This is the best Vegan Strawberry Cake ever! Made with plenty of fresh strawberries, it’s simply bursting with flavor. The pretty pink frosting is to die for!
This wonderful Vegan Strawberry Cake is adapted from my Vegan Vanilla Cake recipe. It’s incredibly moist, fluffy and made with plenty of fresh strawberries! I took a lot of tips from Sally’s Baking Addiction, and used reduced strawberry puree in the cake batter and freeze dried strawberries in the frosting.
If you’d rather use fresh strawberries in the frosting as well, you can easily make the frosting from these Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes instead. You can’t go wrong with either recipe!
Do you love strawberries as much as I do? If you do, make sure to check out my Vegan Strawberry Pie, Strawberry Rolls and Vegan Strawberry Shortcake.
How to make vegan strawberry cake
Find the complete recipe with measurements below in the recipe card.
First, prepare the reduced strawberry puree
The first step in making the cake is to prepare your reduced strawberry puree. You will need 1 pound of fresh, ripe red strawberries. Rinse and hull them, then add to a food processor or blender and blend. Transfer the puree to a small pot and simmer for 25-30 minutes. The mixture will thicken and reduce to just over 1/2 cup.
Why not just use strawberry puree that is not reduced? It’s too much liquid, and not enough flavor! By reducing, you get a very concentrated strawberry flavor without adding a ton of liquid to the cake batter. Perfection.
Mix the cake batter and bake
In a large bowl (I used my stand mixer), cream together the vegan butter, oil and sugar. Mix in the vanilla and food coloring, if using. In another medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the vegan buttermilk (this is simply soy milk mixed with apple cider vinegar) until combined each time. Do NOT over mix. Finally, mix in the reduced strawberry puree until just combined.
Pour the cake batter evenly into the greased and parchment lined pans.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.
Make vegan strawberry frosting and frost the cake
Why use freeze dried strawberries instead of fresh in the frosting? Fresh strawberries can cause the frosting to curdle, and freeze dried strawberries add a ton of concentrated flavor. You may also go make the frosting from my cupcakes recipe if desired.
Using a food processor or blender, blend freeze dried strawberries into a powder. Using a mixer, beat the vegan butter until creamy. Gradually add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until it’s all incorporated. Now add in the strawberry powder, then the vanilla and milk as needed.
Once the cakes are completely cooled, frost as desired and decorate with fresh whole strawberries. Enjoy!
Tips for success
- To prepare your pans, please use a small circle of parchment paper and place it in the bottom. Then spray or grease the pans all over, including the sides. Trust me, I’ve had many cakes ruined by not properly preparing my pans!
- Use both the vegan butter AND oil. This makes the cake super moist and fluffy, while giving it the best possible buttery flavor.
- Make sure to cool the cakes COMPLETELY before frosting. If it’s warm at all, you will have a big melty mess on your hands. Trust me, I’ve been there… If I’m in a rush, I’ll put the cakes in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.
- Let your reduced strawberry puree cool a bit before adding to the cake batter. I stuck mine in the refrigerator while I prepared the cake batter, and it was just fine.
- Use deep red, sweet and delicious strawberries for the best results! Frozen strawberries will work in a pinch, but fresh seasonal strawberries are best.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I turn this into a sheet cake or bake as cupcakes? Yes, for cupcakes, fill liners halfway full and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. For a 9×13 inch cake, bake for 40-45 minutes. Or make it a true sheet cake with an 11×17 inch pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Can I add strawberry extract for more flavor? Sure! It already has a lot of flavor, but you could add 1-2 teaspoons strawberry extract in the batter when you add the vanilla.
- Is the food coloring essential? You don’t have to add any food coloring, but your cake will not be pink. Make sure to look for a vegan friendly pink or red color. Or make your own DIY pink food dye!
- Can I make a gluten free strawberry cake? Try substituting an all purpose gluten free mix for the cake/regular flour. It won’t be quite the same, but it works pretty well.
How to store leftover cake + freezing
Store the cake at room temperature for about 4 days. Make sure to cover the cut parts to prevent the cake from drying out.
