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:Â 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.
Hi Nora! I’ve made this recipe twice now and both times the cake came out VERY moist, almost a play dough like texture, despite passing the tooth pick test and thoroughly cooling before frosting. The flavor is still amazing and everyone had enjoyed it, but the texture is throwing me off a bit. Is that to be expected or is there something I am doing wrong here? Anyways, I love your recipes (:
I’m sorry to hear that, I wonder what is going on. Are you using gluten free flour? So are you saying it’s just not cooking through? I’ve never had anything like that happen with this recipe, but I want to help! It should be moist, but light and fluffy. Certainly not like play dough.
Hi was wondering if i were to double the recipe would i use 1/2 strawberry puree as written or would i double it to 1 cup ? 🙂
You would increase it to 1 cup. That particular text just doesn’t double when you click the 2x. 🙂 Thanks!
HI, I haven’t made this yet, but I am wondering if I can use almond milk instead of soy milk? It’s what we have on hand right now. Also, any substitute for Earth Balance buttery sticks? Thanks!
Hi Christine, yes you can use almond milk in place of soy, no problem. Any other vegan butter will work fine for the frosting, it doesn’t have to be earth balance. Hope that helps and you enjoy the cake!
Made this recipe yesterday but I subbed fresh strawberries with freeze dried and it still turned out amazing!! The cake was super fluffy but still kept it’s shape. Thank you for an amazing recipe!
You are welcome! Glad you loved the cake! Thanks for your fabulous feedback and review!
I don’t see at what point the oil/butter/sugar part is added to batter? I just see it says to mix dry ingredients into the vegan buttermilk. Please advise!
Hi Zita. See number 6 of the instructions. Happy baking!
My son requested a Strawberry cake for his birthday today, so I went on a Pinterest hunt for a vegan (kids with food allergies) recipe. We had everything for this recipe except the dried strawberries which my hubby picked up for us.
This cake was so Yummy. I didn’t add food dye, and used coconut sugar, so the color of my cake was a light brown, but it was still So Good! Can’t wait to try some more recipes from your site! Thank you.
Hi Danielle. Welcome to my site! I’m glad you all loved the cake! Thanks for taking time to share your wonderful feedback and review! Enjoy your journey through my recipes, and reach out with any questions! Happy cooking!
Hi Nora. Firstly, I love all of your bakes.
I read this is for 2 – 8″ pans. Is there a way to reduce this size to smaller pans so i can make a taller cake? Like 3 6″ rounds or something like that. I want to do a tall one but not obviously 4 stacked 8″. Just curious if you knew if it would work in small er pans and if baking time would be adjusted?
I hope that makes sense
Many Thanks
Hi KJ. Yes, 6 inch pans should work fine, but the baking time will be different. Usually, 6 inch cake layers take 18-21 minutes to bake through. Test with a toothpick to ensure doneness.
Hi Nora! I made this recipe for my husband’s birthday and it tasted delicious, but my cake seemed quite wet in texture. When tested for doneness, it came out clean so I believe I cooked it long enough. I live at an altitude of 6300 ft so I am wondering I needed to adjust flour ratio or cook it longer because of altitude. Please let me know if you have any ideas of what to do next time to avoid it happen it’s again because I love the flavor and would like to try it again!
Hi, Is the strawberry Flavor strong enough with so much Vanilla Extract instead of strawberry extract?
It has a wonderful strawberry flavor!
Hello, Nora. Love your recipes! I made this strawberry cake for my sisters birthday and it was very yummy! The only thing is my frosting kept melting. I waited several hours for the cake to cool down before icing, but the layers kept slipping and sliding still. Unfortunately, this was not the first time this has happened when making your vegan frosting. I’m sure it’s something I’m doing wrong or maybe I’m using a butter that has a lower melting point? I used Earth Balance. Are there any suggestions you could give me? I would love to make this cake again!
Hi Samantha. I’m very happy to hear you liked the cake! As for the icing, it could be melting because the butter and milk were too warm when you initially made the frosting, the type of butter you’re using (I always have the best results with Miyoko’s vegan butter), or the frosting wasn’t cold enough. Letting it chill in the fridge before frosting the cake will help it firm up and hopefully prevent it from melting on the cake. I hope this helps!
I have the same issue with earth balance. We can’t use Miyoko’s due to food allergies. I found that subbing half the butter for shortening (we use spectrum 100% palm oil) gives the frosting a lot more resistance to being too runny!
Would this work as a large stacked cake? i.e 4 layers? With cake dowels…. Hesitant to try for my daughters birthday cake without asking in case it fails.Â
Hi Amy. I have not tried it myself, however, I think a 4 layered cake would work. I would double the recipe. Let me know how it goes for you.
Made this one for my bday cake today. Was absolutely delicious. The frosting is soo good.Â
Hi Leah. I’m happy to hear that you loved the cake! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback! Happy birthday!
Hi, I love ALL your recipes. Do you have a vanilla cake with strawberries filling and vanilla frosting? I only trust your cake recipes I laways make your “The best chocolate cake” recipe, and it is the INDEED the best cake.
Otherwise I will be giving this recipe a try
Hello! I am glad you are loving my recipes! Here are links to my vanilla cake, and vanilla cupcakes. Enjoy!
Made this cake last week. I followed the recipe as written (chose not to use the food coloring). Everyone who had the cake loved it! It was full of strawberry flavor and was so moist. One thing we chose to do was put some of the leftover puréed strawberries in the middle and on top of the cake. We also used cake flour which I would recommend getting.  We will definitely be making this cake again!