Strawberry Shortcake Cake

This refreshing spring and summer dessert turns classic strawberry shortcake into an easy, crowd-pleasing two-layer cake. It's made with freshly whipped vanilla cream and sweet, juicy strawberries!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword strawberry shortcake cake

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 509kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

For the cake layers

1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
1 ¼ cups white granulated sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

For the filling and topping

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh strawberries sliced (for the filling)
1 cup fresh strawberries for the topping

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line the bottom of two 8 inch baking pans with parchment paper then grease the paper and up the sides of the pan with butter. Set aside.
In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add the soft butter and sugar. Beat on a medium speed for 3-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Stop the mixer and scrape down the mixing bowl.
With the mixer on a medium speed add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
With the mixer on its lowest speed gradually add the flour mixture. Beat until you can no longer see white streaks of flour and the cake batter looks smooth and creamy.
Give the cake batter a couple of gentle turns by hand using a rubber spatula. Scrape the bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure there are not pockets of dry flour there. Take care not to over mix.
Transfer the cake batter evenly between the two prepared pans. You can do this by eye but if you want to weigh it for perfectly even layers you can. Each pan should contain around 430g of cake batter.
Place the pans side by side on the middle shelf of your oven. Bake for 25 minutes or until the cakes are a pale golden color and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pans for 15 minutes then run a sharp knife around the edge and invert each cake on to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
When the cakes are completely cool (this usually takes around one hour) you are ready to make the Chantilly cream.
In a large mixing bowl add the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on a medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until soft peaks have formed.
Place one cooled cake on a serving plate and spread over half of the Chantilly cream then arrange the sliced strawberries on top. Sandwich with the second cake layer then add the remaining cream and arrange the strawberries on top.

Notes

Don't overpack the flour! Ensure you properly measure your flour by spooning it into a measuring cup then level the top. Too much flour will lead to dense and tough crumb.
I grease my 8 inch pans with butter instead of baking spray as the butter will give the edges of the cake a lovely golden crust.
Make sure to completely cool the baked cake sponges before adding the cream otherwise the cream might melt.
Use fresh and ripe strawberries: They should be sweet, firm and juicy!
You can chill the assembled cake briefly before serving which will help it stay in tact when sliced.
Make ahead tips: You can bake the cakes up to 2 days in advance. But whip the cream, prepare the strawberries, and assemble the cake immediately before serving.
Storage tips: Strawberry shortcake cake is definitely best enjoyed fresh and on the day it has been made. If you do have leftovers, they should be refrigerated and stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Nutrition