Moist Strawberry Vanilla Layer Cake
Three layers of moist vanilla cake filled with a vanilla soak and fresh strawberry jam, all topped with a smooth and sweet strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream. This moist strawberry vanilla layer cake is ideal for any event or just a casual weekend bake.
What is a Strawberry Vanilla Cake?
This strawberry vanilla cake is one of my favorite cakes. The goal with this one was to make it as strawberry as I could, while still maintaining the classic vanilla cake flavor that I love. This cake really has it all – moist layers of vanilla cake that are soaked in a vanilla-spiked milk, filled with fresh strawberry jam, and topped with my favorite strawberry swiss meringue buttercream. Not only does it closely rival my classic 6-inch cake recipe, it’s also a strawberry-lovers dream. The strawberry swiss meringue buttercream is filled with freeze-dried strawberries – and I didn’t go light on them either! So much strawberry flavor is packed into one bite of the buttercream, which means there’s even more strawberry flavor in one bite of the strawberry vanilla cake.
Why this recipe works
The base of this recipe is from my 6-inch vanilla cake recipe, so I know it’s a trusted one, and happens to be one of my most popular recipes on the site! The moist strawberry vanilla layer cake batter itself uses both butter and oil as fats that are then incorporated with the sugar. I’ve found that a lot of cakes containing only oil tend to lack flavor, and cakes containing only butter tend to lack moisture. I decided to marry the two so we can get the best of both worlds – moist and flavorful.
The cake batter also features a reverse-creaming method, which basically just means you’re using a bit of a different mixing method when combining ingredients. We start with the dry ingredients in the bowl, then add in the oil, butter, and eggs, followed by the wet ingredients. This method of bringing together a cake batter results in a more dense cake. I prefer dense over fluffy when it comes to layer cakes, mainly because I think structure is so important when holding up buttercreams, fillings, and soaks! But for my fluffy-cake lovers, check out this funfetti sheet cake – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed 🙂
It’s worth noting here as well that the cake is topped with a swiss meringue buttercream – one of my absolute favorite frostings. Its light, fluffy, and the perfect vehicle for the strawberry flavor I wanted to really shine in this cake. If you’ve never made a swiss meringue buttercream, I did an in-depth post on how to make swiss meringue buttercream, including tips and tricks for troubleshooting if something goes wrong. Be sure to check that out if you decide to make this buttercream!
Some equipment you may need for Moist Strawberry Vanilla Layer Cake
- 6-inch cake pans: you’ll want to get your hands on a set of these for this strawberry vanilla cake. You’ll need 3, and lucky for you, this set comes with 3! I always choose cake pans (and really any baking pans) that are lighter in color – this will prevent overbaking and excess browning on the edges, compared to dark-colored pans.
- Stand mixer: this is the one I have and I love it! I’ve had it for years now and I’ve never had any trouble with it. You don’t “need” a stand mixer for this moist strawberry vanilla layer cake recipe, but it sure does make life a lot easier.
- Offset spatula: the best little utensil for almost any baking project. I find myself reaching for this one all the time in the kitchen. It’s so helpful to use when spreading the strawberry swiss meringue buttercream onto the layers.
- Bench scraper: I use this to smooth out the sides of my moist strawberry vanilla layer cake both when I’m doing the crumb coat and the final coat. It makes for a really nice, smooth finish. But you can also use an offset spatula here too.
- Cake turntable: if you want to get into layer cakes and baking them for other people, I highly suggest investing in a turntable. It allows you to smooth everything out much easier than if you were using just a regular cake stand.
- Measuring cups/spoons: I’ve been linking these in all of my posts because I love them SO much! They are beautiful and look just like some other expensive ones on the market (but much cheaper).
- Mixing bowls: I love these glass mixing bowls from Amazon. They’re especially perfect for food photography.
Ingredients for Moist Strawberry Vanilla Layer Cake
For the Vanilla Cake Layers
- All-purpose flour – I use King Arthur in my recipes always. I suggest using the same so your outcome is as similar as possible to mine!
- Baking powder – this will be our leavening agent.
- Kosher salt – I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt always. This is also something I’d suggest using as the sodium content can vary across brands.
- Granulated sugar – again, we’ll be doing a reverse-creaming method here so be sure to read the instructions below very carefully!
- Unsalted butter – I love cakes made with butter – it’s such a flavor-carrier and the texture is much better than pure oil-based cakes.
- Vegetable oil – I opted to use both butter and oil as my fats for this moist strawberry vanilla layer cake recipe, which makes for the perfect combination of flavor and moisture!
- Egg whites – be sure they’re at room temperature!
- Sour cream – another thing I love adding to cake recipes because it packs a lot of moisture and great flavor.
- Pure vanilla extract – now is not the time for artificial vanilla. I suggest using a high quality one! You can even look for vanilla bean paste because honestly the flavor is much richer and you’ll be able to see flecks of vanilla beans throughout the cakes.
