This pretty pink vegan strawberry cake is light and fluffy and topped with a gorgeous vegan strawberry buttercream frosting.
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:
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
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.
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.
- Sift 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 up in the fridge for one hour before serving.
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.
Recipe FAQ
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.
If you want to make cupcakes then check out our recipe for vegan strawberry cupcakes, the recipe is adapted from this cake.
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.
Yes, this cake is freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Cakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Red Velvet Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Strawberry Cake
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
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
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Yoided says
Hi Alison,
Can I double this recipe? I only have the 9 inches round pans.
Also, is organic raw – unfiltered apple cider vinegar ok to use?
Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Hi there, yes double the recipe for two 9-inch cake layers. And organic raw apple cider vinegar is fine. All the best! 🙂
Lely says
Can i put this frosting on cupcakes and freeze? Would it hold up well?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Lely, yes this should hold up well with freezing. 🙂
Laura says
I made this cake as a test run for my daughter’s birthday. Both my 4 and 6 year old loved it! The cake itself is so moist and fluffy. I’m really happy with the way this turned out. I baked in a 9” round pan for 40 min. Thanks for a great recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So happy it worked out well. Thanks for posting. 🙂
Kelly says
This was so good!!! Made for my daughter’s birthday and it was a hit!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for the wonderful rating. 🙂
ANGIE says
Could the flour be substituted for almond flour since it is a 1:1 ratio usually? I’m trying to find a vegan and gluten free recipe as a surprise for someone. Thanks in advance 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Hi Angie, I don’t think almond flour alone will work, you can try it with a gluten-free all purpose flour blend that is designed as a replacement for regular flour in baking.
Christine says
Hi! Have you made just the cake portion in advanced and frozen it until you needed it? I was hoping to make it in advance while I have time and then frost it about 5 days later. Will it still be fluffy and light after it defrosts?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Christine, you can freeze the cake and it should maintain all its fluffiness! All the best! 🙂
Lauren I says
I didn’t add the strawberry flavor (in Germany, couldn’t find it). It turned out so lovely! It reminds me of the cake that my grandma used to make me for my birthday. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing and the awesome review. xo
Geraldine says
Hi there Just made this cake and it came out beautiful. I used tinned strawberries and as they are sweetened i found the cake to sweet. So next time i will reduce the sugar.How can i make icing that is not so sweet. I have been cutting down on sugar and find that everything taste to sweet now.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Geraldine, yes sweetened strawberries would make this cake a bit too sweet. If you reduce the sugar to compensate next time or use fresh strawberries that will sort out that issue. You could always serve this with some whipped coconut cream and forego the frosting altogether, that would also be delicious! Thanks so much for your review! 🙂
SJ says
Does this work if you bake it in one larger pan as opposed to two smaller pans? Do you know how it affects the baking time? Thanks for your help. I’m making this for my birthday. Strawberry is my favourite!
Alison Andrews says
Hi SJ, this would make a single layer 9-inch round cake. All the best! 🙂
Akash Das says
Hey Alison, thanks for the amazing recipe. The cake looks both beautiful for its color (my fav XD) and really delicious for its rich strawberry flavor. I’ll surely be baking this cake for my 18th birthday party along with your recipes of ‘Vegan Pumpkin Cake’ and ‘Vegan Carrot Cake’ as this b’day I want to prepare my dishes grown from fruits and veggies from my own garden and want to share my experiences about gardening and want my other folks to do gardening too as a healthy alternative to artificial and synthetic foodstuffs!!!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Akash, thanks so much! Hope you’ll find lots of recipes that you enjoy on the blog. Thanks for posting! 🙂
BURT says
Came out great !! Thanks !!
Brittany says
Hello
Have you ever used coconut oil in place of vegan butter or another acceptable alternative? I have yet to find a butter my daughter can have (gluten free, soy free, sunflower free, dairy free, and doesn’t have any traces of tree nuts) i am still experimenting but would love any advice if you have a ratio substitution for butter. Its tricky. The taste is ok but consistency is just weird with coconut oil when i use 1:1.
Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Brittany, the problem I have found with coconut oil as a substitution is it is too runny at room temperature and too firm in the fridge. We have a homemade vegan butter recipe that can be used, but since the base of it is coconut oil as well, it has the same issue. It can work in a pinch though.
Brittany says
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! Sadly my daughter cant have a few of those ingredients in the homemade version either. Its exhausting! But I appreciate the quick response nonetheless.
Elicia says
Have you tried making a coconut whip? That is what I was thinking for this frosting as I am not fond of the oils in the vegan butter.
Take a can of coconut milk and put upside down in fridge overnight.
Next day open it upside down and scoop out flesh. Put in mixer and whip up.
I have yet to try adding the puree but I am sure there is a recipe out there or you can experiment.
Prasuna says
Hi Alison,
I love the way your cake looks! Want to definitely give it a try as my son loves strawberries. Really appreciate your effort in making vegan stuff! I was so relieved to see a beautiful cake with no trace of dairy in it!!
Thanks
Prasuna
Andrea says
Made this last night for Miss 4’s birthday today. She has dairy and egg allergies.
Her extremely picky Grandpa (massive dairy eater and dislikes the taste of anything not butter but still the healthiest person I know) really enjoyed this cake and went back for 3rds! Grandma, perpetually dieting, went in for 2nds!
I cheated on the icing and used CSR strawberry icing with 100grms of Incredible Spreadable by Raw C and almost 3tbsp strawberry puree (probs use water in future as soooo strong flavour).
I made a double batch and the 2nd batch I popped in 12 large cupcake papers. Took 25mins until cooked. Just lovely for her daycare friends in the morning 🙂
Well done on your recipe. Definitely a winner here.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Andrea, so glad to hear it was a hit! Thanks so much for sharing and for the wonderful review. 🙂
Vivi Belle says
Can this be made with 9″ pans? Also would coconut vinegar work the same as apple cider vinegar? Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
You can double the recipe for 9″ cake pans. Just be careful with the measurements and be very precise and it will be great. 🙂
Vivi Belle says
Thank you!