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This tried and tested vegan strawberry cake is made with fresh strawberries reduced into a puree for a concentrated berry flavor. It has a super soft, tender eggless cake crumb and is topped off with a homemade strawberry buttercream that actually tastes like real berries.
For more strawberry desserts, try my strawberry crunch cake or vegan strawberry shortcake next.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This recipe is based on my tested and perfected vegan vanilla cake recipe and is inspired by the strawberry desserts I make on repeat every spring. I especially love making this cake in May for my birthday, right when strawberries are at their peak.
The cake layers are soft and fluffy, with an optional strawberry jam filling for even more berry flavor.
Emily’s Recipe Notes:
- Flavor: Fruity, sweet, and berry-forward with real strawberry flavor in both the cake and frosting.
- Texture: Moist, fluffy, soft, and tender cake layers with a smooth, buttery strawberry frosting.
- What makes it special: Tried and tested for the best eggless crumb.
Why This Eggless Strawberry Cake Works
Eggless cakes need the right balance of moisture, structure, and lift. That matters even more in a strawberry cake because fresh fruit adds extra moisture to the batter. For this recipe, I use dairy-free yogurt as the main egg substitute. It keeps the cake soft and tender, but still helps the layers bake up fluffy instead of dry or dense.
I’ve tested several egg substitutes in my vegan vanilla cake base, and dairy-free yogurt consistently gives the best texture for this style of cake. See below!
The Secret to Real Strawberry Flavor
Fresh strawberries are delicious, but they contain a lot of water. If you blend them and add them straight to cake batter, they can make the cake too wet, dense, or gummy.
Instead, this recipe uses a fresh strawberry reduction. The berries are blended, then simmered until some of the excess moisture evaporates. This concentrates the flavor, brings out their natural sweetness, and gives the cake a stronger strawberry taste without throwing off the texture!
Ingredients
Ingredient Highlights & Some Swaps
Fresh Strawberries
Like mentioned above, fresh strawberries are blended and reduced into a concentrated puree before being added to the batter. You could use frozen berries, but you’ll want to thaw them and drain off excess liquid. Be sure to weigh the berries for the best results!
Dairy-Free Yogurt
I use Forager unsweetened dairy-free yogurt as the egg substitute in this cake. It adds moisture, tenderness, and structure, helping the cake bake up soft and fluffy without eggs.
Cake Flour
I highly recommend cake flour over all-purpose flour for this recipe. It creates a lighter, softer, more tender crumb, which works especially well in a delicate strawberry layer cake.
Baking Powder & Soda
This recipe uses a little more leavening than a traditional cake ratio because of the fresh strawberry reduction. Strawberries are naturally acidic, so the extra lift helps the cake rise properly and keeps the texture fluffy.
How to Make Vegan Strawberry Cake
Exact ingredient quantities are in the recipe card below!
Blend the fresh strawberries and pour into a small pot. Simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes or until reduced by about half.
Whisk together all of the dry ingredients and the sugar in a large bowl.
Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients plus the strawberry reduction.
Mix until just combined. A few small lumps are okay!
Transfer the batter to prepared baking pans.
Bake at 350F for about 40-45 minutes or until golden on the edges.
Let the layers cool on a wire rack. Then, frost with the vegan strawberry frosting.
Decorate, slice and serve!
Decorating & Some Storage Tips
This vegan strawberry cake is delicious with the strawberry buttercream in the recipe card, but you can easily switch up the frosting depending on what you prefer.
- For something rich, pair it with chocolate frosting (chocolate and strawberry are always a good idea!).
- If you want a simpler bakery-style cake, my vanilla buttercream works really well too.
- You can also use my vegan cream cheese frosting for a tangier option. To turn it into strawberry cream cheese frosting, replace ½ cup of the powdered sugar with ½ cup finely ground freeze-dried strawberries.
