogurt for sour cream.
Kandy says
AWESOME!!! Made this on a whim and it came out amazing! I have been slaving over trying to make the perfect apple pie and this recipe (in comparison) is way easier and way more rewarding!! Five stars and I’m picky as heck when it comes to baked fruits in my food. I baked for 40 min and toothpick came out clean, was not runny or anything. Omg YES GURL!
foodtasticmom says
Haha, you comment made my day. Thanks so much Kandy!
Gloria says
Really good!! All my family love the flavor and texture 😍
Zahra says
Hi
Thanks alot for the recipe, i just made it to day!
It was really delicious…like it so much specially the crusted top layer!
But there is a quation, how should i do that the straberries stay it all layers, when i bake it all the straberries went down, but in your beautiful pic i can see that the straberries had stayed in different layer of the cake, what should i do??
foodtasticmom says
I should update the instructions – I mix in most of the strawberries into the batter then I scatter about 10 or so slices on the top. It’s kinda my little secret 😉 and I did it really for photographic purposes but there you go! Save a few and place them on top once the batter is in the pan and before baking.
Cher says
This was delicious! Followed your recipe exactly and baked in a 9” ceramic pie plate for about 40 minutes and it was perfect. Took it to a birthday celebration and everyone loved it. Gotta love easy recipes that look like they would be much more time-consuming 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
foodtasticmom says
Wonderful – so happy to hear that you liked this recipe! And I am all about recipes that seem complicated but are actually simple 🙂
Tracey says
This cake is amazing! I made two for potlucks and another for my family of 8. Everyone wants more so I’m making another for Easter! I have a question. I’m assuming leftovers should be refrigerated. How long do you think is ok to leave it out of making one for a friend? I’m concerned about losing the beautiful crunchy topping to condensation in the fridge. Thanks!
foodtasticmom says
I’m so glad that this cake is a hit for you. At most without refrigeration the cake will keep for two days (covered, like in a cake carrier). And I think you are right. Refrigerating any longer than that would affect the texture. So my answer is two days. Which probably isn’t very helpful 🙂 Sorry! But thank you for the rating and the compliments! Happy Easter!
Krista says
Help! How do you store and serve it!? Made this the day before an event and have no idea what to do once it cools.
foodtasticmom says
I slice and serve it directly out of the pan it was baked in. Allow it too cool completely before putting it in a cake container or cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until tomorrow.
Ilse says
I tried this recipe twice and both of the times it came out really wet although I baked it longer than the advised time. Does anyone know what could be the cause or (more importantly) how I can fix it? I really love the taste.
foodtasticmom says
Maybe try less strawberries? You are using fresh, not frozen, right? Make sure to drain them and maybe even let them set on paper towels to absorb any extra moisture before mixing them in with the cake batter. I’m sorry you’ve had a less than positive experience with this recipe 🙁
RachelSrn says
I am a very discerning cook/ baker and this is a fantastic recipe, not too sweet with a lovely cake, but most importantly the fruit is the star! I will use this recipe over and over!!!!
foodtasticmom says
Thank you so much – I really appreciate the compliment!
Gerald says
I’m so happy with how this recipe turned out! We are celebrating my friend Misty’s birthday today so I stalked her Pinterest to figure out a surprise desert to make. When I saw this pinned I knew it was the recipe! Super easy and delicious! I am pairing it with homemade whipped cream, inspired by the photos above.
To begin, I followed the recipe to a T……except for the fact that I made it in cupcake form as I thought that would be more fun for her birthday party. I am actually referring to these as ‘French Strawberry Mini-Cakes’ as they are more reminiscent of a miniature cake vs a cupcake or muffin, ie: the top has that wonderful flaky crack and it is not rounded. I read every single review on this page trying to see what I should change/do differently to convert this recipe from a regular cake to mini-cakes but in the end I just decided to go about things by doing a little trial and error of my own. I saw that a few others had asked about doing a ‘cupcake’ versions of this recipe so I wanted to share what worked/didn’t work for me – my apologies for the long review!
So, yes, I followed the recipe to a T when it came to preparing the batter and everything else. However, instead of a cake pan, I used a 12 cup dark silver muffin tin. I kept the oven at 350* and found that 20 minutes was the perfect amount of bake time. I did broil the tops at 500* for maybe 2 minutes at the end just to give the tops a nice toasted gold color for my personal preference. This recipe yielded 18 mini-cakes for me overall.
Before I baked my first batch, I tried two tester mini-cakes: For the first one, I used a foil cupcake baking liner and the second one next went straight into the muffin tin which was greased with a light layer of butter. Both worked pretty well! The ‘cupcake’ one was super easy/neat to remove from the muffin tin which was a plus and the actual cake did not stick to the liner. With that said, I actually preferred the other mini-cake better because the sides got a beautiful brown crust to them from touching the baking tray directly. [I love a nice crunch one the outside to contract the custard-like filling!] They were a little harder to remove this way though and I tried several ways to remove them from the muffin tin. In the end, I found that spooning them out of the tin very quickly after they are done baking yielded a better result than letting them cool in the pan.
Hopefully my review helps others! Please let me know if you have any tips or suggestions. I’d definitely love to find a way to keep the sides of each mini-cake still browned and crunchy while making them a little bit easier to remove from the pan. Not that greasing the pan with butter didn’t work (in fact, it made the sides super delicious) but perhaps I will try another non-stick method next time just to keep them a little more neater.
foodtasticmom says
Gerald I think you need to be my official tester from now on 🙂 I love your thorough review – so helpful to me and my readers. I’d been thinking of trying this recipe in cupcake form (I’ve made several different versions, just switching out the fruit, and making one into an “upside down cake” with peaches) but hadn’t gotten to cupcakes/mini cakes yet. Your friend Misty is lucky to have you baking for her. Thanks so much for all these helpful tips!!