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    Home » Cakes and Cupcakes

    Vegan Strawberry Cake

    Published: Mar 12, 2021 Updated: Mar 12, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan Strawberry Cake

    This pretty pink vegan strawberry cake is light and fluffy and topped with a gorgeous vegan strawberry buttercream frosting.

    Slice of strawberry cake on a cake lifter.

    This vegan strawberry cake is a dream. Topped with a delicious strawberry buttercream frosting it’s a strawberry lovers dream come true!

    It’s made with fresh strawberry purée which is just fresh strawberries puréed in the food processor. So it’s loaded with strawberry flavor.

    It’s also light, fluffy and wonderfully moist.

    If you love delicious vegan cakes then you’ll also love our gorgeous vegan Victoria sponge our vegan banana cake and our most amazing vegan chocolate cake too.

    Ingredients You Need For The Cake:

    Photo of the ingredients needed to make vegan strawberry cake.

    Ingredient Notes

    • Canola oil – can be replaced with vegetable oil or any neutral flavored oil. We have even made this cake with a light olive oil and it worked great.
    • Distilled white vinegar – reacts with the baking soda and causes the cake to rise. You can also use apple cider vinegar.
    • Fresh strawberries – are puréed in the food processor to make strawberry purée.
    • Strawberry extract – may also be called strawberry essence or strawberry flavoring, it’s the same thing and will do the job perfectly. If you can’t get hold of it, then you can replace it with vanilla extract. The strawberry purée will still provide plenty of strawberry flavor.
    • Red gel food color – The strawberry purée and strawberry extract on their own give the batter a lovely light pink color, but we found that it didn’t hold when baking. So we needed to add in a little red gel food coloring to get the beautiful pink color. You can omit this if you don’t mind about the color, but as you can see the result of using the red gel food color is a nice shade of pink that holds up well through the baking process.

    The Frosting

    Photo of the ingredients needed to make vegan strawberry frosting.

    Frosting Notes

    • Strawberry extract – as with the cake, if you can’t get hold of strawberry extract then simply replace it with vanilla extract.
    • Strawberry purée – make a little extra purée from fresh strawberries than you need for the cake batter so that you have some left over to use in the frosting.
    • Vegan butter – you can use any brand of vegan butter but a firmer option will always work best in a frosting.
    Strawberry cake on a white cake stand with one slice cut and ready to serve.

    How To Make Vegan Strawberry Cake

    You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    • Prepare your strawberry purée by adding fresh strawberries (washed, stems cut off) to your food processor and puréeing until smooth. In order to get enough purée for both the cake recipe and the frosting use 10.5 ounces (300g) fresh whole strawberries.
    Two photo collage showing strawberries in a food processor and then puréed.
    • Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
    Two photo collage showing dry ingredients added to mixing bowl and mixed together.
    • Add strawberry purée, oil, vinegar, strawberry extract and red gel food coloring to the mixing bowl and mix into a batter.
    Two photo collage showing wet ingredients added to mixing bowl and mixed into a batter.
    • Divide the batter evenly between three 6-inch cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with circles of parchment paper on the bottom).
    • Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
    • Let the cakes cool for a few minutes before removing them from the cake pans and placing them on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
    Two photo collage showing cakes before and after baking.
    • Add powdered sugar, vegan butter, strawberry purée and strawberry extract to the bowl of your stand mixer and starting at slow speed, gradually increase speed until your frosting is thick and smooth. If it’s too thick, add more strawberry purée.
    Two photo collage showing ingredients for frosting added to stand mixer and then mixed together.
    • When the cakes are cooled, frost with the strawberry buttercream frosting.
    Two photo collage showing cakes on a wire cooling rack and then frosting added to the first cake layer.
    • When the cake is frosted, it’s ideal to let the frosted cake set up in the fridge for one hour before serving.
    Strawberry cake on a white cake stand.

    Recipe Tips

    Measure the flour correctly. Either use the spoon and level method: spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife, don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup, or weigh it out on a food scale for complete accuracy.

