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.
LOVE this cake recipe! My boyfriend’s (non-vegan) family loved it so much that I’m making it again for their anniversary this weekend.
I’m making both a cake and cupcakes. About how many cupcakes would one batch make?
Thanks for sharing your review! I’m the glad the cake is a hit! This recipe will make about 24 cupcakes. Happy cooking!
Made this today for my daughter’s 11th birthday. I’d bought a 100g bag of freeze dried strawberry pieces so I blitzed about half for the recipe and used a spoonful or two of the powder in the cake itself just because I felt like being experimental! (Unusually for me). Also after my little flourish, I nearly forgot the strawberry puree I’d carefully reduced, so had to stir that in whilst the batter was in the tin, which I think resulted in the middle sinking a bit after the cakes were out of the oven. But the cake was light and fluffy, not too sweet, bursting with flavour, and the buttercream worked out perfectly. I did use food colouring to make the cake pink but I actually I prefer the look of yours. Also my icing was not nearly so neat!
One tip for anyone reading is that if you have an electric coffee grinder it makes quick work of the strawberry pieces. My food processor left a few bigger chunks which I didn’t want in the icing, but the coffee grinder blitzed everything into the finest of powders.
Thanks so much for sharing your review, comments, and ideas. Sounds like you had fun making this cake! Happy birthday to your daughter!
Hi I haven’t tried this recipe yet, I was just wondering if using freeze dried strawberry powder in the cake batter would be a good idea? And if so how would you go about including it?
I’m not sure, I’ve never tried it. But I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to add a little when you add the dry ingredients. Enjoy!
Pink strawberry cake was my favorite before going vegan. Have missed it and searched for a vegan version for the last 10yrs. but no luck. When I came across your recipe I was ecstatic. I baked it for my birthday today. It was a huge hit with my entire family. Everyone wanted a second piece. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!! I topped it with coconut flakes, fresh strawberries and raspberries. I also made it 2 layer with frosting in the middle and sliced strawberries. It was beautiful and delicious! ???
Happy birthday to you! Your cake sounds so beautiful and delicious! I’m so glad you loved it! Thank you for sharing your review!
This cake was absolutely delicious. I ended up with a decent amount of reduced strawberry left over, so I put a bit between my cake layers. I also could not get my hands on freeze-dried strawberries, so I used the extra reduced strawberries in a different frosting recipe.
I made this for my sister’s 40th birthday and it was a hit. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Thank you for sharing your fun review, Diana! I’m glad the cake was a hit for your sister’s birthday!
My wife ordered this for her birthday. My daughter and I made it for her and it was a hit. Completely amazing!
Happy birthday to your wife! I’m glad the strawberry cake was a hit! How fun that you and your daughter made it together! Thanks for sharing your wonderful and fun review!
This turned out so delicious! A friend came to visit and couldn’t believe it was homemade. Do you think a blueberry version of this exact cake/frosting would work? Thanks for another fantastic recipe!
I’m glad you loved the strawberry cake Nicole, thanks! I think it would work, though I haven’t tried it.
I made this for my daughter’s birthday and it was definitely a hit, was super yummy! My niece requested one for her birthday ? One thing was that it definitely didn’t come out light and fluffy, more dense and oily. I used an electric mixer and was careful not to overmix..i feel like it’s maybe too much oil? Not sure what the issue was but I am in the process of making it again so will see how it turns out this time.
Thank you for sharing this!
Hi! I know you say you were careful not to over mix, but the results sure sound like an over mixed cake! Did you reduce the strawberry puree well? Did you make any substitutions? Also, I know I don’t say it in the post, but nowadays I almost always use cake flour in my cake recipes. They come out with a much lighter, fluffy texture. So try subbing cake flour for the regular flour. Hope that helps!
Hi Nora – about to eat this strawberry cake from your recipe. Thank you! ❤️
I’d post a picture but I don’t see how to do that.
