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.
Perfect! I made this for my daughter’s 18th birthday and she was in awe of how good it was! I added a bit of red food coloring to pink up the batter for fun. Great job as always with providing people with solid ways to cook without animal ingredients!
This recipe is absolutely amazing! We found out my daughter has an egg allergy and eggless baking has been quite an adventure but this was definitely a winner! My ONLY issue was that I made cupcakes and they sunk in the middle instead of having a nice dome. Just curious what I could do differently to avoid that next time? My only substitution was that I used gluten free flour. It really wasn’t that big of a deal though because we juste filled in with extra frosting ?
We recently baked this Vegan strawberry cake. Everyone absolutely loved it, raved about how delicious and moist is was. We were so pleased with it, will be making it again real soon.
Hi Mardi. I’m so glad the cake was a hit! Thanks for taking time to share your wonderful feedback!
How many cupcakes will this recipe make? Should I double it for 24? If I do, should I use a half cup or full cup of strawberry purée? Thank you so much. I’m anxious to make it. NoraCooks is always my go to for vegan recipes. Your one bowl Carrot cake recipe was a real hit with my non vegan friend. She told me that the cake was the best she’d had in a long time!!
Hi there, thank you so much!! This recipe turned into cupcakes should make close to 24 cupcakes. If you double, you will get close to 48 cupcakes! Hope that helps!
Can I use three 6 inch pans?
That should work just fine, but the baking time will probably be a bit different. Test with a toothpick to ensure doneness.
I know this might seem like a stupid question on a vegan recipe, but if I don’t have vegan butter or plant-based milk, would using regular milk and regular butter work the same in this recipe?
Not a stupid question! I haven’t tried making this with regular milk or butter but I’m sure they would work just fine (as long as you don’t need the recipe to be vegan).
Hello – I want to try and make this, but I’m wondering if different fruits can be used? Do you think I could replace the strawberries with peaches?
Yes, you can absolutely use another type of fruit or berry! I think peaches would work well.
Making this now. Purée has been reducing for a LONG time now, like 45 minutes. Can you give a tip as to final desired consistency? I may have started with a little more than a pound but I still have about 1.5 cups of purée.
As an aside I plan on using cream cheese in the frosting and sweetening with monk fruit sugar for fewer calories (even though it might not have lower glycemic index).
Hi,
Will this recipe work with dairy products? I want to make just an eggfree cake. So regular buttermilk and butter instead of non diary ones?
Thanks.
Hi! I don’t think using dairy would have an adverse effect on the cake, but I haven’t tested it so I’m not totally sure. Let me know how it goes for you! Happy baking!
I made this last night, and wow. I absolutely loved it!! I made it gluten free by using oat flour and used oat milk instead and it came out great! Thanks Nora, you’re my favorite vegan recipe blog. ☺️
Hi Ingrid. You are welcome! Thanks for taking time to share your great feedback! I’m thrilled the cake turned out wonderful for you!
Can you replace apple cider vinegar with lemon juice?
Yes, lemon juice should work just as well to add with the buttermilk. Enjoy!
Could I freeze the strawberry purée? I’d love to make this for my daughter’s birthday, which is in February. Fresh strawberries will be harder to come by then! Thank you!
Hi Nikki. Yes the puree can be frozen for later use!
Would the cake work if I added strawberry jello?
I’m not sure, sorry, I have not tried it.
Followed the recipe and the cake turned out really dense and flat. I will say that I used APF and not Cake Flower, could that have really made such a difference in density? Also, used the strawberry frosting from the cupcakes recipe and the frosting was separated. Which happens every time I try and make strawberry frosting. Not sure what the issue is. Any insight?
Hi Elicia. If the cake turned out dense, then it sounds like the batter was overmixed. Cake flour can give you a lighter, more delicate cake but it won’t make much of a difference if the air is knocked out of the batter. As for the frosting, it can separate if you’re mixing cold ingredients into room temperature ingredients (ie: cold milk and butter with room temperature vanilla extract, etc.). Next time, leave the cold ingredients out on the kitchen counter for about 30 minutes, then make the frosting. I hope this helps!