    Don’t over-mix the batter. Mix the batter until it’s just mixed and then stop mixing. If you over-mix the batter it will affect the texture and rise.

    Bake the cakes immediately. When the cake batter is ready, transfer to your cake pans and bake them right away. Don’t let the cakes sit for any length of time before baking or it may affect the texture and rise.

    Adapt for different cake pans. This cake adapts to different size cake pans as follows:

    • Three 6-inch round cake pans – bake for 20 minutes.
    • Two 7-inch round cake pans – bake for 25 minutes.
    • Two 8-inch round cake pans – bake for 20 minutes (note that the cake layers are quite thin).
    • One 9-inch round cake pan – bake for 30 minutes.
    • One 9×9 square cake pan – bake for 25 minutes.
    Strawberry cake with slices removed on a white cake stand.

    Recipe FAQ

    Can this cake be made gluten-free?

    If you’d like to make this cake gluten-free then use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend in the same quantity as the regular flour.

    Can you make cupcakes?

    If you want to make cupcakes then check out our recipe for vegan strawberry cupcakes, the recipe is adapted from this cake.

    How to store it?

    Keep the cake covered at room temperature where it will stay fresh for 2-3 days or covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to a week.

    Can you freeze it?

    Yes, this cake is freezer friendly for up to 3 months.

    Slice of strawberry cake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    More Vegan Cakes

    1. Vegan Vanilla Cake
    2. Vegan Red Velvet Cake
    3. Vegan Carrot Cake
    4. Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake
    5. Vegan Lemon Cake
    6. The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
    Forkful of strawberry cake.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Slice of strawberry cake on a cake lifter.

    Vegan Strawberry Cake

    This pretty pink vegan strawberry cake is light and fluffy and topped with a gorgeous vegan strawberry buttercream frosting.
    4.89 from 62 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Cakes, Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Servings: 10
    Calories: 544kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    Strawberry Cake:

    • 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
    • 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (200g)
    • 1 tsp Baking Soda
    • ½ tsp Salt
    • 1 cup Strawberry Purée (232g)
    • ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
    • 1 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 2 tsp Strawberry Extract
    • ⅛ tsp Red Gel Food Color

    Strawberry Buttercream Frosting:

    • 4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
    • ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
    • 2-3 Tbsp Strawberry Purée
    • 1 tsp Strawberry Extract
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray three 6-inch cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper. Set aside. 
    • Prepare your strawberry purée by adding fresh strawberries (washed, stems cut off) to your food processor and puréeing until smooth. In order to get enough purée for both the cake recipe and the frosting use 10.5 ounces (300g) fresh whole strawberries. 
    • Sift the all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together. 
    • Add strawberry purée, oil, vinegar, strawberry extract and red gel food coloring to the mixing bowl and mix into a batter. Don’t overmix. 
    • Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared 6-inch cake pans and smooth down. 
    • Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean. 
    • Let the cakes cool for a few minutes before removing them from the cake pans and placing them on a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 
    • Add the powdered sugar, vegan butter, 2 tablespoons of strawberry purée and strawberry extract to the bowl of your stand mixer and starting at slow speed, gradually increase speed until your frosting is thick and smooth. If it’s too thick, add more strawberry purée. 
    • When the cakes are cooled, frost with the strawberry buttercream frosting. 
    • When the cake is frosted, it’s ideal to let the frosted cake set in the fridge for one hour before serving. 