Hi Cathy! Enjoy that cake! Thank you for sharing your great review!
First of all, you seriously have the BEST vegan recipes!! Always so easy to follow & so delicious! Hands down the best cake I’ve had in awhile! I made a Bundt cake also & baked for 48 minutes like someone else previously commented! I used vegan cream cheese in place of the shortening as well! A m a z i n g!!
Thank you for sharing your kind and encouraging review! I am thrilled that you are loving my recipes! Your cake sounds delicious! Enjoy!
We have loved every recipe we’ve tried from your site! This was no exception! The strawberry purée gave it the perfect strawberry flavor! The cake did come out dense, though. I used cake flour and followed the directions for adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk and strawberry purée. Wondering if just making it with canola oil would make it more moist? Definitely will have it again, though, because it was fabulous!
I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes here, thank you so much! The cake should not be dense, it should be fluffy but with a tight crumb thanks to cake flour. Dense cakes can be caused by over mixing. I also wonder if you waited to add the strawberry puree (reduced, 1/2 cup) until it was cooled and no longer hot? Because that could also result in a dense cake. Hope I can help troubleshoot it for you so you can enjoy the cake at it’s very best! 🙂
I had given up on ever having a vegan cake that tasted good and wasn’t dense. This was amazing! No one even realized it was vegan. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m thrilled it was wonderful for you, Angela! Thank you for sharing your review!
I made this as cupcakes and they were absolutely delicious! So moist and tasty! I’m wondering if you could do this as a Bundt cake and how would you recommend adjusting cook time?
I haven’t tried it but it should work! I would bake it for about 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. I’m so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes!
This worked great as a Bundt cake! I ended up baking for 48 min and it was perfect. I also used some of the extra strawberry reduction and a lemon I had on hand along with almond milk, melted vegan butter and powdered sugar to make a strawberry-lemon glaze to pour over. It was beautiful and so delicious! PS, I love every recipe I’ve tried from your site. I am not vegan but am on a dairy and soy free diet because my baby girl has MSPI. Your website has become a go to for me!!
Hi Brittany! I’m so happy to hear it worked beautifully as a bundt cake, it sounds so good! And I’m glad you are enjoying the recipes even though you’re not vegan. 🙂 Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe as cupcakes a few times now. Everyone loves these, including myself. The cake is perfectly moist and fluffy, with a wonderful strawberry flavor. I do add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of strawberry extract to the batter to kick up the strawberry flavor even more. The frosting is divine.
I’m not vegan, but I have loved all your vegan cake recipes, as well as all the other savory recipes I have tried of yours. Keep up the great work!
Hi Shelly. I appreciate you taking your time to share your kind review and comments. They mean a lot to me! I’m glad you love the strawberry cake, as well as all other other recipes you use. Thank you!
Have you tried gluten free? I did & it was no good. Your chocolate cake (with boiling water) I just switched out gf flour & its amazing. The strawberry was dense, not like cake at all. Curious if you have any advice! Thanks!!
I’m sorry to hear that! I haven’t tested this particular cake gluten free, I’ll have to try it sometime and see what works. I like using King Arthur Cup for Cup blend, usually.
Is this cake moist enough without frosting?
Yes, it’s moist. I think it would still be pretty tasty without frosting.
Just made this recipe into cup cakes and without frosting. It’s was absolutely delicious!
Thank you for sharing your comments and review, Abhaya! I’m glad they are delicious for you!
I’m so happy I found this recipe! Best cake I’ve ever made, thank you!!
Thank you for sharing your great review, Noelle! I’m glad you love the strawberry cake!
WOW this cake is amazing! Fantastic recipe. Can’t even tell it is vegan. I made exactly as is other then pouring the extra strawberry purée on top of the batter before baking. Thanks for this recipe, my new favorite.
I’m glad you love the cake, Valerie! Thank you for sharing your kind review! It means a lot to me!