- Whole milk
- Strawberry Jam – you can either make your own strawberry jam, or use a store-bought brand. If it’s strawberry season where you live, definitely consider making a homemade jam – the flavor of local strawberries is unbeatable. But I also love using bonne maman preserves in all of my baking.
For the Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Egg whites – you’ll need to separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Quick tip: it’s best to do this while they’re cold. Separating room temperature eggs just never works out the way you want it to.
- Granulated sugar – no powdered sugar or brown sugar here. You’ll need to feel the egg mixture between your fingers to ensure the granules are completely dissolved before you begin beating them, so it’s important to use granulated sugar. Bonus: granulated sugar tends to be less messy than both powdered sugar and brown sugar, so I’ll always be thankful to use it instead of the others!
- Unsalted Butter – For this strawberry swiss meringue buttercream recipe we really want to control the flavor, and unsalted butter allows us to do that. I will say though, I’ve tested this with salted butter and it turned out fine, just don’t add any additional salt.
- Vanilla Extract – pure vanilla extract here, folks! Now is not the time for the artificial stuff.
- Kosher salt – I only use diamond crystal kosher salt in my kitchen, so that’s what I always recommend!
- Gel food coloring – if you want to color your frosting like I’ve done here, I’d recommend using a gel food coloring. It’s thicker than liquid, and the colors tend to be more true to themselves.
- Freeze-dried strawberries – if you really want the strawberry flavor to shine in this moist strawberry vanilla layer cake, you’ll need to use a lot of freeze-dried strawberries. The reason I went with these instead of more strawberry preserves is because they pack much more strawberry flavor with a lot less liquid. Swiss meringue buttercream and liquids don’t necessarily get along.
Possible ingredient substitutes for Moist Strawberry Vanilla Layer Cake
Homemade vs store-bought strawberry jam
Again, if it’s strawberry season where you live I would definitely recommend making a fresh strawberry jam in place of using store-bought. There’s nothing quite like the taste of local strawberries at the peak of their season.
If strawberries aren’t in season, there’s nothing wrong with using a store-bought jam for this moist strawberry vanilla layer cake. I love these strawberry preserves from Bonne Maman, they are always a go-to for everything in our house, including homemade buttermilk biscuits and even classic pound cake.
American-style buttercream
I know making a homemade swiss meringue buttercream can be a bit intimidating, so if you’re not up for it, or if you’re just short on time, try the American-style buttercream recipe that I used for this 6-inch layer cake recipe. It’s smooth and sweet, and can handle having some strawberry flavor added to it.
You should also try making this chocolate french buttercream. It’s probably my favorite frosting I’ve ever made and I think it would be great on this strawberry vanilla cake.
How to Make Moist Strawberry Vanilla Layer Cake
Step 1 – Bake the cake layers
When you go to bake the cake, you’ll realize things are in a different order. Instead of first creaming the butter and sugar together, then adding the dry ingredients and liquid ingredients, we’re actually adding the dry ingredients straight into the bowl first, then adding everything in after that. This method, called the “reverse creaming” or “paste method” is lends to a tender, dense, and mosit crumb that I absolutely adore. Especially in a vanilla cake, I typically opt for this method of combining my ingredients.
Step 2 – add the vanilla soak to the warm cake layers
Cake soaks are an often-overlooked part of baking cakes. Every great cake will include a cake soak before assembling the cake itself. For this moist strawberry vanilla layer cake, I really wanted there to be an emphasis on the moist part. Adding a soak to the top of your cakes while they’re still warm will help to ensure you’ve got a nice, moist texture.
For this step, we’re just combining a little bit of whole milk and pure vanilla extract, then brushing it over the cake layers. The important part is that you cut off the very tops of them (to even them out for stacking), before you do the soak so that the milk can really be absorbed into the cake.
Step 3 – Assemble the Moist Strawberry Vanilla Layer Cake
Time to assemble our strawberry vanilla cake. After you add the soak onto the cake layers, you’ll spread strawberry jam onto one layer, add a bit of buttercream, then repeat the process with the remaining cake layers. I like to finish with the third cake layer bottom-side up, which just makes for a nice flat top on our strawberry vanilla cake.
Step 4 – Frost the outside of the cake
This strawberry swiss meringue buttercream is a new favorite in our house. It uses an abundance of freeze-dried strawberries which makes for an incredible strawberry flavor nestled right up against the smooth flavor of butter that everyone loves. It’s light and smooth, which makes it ideal for frosting a cake.
Another thing about swiss meringue buttercream – it’s incredibly stable compared to American-style buttercreams. It can handle being a little bit warmer without weeping or melting. Great for wedding cakes or cakes during the summertime!
Step 5 – Decorate, if desired
I love decorating my cakes, and this is your opportunity to get creative with piping, sprinkles, or even writing on the cake! Check out this 6-inch layer cake recipe to see how I piped flowers onto the sides for more of a springtime feel.
I went with hearts for this strawberry vanilla cake, but definitely have fun with it and be creative!
Strawberry Vanilla Cake FAQs
Can I make this moist strawberry vanilla layer cake in advance?
