Decadent Strawberry Velvet Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting

This soft, light Strawberry Velvet Cake has a fine crumb, velvety texture, and delightful strawberry flavor. Moist cake layers are filled with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, then finished with a cream cheese frosting. This recipe produces a tender, elegant cake you’ll want to make again.

We’ve made a variety of velvet cakes over the years. They’re called “velvet” because of their soft, fine texture. Most of these recipes share one technique in common: added softened cream cheese in the batter for extra tenderness without a noticeable cream cheese taste.

Popular variations include White Velvet, Lemon Velvet, Coconut Velvet, and Vanilla Velvet. This Strawberry Velvet Cake resembles our White Velvet in that it uses egg whites (rather than whole eggs), which yields an even lighter, fluffier crumb.

A look at our Ingredients

The full printable recipe appears below. Here’s a quick overview of the main ingredients for the cake layers:

• Reduced strawberry puree — make by simmering 1 cup pureed strawberries until reduced to ½ cup.
• Unsalted butter, softened.
• Cream cheese, softened to room temperature (adds tenderness to the batter).
• Sugar.
• Egg whites (this recipe uses only the whites for a lighter texture).
• Cake flour for a tender crumb (see notes for substitutions).
• Baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Buttermilk for acidity and a soft crumb (substitution noted below).
• Vegetable oil (we use canola).
• Vanilla and strawberry extracts for flavor boost.
• Fresh strawberries, sliced and folded into the batter and used in the filling.

We also made a whipped cream and strawberry filling and a cream cheese frosting to finish the cake.

How to Make a Strawberry Velvet Cake

This cake is similar to a classic homemade strawberry cake but uses egg whites, buttermilk, and a reduced strawberry puree to concentrate the flavor. It produces a light, fluffy cake with a pronounced strawberry note.

Strawberry Reduction

Start by making the strawberry reduction to concentrate the flavor. This step can be done the day before.

• Puree about 8–10 oz strawberries to make 1 cup of puree. Simmer the puree in a saucepan over medium heat for roughly 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about ½ cup. Cool before using; refrigerate to speed cooling. If your reduction ends up under ½ cup, add a little water to reach ½ cup.

Preparing the Batter

• Beat room-temperature cream cheese and butter until smooth, then add sugar and mix on medium until fluffy (about 3–4 minutes).
• Add the egg whites one at a time on low speed, mixing briefly after each addition.
• In a separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl combine the wet ingredients: buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla, strawberry extract, and the cooled strawberry reduction.
• On low speed, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk/strawberry mixture to the butter/cream cheese base, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix just until combined.
• Gently fold in ¾ cup finely sliced strawberries, then divide the batter between two 9-inch pans (or three 8-inch pans).
• Bake at 325°F for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. Let the layers cool in their pans for 5–10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Putting it all together

• While the layers cool, whip the filling: chill the mixing bowl, then whip heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla to stiff peaks. Prepare sliced strawberries for the filling.
• Make the cream cheese frosting: beat softened butter until smooth, add softened cream cheese and salt, mix in vanilla and gradually add powdered sugar, then beat until fluffy. Chill if piping is required.
• Place the first cake layer on a cake plate. Pipe a frosting dam about ½ inch from the edge, fill the center with whipped cream and sliced strawberries, then add the second layer.
• Fill gaps with frosting, apply a thin crumb coat, and refrigerate or freeze briefly to firm up. Finish with a final layer of frosting and decorate as desired—texture with an offset spatula, add a piped border, and top with fresh strawberries.
• Store the assembled cake in the refrigerator in an airtight container or under a cake dome. Remove it from the fridge 2–3 hours before serving so it softens and reaches ideal texture and flavor.

More Cakes with Strawberries!

Strawberry cakes are one of our favorites. Other recipes you might enjoy include strawberry bundt cake, strawberry shortcake with pound cake, homemade strawberry cake, and Berry Chantilly cake. Each showcases strawberries in different textures and frostings.