Is there anything I can use in place of the shortening and canola oil?
You can use another oil instead of canola if you’d like, such as grapeseed, melted coconut, etc. For the shortening, you can use more vegan butter.
Nora, this recipe is excellent! I made them as cupcakes for a friend’s birthday, and they were wonderful. I have made many many vegan cakes over the last ten years, and they can be a bit dense in texture. But these were light. So similar to my memory of cakes made with eggs. Not to mention the incredible strawberry flavor! This recipe will be made again and again, I’m sure. A big five stars! Thank you!
I’m so glad the cupcakes were wonderful for you, Rachel! Thank you for taking your time to share your terrific review!
So my hubby made this for me for my birthday and really it was beautiful and good; but I have to say using the canola oil and the vegan margarine did not make it fluffy for us it was actually quite dense and you could really taste the canola oil; You know kind of fat greasy taste? Any idea why so dense? I’m wondering if it could be because he made the actual cake the night before and frosted it the next day? Not sure. Still good tho, would love to know ways to get rid of that canola oil taste style it was fairly prevalent. That all said I’m still eating it and enjoying it!
I’m glad you are enjoying it but I’m sorry it came out rather dense for you! It should be more light and fluffy. Make sure you don’t over mix the batter. You can also sub cake flour for an even lighter version. If you don’t like the canola oil taste (I can’t detect it) you can use a different oil, such as grapeseed or refined coconut. Hope that helps and happy birthday!
Had to come back and review, because this is one of the best cakes I have ever had! I made it for Valentine’s Day in two nine-inch round pans and it came out so well. So delicious, moist, fluffy, and the frosting is unbelievably tasty. The strawberry flavor shines through without being overwhelming. Highly recommend this recipe for any occasion you want a good cake for, excellent for everyone, vegan or not!
Hi Julia. I’m so glad you loved the cake! Thank you taking your time to leave your awesome review!
Can I use some ingredients that are not vegan, because I don’t need the cake to be vegan? Would it still work? I just need the strawberry cake. Thank you!
Probably, but I haven’t tried it. Not sure what you would want to sub?
Hi Nora! I want to make this cake for Valentine’s because I love your recipes, but I only have two nine-inch round pans. I was planning on increasing the recipe by .25, should that work? Thanks for all of the delicious vegan recipes!
Hi Julia! No need to increase the recipe at all, two 9 inch cakes will work, the cakes will just be slightly thinner. Hope that helps!
Followed the recipe almost to a T (had to improvise due to being low on a few ingredients) but the cake still turned out AMAZING!!! I expected nothing less from Nora because I’ve been following recipes on here for a while now and they’re always delicious, but this cake really was something special!! Thanks for sharing this amazing treat!
I’m glad the cake turned out amazing for you! Thank you for using my recipes, and for taking your time to share your comments!
Just made this for my daughter’s birthday (not including the frosting). Cake came out moist and dense. I don’t mind it being moist, but it was heavy and not fluffy at all. I could not have possibly overmixed it unless I did it by hand. I also baked it for 30 minutes, at which point the toothpick came out clean and the sides were golden brown and coming off the sides. It tasted great, but again, I was hoping for a fluffier cake.
It also came out pinkish likely because of the strawberry puree, but I was surprised because your pictures showed it would be white. And you also suggested adding coloring if we wanted it to have color. Not complaining about that though.
Sorry to hear it didn’t turn out too well Maria! Yes, it should not be dense, it should be moist but fluffy. I’m guessing that happened because you mixed it by hand instead of using a hand or stand mixer. If you can, try it with an electric mixer, it helps a lot. Also, make sure to use fresh baking powder that works, or the cake will be dense, and follow all the ingredients and instructions exactly. My cake does not turn out very pink actually, even with the strawberry puree, it has just a hint if anything at all. Also, make sure you truly reduced the strawberry puree and do not use it fresh. Hope that helps somewhat!