You can also keep it in the refrigerator if you prefer, but when served straight from the fridge, it will be a bit crumbly and dry. So try to let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving if possible.
The whole cake or individual slices can be frozen. Or prepare the cakes ahead of time, wrap and freeze, then later make the frosting, frost and serve.
Want more incredible vegan cakes?
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Tres Leches Cake
- Vegan German Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Red Velvet Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cake
Vegan Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
Strawberry Cake
- 1 pound fresh strawberries (1/2 cup reduced, see instructions)
- 1 1/4 cups soy milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup canola oil or other neutral flavored oil
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pink food coloring optional
- 3 cups cake flour or all purpose flour, but cake flour is best
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Strawberry Frosting
- 1 cup freeze dried strawberries*
- 1 cup vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons soy milk, as needed
Instructions
Make the Strawberry Cake
- Prepare the reduced strawberry puree: Rinse and hull the strawberries. Using a food processor or blender, puree them. Pour the puree into a small pot and simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reduces to about 1/2 cup. You might have a little more than that; save for topping ice cream or waffles. Allow it to cool for several minutes before adding to cake batter.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prepare 2 8-inch round cake pans by lining the bottom with a circle of parchment paper and spraying with oil.
- Make the vegan buttermilk: Combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Stir a little, then set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, cream together the softened butter, oil and sugar until creamy. Mix in the vanilla and pink food coloring, if using.
- In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and vegan buttermilk to the bowl with the butter/oil/sugar mixture, mixing until just combined each time.
- Now add in the reduced strawberry puree with the mixer on low and mix until combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared pans, and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, the surface looks and feels set and a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean with no wet batter.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then carefully invert them onto a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before frosting.
Prepare the Strawberry Frosting
- Using a food processor or blender, blend the freeze dried strawberries into a powder. Set aside.
- Using your hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the softened vegan butter until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until all the powdered sugar is mixed in.
- Now add in the strawberry powder and mix in. With the mixer on low speed, add in the vanilla and 2-3 tablespoons of soy milk as needed to thin the frosting to a desirable consistency. If it gets too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add more milk until it's just right.
- Once the cakes are completely cooled, frost, decorate with more strawberries and enjoy!
- The cake will keep at room temperature for up to 4 days. Make sure to cover the cut part to keep it from drying out. The whole cake or individual pieces also freeze well.
Video
Notes
- Flour – Cake flour is the best choice for a light and fluffy cake, but all purpose flour works pretty well. For gluten free, try substituting a gluten free all purpose flour.
- Milk – You can substitute any plant based milk for the soy milk.
- Different sized cakes/cupcakes – You can also make this cake as a 9 by 13 inch cake. It will need to bake more like 40-45 minutes though. Or to make cupcakes, fill liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Can’t find freeze dried strawberries? Go make the fresh strawberry frosting from my Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes recipe instead.
Nutrition
*This cake was originally published July 2019 and has been updated with new photos. The original version called for half vegetable shortening/half vegan butter in the frosting, but I have since found I like using all vegan butter and no shortening.
I made this cake for my son’s 5th birthday today. It was my first time making strawberry cake and my son’s first birthday since being adopted in July. The tender crumb of the cake is well-suited to the delicate strawberry flavor. Make sure you reduce your strawberries. Knowing I could trust your recipes to be practical, family friendly, and delicious, I felt fully comfortable serving this on a special occasion having never made it before. Thank you, Nora!!
Aw happy birthday to your son! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake recipe and felt comfortable and confident making it for the occasion.
This cake was delicious but dense and I’m not sure what I did wrong. I followed the recipe exactly, I used all cake flour and made sure not to pack it, I hand mixed the flour/buttermilk in to avoid over mixing. The batter was very thick almost like dough and I added extra soy milk to one batch to help with this but it didn’t improve the texture of the final product much. Any idea on what went wrong?