Hi Nora! Wondering if I can use fresh strawberries instead of freeze dried for the whipping? Thanks!
Hi Amira. You could make the frosting for these strawberry cupcakes instead, that use fresh strawberries. Hope that helps!
I really enjoyed this recipe! I made it into cupcakes and it made 24. The recipe is easy to follow and the tips are great. The only thing I noticed was that my husband and I completely interpreted the step about blending the freeze dried strawberries into a powder for the frosting differently. I read that it needed to be a cup of powdered freeze dried strawberries and he read that it needed to be a cup of freeze dried strawberries that you then powdered. So the actual measurement of powder needed was much less than that. He pointed it out to me after I’d already made a cup but we used a little less than 1/2 cup of the powder in the frosting and it was super flavorful and amazing. So it may have been an accident and not what you intended in the recipe but it was a happy accident anyways!
Hi Ellen, I’m so happy you loved the cupcakes! Sometimes accidents work out for the best! Thank you for your feedback and review 🙂
Would it be possible to make the buttermilk with a different milk alternative? I would like to make this for my daughter’s birthday, but we try to avoid soy when possible.
Yes! You can use any plant based milk! Enjoy! Happy birthday to your daughter!
Would a simple buttercream frosting go well with this cake? If not, what other type of frosting would go well besides the strawberry frosting? Thanks!
Absolutely! My vanilla buttercream or Swiss meringue buttercream would be so good on this cake!
Hi,
I made today but it seemed like it was too heavy or didn’t rise enough? Can I reduce the oil amount? Thanks
If the cake didn’t rise or was too heavy, then that could mean the batter was overmixed or there was too much liquid in the batter. Yes, go ahead and try reducing the oil by 1/4 cup and see if that helps.
Can I substitute the granulated sugar for something else?
You can try using another granulated sweetener, like coconut sugar, but it will give the cake a deeper color and flavor.
My first batch of these cupcakes used coconut sugar. The cake will be brown and I used several teaspoons of the beet juice dye and it did nothing to change the color. I do think the flavor is slightly different with coconut sugar, not quite as sweet as a cane sugar or regular granulated sugar. There was a stark difference between the sweetness of the frosting and the cake when made with the coconut sugar.
Delicious! My family is really enjoying these. (I made cupcakes) And I actually totally forgot sugar until after blending everything. ? It still turned out perfect.
Hi Courtney. I’m glad the cupcakes turned out great, even though you added the sugar late! Thank you for your wonderful feedback!
Can i make this without a mixer ?and can i but this all in one big pan and cute it after
An electric mixer is best at whipping air into the batter, but you can whisk and stir it by hand instead. It will just take some extra time (and elbow grease of course!). And yes, you can bake the cake in an 11×17 inch sheet pan instead (bake for 20-25 minutes). Make sure the cake is cool before you wrap it in plastic and store it in the fridge for later.
Hahah i will try it !!!! Thank you very much
Bundt delicious! Can this be made a bundt cake?
I think it could yes though I haven’t tried it. It will take probably 45 minutes to an hour to bake.
Hi! I’m excited to try this. Can I use frozen berries for the cake instead of fresh?
Thanks!
Yes, frozen strawberries work just as well. Enjoy!
Have you made the batter with freeze dried strawberries? We don’t have fresh but have the freeze dried in anticipation of making the frosting
I haven’t tried it but it might work!
I made this cake for my son’s birthday (Mothers Day), and it was so delicious!! It may be literally “to die for”, since it is loaded with fat and sugar, but so what. I only make things like this for special occasions. As a special treat, I LOVE it! I’ve made your lemon cake too, and both cakes are equally fabulous! Thank you!???
I’m so glad you loved the cake(s)! Cakes are fun for special occasions! Thank you for sharing great review!
I made these for Mother’s Day. Absolutely delicious! It was a labor of love but seriously THE BEST cupcake I’ve ever made. And nobody knew they were vegan. Muhahhah!
I’m so glad they were delicious for your Mother’s Day meal! Thank you for sharing your fun and wonderful feedback!