This strawberry white chocolate cake combines fluffy white cake layers, creamy white chocolate ganache filling, and fruity whipped freeze-dried strawberry ganache frosting to create a beautiful cake for Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, or any special occasion. Top it with juicy, fresh strawberries for even more flavor!
Who doesn't love chocolate covered strawberries? I wanted to make a cake recipe inspired by them with something a little bit lighter than your typical dark chocolate and strawberry combo. And so this strawberry white chocolate cake was born!
It has 2 layers of soft vanilla cake, a creamy white chocolate filling, and a pink strawberry frosting with lots of natural strawberry flavor! It looks so impressive and is the perfect cake for Valentine's Day or Mother's Day, or any holiday!
While this cake may look intimidating to make, I promise it's not. The batter is made in one bowl and the filling and frosting are the same recipe. One just has freeze-dried strawberry powder!
If strawberry cakes are your jam, this strawberry marble cake, strawberry vanilla cake, strawberry snack cake, or strawberry almond cake.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This cake has 2 layers of tender white cake flavored with vanilla extract! The crumb is extra velvety because the butter is mixed into the dry ingredients instead of creamed with sugar. I used the same technique for this strawberry coconut cake and peaches and cream cake!
- The cake is filled with rich white chocolate ganache. Half of the ganache is used to make a creamy filling and the other half is dripped over the top!
- The strawberry frosting is actually whipped strawberry ganache! It's creamy and silky like buttercream, but stays soft, smooth, and doesn't crust. It's also a little less sweet than your standard American buttercream.
- The outside of the cake has a pretty natural pink color from freeze-dried strawberries. It's perfect for Valentine's Day, birthday parties, bridal and baby showers, or any celebration!
Ingredient Notes
- Cake flour- This recipe uses cake flour instead of all purpose flour because it has a lower protein content that keeps cakes nice and fluffy.
- Granulated sugar- Sweetens the cake and helps keep it moist.
- Baking powder- Reacts with other ingredients and heat in the oven to make the cake layers rise. Make sure your baking powder is fresh so it works as well as possible! I recommend replacing it every 6 months.
- Unsalted butter- Instead of creaming butter and sugar together, room temperature butter is mixed into the dry ingredients. This is called the reverse creaming method. When the flour is coated in butter, it prevents any gluten from forming early on. This technique produces cakes with a velvety texture and even crumb!
- Vegetable oil- Helps keep the cake moist. If you don't have vegetable oil, you can use another neutral tasting option like canola oil or avocado oil.
- Eggs- Large eggs contribute to the cake's fluffy texture and bind the ingredients together. Make sure they're room temperature so they blend into the cake batter seamlessly.
- Buttermilk- Buttermilk has acid that cuts the gluten strands in the flour, making the cake even more fluffy and soft! Make sure it's at room temperature before adding.
- White chocolate- It's important to use high-quality white chocolate in both of the ganaches. Cheap chocolate can melt strangely and taste oily. White chocolate chips or chopped pure white chocolate baking bars work.
- Heavy cream- Use full-fat heavy cream with at least 36% milk fat for the creamiest ganache! Because white chocolate doesn't have cocoa solids, you will need less cream than your standard chocolate ganache recipe. Don't use milk or half and half!
- Freeze dried strawberries- Blended into a powder for the whipped strawberry ganache frosting. They add a sweet, concentrated strawberry flavor to the frosting without extra moisture. They're different than dehydrated strawberries because they have all moisture removed and a crunchy texture.
Substitutions and Variations
- Homemade cake flour substitute: Mix 255 grams all purpose flour with 45 grams cornstarch. Don't substitute only all purpose flour!
- Buttermilk substitutions: Plain kefir is my favorite substitute for buttermilk, but plain Greek yogurt and sour cream work too.
- Cake filling:ย Instead of filling the cake with white chocolate ganache, you can fill it with lemon curd, strawberry filling, strawberry mousse, or more of the strawberry ganache.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Start by adding cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix together on low until combined.
Step 2: Add the softened butter to the dry ingredients. Beat it in on low speed for 3-5 minutes until the flour is coated in butter. It'll look like wet sand.
Step 3: Add the oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until thick and combined, then stream in the buttermilk while mixing on low speed.
Step 4: Evenly scoop cake batter into the lined cake pans. Set in the preheated oven and bake.
The cake layers are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.
Step 5: Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool inside the hot pans for 10 minutes. Carefully turn upside down on a wire rack. Release the pan and let cool completely for 1 hour.
How to Fill and Frost the Cake
Step 1: Make the white chocolate ganache filling and whipped strawberry ganache frosting as the cakes cool by pouring hot heavy cream over white chocolate in one medium bowl and white chocolate and freeze-dried strawberry powder in the other (find the full recipe for these components in the recipe card below).
Chill in the fridge for at least an hour and then whip the strawberry ganache on medium high speed with an electric mixer until fluffy.
Step 2: Add the strawberry ganache to a piping bag. Place 1 layer of cake on a cake stand and pipe a thick ring of strawberry ganache around the edges. Fill the center of the cake with half of the white chocolate ganache. The dam of strawberry keeps the filling from seeping out!
Step 3: Stack the second layer on top of the first with the flat side facing up. Spread a thin layer of strawberry ganache all over, starting from the top and spreading down the sides of the cake with a palette knife. This is called a "crumb coat" because it keeps crumbs from getting into the final layer or frosting.
Step 4: Set the cake in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes. Once it's dry to the touch, add a final layer of frosting, gently smoothing it out with your palette knife and side scraper.
