This fluffy Vegan Strawberry Cake is bursting with strawberry flavor from the sweet strawberry jam. It is soft, moist, and a gorgeous shade of pink with a tangy vegan cream cheese frosting that emphasizes the flavor.
Whether you’re serving this cake at a birthday party, for a holiday, or just made it for your friends to enjoy during a girls’ night on the couch, everyone is sure to enjoy it! The cake comes together with minimal dishes, no complicated ingredients, and looks stunning. It’s the perfect pink dessert.
If you like this vegan strawberry jam cake, you will love my vegan coconut cake, white chocolate lava cake, and vegan lemon cupcakes!
Jump to:
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Gorgeous Shade of Pink: Pretty desserts taste better, and this stunning vegan strawberry jam cake is the prettiest shade of pink. It is perfect for a girly birthday party, Valentine’s Day, or a spring dinner party.
- Fluffy and Moist: This cake is full of sweet strawberry flavor and is also perfectly moist and fluffy.
- One Bowl Cake: No need to mix the wet and dry ingredients separately, just combine them in one bowl and save yourself some dishes.
Ingredients
- Dairy-Free Milk: Milk enhances the flavor of cakes and helps them maintain moisture. Soy milk is one of the most popular dairy-free alternatives for baking because it helps create a similar texture to dairy milk, but you can use oat milk or almond milk as well.
- Strawberry Jam: Smooth, sweet jam adds a concentrated strawberry flavor and a bit of color to this delicious cake.
- Vanilla Bean Paste: The vanilla paste has flecks of vanilla bean in it, which look pretty in baked goods; however, you can also use vanilla extract.
- Red Food Dye: Deepen the pink color of the cake with a little bit of vegan food dye.
- Vegan Cream Cheese: The tangy flavor of cream cheese icing pairs perfectly with the strawberry jam, so you’ll need vegan cream cheese for the frosting.
- Powdered Sugar: The vegan cream cheese frosting for this cake requires powdered sugar to sweeten it.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Enjoy strawberries in other ways, like this delicious strawberry summer salad or a plate of strawberry pancakes!
Variations
- Try It With Fresh Strawberries: Skip the jarred jam and make a reduced strawberry puree instead. Slowly reduce a pound of fresh strawberries on the stove until they are mushy and the liquid in the pan is thick, then blend them into a puree. Just be sure to let them cool before mixing them into the cake batter.
- Make It Gluten-Free: Use 1:1 gluten-free flour to make this cake gluten-free!
- Flavorful Freeze-Dried Berries: Freeze-dried strawberries ground into a fine powder will add even more strawberry flavor to your vegan frosting!
- Change the Berries. This cake works with just about any berry! Just be sure to coordinate your food coloring if you're using it. This homemade raspberry jam would work just great!
How to Make Vegan Strawberry Cake
This pretty pink dairy-free strawberry cake is packed with sweet strawberry flavor that any berry lover will find delicious. The strawberry vegan cream cheese icing sets this apart from other cakes and is the perfect finishing touch.
Step 1: Combine the Ingredients. Add the wet and dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
Step 2: Bake the Cake. Pour the batter into a lightly greased baking pan lined with parchment paper. I used a 9x9-inch baking pan for this recipe. Bake at 350°F for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool before frosting it.
Step 3: Make the Vegan Strawberry Frosting. Whisk together the vegan cream cheese, powdered sugar, and other frosting ingredients. Place the frosting in the fridge to chill while the cake cools.
Step 4: Frost and Decorate. Top your fully cooled cake with your vegan frosting and add a few fresh strawberries on top. For even more wow, decorate the top of the cake with chocolate-covered strawberries for the perfect chocolate and strawberry dessert!
Expert Tips
- Grease and Line Pans: Lightly coat your baking pans with a neutral oil and line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper to make removing the cake a breeze. If you use a round pan, cut the parchment paper into a circle.
- Cool Before Frosting: Vegan cream cheese melts when warm, so be sure the cake is completely cool before frosting it. You can even chill the cake for 30 minutes before frosting to be sure it doesn’t melt and drip.
- Don’t Over Mix: Mix the batter ingredients until they are just well combined, and then stop. This will help your cake to rise and be fluffy and soft. Overmixing the batter will make your cake dense, flat, and heavy.
Storage Directions
- Storing: Keep leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
- Freezing: You can also freeze this cake. Either wrap the unfrosted cake in plastic cling wrap and store it in the freezer. Then thaw it and frost it when you’re ready to serve it. You can also cut any leftover cake into slices. Then, wrap each slice in plastic wrap and store it in a freezer bag. This cake will last for 2 months in the freezer. Thaw for at least 24 hours before enjoying a slice!
- Make Ahead of Time: Save yourself a little time and bake your cake the day before you plan to serve it. Store the eggless strawberry cake in the refrigerator and then frost it an hour or so before serving.
Serving Suggestions
This fluffy and flavorful vegan strawberry cake is the perfect dessert for holidays, girls’ nights, or birthday parties. The delicious berry flavor is a delectable way to finish a meal. This may be your friend’s new favorite cake recipe!
- Name a better combo than cake and ice cream! Serve this strawberry birthday cake with vegan pistachio ice cream or a refreshing raspberry sorbet.
- Plan your dinner menu around the sweet berry flavor of this cake and serve dishes like vegan pasta salad or lemon garlic pasta with roasted beet hummus as the appetizer.
Recipe Video
Vegan Strawberry Cake Recipe FAQs
To make a round layered cake by using 2 8” round baking pans, you will need to double the recipe. Bake these cakes at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. Or turn this recipe into vegan strawberry cupcakes and bake them for 20-25 minutes in a cupcake pan.
If you can’t find vegan cream cheese, you can make a vegan buttercream icing with non-dairy milk and vegan butter instead. You’ll need about 1 cup of vegan butter and 2-3 tablespoons of dairy-free milk as a substitute for the cream cheese.
I don’t recommend beet juice because it will change the consistency of the batter and make it too runny. However, you could try beetroot powder if you want to avoid food dye and add more color. Just beware that it may turn a little more brown as it bakes instead of pink.
More Delicious Vegan Strawberry Recipes
Strawberry Jam Cake
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 240g
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar 150g
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup dairy-free milk
- ½ cup strawberry jam
- ½ cup neutral oil
- 2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1-2 drops red food dye optional
Frosting
- 8 oz vegan cream cheese
- ¼ cup strawberry jam
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 generous pinch salt
- 1 drop red food dye optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all of the wet and dry ingredients and whisk together.
- Pour the batter into a gently-greased parchment lined baking dish (I used a 9 x 9 inch baking pan). Bake at 350°F for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Whisk together the frosting ingredients and place in the fridge to chill.
- Once the cake has baked and *fully* cooled off, spread the frosting on top. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- Don’t over-mix the batter your cake will turn out dense and flat.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting it so the frosting doesn’t melt and drip.
- Use 2 8” round baking pans and bake for 30-35 minutes for a layered round cake. Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes.
Leave a Reply