Strawberry Shortcake Cake

The Kelly Kitchen

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This Strawberry Shortcake Cake has the perfect balance of delicious homemade vanilla cake, fresh strawberries, and fluffy whipped cream. It is light, refreshing, and the epitome of summer dessert.

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 25

Total Time 2

Servings: 1 - (3 layer) 9" Cake

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

VANILLA CAKE

3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ cup salted butter, softened
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ¾ cups (347 g) granulated sugar
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract
4 eggs, room temp
1 ¼ cups whole milk, room temp

STRAWBERRY FILLING

1 ½ lbs strawberries, divided
2-3 Tbsp sugar (optional)

STABILIZED WHIPPED CREAM

8 oz full-fat cream cheese, cold (1 block)
1 cup (120 g) confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 ½ cups heavy cream, cold

Note: Gram measurements do not adjust automatically with the serving multiplier.

Method

CAKE

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 9” cake pans with vegetable shortening. Line the pans with parchment paper. Then, grease the parchment paper. Alternatively, spray cake pans with Pam Baking Spray (with flour). Soak cake strips in water if using them.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
With a handheld or stand mixer, cream together butter, oil, and sugar until well combined, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Add in the vanilla and almond extracts and give a quick mix. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Alternate adding flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture, beating on low (or by hand) until just combined. Take care to not over-mix.
BAKE: Wring out cake strips and fit onto cake pans (if applicable). Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes if using three 9” cake pans or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Then, remove cakes from pans and let cool on cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

STRAWBERRY FILLING

Slice or dice about 1 pound of strawberries for the filling. (Save the remaining strawberries for decorating.) If macerating strawberries, after slicing, mix with sugar in a medium bowl. Let sit for about 20 minutes.

STABILIZED WHIPPED CREAM

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth (about 1 minute). Add confectioners’ sugar and beat slowly until incorporated. Then, add vanilla and beat on medium speed until fully combined and smooth. Scrape down sides with spatula and beat again briefly.
With mixer on low, slowly pour in heavy cream. Once all the cream is added, increase speed to medium-high and whip until stiff peaks form. (I only used one batch for my cake but if you plan on doing a lot of piping, you may want to increase it a bit.) For more tips on the whipped cream, please see our post.

ASSEMBLY

Place one layer of cake on a plate or cake stand and top with one-third of whipped cream. Then, spread half the sliced strawberries on top. Add another cake layer, another third of whipped cream, and the last half of sliced strawberries. Place final layer of cake and decorate with remaining whipped cream and reserved strawberries. If piping, you can refrigerate the whipped cream for about 10-20 minutes. This will firm it up just a bit more.

STORAGE

Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. To keep cake that has been cut fresh, stick a piece of wax paper on the exposed section prior to covering and storing.

Notes

DIFFERENT SIZE: This can also be made in two 8" pans. Bake for about 33-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

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