The best, classic, easy strawberry shortcake cake recipe with cake mix, homemade with simple ingredients. This layer cake is composed of soft and moist vanilla cake, sweet juicy strawberry filling and fluffy whipped cream.
If you love this Classic Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (With Biquick Mix), you will really enjoy today's cake. It's inspired by those same fruit flavors and makes a delicious Summer dessert.
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Table of contents
How to make easy strawberry shortcake cake recipe with cake mix?
- Bake cakes- Until golden brown.
- Make strawberry filling/topping- Mix together chopped strawberries and jam.
- Make whipped cream- Mix together cold heavy cream, sugar and vanilla extract until peaks form.
- Trim cake- This is an optional step that I like to do to remove the dome on top of the cake and the slightly brown sides.
- Assemble- Place one cake on a cake stand. Spread whipped cream on top. Add spoonfuls of the strawberry mixture. Place the other cake on top. Top it off with whipped cream and more strawberries.
Key ingredients for strawberry short cake
- Cake mix- Yellow, butter or vanilla cake mix flavors are best.
- Strawberries: Fresh is best.
- Jam: This is mixed together with the fresh berries.
- Whipped cream- This can be replaced with Cool Whip, if you are short on time.
How is this different from strawberry cake?
Strawberry cake has chopped strawberries (and sometimes, even strawberry puree) mixed in the batter and then it's baked. The shortcake version does not have strawberries in the batter. Instead fresh strawberries are added as a cake filling and topping.
How to pick good strawberries?
- Buy bright red berries, which are are the ripest and juiciest.
- Avoid dry, wrinkled, shriveled berries. Look for firm, plump berries.
- Make sure there’s no mold in the box!
- Buy from local farmers markets, who typically have the freshest fruits.
Do you need to macerate strawberries?
I prefer tossing fresh strawberries with jam and NOT macerating.
In case you don't know, macerating is the process of tossing fresh strawberries with granulated sugar and allowing it to sit for for a little, causing the berries to becomes softer and naturally release their juices to create a syrup. So, the answer to the question is that you can do that but it tends to leak the juices all over the cake. This ruins the presentation of the cake and it can also make the vanilla cakes soggy, if not served immediately. That's why I don't do it.
More cake filling ideas
Obviously, the classic choice is whipped cream and strawberries but you can get as creative as you like with some of these other options.
Use other fruits- Use a combination of other berries together or you can use other soft fruits like kiwis, bananas, peaches, nectarines, mangoes.
Try pie fillings– This is a great alternative if the fruits you want to use are not ripe or not in season. Add a few tablespoons of these fillings, along with some whipped cream. Here are some of my favorites: Strawberry Pie Filling and Raspberry Pie Filling and Peach Pie Filling and Apple Pie Filling and Blueberry Pie Filling and Cherry Pie Filling.
Try different frostings- This Cream Cheese Frosting would be tangy and fantastic or try this Strawberry Buttercream Frosting would really take the fruity flavor over the top.
Variations
Ice cream cake- Use an ice cream frosting or replace whipped cream with vanilla ice cream.
Birthday cake- Toss pink sprinkles on top of the cake and also add, little birthday candles and a printable birthday banner.
Cheesecake cake- Prepare 1 round cheesecake and 2 round vanilla cakes separately. Then, assemble in the following way: cake at the bottom, cheesecake at the center, another cake on top. Between each layer, add whipped cream and chopped strawberries.
Tips and Techniques
Double the recipe- To make a taller double barrel cake.
Use cold heavy cream to make whipped cream– The colder it is, the more volume it has and the more fluffy it is.
Use room temperature cakes– If they are too hot, the whipped cream will melt and make a big sticky mess.
Can this cake be made in advance? Yes, it can be made 1 day in advance. Cover and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to serve. However, if you are using macerated strawberries, you can prepare all the components of this cake separately a few days in advance and store in the fridge. Assemble an hour before serving to prevent the cake from becoming soggy.
Store- bough jam vs. Homemade jam- Either can be used. Homemade tastes the best though!
Store bought whipped cream vs. Homemade whipped cream– Homemade is the best and the freshest and you can also control the level of sweetness. However, if you are short on time, store-bought Cool Whip is a fine substitute.
Can I use a cake recipe from scratch? Absolutely! Check out my Vanilla Cake Recipe (From Scratch).
Storage
- Refrigerate- In a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Room temperature- Since there are fresh fruits and fresh whipped cream in this cake and they can go bad quickly, I don't recommend keeping the cake out for more than 2-3 hours.
- Freeze- This is not recommended because strawberries don't thaw well and become watery and release a lot of juices, which will make the cake messy and sticky.
More Strawberry Desserts
- Strawberry Cupcakes
- Strawberry Cookies
- Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes (No Bake)
- Strawberry Coconut Bars
- Easy Strawberry Strudels
- Valentine's Day Cupcakes (Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes)
Recipe
Strawberry Shortcake Cake (With Cake Mix)
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Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter Unsalted, Melted
- 4 Eggs Large
- 1 cup Milk Preferably whole but 2% can be used in a pinch
- 1 container Snack pack vanilla pudding Not the powder but use pre-made pudding, 3.25 oz cup
- 1 box Vanilla cake mix Or yellow cake mix
- 4 cups Strawberries Washed, Hulled, Roughly chopped
- 2-3 tablespoon Strawberry jam
- 2 cups Whipped cream
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add butter, eggs milk, pudding and mix until smooth.
- Add cake mix and mix until just combined. Pour this batter into two greased/floured 8×2 round cake pans.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely.
- While the cakes are baking and cooling, prepare the whipped cream icing.
- Also, prepare the strawberry filling/topping. In a large mixing bowl, add strawberries, strawberry jam and mix until combine and glossy. Keep aside.
- Use a serrated knife to trim the dome and slightly brown sides of the cake.
- Finally, assemble: Place one cake on a cake stand. Spread whipped cream on top. Add spoonfuls of the strawberry mixture. Place the other cake on top. Spread whipped cream and strawberries on top.
- Cover and chill in the fridge until you are ready to serve. Don't use saran wrap to cover the cake because the icing will stick to it and it will ruin the appearance of your cake. Instead, place it in a cake caddy or large cake box. The caddy is reusable, washable and also great for transferring cakes to parties safely.
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Flank
Thanks for sharing these amazing recipes and dishes. It Looks tasty.
P. R. Pease
Delicious! The cake alone, is excellent to use in place of shortcake. I already had my strawberries ready and found this recipe while looking for a shortcake recipe.
However, All but the melted butter should be mixed first, followed by the butter. Otherwise, the butter will harden if it sits in the bowl making contact with cold milk, eggs, etc.,.