Yes, these cake layers can be made in advance, and I actually would suggest doing so! I like baking my cakes the day before I plan to serve the cake, wrap the cooled and soaked cakes individually in plastic wrap, and store them in the refrigerator until I’m ready to assemble the cake.
You can also freeze the strawberry vanilla cake layers the exact same way as described above, just be sure that they’re very tightly wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent drying out.
Can I use a homemade strawberry jam?
Yes! I highly recommend making a homemade strawberry jam if strawberries are in season where you live. There’s nothing quite like the taste of fresh, local strawberries, especially in this moist strawberry vanilla layer cake.
I hope you all love this moist strawberry vanilla layer cake recipe as much as I do! If you’re a strawberry lover like me, I have no doubt you will adore this recipe. If you decide to bake this cake, be sure to tag me on socials @sarahsdayoff so I can see all of them. I would love to share in the joys of baking with you!
If you have a question about this recipe or any others on my site, drop me a line at sarah@sarahsdayoff.com or leave a comment below and I will get back to you. Happy baking!
Love,
Sarah
“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” -Hebrews 12:14-
Moist Strawberry Vanilla Layer Cake
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cake Layers
- 2 1/4 cups (343g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup whole milk at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature and sliced into 8 Tbsp-sized pieces
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 large egg whites at room temperature
For the Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 2 cups freeze-dried strawberries
- 6 large egg whites
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter softened to about 63°F and cut into Tbsp-sized pieces
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
- Gel food coloring optional
For the Cake Assembly
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup strawberry preserves
Instructions
For the Vanilla Cake Layers
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 3 (6-inch) cake pans with cooking spray, and line each with parchment paper. Spray tops of parchment with more cooking spray.
- Add flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for about 10 seconds, just to combine the ingredients.
- Combine the milk and sour cream in a large (2-cup) liquid measuring cup.
- Add butter slices, oil, vanilla, and half of the milk mixture to the bowl of the stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until the mixture looks slightly crumbly. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- If you haven't separated your eggs already, crack the egg whites into the liquid measuring cup with the remaining milk/sour cream mixture (save the egg yolks for another recipe, like this French Silk Pie). Whisk to combine.
- With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the milk mixture, in 2 additions, beating for 15 seconds in between each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl once everything is incorporated.
- Mix for an additional 15 seconds on medium speed. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Place the pans on a sheet pan and bake 30 to 40 minutes or until the sides pull away from the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool cake layers completely in pans. Once cooled, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
For the Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Add the strawberries to the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender and pulse until you reach a fine powder consistency. Set aside.
- Whisk egg whites and sugar in the the clean bowl of a stand mixer (or another heat-proof bowl) and set over a saucepan with 2 inches of simmering water on medium heat.
- Cook egg mixture, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes or until mixture registers 160°F on an instant-read thermometer and sugar granules are completely dissolved. To test if the sugar is completely dissolved, quickly dip a finger into the mixture and rub between your fingers. It should be completely smooth.
- Transfer bowl to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 7 to 10 minutes. If you hit 10 minutes and still don't have stiff peaks, place the entire bowl in the refrigerator for exactly 10 minutes. Then, remove the bowl and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
- Once you reach stiff peaks, if the bowl and meringue are still warm to the touch, refrigerate for 10 minutes exactly and proceed to the next step.
- With the mixer running on medium-low speed, beat in half of the butter (3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks), 1 Tbsp at a time, waiting until 1 Tbsp is completely incorporated before adding the next.
- Switch to the paddle attachment and continue beating in remaining butter on medium-low speed, still adding it 1 Tbsp at a time until buttercream is smooth, fluffy, and holds its shape.
- Beat in the processed strawberries, vanilla, salt, and food coloring (if using).
- For troubleshooting your swiss meringue buttercream, head over to my detailed post on how to make swiss meringue buttercream. It will tell you everything you need to know about a buttercream that is curdled or too loose.
Cake Assembly
- Combine the milk and vanilla in a bowl and set aside (this will be our soak before we assemble the cakes).
- Use a serrated knife to slice a very small layer of cake off the domed parts of the cake layers. The goal here is to even out the tops of the cakes to they stack nicely.
- Use a pastry brush to spread the milk mixture onto each cake layer. Make sure to use all of it!
- Assmble the cake by spreading a layer of strawberry preserves on one layer, then some strawberry buttercream, then repeat the process with the next cake layer.
- Add the third cake layer, and spread about 1/4 cup frosting on top of that cake layer. Use an offset spatula or a knife to spread a thin layer of frosting around the sides of the cake. This will be your crumb coat. You just want to encapsulate the crumbs, so we're not spreading the full amount of frosting on the cake yet.
- Hold a bench scraper up to the side of the cake and spin the cake stand or turntable to scrape frosting off so you have a thin layer of frosting. Place the whole thing in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes, but up to 4 hours.
- Use an offset spatula or knife to spread the remaining buttercream on the tops and the sides of the cake. Use a bench scraper to smooth the sides. Decorate with sprinkles or additional buttercream, if desired.
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