How to Store the Cake
Store the frosted cake covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let slices sit at room temperature for roughly an hour or two before serving so the cake softens and the frosting becomes creamy again. You can also microwave slices on low for about 20-30 seconds but keep in mind the frosting may melt.
If you’d like to store the cake longer, I recommend freezing unfrosted cake layers tightly wrapped, then thaw before filling and decorating.
Tips for the Best Strawberry Cake
- Do not skip reducing the strawberries. Fresh strawberries contain a lot of water, so adding them straight to the batter can make the cake too wet. Simmering the puree first concentrates the flavor and removes excess moisture.
- Weigh the flour. For the most accurate results, use a kitchen scale instead of measuring with cups.
- Use room-temperature yogurt and milk. Cold ingredients don’t mix as smoothly into the batter and can affect the final texture.
More Vegan Cakes
Best Vegan Strawberry Cake
Rate this RecipeIngredients
Vegan Strawberry Cake:
- 2 ½ cups halved fresh strawberries, 330g
- 3 cups cake flour, 360g
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, 300g
- 1 tbsp baking powder, 13g
- ¼ tsp baking soda, 1g
- ¾ tsp fine salt, 3g
- ¼ cup salted vegan butter, 56g – melted (or sub. more oil)
- ¼ cup neutral oil, 56g
- ¾ cup unsweetened dairy-free yogurt, 170g – room temp. (I used Forager's Cashew Coconut Yogurt)
- ¼ cup unsweetened soy milk, 60g – room temp.
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract, 12g
- 2-3 drops pink food coloring, optional – or use 1 drop red food coloring
Frosting & Decorating
- 1 recipe vegan strawberry frosting
- ¼ cup strawberry jam, 75g optional
Instructions
Make the Strawberry Reduction
- Blend the washed strawberries into a puree in a high speed blender or food processor. This should make about 1 ½ cups of puree.2 ½ cups halved fresh strawberries
- Pour into a small saucepan and simmer over medium low heat for about 20-25 minutes (stirring occasionally) until it is reduced to about 1 cup of puree or 240g. Let come to room temperature before adding to the batter.
Make the Cake
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment and grease the sides.
- Whisk Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and sugar.3 cups cake flour, 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, 1 tbsp baking powder, ¼ tsp baking soda, ¾ tsp fine salt
- Mix Batter: Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yogurt, melted vegan butter, oil, vanilla extract, soy milk and 1 cup of the strawberry reduction. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute until mostly smooth (a few small lumps are fine). The batter should be thick yet pourable.¼ cup salted vegan butter, ¼ cup neutral oil, ¾ cup unsweetened dairy-free yogurt, ¼ cup unsweetened soy milk, 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- Bake the Cake: Divide the batter evenly between the pans (~600g each), tap to release air bubbles, and bake for 40-45 minutes until lightly golden on top and the edges pull away slightly from the sides.
- Cool and Frost: Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto the rack to cool completely. Once fully cooled, frost the first layer with buttercream. If using jam, spread or dollop it in the center, leaving a small border around the edge so it doesn't spill out. Place the second cake layer on top, then frost the top and sides of the cake. Slice and serve.1 recipe vegan strawberry frosting, ¼ cup strawberry jam
Recipe notes
- Cake Flour: Use a kitchen scale for best accuracy. If measuring with cups, spoon and level to avoid packing in too much flour, which can make the cake dry. This recipe can be made with all purpose flour, but the end result isn’t as light and tender.
- Vegan Butter: I recommend Violife or Trader Joe’s Buttery Sticks. Look for stick-style butter (not tubs) with at least 79% oil content for reliable results.
- Yogurt: I used Forager Unsweetened Plain (which has 9g fat per 150g serving). For best texture, choose a dairy-free yogurt with a similar ratio.
- Pans: Makes two 8-inch round layers. You can also bake in 9-inch pans; the layers will be slightly thinner.
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Did You Make This Vegan Strawberry Cake?
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