Whip up this easy strawberry shortcake recipe from scratch for a delicious dessert any time of the year!

Sometimes, simple recipes are the best. While I’m all in favor of fancy desserts like Creme Brulee and Chocolate Cheesecake, it’s great to have a recipe like Strawberry Shortcake in your back pocket.

Traditional strawberry shortcake recipes often use biscuit-like “cake.” When I was growing up, we always used actual cake, and that’s how I prefer my Strawberry Shortcake. I find the biscuit version (especially recipes using Bisquick) a little too dry for my taste.

I also am really snobby when it comes to my cakes. I do not like cake mixes at all. I find the cakes to be too soft and a little chemical-y tasting. (I know that’s not proper grammar).

I love this Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe I’m sharing with you today because it’s made from scratch, is nice and dense, and makes a tall cake in an 8×8 pan (or one round cake pan). 

If you’re like me and are trying to reduce the amount of sweets you eat, then making a small cake rather than a full-size 9×13 cake is a good idea 🙂

Some other Strawberry Shortcake recipes I’ve seen have you toss the strawberries in sugar to draw out their juices. Once again, we’re going low-sugar here and just eating strawberries in their natural form.

Finally, you can use regular whipped topping (like Cool Whip) on top, or make some of my Sugar-free Whipped Cream.

Strawberry Shortcake Ingredients

You basically need just three things for strawberry shortcake: 

Strawberries

Whipped Cream

White or yellow cake

For my cake recipe, which makes a nice, high cake, you’ll need the following simple ingredients:

sugar

oil

egg

milk

vanilla

flour

baking powder

salt

How to make Strawberry Shortcake Cake

First, you’ll want to grease and flour an 8×8 square pan, or an 8-inch round cake pan.

Then, in a large mixing bowl, you just add one cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of oil. Stir that together.

Add one egg and one teaspoon of vanilla and mix well.

Then add 1/2 cup of the flour along with 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon of salt and mix it well.

Pour 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of milk into a measuring cup and keep it handy.

Now you’re going to alternate adding the rest of the flour (1 1/2 cups) with the milk. So go ahead and add a little milk and stir it all in, then a little flour and stir that in.

Go back and forth this way two or three times until all the flour and milk are added.

Now pour it all into your prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Can Strawberry Shortcake be Made in Advance?

Yes! The cake can definitely be made in advance. But I would hold off on adding the strawberries and whipped cream until just before serving.

Can Strawberry Shortcake be Frozen?

You can freeze the completely cooled cake by wrapping tightly in plastic wrap. But once again, it’s important to add fresh strawberries and whipped cream right before serving. If you freeze the strawberries, they will be mushy when they thaw.

(If you’re nerdy like me and want to know the scientific reason why the strawberries will be mushy and not hold their shape, here is the reason:

Plants have cell walls which burst as things are frozen. As the water content of the fruit or vegetable gets cold, it expands and breaks the cell walls. Then when the fruit or vegetable thaws, those cell walls are broken and can’t hold the structure of the fruit or vegetable.

Meats are different, in that they just have cell membranes, which stretch and expand as the meat is frozen. As the meat thaws, the membranes stay intact, which helps the meat retain its shape. Now you know!)

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Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe

Yield: 1 8x8 cake (9 pieces)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Make this easy Strawberry Shortcake Cake from scratch any time you want to whip up an easy, classic dessert! This is a great, classic yellow cake recipe that you should have in your repertoire!

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Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour, divided
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons of milk, divided

Instructions

1. Grease and flour an 8x8" square pan or 8" round cake pan.
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add one cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of oil. Stir well.
4. Add one large egg and one teaspoon of vanilla and stir well.
5. Add 1/2 cup of the flour along with the 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir well.
6. Add part of the milk and stir until blended. Alternate adding the other 1 1/2 cups of flour with the remaining milk, stirring well after each addition.
7. Pour into your prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool completely and serve with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 309Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 322mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 1gSugar: 22gProtein: 4g

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