Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Filling

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Strawberry lovers will rave over this vanilla cake with strawberry filling. Not only is it bursting with fruity flavor inside, it's coated in a strawberry and cream cheese frosting. The marbling effect gives it an elegant and elevated look, which is part of why my friends and family keep requesting this cake! It's truly a showstopper for special occasions.

Pink and white marbled cake, topped with roasted strawberries

If you need a smaller, individual version of this tasty cake, my strawberry filled vanilla cupcakes are a must!

I use a really simple base recipe from my small batch vanilla cupcakes, and the ingredients are pretty standard ones you'll likely already have in your pantry. But the roasted strawberries in the cupcakes and this cake take things to a whole new level of deliciousness. 🍓

And for the sister cake to this one, chocolate lovers need to make this chocolate cake with strawberry filling ASAP!

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Recipe Planning for this Cake
Ingredients for Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Filling
Pro Tip for Even Cake Layers
Steps for Baking this Moist Cake
Instructions for the Roasted Strawberry Filling
Recipe Shortcut
Making Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Preventing Strawberry Leakage
Stacking and Assembling Cake
FAQ and Storage for Strawberry Filled Cake
✨ Tips for Recipe Perfection
Best Results: Baking in Grams
More Delicious Fruit-Filled Recipes
Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Filling

Recipe Planning for this Cake

In order to knock out this recipe in one session, I recommend first roasting your fresh strawberries.

While they're in the oven, dive into the steps for baking the homemade vanilla cake.

Once the strawberries have roasted, let them cool as you bake your cake.

While your cake bakes, clean your mixing bowl and make the strawberry frosting.

Alternatively, roast the strawberries one day. Bake and assemble the cake with the strawberry filling the following day.

Ingredients for Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Filling

In the recipe card below, you'll find the full list of ingredients you need for this strawberry cake. I highlight a few of the key ones and why they're important.

Fresh strawberry filling - By roasting strawberries, we soften their texture and release some of their water, leaving us with lots of pure strawberry flavor.
Unsalted room temperature butter - Butter is a fat, and fat equals flavor! Mixing butter and granulated sugar incorporates air into the batter. This process helps your cake layers rise in the oven.
Vanilla extract - In an online baking class I took once, Christina Tosi of Milk Bar taught us that you don't need expensive vanilla extract for good flavor. So the extract from your local grocery store is perfectly fine for this recipe. I never taste much difference between pricier extracts and more basic ones.
Almond extract - The combination of almond and strawberry is a good one. While not a requirement, almond nicely complements the vanilla and strawberry flavors here.
Freeze dried strawberries - Freeze dried strawberries have a concentrated, more intense flavor than fresh or even dried fruits. They work well in frosting because they don't add any excess moisture. Be sure to grind them into a fine powder before incorporating them into the frosting. This yields a smoother, more uniform distribution of flavor.

Pro Tip for Even Cake Layers

I use these bake even strips on most of my cakes. They help cake rise evenly during baking.

If you want to do the same, start soaking strips in water before proceeding with the recipe.

Steps for Baking this Moist Cake

Preheat your oven to 350°F and dive into the steps below.

Small cake pan, wrapped in damp purple cake strip

Step 1: Line two eight inch round cake pans with parchment paper.

Alternatively, you can generously butter and flour the pans or use non-stick baking spray.

Whatever you choose, it’s important to use proper baking release spray or butter and flour so that your layers don't stick to the pan.

Step 2: To a large bowl, add and whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Set aside dry ingredients.

Step 3: Using the paddle attachment in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat your sugar, butter, and vanilla extract together on medium speed for 4 minutes. Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Step 4: Add your eggs, canola oil, and Greek yogurt to your primary mixing bowl. Mix on low speed for about 3 minutes.

Step 5: Add half of your buttermilk and half of your flour mixture to your bowl of wet ingredients. Mix, repeat, and gently mix all ingredients together until just combined.

Step 6: Pour and evenly spread the cake batter into your prepared cake pans. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until vanilla cake layers appear buttery and dense but bounce back at the touch of your finger.

Let cakes cool in pans 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack so it reaches room temperature before frosting.

Instructions for the Roasted Strawberry Filling

These roasted strawberries make the best cake filling!

They're juicy and bring tons of flavor. They're also easy to prepare and make.

I personally like roasting the strawberries one day and assembling cake layers the following or vice versa to break things up.

Preheat oven to 375°F to create your filling and follow the below steps.

Up-close image of strawberries in bowl with sugar on them.

Step 1: Toss fresh strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, and salt in a bowl.

Up-close image of chopped strawberries on a baking sheet.

Step 2: Spread berries out onto an aluminum or metal pan to bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping berries halfway through.

Step 3: Once berries have a soft, syrupy consistency, remove from oven.

Pieces of roasted strawberries in a bowl.

Step 4: Transfer roasted strawberries to a heatproof bowl and let cool in refrigerator.

Note that bake time varies depending on the pan and how it conducts heat. For instance, strawberries in a metal dish will bake faster than ones in glass.

Recipe Shortcut

If you don't have time to roast the strawberries, replace the steps below with your favorite store-bought strawberry jam!

