Strawberry Bundt Cake
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This strawberry Bundt cake is a twist on my famous strawberry cake, made without gelatin and packed with real strawberry flavor from fresh strawberries. This fruity cake is topped with a sweet strawberry white chocolate ganache, making it the perfect balance of fruity, rich, and absolutely irresistible.
YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE FOR STRAWBERRY BUNDT CAKE
Strawberry cake lovers, this one’s for you! If you’ve ever made my famous strawberry cake— the one that so many of my readers have called the best strawberry cake in countless ways– you already know just how special this recipe is. That stacked layer cake is packed with real strawberry flavor, no artificial gelatin needed, and it’s been tested, perfected, and praised time and time again.
I’ve taken everything that makes that cake incredible and popular and transformed it into a show-stopping strawberry Bundt cake, complete with a white chocolate strawberry ganache that lets the cake crumb shine. Don’t miss it in cupcake form, either!
WHAT MAKES THIS RECIPE FOR STRAWBERRY CAKE THE BEST
Believe me, this is not just any strawberry bundt cake. This is a recipe you can trust to deliver on flavor, texture, and reliability. The cake is soft yet sturdy, bursting with real strawberry goodness thanks to fresh strawberries, and every step is designed to ensure success. Whether you’re serving it for a special occasion or just because you’re craving something sweet, this Bundt cake is guaranteed to impress… And bonus points: no stacking or layering involved!
I’ve seen a lot of strawberry cakes out there that use strawberry puree to bring the strawberry flavor, and while I bet that’s a great way to do it, I’ve always prided myself on the ease of method with this cake.
Don’t get me wrong, I love giving deep flavor to cakes by cooking down an ingredient before adding it, like a champagne reduction in my champagne layer cake, but the addition of the strawberry ganache on top of this bundt cake seals the flavor deal perfectly. There is no shortage of strawberry flavor here, believe me!
STRAWBERRY BUNDT CAKE INGREDIENTS
You will need 12 total ingredients for this Bundt cake, and it’s likely you have at least 10 of them in your pantry already. Grab yourself some fresh strawberries (or frozen– check the notes in the recipe for how to do that) and a bag of freeze-dried strawberries (usually found in the dried fruit or bulk candy aisle) and you’ll be all set to whip up this simple cake.
For the strawberry Bundt cake, you will need:
• all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• salt
• butter
• granulated sugar
• vanilla extract
• eggs + egg white
• milk
• fresh strawberries
For the strawberry ganache, you will need:
• freeze-dried strawberries
• white chocolate chips
• heavy cream
ADD EXTRA BAKING POWDER TO INSURE BIGGER LIFT
The one thing I adjusted from my strawberry cake recipe for this strawberry bundt cake recipe is the addition of one more teaspoon of baking powder to give the batter extra lift while crawling up the sides of the bundt pan.
Speaking of climbing the sides of the pan, I have been using my own homemade cake release for several years. It works great for preventing any of my cake from sticking to the pan, and if you brush your Bundt pan liberally with it, you’ll have this Bundt cake sliding out of the pan with no issue.
If you have a tried and true method for prepping pans, by all means, continue using it. I’ve never had the best luck with the grease and flour method. Proceed as you do!
USE FINELY CHOPPED STRAWBERRIES FOR THE BEST DISTRIBUTION
An important note about this Bundt cake: make sure your strawberries are finely chopped. The depth and bake time of bundt cakes means more time for strawberry pieces to sink to the bottom. Keep them small to secure them in place!
I thought that the best glaze for this strawberry Bundt was something that was quick and easy and wasn’t too heavy. I turned to the method I use for my chocolate bundt cake: a simple mixture of chocolate chips and heavy cream, otherwise known as ganache.
In this particular white chocolate ganache recipe, we’re using white chocolate chips (you can, of course, use chopped white chocolate) and we’ll strawberry flavor with freeze dried strawberries.
I learned this method when I was trying desperately to find a strawberry buttercream frosting that wasn’t a goopy mess. It works great for adding real, bright strawberry flavor to the ganache without weighing it down or thinning it out.
