Strawberry Cake, Super Simple for People Who Don't Bake

This simple, one bowl, single layer Strawberry Cake is the easiest, most delicious way to showcase the sweet, ripe, luscious seasonal fruit and will become a go-to recipe. Straight out of the oven, it's not too sweet so it's perfect as a light snacking cake, and if you want to dress it up with a dusting of confectioner's sugar or dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream and a pile of sliced fresh strawberries on top, it's an easy, effortless dessert. Shall we?

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• What Ingredients You Need for Simple Strawberry Cake
• Easy Strawberry Cake Recipe

Because this Strawberry Cake is something I spontaneously decide to make on some random summer afternoon (usually as a way to procrastinate, surprise, surprise), I want to be able to bake it right away without having to search for specialty ingredients like dehydrated strawberries, haul out special tools like a stand mixer, or use multi-step techniques like pureeing and cooking strawberries.

This recipe is simple and uses everyday ingredients, perfect for people like me who don't really consider themselves bakers.

What Ingredients You Need for Simple Strawberry Cake

I almost always have flour in the freezer as well as sugar because it doesn't go bad. Of course, I always have olive oil, and eggs. And of course, in the summer, there is never a shortage of perfect, ripe strawberries!

Dry/pantry ingredients:

• All-purpose flour, 2 cups
• Sugar, 1 cup
• Olive oil, ½ cup
• Vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons
• Baking powder, 2 teaspoons
• Coarse sea salt, or kosher salt, ¾ teaspoon

Fresh/refrigerator ingredients:

• Eggs, 2
• Strawberries, 1 pound divided into 2 cups hulled and mashed for cake, the rest sliced for topping

If you happen to have fresh basil or mint already hand or even better, from your own garden, they're perfect as optional garnishes along with the fresh strawberries on top!

Best Strawberry Recipes

When strawberries are overflowing at the market, don't be afraid to grab as many as you can! Contrary to popular belief, strawberries CAN keep fresh for a long time at home if you treat them the right way!

And here are the best recipes for all those strawberries:

Tools and Equipment for Strawberry Cake

There isn't any special tool or piece of equipment required for this easy Strawberry Cake, and in fact, I highly encourage you to skip hauling out heavy stand mixers, or even a hand mixer for this. However, that doesn't mean there are a couple of things that might make this cake easier than it already is to get from pantry to plate.

• 9-inch round springform pan. The recipe here specifies a 9-inch springform pan and it's the one I used because that's the type of pan I have that's the right volume. You can absolutely use a regular round cake pan with minimum 2-inch high sides that's well-greased and lined with parchment paper to make removal easy. You can also use other shaped pans, see below in the FAQ.
• Parchment paper to release the cake easily
• Produce wash to help dissolve the natural waxes on the outside of the strawberries
• Glass mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Spatula
• Sifter

Pro Tips, Tricks, and Technique FAQs

• Can you use a Different SHAPE Pan? Yes! You can bake the cake in an 8x8-inch square pan, which has about the same volume as a 9-inch round pan!
• Can You Use a Different SIZE Cake Pan to Bake the Cake? Yes! Because this easy Strawberry Cake is so forgiving, you can use slightly different sized and shaped pans. A slightly smaller 8-inch round cake pan will yield a taller cake, and needs to bake for a longer time. Check the cake at 40 minutes.
• Can You Bake the Cake in a Loaf Pan? Yes! In an 8-inch loaf pan, bake the cake for a little longer. The cake will have a slightly deeper golden "crust" because it's in the oven for longer, but it's still cake.

Ingredients Substitutions and FAQs

The recipe for this cake is kiiinda "fool-proof" because it is very forgiving in terms of ingredients and measurement precision. Here are the pro-tips:

• Different Type of Flour? You can use any form of wheat flour for Strawberry Cake, and my guess is that you most certainly have all-purpose flour. This brand of organic, unbleached, all-purpose flour is the one I use. I have made this cake with half whole wheat flour and as expected, it works perfectly well. For gluten-free flours... glad you asked! See next...
• Can You Make it Gluten-free? Yes! Two baking-ready gluten-free flours my gluten-free experts friends have recommended are Measure-for-Measure by King Arthur and Pamela's, both of which you can substitute into recipes 1:1.
• Can You Make it Vegan? If you replace the eggs with an appropriate plant-based egg substitute, the cake will be vegan. That being said...
• Can you Replace the Eggs? I have not yet personally made this Strawberry Cake with an egg substitute, either store-bought or something like ground flaxseeds. If you do, please let me know how it turns out!
• Can You Substitute Out the Olive Oil? Yes! You can use any generally neutral flavored oil like avocado oil, canola oil, or grapeseed oil. You also use ½ cup of melted butter, which is 1 stick in the US, and the cake will generally have the same texture, with a buttery flavor, but may taste a little drier. Oil is what keeps this cake from drying out.