Making Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredient shot for strawberry and cream cheese frosting.

This frosting is a hybrid buttercream frosting. It combines unsalted butter with cream cheese for a bit of tanginess.

Mixing bowl with whipped cream cheese frosting.

Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment -- or in a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer -- beat the cream cheese until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and mix for another 1 minute or until fully combined.

Mixing bowl with whipped cream cheese, along with sugar, and butter.

Step 2: Next, turn off your mixer and add salt, powdered sugar, and almond and vanilla extracts to bowl. Mix on low setting to slowly incorporate powdered sugar before increasing to high speed for another 2-3 minutes. Add lemon juice if needed to cut sweetness (personal preference).

Freeze dried strawberry powder in a mixing bowl with cream cheese.

Step 3: If you want to make pink and white frosting, remove half of your base frosting and set aside in another bowl. Then add finely ground freeze dried strawberries to mixing bowl and mix until well-combined.

Adding strawberry cream cheese frosting to a piping bag.

Step 4: Put white frosting in one piping bag and pink strawberry buttercream in another.

Preventing Strawberry Leakage

Roasted strawberries make this cake delicious, but their juices can cause issues. Here are handy tips:

After frosting the first cake layer, pipe a thick border of frosting around the edge. This will contain the strawberries and their juice.
When adding the second cake layer, add more frosting where the layers meet to seal in the juice.
As you scrape the cake’s frosting, let the excess form a small edge around the top. This helps contain the juices.
If needed, pipe a small border around the top rim to keep the juice in place.

Stacking and Assembling Cake

Placing first layer of vanilla cake on a turntable.

Step 1: Pipe or spread a dollop of cream cheese frosting onto a cake circle to act as glue to hold the layer in place. Set first cake layer on top of that.

Pink and white frosting on the first layer of vanilla cake on a turntable.

Step 2: Pipe about a third of your frosting (you can use a mix of pink and white. If you want more white frosting on the outside with small pink sections, use more pink inside or vice versa.) on top of the bottom layer and spread evenly with a cake spatula.

Roasted strawberry filling on top of the bottom layer of a vanilla cake.

Step 3: Create thick piped border to contain filling. Spread ½ of your roasted strawberries inside the border. The border should be the height of the strawberries so their juice doesn't leak out!

Rough coat of strawberry cream cheese frosting on two layer vanilla cake.

Step 4: Place second cake layer on top of the first, adding more frosting between the layers as needed to insulate the berries. Then, starting from the base of the cake and moving to the top, pipe a thick layer of frosting all around your cake’s sides and top.

Cake scraper against the side of vanilla cake with strawberry filling to smooth out the frosting.

Step 5: Place a cake scraper against the side of the cake and gently pull the cake around to smooth out bubbles in the frosting.

Up-close image of roasted strawberries on top of vanilla cake with strawberry filling.

Step 6: Pipe lines of the pink frosting around and on top of the cake, using the cake scraper to even it out and create a marbled effect on the outside of the cake. Top with remaining roasted strawberries.

Slice of pink and white marbled cake, topped with roasted strawberries.

FAQ and Storage for Strawberry Filled Cake

How can I enhance a basic vanilla cake?

Vanilla can get a bad reputation for being bland. However, because of its easygoing flavor, it pairs so well with many flavors. You could always try something different, like a Biscoff buttercream or black buttercream.

Adding a filling like what you see here is another way to take a standard vanilla layer cake up a notch. Or decorate the top of it with whatever fruits are freshest and in season for you.

Why do I need to bake with room temperature ingredients?

Ingredients like eggs, butter, and other dairy products are important in trapping air into your baked goods as you mix the batter or dough for them. That air expands during the baking process in the oven. This can mean the difference between a dense and crumbly cake and a nice, fluffy one.
So you should always bake with room temperature ingredients if a recipe calls for it. This one does.

How do I store this vanilla cake with strawberry filling?

This cake will remain most fresh if stored in the refrigerator for about five days.
If possible, bring out the cake about 30 minutes before serving so that it can reach room temperature for best flavor and texture.

Can I freeze this cake?

Even with the strawberry cake filling, this dessert will freeze pretty well for 3 months. Store slices in wax or parchment paper in an airtight container.

✨ Tips for Recipe Perfection

Don't overmix your batter! Overmixing batter can yield a denser cake, the opposite of a soft and fluffy baked good. Pay attention to the photos in this recipe for visual cues on how your batter should look before baking.
Let cake layers cool before assembling cake. If the layers are still warm when you pipe frosting onto them or try to add the strawberry filling, you'll regret it. The frosting may melt, and the warm cake's texture won't be quite sturdy enough to hold the strawberry filling well.
For a more flavorful dessert, eat this strawberry-filled cake the next day. The added time allows the flavors to meld together longer, resulting in a stronger taste.

Best Results: Baking in Grams

If you’re not already, use a kitchen scale for accuracy in baking.

While I include cups and grams in my recipe cards, weighing your ingredients and writing or following a recipe using a standard metric like grams ensures consistency.

I highly recommend investing $30 or less in a kitchen scale.