The Best Vegan Strawberry Cake

This strawberry vegan cake is deliciously sweet, moist, and dripping with a vegan buttercream strawberry frosting. 

Sometimes you want a strawberry cake, and sometimes you want a double strawberry vegan cake. Because is it really a strawberry cake if the cake and the frosting aren’t deliciously strawberry flavored?

This vegan strawberry cake is perfectly soft and moist. It’s topped with a spreadable buttercream frosting that’s flavored with almond extract and pureed strawberries.

Celebrate a birthday or the coming of spring with a slice of this delicious cake!

The saga behind this vegan cake

Back in high school I went to a vegan bakery in Atlanta where I had the best slice of cake in my life. Nothing has topped it since. Almond lemon something; all I know is it was as moist and dense as could be, which is all I’ve ever wanted out of a cake.

The bakery has since closed, and ever since I’ve been trying to find a cake that blows me away as that one did.

There’s just something so delightful about a moist slice of vegan cake.

After a lot of recipe testing and a lot of cake-tasting, I arrived at a vegan strawberry cake that competes with that dream cake from long ago.

This cake is made with fresh strawberry puree and finished off with a strawberry buttercream frosting, giving it a fresh spring flavor without any artificial ingredients.

Vegan strawberry cake ingredients

Making vegan strawberry cake requires simple ingredients that you probably already have on hand:

• Flax eggs are used in place of eggs. The ground flax seeds combine with water to add moisture and act as a binding agent.
• Soy or almond milk is used in place of cow’s milk. For this recipe, you can use sweetened or unsweetend non-dairy milk. I prefer to use sweetened vanilla soy milk because it just adds to the sweetness of the cake!
• Canola oil or olive oil are used as the fat in this cake recipe. This yields a dense and ultra-moist end result.
• Vegan butter is used for the buttercream. Room temperature vegan butter gives you creamy, spreadable buttercream frosting.

How to make vegan strawberry cake

Step 1: Make the strawberry puree. About 3 cups of sliced strawberries will yield 1 and 1/2 cups of strawberry puree. Puree the sliced strawberries in a blender or food processor until liquified.

Step 2: Stir together the dry ingredients. We’ll use all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda and organic white sugar.

Step 3: Mix in the wet ingredients. Using a stand or hand mixer, slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. You’ll beat this mixture until a uniform cake batter forms.

Step 4: Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 350 F. Remove from the oven and let cool before frosting.

Step 5: Spread with strawberry buttercream frosting. The frosting is made by mixing together room temperature vegan butter with powdered sugar, strawberry puree, and almond extract.

Enjoy topped with additional strawberry slices and a glass of non-dairy milk. Or go the classic route and add a slice of cake directly to your cup of milk (or is my family the only one that does that?!).

Can I use frozen strawberries?

Fresh or frozen strawberries will work in this recipe. If using frozen, first thaw them to room temperature in the fridge or in the microwave. This will ensure that the cold strawberries don’t affect the baking time.

How long does vegan cake keep?

For best quality, keep cake refrigerated in a closed container for up to 5 days. This cake can also be frozen for up to 3 months. 

Looking for more vegan desserts?

• Vegan Strawberry Lemon Muffins
• Vegan Hummingbird Cake
• Gingerbread Loaf
• Vegan Zucchini Bread

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

The Best Vegan Strawberry Cake

This vegan cake is dense, moist, and full of fresh strawberry flavor. Spreadable vegan frosting is made from vegan butter and pureed strawberries.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time45 mins

Servings: 2 9" cake rounds

Author: Cassidy Reeser, RDN, LDN

Ingredients

Vegan Strawberry Cake

• 1 and 1/2 cups strawberry puree from 3 cups sliced strawberries
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup organic white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup canola or olive oil
• ½ cup non-dairy milk such as soy or almond milk
• 2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 flax eggs 1 egg= 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water

Vegan Strawberry Frosting

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter room temperature
• 3-4 tablespoons strawberry puree from 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

Vegan Strawberry Cake

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease two 9" cake pans with cooking spray. 
• In a small bowl, make your flax eggs by combining 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed with 9 tablespoons water (1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon). Let sit for 5 minutes before using.
• Use a food processor or blender to blend 3 and 1/2 cups sliced strawberries (stems removed) into a liquid. This should yield 1 and 3/4 cups strawberry puree. Reserve 1/4 cup for the strawberry frosting.
• In a large mixing bowl stir together dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda, salt.
• Use a handheld or stand mixer to slowly mix in the flax eggs, strawberry puree, oil, non-dairy milk and almond extract into the dry ingredients. Mix until a uniform cake batter forms.
  
• Evenly divide cake batter into two well greased 9" cake pans. Bake at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let rest in pans for five minutes, then remove from pans and place on a cooling rack.

Vegan Strawberry Frosting

• Using a hand or stand mixer, mix together room temperature vegan butter and powdered sugar. When the mixture is too thick to mix further, add in strawberry puree one tablespoon at a time. Add in the almond extract. Mix until the frosting is spreadable, but not too runny. 
• Let the cake cool completely before frosting. 

Notes

One pound (16 ounces) of strawberries is enough to make the strawberry puree for the cake and icing.

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