Step 5: For the ganache drip, microwave the remaining white chocolate ganache for 10 seconds or until liquidy. Don't heat for too long or it might split.
Gently spoon the ganache on to the edges of the top of the cake and use the spoon to push the ganache, encouraging it to drip down the sides. Use more ganache for long drips and less for short ones.
Step 6: Once you finish the drip boarder, pour the remaining ganache on top of the cake. It should level itself out, but you can use the palette knife to smooth it. Garnish with fresh strawberries, slice, and serve!
Expert Baking Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. All refrigerated ingredients (butter, eggs, buttermilk) need to be room temperature so they mix in evenly. Pull them out of the fridge 1-2 hours before you start baking.
- Measure the flour in grams. Flour is one of the easiest ingredients to overmeasure in a measuring cup, so I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh it in grams instead. If you do use a measuring cup, use the spoon and level method. Fluff up the flour in the bag, then gently spoon it into your measuring cup. Once slightly overflowing, sweep off the excess with a butter knife.
- Chill the cake. If the cakes are too warm when you start frosting, the ganache will slide off! They need to be completely cool. Plus, it's way easier to make ganache drips on a cold cake.
- Temperature is everything! Chocolate is very temperature sensitive, so it has to be just right for the drip! 90ยฐF (32ยฐC) is the perfect temperature. If you don't have a thermometer, the ganache should look thin and fluid. The ganache sets up thick so you might have to microwave it for 10 seconds or so. I recommend doing a test drip on the back of the cake to make sure the consistency is right and to also experiment with the length of the drips. If your initial drips don't turn out, you can gently scrape them off with your bench scraper. Add the hot ganache to a pastry bag and piping it on instead of using a spoon will give you more control.
Storage and Freezing
Store the leftover white chocolate strawberry cake in a large airtight container or cake carrier in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I recommend covering the cut section with extra frosting to keep it from drying out! It's best to let the cake warm on the counter for 30 minutes or so before digging in.
You can cut the cake into slices and store them in a container or Ziplock bag in the fridge, but they will dry out more quickly.
Freezing
Freezing the whole cake- Wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and then add a layer of aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Freeze it as is or in a cake carrier for up to 3 months.
Let the cake thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then on the counter for 30 minutes-1 hour before serving.
Freezing slices- Wrap each slice in plastic wrap and place them in a Ziplock freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Pull out a slice and let it thaw in the fridge overnight or on a plate at room temperature for 1-2 hours before eating.
More Cake Recipes to Try
๐ Recipe
Strawberry White Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- 1 Electric hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment
- 1 food processor optional
Need Metric or US Customary Measurements?
Use the buttons below to toggle between grams and cups!
Ingredients
White Cake
- 300 grams cake flour
- 280 grams granulated sugar
- 2 ยฝ teaspoon baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- 114 grams unsalted butter room temperature
- 114 grams vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 280 grams buttermilk room temperature
White Chocolate Ganache
- 285 grams white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate bars
- 95 grams heavy cream
Whipped Strawberry Ganache
- 12 grams freeze dried strawberries
- 340 grams white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
- 255 grams heavy cream
Instructions
White Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF (180ยฐC) and grease or line 2 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low until combined.300 grams cake flour, 280 grams granulated sugar, 2 ยฝ teaspoon baking powder, ยฝ teaspoon salt
- Add the softened butter and beat on low speed for 3-5 minutes until it looks like wet sand.114 grams unsalted butter
- Mix in the oil, eggs, and vanilla on low until a thick batter forms. While mixing, stream in the buttermilk.114 grams vegetable oil, 3 large eggs, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 280 grams buttermilk
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Let cool for at least 1 hour.
White Chocolate Ganache
- Microwave white chocolate in a large heatproof bowl for 30 seconds to start softening the chocolate.285 grams white chocolate chips
- Add the cream to a medium bowl and microwave for 1 minute or until the edges are simmering. Pour over the chocolate and let it sit for 20 seconds.95 grams heavy cream
- Whisk the mixture together until creamy and combined. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours until it thickens to a peanut butter consistency.
Strawberry Ganache
- Pulse freeze-dried strawberries in a food processor to a fine powder.12 grams freeze dried strawberries
- Microwave white chocolate chips in a large bowl for 30 seconds to soften. Add the strawberry powder to the bowl340 grams white chocolate chips
- Microwave heavy cream in a medium bowl for 1-2 minutes until the edges simmer. Pour hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 20 seconds.255 grams heavy cream
- Whisk until smooth and combined. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1-2 hours.
- Once the consistency is thick and pliable like peanut butter, beat on medium-high speed with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Assembly
- Add the strawberry ganache to a piping bag fitted. Place 1 cake layer on a cake stand and pipe a thick ring of strawberry ganache around the edges. Fill the center with half of the white chocolate ganache.
- Stack the second layer on top of the first with the flat side facing up. Spread a smooth, thin layer of strawberry ganache all over the cake. This is the "crumb coat" that keeps crumbs from getting into the final layer or frosting. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Once the frosting is dry to the touch, add a final thick layer of strawberry ganache. Spread and smooth it out with a palette knife and bench scraper.
- For the ganache drip, microwave the remaining white chocolate ganache for 10 seconds or until liquidy. Don't overheat.
- Spoon ganache on the edges of the top of the cake and push the ganache, encouraging it to drip down the sides. Repeat around the top to create a boarder.
- Pour the rest of the ganache on top of the cake. It'll level itself out, but you can use the palette knife to smooth it.
- Garnish the cake with fresh strawberries, slice, and enjoy!
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