    Notes

    1. Measure the flour correctly. Either use the spoon and level method: spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife, don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup, or weigh it out on a food scale for complete accuracy. 
    2. Strawberry extract – may also be called strawberry essence or strawberry flavoring, it’s the same thing and will do the job perfectly. If you can’t get hold of it, then you can replace it with vanilla extract. The strawberry purée will still provide plenty of strawberry flavor. 
    3. Red gel food color – The strawberry purée and strawberry extract on their own give the batter a lovely light pink color, but we found that it didn’t hold when baking. So we added in a little red gel food coloring to get the beautiful pink color. You can omit this if you don’t mind about the color, but as you can see the result of using the red gel food color is a nice shade of pink that holds up well through the baking process.Don’t over-mix the batter. Mix the batter until it’s just mixed and then stop mixing. If you over-mix the batter it will affect the texture and rise. 
    4. Adapt for different cake pans. This cake adapts to different size cake pans as follows:
      • Three 6-inch round cake pans – bake for 20 minutes.
      • Two 7-inch round cake pans – bake for 25 minutes.
      • Two 8-inch round cake pans – bake for 20 minutes (note that the cake layers are quite thin).
      • One 9-inch round cake pan – bake for 30 minutes.
      • One 9×9 square cake pan – bake for 25 minutes.
    5. Make It Gluten-Free: If you’d like to make this cake gluten-free then use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend in the same quantity as the regular flour. 
    6. Storing and Freezing: Keep the cake covered at room temperature where it will stay fresh for 2-3 days or covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to a week. It’s also is freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
    7. This recipe was first published in January 2018. It has been updated with new photos and the recipe itself has been slightly updated and simplified. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 544kcal | Carbohydrates: 89.4g | Protein: 2.7g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 3.2g | Sodium: 329mg | Fiber: 1.3g | Sugar: 68.6g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jennifer Hill says

      September 10, 2023 at 5:22 pm

      This by far is the best cake recipe I have found! I use it as a base and have swapped the strawberries for apples and it is perfect. Gonna try swapping with pumpkin for fall..5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        September 22, 2023 at 10:10 am

        Amazing Jennifer! So happy to hear you enjoy the recipe! We actually also have a delicious vegan pumpkin cake recipe, perfect for fall!

        Reply
    2. Cynthia says

      August 14, 2023 at 5:30 pm

      This recipe is amazing! Huge hit and you’d never know it was vegan!! Do I need to adjust anything to make this into cupcakes?

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        August 15, 2023 at 9:58 am

        Hi Cynthia! If you want to make cupcakes then check out our recipe for vegan strawberry cupcakes, the recipe is adapted from this cake.

        Reply
    3. D says

      July 22, 2023 at 9:22 pm

      Do you strain the strawberries after they are puréed?

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 27, 2023 at 9:11 am

        No, There is no need to strain the strawberries after they are puréed.

        Reply
    4. Angela says

      July 13, 2023 at 8:48 pm

      Mine didn’t rise much at all, anyone know why? 😢

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 14, 2023 at 7:58 am

        Hi Angela. There can be a lot that may go wrong i.e baking temp of your oven or the rising agent. The only rising agent used in the recipe is the baking soda. If baking soda gets too old, it can loose its leavening powers.

        Reply
    5. Amanda says

      June 26, 2023 at 5:18 pm

      FINALLY!! I have tried a handful of strawberry cake recipes and wasn’t a fan of any! This was perfect!! I think what made it was no extra liquid besides the oil/strawberry puree. I only got 2 layers out of it though–but maybe i like thicker layers. Either way! SO good!!! Thanks!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine Van Zyl says

        June 28, 2023 at 10:52 am

        That’s fantastic! Thanks for the great review Amanda!

        Reply
    6. Clarissa K Evert says

      April 27, 2023 at 3:28 pm

      This is one of the best vegan strawberry recipes out there. I love the delicate crumb and how the strawberry flavor really comes through. No one would suspect that this is vegan. I can’t wait to try the gluten free version of this!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 13, 2023 at 9:34 am

        So glad you enjoy the recipe Clarissa! Thank you so much for your amazing review!

        Reply
    7. Basia says

      February 09, 2023 at 3:27 am

      This cake is delicious and the recipe worked perfectly. I have a kitchen scale and weighed all of the ingredients. We’re not vegan, but a member of the family has an egg allergy, so I am always looking for delicious cake recipes that don’t have eggs. This one is for sure a winner! We did frost it with regular buttercream, substituting vegan butter for real butter.

      That said, I’ve noticed that a lot of vegan butter uses nuts; any vegan butter you’d recommend that’s nut free?

      Reply
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