I’m sorry to hear this didn’t turn out well for you Ellen. It’s a little hard to guess what went wrong without being there, but it sounds like something went wrong for sure. This cake batter is rather thick, so adding extra milk likely made it too dense. Did you make the strawberry puree and let it cool before adding it to the dough? Did you use only 1/2 cup of this or all of it (too much could make the cake dense)? I do always use a mixer for the cake and don’t stir by hand, and I do think it’s possible that had a negative effect on the outcome. You might have had to mix a whole lot more by hand just to get things to combine, whereas a mixer is more efficient. The last thing to think about is if your baking powder is not working anymore, like perhaps it’s old or you just got a bad batch. Oh, and over baking cakes can also make them very dense.
Can you sub coconut sugar for the regular sugar in this recipe? Also, I used your chocolate cake recipe which called for boiling water (which was fantastic) – is this cake still moist without the hot water here or do you recommend combining the strawberries when they are still hot?
I’ve never tried using coconut sugar but it might work okay, the cake will likely have a brownish hue. Don’t use the boiling water, it ONLY works for the chocolate cake. Trust me, I’ve tried it and it’s a big fail.
Making this one today, looks amazing. Do you know how many cupcakes this would make if I halved the recipe?
Thank you?
I think around 12-15. Enjoy!
Could I make the strawberry puree in advance – ie the day before to save time? Thanks
Yes, you can. Enjoy!
Could i make cupcakes out of this recipe? Would i need to set it at a different temperature or reduce the time in the oven?
Hi Zoe. Yes! The cupcakes will just cook for less time, maybe 18-22 minutes until they are done. Thanks and enjoy!
We made this recipe nd it was very good the frosting is excellent but recommend not puttin in food coloring I came out super red but it was very good
This is an amazing moist beautiful cake!! Made it Mostly GF used 1/2 c cake flour. It is beautiful and my soon to be 4 year old granddaughter requested a PINK cake – Pink everything and sparkles!! We are going to make the most pink cake ever!
I made it in 3 – 6 ” layers. I sliced a rounded top off one – it is out of this world. It will so much fun to decorate the cake . Thanks for this delicious cake recipe!
I am so thrilled that you loved the cake! I agree that it is a fun and beautiful cake! Happy birthday to your granddaughter! Thanks for sharing your fun feedback and wonderful review! Happy baking!
Hi Nora! You mentioned that this is for 2 8” cake pans for 30-35 minutes. But what would it be if I wanted to make a 3 tier cake. How long would I leave in a 6” cake and also a 4” cake. This way I can sit them on top of the 8”. :-). I figured I’d make another batch for the 6 & 4. Do I put them in at different times?
I’m not sure exactly; I’d have to test this myself to give you exact times. It also depends on how full you fill each cake tin. Your best bet is to check with a toothpick quite often after perhaps 20 minutes. When it comes out clean, the cakes are done. You can probably bake them in the oven at the same time, but the 6 inch will take less time than the 8 inch, and the 4 inch even less. I hope you enjoy the cake and it’s a success!
This looks excellent! Do you (or anyone) happen to know how much powdered strawberry you get from processing 1 cup of freeze dried strawberries? Was considering using the freeze dried powder. Thank you!
I believe around 1/4 cup perhaps. If it’s a little more or less, that’s fine though. Enjoy!
Thank you!
Getting ready to make this and it sounds so very good. 😋Do we really need one cup of freezed dried strawberries? That makes this a very expensive cake.
I can usually find a package of freeze dried strawberries for under $5, but you could always go make my fresh strawberry frosting from my cupcakes recipe if that works better for you. It’s just as delicious. Enjoy!
Thanks Nora. I just realized I was going by weight. Opened my 1.4 ounce bag of FD Strawberries and I have a cup🤭.
Oh good!!
Hello Nora,
This cake looks awesome! I want to make it for my birthday but I was wondering if you know if I can make the whole cake with frosting 1 or 2 weeks ahead of time and freeze it? Then defrost it a day before my birthday. Thanks in advance!
Hi! The best option would be to freeze the cake layers ahead of time, then defrost them when ready to frost and serve. You could freeze the entire cake if needed, but that wouldn’t be my preference. I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful birthday!
Hi! Did you end up freezing your cake layers? How did it turn out for you?
I think I may need to do that very thing for my son’s birthday as it is hard to bake a cake the same day as the party! Thanks!