How to Make Strawberry Bundt Cake
In the recipe card below, you’ll find detailed instructions for how to make this Bundt cake. Here is an overview of the steps:
STRAWBERRY CAKE
Prepare the strawberries: again, be sure they’re chopped into small pieces. For my strawberry cupcakes, pureeing them works best because of the smaller nature of cupcakes vs a big cake. While you can do that here, too, I like the larger chunks of strawberries in my bites. No need to flour them to keep them suspended! If they’re small enough, they’ll stay put.
Cream the butter + sugar + vanilla: this cake gets all of its lift from the air incorporated into the butter and sugar. Be sure you’re using room temperature butter and no warmer.
Add the eggs/egg white one at a time: by adding eggs one at a time, you can ensure they incorporate evenly and smoothly into the batter. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature, too.
Add the flour mixture + milk in two parts: why in two parts? Because adding all of the flour mixture or all of the milk at one time can “overload the system” and encourage clumping and/or separating. This doesn’t need to be exact! Aim for about half of the flour mixture and milk each addition.
Fold in the strawberries: do this gently, and stop when everything is just combined.
Bake + cool: a Bundt cake needs a pretty significant amount of time in the oven but keep an eye on your cake as overbaking it can lead to a dry crumb.
STRAWBERRY GANACHE
This will go onto your completely cool cake, so no need to make it all that far in advance. It will need to cool for about 15 minutes before you use it and set for about an hour before serving, so be sure you’re building in that buffer time.
USE FREEZE-DRIED STRAWBERRIES TO FLAVOR THE WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
Of course, you can leave the strawberry powder out, use semi-sweet or milk chocolate, or leave your Bundt cake plain. No rules when it comes to your cake!
Make strawberry powder: use a blender or food processor to process the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder. You should have about 2 Tablespoons of strawberry powder.
Heat the liquid to melt the chocolate: pour the white chocolate chips into a small bowl, then heat the heavy cream. You can do this in the microwave or on the stove. Pour the steaming cream over the chocolate chips, then whisk everything together until it is smooth.
Add the strawberry powder: stir in all of the powder until the mixture is well-combined, then allow it to cool for 15 minutes.
Cover the cake: pour the cooled ganache evenly over the Bundt cake and allow the ganache to set before serving (this will take about 1 hour).
STRAWBERRY BUNDT CAKE SUBSTITUTIONS AND ADDITIONS
I do not recommend making any ingredient substitutions, but if you would prefer to use a non-dairy milk instead of cow milk in this recipe, you can use any milk that you prefer.
If you want to use a different topping, I would suggest my classic vanilla buttercream, cream cheese frosting, Swiss meringue buttercream, chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream, or strawberry frosting.
How to Store this Strawberry Bundt Cake Recipe
Store leftover strawberry Bundt cake covered tightly at room temperature for up to 5 days. Since it is pretty moist, you may find better storage in the refrigerator, especially in warmer months.
Recipe for Strawberry Bundt Cake FAQs
Fresh Strawberry Bundt Cake
Ingredients
STRAWBERRY CAKE
- 3 and ¼ cups (390g) all purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 large egg white room temperature
- 1 cup (240mL) milk any; room temperature
- 2 cups finely chopped strawberries1 approximately 16 large strawberries
STRAWBERRY GANACHE
- ⅓ cup (7g) freeze-dried strawberries
- 1 cup (170g) white chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup (80mL) heavy cream
Instructions
STRAWBERRY CAKE
- Place oven rack on the middle setting and preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Grease and flour (or use homemade cake release) a 9" Bundt pan. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.3 and ¼ cups (390g) all purpose flour, 5 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy in texture. Add the vanilla, then eggs and egg white one at a time, allowing each to incorporate before adding the next one and scraping the. Scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary.1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar, 1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, 3 large eggs, 1 large egg white
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in 2 parts, alternating with the milk. Gently fold in the strawberries by hand.1 cup (240mL) milk, 2 cups finely chopped strawberries1
- Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan, then bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes on a wire cooling rack.
- After 15 minutes, use oven mitts to carefully flip the Bundt cake onto your serving dish/platter. To do this: flip the serving dish/platter over and place on top of the cooling Bundt pan. Flip everything over and allow cake to cool completely in the pan, sitting on the serving dish. When cake is completely cool, lift pan off of the cake.
