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This vegan strawberry cake is made with fresh strawberries blended into the batter, and topped with a strawberry frosting! It’s super moist and so easy to make.
I’ve been quite obsessed with vegan cakes lately. We’ve had my vanilla cake, chocolate cake, and this easy vegan strawberry cake.
Seriously, when I say this strawberry cake is easy, I mean it- It only needs 7 simple ingredients, and because it’s vegan, there are no eggs, and no butter, but you’d never tell.
See, it’s super moist, fluffy, and with a tender crumb, the perfect texture you want from a cake. Taste wise, it’s sweet and loaded with strawberry flavor, thanks to the strawberry puree in the cake itself. To take it up a notch, you can even add strawberries to the frosting!
How to make a strawberry cake from scratch
The Ingredients
- All Purpose flour– Be sure to sift your flour first, so ensure it has no clumps in it. For a gluten free strawberry cake, use gluten free flour.
- Baking powder– Gives the cake some rise and leavening.
- Baking soda– Works with the baking powder to help the cake have a fluffy and moist texture, without sinking in the middle.
- Powdered sugar– Gives the cake a fabulous texture. I prefer using powdered sugar over standard sugar. If you only have white sugar on hand, you can blend it until it reaches a powdered consistency.
- Oil of choice– Use a mild tasting oil, like canola oil or vegetable oil.
- Non dairy yogurt– Coconut yogurt or soy yogurt. Either use vanilla or plain flavored.
- Strawberries– Fresh strawberries that are blended or pureed into a liquid like consistency,.
- Pink food coloring– Optional, but use a few drops if you’d like a pink cake.
The Instructions
Start by pureeing the strawberries, using either a blender, a food processor, or stand mixer. Next, add your dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, add the rest of your ingredients, including the pureed strawberries, and mix until smooth and creamy. Gently add the flour mixture in, and stir until just combined- do not overmix. Transfer the cake batter into two 8-inch cake pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, before frosting.
Vegan Cake Frosting Ideas
I used a simple dairy free cream cheese frosting and added a dash of pink food coloring to it.
To make: Combine 8 oz vegan cream cheese with 1/3 cup vegan butter and beat until creamy. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and continue beating. Add the vanilla extract and another 2 cups of powdered sugar (4 cups total), and optional pink food coloring. Beat until smooth. For a thicker frosting, add more powdered sugar.
- Vegan Strawberry frosting– Add some freeze-dried strawberries to the base frosting, and blend until combined. You will have a beautiful pink frosting.
- Vanilla Frosting– Add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the base frosting.
- Chocolate Frosting– For those who want a chocolate strawberry cake. Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder to the base frosting.
Tips for the Best Vegan Strawberry Cake
- Do not overbake the cakes, as they continue to cook as they cool down. Remove when a skewer comes out ‘just’ clean.
- For easy removal of the cake, use a springform cake pan or place parchment paper on the bottom of the pans, ALONG with greasing the tops of them and around. This will ensure the cakes come out perfectly.
- Avoid using coconut oil, as that can actually dry out the cake instead of keeping it moist and fluffy./
- Do not frost the cake until it has been cooled, otherwise, it will stick to the cake and it will begin to sink.
- This makes a layer cake. For a single cake, halve the recipe!
- I used frozen strawberries and thawed them out completely. Use fresh if those are easily available to you.
Storing and Freezing Tips
- To store: Leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator at all times. Keep the cake in a sealable container or covered completely. The cake will keep well for up to 7 days.
- To freeze: This cake is freezer friendly and can be stored in the freezer. Place the leftover cake in a shallow container. The cake freezes well for up to 6 months.
More Vegan Cakes
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Zucchini Chocolate Cake
Vegan Strawberry Cake (GF)
Ingredients
- 1 cup strawberries blended and pureed
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour use gluten free, if needed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup canola oil or any oil of choice
- 1/2 cup dairy free yogurt can use any plain or vanilla yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line 2 8-inch pans with cooking spray and set aside.
- Using a high speed blender or food processor, blend your strawberries until a pureed texture.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your flour, baking soda, and baking powder and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, mix together your powdered sugar, oil, yogurt, and strawberries, and mix until combined and creamy. Gently fold through your dry mixture, and mix until just combined.
- Distribute the cake batter amongst the two cake pans. Bake the cakes for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer comes out just clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pans completely. Once cool, remove from the pans and frost, if desired.
Hi! I made this recipe a couple months ago and fell in love. Would love to get your opinion on making this chocolate/orange. Not sure which part to make cake and which to make frosting lol. Is this possible?
I have a chocolate orange cake that uses similar ingredients 🙂
I made this cake for 2 groups with a vegan buttercream frosting and everyone LOVED it. My mom said it’s the best cake she’s ever had! Delicious. I can’t wait to make it again!
Love this recipe! Sponge turned out moist and held shape well as a sandwich. I wanted a non dairy cream filling rather than buttercream and so experimented with vegan ice cream as other vegan double creams had no substance. The ice cream worked perfectly, frozen in 2 same size discs and added on construction inbetween 3 layers of sponge. Cuts beautifully and re freezes!
Has anyone ever tried this with King Arthur Keto Wheat flour?
To follow up on my previous question; I see that you have already answered to others…..sorry to bother and not have read ALL the comments before me first!!😊
Sheri: I am interested in what your “easy fix” was in making this Could you share what that was?
Hello,
I made the recipe with GF flour (King Arthur) and followed the directions entirely. The cake does not rise during baking for GF as the regular flour does. Easy fix! I made another batch and now have a beautiful four-layer cake instead of two. Delicious! Also, the cream cheese frosting tastes lovely! Thank you!
OOoooh, thanks for that tip, Dawn! I’m going to try it that way too. Arman, thank you for this awesome recipe. It’s my and my daughter’s favorite flavor cake.
You are so welcome, Lisa!
For more intense strawberry flavor – I added 1 cup freeze dried strawberries (that I ground into powder in a food processor) – yum!
Do you think this would turn out if I used applesauce in place of the oil?
Haven’t tried!
i loved that this recipe is do easy peasy. any replacement for vegan yogurt though ?
Traditional yogurt works!
I’m trying this recipe later this week and just wanted to double check that the 1 cup of strawberries blended and pureed is measured at a cup of whole strawberries, and then blended and pureed, rather than a cup of the puree. Thanks for any help1
Yes that is correct 🙂 One cup pre-blended!
I’ve tried the recipe with regular yogurt, gluten free, and added strawberry extract; halved recipe which fit in my silicone 6in pan. Yet I feel like it needed more strawberry taste…Do I measure strawberries before pureed or puree then measure the puree. I measured strawberries first btw.
I was wondering if I can use regular yogurt…or does it have to be non dairy?
You sure can!
Best vegan strawberry cake recipe!