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A whole strawberry bundt cake topped with strawberry cream cheese frosting and halved fresh strawberries arranged on top.
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Strawberry Bundt Cake

This strawberry bundt cake is made with real strawberries reduced into a concentrated purée for natural flavor and a soft, plush crumb. Finished with a lightly tangy strawberry cream cheese frosting, it’s simple, reliable, and bakes evenly every time.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Cool Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings 14 slices
Calories 410kcal
Author Camila Hurst

Ingredients

Strawberry Purée

  • 453 grams strawberries 16oz

Strawberry Cake Batter

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour 382g
  • 2½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ cup unsalted butter 113g, room temperature
  • 1½ cups granulated sugar 300g
  • ½ cup vegetable oil 120ml
  • 3 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup sour cream 120g
  • ½ cup strawberry purée from above
  • ½ cup buttermilk 120ml

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

  • ¼ cup cream cheese 56g, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter 28g, room temperature
  • 1 ½ to 2 cups powdered sugar 187g to 250g
  • 3 tbsp strawberry purée
  • 1-2 tbsp milk or heavy cream

Instructions

Strawberry Purée

  • Place the strawberries in a blender. Blend until the strawberries become very smooth.
  • Pour the puréed strawberries in a medium saucepan, place over medium heat.
  • Bring to a simmer, and stir often.
  • Cook the purée until it reduces to ¾ cup. You will use ½ cup for the cake, and about 3-4 tbsp for the cream cheese frosting. It can take 10 minutes or a bit longer to reduce the purée to ¾ cup. It depends on how high the heat is.
  • Remember to stir occasionally, and after pouring the purée into a heat-safe measuring cup, check the amount — if there’s still too much liquid (more than 3/4 cup), return it to the pan to cook a bit longer before measuring again.
  • Once you have ¾ cups, pour the purée into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the purée so it doesn’t form a skin. Let it fully cool before using.

Strawberry Cake Batter

  • Pre-heat the oven to 325ºF.
  • Grease a 12-cup bundt cake pan with butter. You will need about 1-2 tbsp of butter to grease the pan, make sure the butter is softened when you do this. Once the butter is evenly coating the pan, sprinkle flour all over making sure it's evenly distributed. If using a bundt pan with details, make sure to get the nooks and crannies well covered with butter and flour, or the cake might stick in those areas that aren’t nicely greased and floured.
  • In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
  • Use an electric mixer to beat the butter at medium speed for 30 seconds. You can use a stand mixer or a hand mixer.
  • Add the granulated sugar, the oil, and beat together with the butter for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
  • Scrape the bowl every so often to ensure everything is getting nicely incorporated together.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated before adding the next egg. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
  • Pour the sour cream, and ½ cup of the strawberry purée in the bowl and mix. You can place the remaining strawberry purée in the fridge, covered, to use in the frosting later.
  • At this point, you can add a couple of drops of pink food coloring to the cake if desired.
  • Add half of the buttermilk to the bowl and mix on low.
  • Add half of the dry ingredient mixture and stir to combine
  • Add the remaining buttermilk and mix.
  • Finish by adding the last half of the dry ingredients. Stir to combine.
  • You can also use the spatula instead of the mixer to fold the batter during this final stage. Avoid over mixing, to prevent the cake from turning out dry.
  • Pour the batter onto the prepared bundt pan.

Baking

  • Bake the strawberry bundt cake in the pre-heated oven for about 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes off clean when inserted in the cake.
  • Remove the cake from the oven and let them cool down in the pan for 15 minutes. Then flip the cake onto a wire rack until it’s cooled down completely.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

  • In a bowl, place the cream cheese and butter. Beat for 2 minutes, until creamy.
  • Add 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar and mix on low.
  • Add the strawberry purée and mix to combine.
  • If needed, add more powdered sugar to make the frosting stiffer. If the frosting is too thick, add milk or heavy cream.

Decorate

  • Once the cake has cooled down, spread the frosting on top. I placed the frosting in a piping bag, snipped the end with scissors and piped over the cake. To decorate, you can place halved strawberries on top of the frosted cake.

Storage

  • Store the cake covered at room temperature for up to 1 day, or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For longer storage, you can freeze the cake—either frosted or unfrosted—by wrapping it tightly and freezing for up to 2 months. For the best texture and flavor, let the cake come back to room temperature before serving.

Notes

Ingredient swaps:
  • Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, use ½ cup milk + 1½ tsp lemon juice or vinegar
  • Sour cream: You can use Greek yogurt instead
  • Vegetable oil: any neutral oil (canola, avocado, sunflower)
  • Cream cheese: Mascarpone works for a milder flavor. If using mascarpone, make sure it’s cold.
  • Fresh strawberries: frozen work, just cook longer to reduce
Don’t overmix once flour is added, it keeps the cake tender
Let the cake cool completely before frosting or the frosting will melt.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 410kcal