STRAWBERRY GANACHE
- Using a blender or food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder. You should have about 2 Tablespoons of strawberry powder. Set aside.⅓ cup (7g) freeze-dried strawberries
- When you are ready to frost the cake, pour the white chocolate chips into a small bowl. Set aside.1 cup (170g) white chocolate chips
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the heavy cream while whisking occasionally until it is steaming. Remove from heat and immediately pour over the chocolate chips. Allow the mixture to sit for about 1 minute to soften the chips, then whisk the chocolate and the liquid together until it is smooth. If at any time it is too hard to stir, heat in the microwave for 15-20 seconds on high to re-warm the mixture.⅓ cup (80mL) heavy cream
- Once the mixture is smooth, add the strawberry powder, then stir until everything is well-combined. Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes.
- Pour the cooled ganache evenly over the Bundt cake and allow ganache to set before serving (about 1 hour). You can speed up this process by putting cake in the fridge. Store leftovers at room temperature, up to 5 days. Cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.
Notes
- Finely chopped strawberries: make sure you finely chop the strawberries to prevent them from sinking in the batter.
- Freeze dried strawberries: freeze-dried strawberries are typically found in the dried fruit section of your grocery store. If you can’t find them there, check the aisle with bulk candy, if your grocery store has one.
- Cupcakes: if you want to turn this recipe into cupcakes, please see my post for strawberry cupcakes as the recipe is not the same as the one you see here.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Yay! no lemon (I’m highly allergic). definitely giving this recipe a try!
Please let me know if you do, Dee!
yes it was superbbbbb.
Thanks so much, Sunia!
This was so good! Thanks for a great recipe.
Thanks for trusting it, Ann!
Made this for a baby shower and it was a huge hit!
Awesome, Cayla! Thanks so much 🙂
Is it essential to add the chocolate chips? Or can I make it with just strawberries and heavy cream? Thanks.
Hi, Corvetta– if you don’t add the chocolate chips, you will just have strawberry cream. If that’s ok with you, that’s fine! But you may want to sweeten it with powdered sugar.
What a yummy dessert! I had strawberries at home that I wanted to use and this recipe was perfect! Directions were great and easy to follow. The family all loved this cake… especially the ganache!!
Thank you so much, Gail!
I just made this for my daughter in-laws birthday. And now I want to make one for the rest of my family! The batter alone tasted amazing. I can’t wait to taste it cooked. Lol Thank you for the reciep ❤
Thank you so much, Heather 🙂
I followed exactly and found it to be very heavy
Hi, Janet– I don’t think I ever said it was a light cake. Bundt cakes rarely are.
Can I make cupcakes w this recipe?
Hi, Melissa! I just updated the recipe card to have the link to the cupcakes, which you can find right here, too. It’s not the same recipe, but it is similar. Enjoy!
Perfect for Mother’s Day! Cake had awesome flavor and texture! I’m admittedly not the best at working with chocolate- my “ganache” thickened and hardened rather quickly (even after an attempt to reheat/melt thinking my cream wasn’t warm enough to melt the chocolate the first time), so I spread it on more like frosting. Great flavor, but wish it had more of the “drizzle” look to it!
Thanks, Rachael! I’m glad you made it work– this just means you have to make it again 🙂 I appreciate your review!
Absolutely fabulous cake! So moist and light that I could hardly believe it! I will say that my ganache did not turn out to be pour-able like you showed. Perhaps 2/3 Cup of Cream?!?! Most importantly though, the cake needs NOTHING ELSE! Serve with some ice cream and left-over strawberries or perhaps a Chantilly Cream with strawberries instead…hmmmm the possibilities are endless! I was suspect of cooling the cake inside the bundt pan but I did it and I suppose that is so that the cake cools more slowly, is that correct? Make sure you have a BIG bundt cake pan for this recipe!
Hi, Stacy– thanks so much for your feedback! I already updated the recipe card for specific troubleshooting regarding the ganache like we chatted about 🙂 and cooling in the pan is to minimize sticking! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I’m excited to hear how else you prepare it!
Hi Lynn I have a question
In your instructions on making the strawberry ganache how do the two tablespoon of dried strawberries suppose to measure out to be the 1/3 cup I am a little confused on that
Hi, Carla! The step says:
“Using a blender or food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder. You should have about 2 Tablespoons of strawberry powder. Set aside.”
So you’ll start with 1/3 cup of the full freeze-dried strawberries which will process down to 2 Tablespoons. Does that make more sense?