My cake tastes perfect, but when I tried to assemble the top cake broke into 3-4 big pieces. Any reason why that happens?
To prevent cakes from baking while you are assembling, make sure they are completely cooled. If not, they can break and slip. Handle them very carefully as well. And did the bottom cake have a super dome or something? Mine don’t usually, but if yours happened to, perhaps try leveling it off first before frosting and placing the next layer on.
Would it work to substitute strawberries + freeze dried strawberries for blueberries and freeze dried blueberries to do a blueberry version of the cake?
Yeah totally, enjoy!
Hi Nora,
The cake looks sooo good. I want to bake it for my daughters birthday….but it is so hard to find sweet strawberries these days. Do you think I can use strawberry jam? …and maybe reduce the sugar?
Thank you
I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure if that will work or not, but it might. Jam is a bit different than reduced strawberry puree. If you can use fresh or frozen strawberries, that would be better. Hope you enjoy!
The batter came out very thick/stodgy for me. It was very thick, almost like a dough, so I added more liquid, but I think that might have been what ruined it. Tried to match the consistency I saw in the video. What would you recommend be added if the batter is too thick? Definitely want to try it again, it still tasted very good!
I made this for my sisters birthday and everyone loved it! I did a jammy strawberry center in mine too. It was surprisingly not overly sweet which I was very happy about.
Hi! I’m making this for my friend’s birthday this weekend and she requested a heart shape cake. I have a 10 inch mold so I’m wondering what you might suggest for baking time? And if I should increase the recipe? Thanks in advance!
I think there will be too much batter to fit in one 10 inch cake pan. I probably would not use all the batter, but maybe 3/4 of it? You could make some cupcakes with the rest of the batter perhaps. It will need to bake for longer, but it’s hard for me to say how long. I would watch it closely and do a toothpick check. I’d need to test it to know for sure.
Thank you so much, I have two mold for it to be a layered cake so I make just make two batches and make some cupcakes with the extra, can’t wait to try it!!
Wow, what a dreamy cake! Fluffy, moist, and packed with strawberry flavor. I made this for Mother’s Day and the whole family loved it. I have a feeling I’ll be coming back to this recipe again and again, 10/10!
Hi Sarah. I’m thrilled the cake was a hit! Thanks for your wonderful review and feedback! Makes me want to go make a strawberry cake!
I didn’t use the beetroot powder, so it wasn’t pink, but was absolutely delicious. I was in a time crunch, so I made a funfetti box cake for my daughter’s birthday and she said it was disgusting. I made this the next day to redeem myself and everyone LOVED it.
I’m hoping to make this as a layer cake, with a layer of strawberry cake and a layer of vanilla cake.
Do you think the recipe base would work as a vanilla cake if I split the batter before adding the strawberry?
I think it would probably work but I’m not sure as I haven’t tested it this way. It would be missing a little liquid from the strawberry puree; maybe add a little extra milk (1/4 cup) to that half. It might be fine without it though.
Hi Nora!!! I’d love to try this for my next volunteer session for vegan baked goods. How would I need to adjust the recipe to bake in a 9×13 pan for a single layer?
Hi Lakita. Good choice! You can definitley make this cake as a 9 by 13 inch cake without any adjusts to th recipe itself. It will need to bake more like 40-45 minutes. Happy baking!
I am a strawberry lover. This cake is packed with strawberry flavor – not only the reduced strawberry puree in the batter but the strawberry powder in the frosting. Sweet but not overly. Love it!
I’m so glad you are loving the cake, Paula! Thanks for your awesome review and feedback!
This cake is off the charts delicious! Non vegan folks absolutely LOVE this cake. I have made it twice and it was devoured in two days, both times. I would imagine it keeps very well however it did not last long in my home.
This is going in the recipe vault for sure!!
Make it……you will not be disappointed and everyone will ask for the recipe.
OUTSTANDING!!!
Hi there! Could I make this in a Bundt pan?
I haven’t personally tried it but I think it will work. It will need longer to bake, around 45-50 minutes I’m guessing, but do a toothpick check. When no wet batter comes out with the toothpick, it’s done.