This strawberry bundt cake is a scratch cake made with real strawberries. It’s a wonderfully moist cake with a light strawberry taste, then covered with a delicious strawberry cream cheese glaze. There’s no overpowering fake strawberry taste with this one…just a lovely real strawberry flavor.
Hey there! Before you scroll, there’s lot’s of important stuff in the post!…including the FAQ section, which may answer any questions you might have about this recipe. Enjoy!
One of the main reasons I love this cake is that it uses actual strawberries. We’re not using a box cake here…this strawberry cake is from scratch.
I’ve had some strawberry cakes in my lifetime that were just overly sickly sweet and had a really fake, over the top strawberry flavor. This cake isn’t one of those.
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The strawberry flavor in this cake is on the lighter side WITHOUT that fake strawberry taste.
LET’S TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE INGREDIENTS FOR THE STRAWBERRY BUNDT CAKE:
Cake flour: You’ll be using cake flour for this cake. I really like how cake flour makes the texture so much softer.
Strawberry yogurt is used as well to give it a bit of moisture and to impart even more strawberry flavor.
Strawberry extract: I did go for some strawberry extract, which I think gives a little punch of strawberry flavor without going over the top. I purchased this Strawberry Extract, and I was really happy with the taste of it. (I haven’t tested this recipe with other strawberry extracts though, so I only know the amount you would use for this particular brand.)
Real Strawberries: Of course we’ll be using real strawberries. I used frozen, because frankly they’re easy to find and easy to handle. You’ll just defrost them overnight in the fridge before you puree them.
THE MIXING METHOD FOR THE STRAWBERRY BUNDT CAKE:
The mixing method for this cake is the reverse creaming method. I used this method in some of my other cakes.
You might be used to the regular creaming method, but I promise this is not hard to do and frankly I find it easier. You’ll use less bowls for sure.
This method will get you a softer textured cake. And don’t worry, I explain the process in the actual recipe.
TIPS & FAQs FOR THE STRAWBERRY BUNDT CAKE:
- Do I have to use strawberry extract? No, but you’ll get more strawberry flavor if you do.
- Can I add even more pureed strawberries to get even more strawberry flavor? Not really. If you add in too much liquid, the texture of your cake will be off and it won’t be good. (Trust me, I tried it.)
- This batter makes a large amount, don’t use a pan smaller than a 10″ bundt pan (or two, 8″ round cake pans).
- I haven’t tested this cake as a layer cake, but it should work fine baked in two, 8″ round cake pans that are 2″ deep. There may be a bit more batter than you need, so be careful when filling your pans. You will need to watch your baking time as well because it will likely take less time to bake this cake in two, 8″ pans. Start checking around 40 minutes or so.
- I used sliced frozen strawberries that I defrosted overnight in a strainer. In order to get 1 1/4 cups of pureed strawberries, you’ll need to put around 2 1/2 – 3 cups of frozen sliced strawberries in your strainer. When you puree them, you’ll get around a cup and a half.
- Make sure your butter is slightly cooler than room temperature.
- If you hate the idea of almond extract, just skip it.
- If you’re making this cake into a layer cake and want buttercream to cover it instead of a glaze, check out my Cream Cheese Buttercream recipe and add in the reserved 2 tbsp strawberry puree, plus a teaspoon of the strawberry extract to get strawberry cream cheese buttercream.
SUPPLIES I USED FOR THE STRAWBERRY CAKE:
- Food Processor
- Glass Batter Bowl
- Strawberry Extract
- Almond Emulsion
- Stand Mixer
- Glass Bowl for Mixer
- Beater Attachment for Mixer
- Red Gel Food Coloring
- Bundt Pan
- Cooling Rack
- Hand Mixer
Strawberry Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 cups cake flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup strawberry yogurt (about two small containers of yogurt)
- 3 tsp strawberry extract (I used Beanilla strawberry extract. If using another brand, or if using strawberry flavoring, you may need to reduce this amount.)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond emulsion (or extract – optional)
- 1 1/4 cup strawberry puree (reserve 2 tbsp for the glaze. I used thawed, frozen sliced strawberries – let about 2 1/2-3 cups of sliced frozen strawberries defrost and drain overnight in the fridge.)
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks – room temperature)
- 1 drop of red or pink food coloring (optional)
For the Glaze:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick – room temp)
- 1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese (softened)
- 1 tsp strawberry extract
- 2 tbsp strawberry puree
- 3 cups confectioners sugar
- 4 tbsp milk
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Grease and flour a 10-12″ bundt pan very well.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
- In another bowl, combine strawberry yogurt, strawberry extract, vanilla extract, almond extract, eggs and pureed strawberries (minus the 2 tbsp for the glaze). Mix well with a whisk and set aside.
- Make sure your butter is slightly cooler than room temperature. Turn your mixer on low and add in the butter (in chunks) slowly to your dry ingredients.
- Mix on low to medium until all the flour is coated with the butter and the mixture is crumbly (kind of like sand).
- Pour in half of the liquid mixture. Mix on low to medium until just combined. (About 20 seconds.)
- Pour in the rest of the liquid mixture and mix again until just combined.
- Add in a tiny amount of red or pink food coloring if desired, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, just until combined.
- Be careful not to overmix the batter. Mixing it for several minutes is too long. Once all the ingredients are incorporated well, stop mixing.
- If the food coloring isn’t mixed in well enough, mix it by hand the rest of the way with a rubber spatula.
- Pour into the prepared bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees for approximately 50-55 minutes.
- Set on a wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes, then turn the cake out onto the rack and let cool out of the pan completely before adding glaze.
For the Glaze:
- Add the butter and cream cheese to a mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until well mixed and creamy.
- Add in the extract, one tbsp of strawberry puree and two cups of the confectioner’s sugar. Mix on medium until well mixed.
- Add in the last cup of confectioner’s sugar and another tbsp of strawberry puree and mix well.
- Add in about three tablespoons of milk and mix well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.
- Check your consistency. Since this is a glaze, it should be thinner than buttercream, but not so thin that it completely runs off the top of the cake.
- If it’s too thin, add another cup of confectioner’s sugar to thicken it up. If it’s too thick, add in a tablespoon of milk, mix and check again. (I used about four tablespoons of milk total.)
- Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake. You can also add the glaze to a squeeze bottle for easier application.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:
- Pina Colada Cream Cheese Cake Bars
- Hummingbird Cheesecake Topped Cupcakes
- Pineapple Coconut Cake with Pineapple Filling
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Hi! do you think this could be made into cupcakes?
I haven’t tried these as cupcakes, but I’m thinking it would work. I’d try baking them at 350 degrees (rather than 325 for the bundt cake) and then start checking them at about 20 minutes.
Can I make this recipe in a 9×13 pan?
I haven’t tried this in a 13×9 inch pan. You should be able to though, but you’ll probably have a little extra batter left over. Bake it at the same temperature (325 degrees), but you probably won’t need to bake it as long. I’d start checking at about 25-30 minutes although it’ll probably need more baking time. It’s done with a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, but no raw batter.
Can this cake be made a day ahead and frosted the next day? Will the cake dry out?
Oh yes, you can make it ahead of time. Just cover it very well with plastic wrap and you could then put it in a cake box or a cake carrier or something to make double sure it doesn’t dry out.