A moist, tender, not overly-sweet snacking cake filled with fresh strawberries, warm spices, and a bit of almond flour. Perfect for a cozy winter bake!
The best part is that this strawberry cake can be enjoyed year-round with the help of 80 Acres Farms! Their “Strawberry Sparklers” are incredibly fresh, perfectly sweet, and pesticide-free. Learn a little more about them below.
Let’s bake, friends!
This recipe is sponsored by 80 Acres Farms.
Some Materials You’ll Need:
- 8-inch square OR 9-inch round cake pan
- Mixing bowls (small + large)
- Various mixing spoons/cups
- Whisk + spatula
- Baking spray
- Sifter (for almond flour, but also for dusting top with sugar)
- Parchment paper (optional to line cake pan)
Assembling this Strawberry Cake
I tried to make this as “no-fuss” a recipe as possible. Life is hard enough—so why add hurdles into the mix, you know? This strawberry cake comes together in about an hour and without a stand mixer (the crowd goes wild). My goal in developing this recipe is that by the end of the process, you should hopefully be left with both a tender cake and happy disposition.
With all of that said, here are a few tips to make sure your bake goes as smoothly as possible!
Recipe Tips:
- Don’t forget to sift your almond flour! It tends to clump together and sifting prevents any pockets of flour from making surprise appearances in your bites later on.
- The recipe asks you to vigorously whisk the eggs and for good reason. You want to see that change in color (as it also states): going from a darker brown to somewhat pale tan/beige tone. You’ll also notice some bubbles—all of these are good indictors you’re done. The point is to add a bit of air into the mix. Eggs can make great leaveners when whisked enough!
- When prepping and cutting your strawberries, don’t get hung up on quartering vs. dicing. If your strawberries are a bit larger, you may have to cut them into six or eight little pieces. Though it doesn’t hurt to have a mix of sizes!
- I have you fold in half of the strawberries into the cake mixture and sprinkle the other half overtop. This is to make sure you get an even distribution throughout the entire strawberry cake.
Tips for Baking This Strawberry Cake
As with any recipe, though especially with cake, I find it’s best to follow visual indicators over the actual bake time. Strawberries can quite juicy and tend to release said juice during a bake. Which is also why it’s important to evenly distribute them throughout the mixture for an even bake.
I recommend starting to watch and test this bake for doneness around the 30-minute mark. Every oven distributes heat differently, which is another argument in favor of visual indicators over bake time. For me, that 35-40 minute window was always the sweet spot.
Just keep an eye on things and be sure to poke a few spots with your knife to make sure it’s not just baked through in one spot, but not others.
How to Dust the Powdered Sugar Overtop
Here’s how to achieve the alternating strips of powdered sugar overtop! You by no means have to do it this—it just felt like a fun alternative to me. It also allows you to still see those strawberries poking through. To achieve this look, however, start by cutting out long strips of parchment paper.
Then lay them diagonally across the top of your baked cake, leaving an inch or so between each strip. Finally, sift some powdered sugar overtop to cover the exposed cake and carefully remove the strips. That’s it! See the photos above to help you give you an idea of how my strips looked!
Say Hello to “Strawberry Sparklers” from 80 Acres Farms
When I tell you that these are the best strawberries I’ve ever tasted—I truly mean it! They are sensationally sweet (as 80 Acres Farms so aptly describes them), incredibly fragrant, and SO fresh. 80 Acres Farms takes pride in not using any pesticides or other harmful chemicals in growing their produce. That translates on every level and bite with these ruby beauties!
Something else I love about 80 Acres Farms is their commitment to sustainability. They utilize 100% renewable energy and 95% less water than the traditional farm! And while being locally-grown here in Ohio, they can be packaged and shipped fresh to almost anywhere. Learn more about how they grow differently and their mission here!
We often think of strawberries as a summer star, but these Strawberry Sparklers are here to change that narrative. You can now enjoy them year-round and I hope you’ll find they truly shine in this strawberry cake. Be sure to follow 80 Acres Farms over on Instagram as well!
Definitely tag me over on Instagram (@joshisbaking) if you make this strawberry cake! I hope it inspires you to give strawberries a try outside of their “intended” season (which is easy to do when going with 80 Acres Farms). Who doesn’t love a good snacking cake? I don’t know her.
Happy baking, friends!
If you’re a strawberry-lover, check out my Strawberry Shortbread or Strawberry Galette recipes too!
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Strawberry Almond Snacking Cake
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 40 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 Hour
- Yield: (1) 8-inch Square Cake (Single Layer)
Description
A moist, tender, not overly-sweet snacking cake filled with fresh strawberries, warm spices, and a bit of almond flour. Perfect for a cozy winter bake and can be enjoyed year-round with 80 Acres Farms’ “Strawberry Sparklers.”
Ingredients
- 3/4 super-fine almond flour, sifted (75g)
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (160g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, tightly packed (58g)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature (110g)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat), room temperature (60g)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste (or extract) (8g)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (250 ml)
- 1 cup strawberries (8-9 strawberries): stemmed/halved/diced
- Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) with a rack in the middle position. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8 in. square or 9 in. round cake pan. If desired, line the pan with parchment paper to help with the release.
- in a small bowl, whisk both flours, baking powder, kosher salt, and spices together. Set aside. In a separate larger bowl, vigorously whisk both sugars with your room temperature eggs until fully combined and lighter in color (about a minute). Whisk in your room temperature sour cream and vanilla extract/paste until smooth. Pour in your vegetable oil and whisk until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Add your dry ingredients in with the wet, and fold together with a spatula until just combined. Add and fold in about half of the strawberries into the mixture. Pour into your prepared cake pan and smooth into an even layer with your spatula. Evenly distribute the rest of your strawberries overtop.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C) on the middle rack for 35-45 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean in the middle/few places and the cake is golden (start checking at 30 minutes). Let cool in the cake pan for 30 minutes to an hour before gently releasing (release it too soon and it’ll fall apart) and letting it cool completely on a separate rack.
Dust as desired with some powdered sugar before serving (just make sure it’s completely cooled before doing so, otherwise the sugar will just melt into the cake).
This cake should keep for up to 3 days stored at room temperature store in an airtight container!
Notes
- Bake Time: start watching and checking the cake around 30 minutes for doneness. My sweet spot was that 35-40 minute mark. The cake should be golden around the sides and topped, but full baked through in the middle.
- Alternating Powdered Sugar Strips: see the blog above for how to achieve these alternating strips of powdered sugar sifted overtop!
Check out my most recent recipes:
- Apple and Goat Cheese Tart with Fig Jam
- Strawberry Almond Snacking Cake
- Baked Brie with Marmalade & Spiced Pecans
Looking for something else to bake?
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