Perfectly moist and soft sour cream cake filled with fresh strawberries. Then topped with a sweet lemon glaze to make the ultimate summer cake recipe!

Strawberry sour cream cake on white plate.

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Delicious Strawberry Cake

I love baking with fresh fruit in the summer time. It adds the best sweet flavor and tastes absolutely delicious. This strawberry sour cream cake is one of my favorites to make, as well as raspberry cookies, blueberry buttermilk cake and lemon glazed cookies.

This cake is one of our favorite strawberry desserts. Strawberries are at their peak season, meaning they are so juicy and flavorful. And what better way to use them than make a moist and delicious strawberry sour cream cake?!

This cake has the best soft texture and is filled with fresh diced strawberries like my strawberry bread. The secret ingredient (sour cream!) makes the cake extremely moist and adds so much flavor. It’s then topped with a nice lemon drizzle that gives the perfect sweet touch. Every bite is perfection!

We love to serve this cake with even more fresh strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream similar to my strawberry shortcake with angel food cake!

Folding fresh strawberries into cake batter with spatula.

What Does Sour Cream do in Baking?

Sour cream is one of my favorite secret weapons when baking! I use it in all of my favorite recipes, like my chocolate cupcakes, sugar cookies and chocolate bundt cake. It makes baked goods SO moist and adds the absolute best soft texture. Trust me, once you bake with it, you’ll become obsessed like me!

Strawberry sour cream batter in bundt pan.

Baking Tips

  • Grease the pan. Generously grease a 10-inch bundt pan with butter so that every crevice is covered. Also, make sure to dust the pan with flour as well, so that the cake will release from the pan easier.
  • Beating the eggs. Beat in the eggs individually, one at a time. Sometimes when you add multiple eggs in at once, they only really mix with each other instead of getting evenly mixed into the butter and sugar mixture. By adding them one at a time, each egg will get emulsified into the butter.
  • Fresh lemon. Don’t even think about using bottled lemon juice! Make sure to use FRESH lemon juice and zest for the absolute best flavor. Check out these tips for how to zest a lemon.
  • Flour the strawberries. Before folding in the fresh strawberries, mix them together with 1/4 cup of flour. This will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the pan. Once they’re mixed, gently fold them into the batter with a spatula.
  • Let cool. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 20-30 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. If you try to release too soon, the cake might stick to the pan.
Drizzling glaze onto strawberry sour cream cake.

Glaze

The powdered sugar glaze on top is optional, however it does add the perfect sweet touch and looks so pretty! It’s definitely my favorite way to decorate this dessert. I love mixing it with a few Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice to add even more flavor. However there are plenty of ways to tweak the glaze to suit your taste. Try any of the below:

  • Feel free to swap the lemon juice with milk, strawberry juice or even some thinned out strawberry jam.
  • Make a cream cheese glaze for a more rich and tangy flavor.
  • For a more decadent dessert, use my strawberry cake strawberry cream cheese frosting!
  • If your glaze is too thin, mix in more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, thin it out with more juice or milk.
  • Use a spoon to drizzle it over the cake. Or you can pour the glaze into a zip top bag, cut one of the corners off and then pipe it on top of the cake.

FAQs

Does sour cream change the flavor of cake?

It adds a very minimal tang to the flavor of baked goods. It’s very subtle, though, and the benefit of a rich moist and tender cake are well worth the slight taste.

What can I substitute for the sour cream?

You could try a plain Greek yogurt. Whole fat yogurt is best and will replicate the rich taste the most.

Can I bake this in a different pan?

It has only been tested in 10-inch bundt pan but may work in a 9-inch springform pan. If you try a different size, baking time will change. If you try let me know in the comments.

Can I make this into a two layer cake?

This cake will be two heavy for a two layer cake. You could make my homemade vanilla cake and serve it with fresh strawberries for the best option!

Slice of strawberry sour cream cake on white plate.

Other cake recipes that we love to serve with fresh strawberries include this angel food cake recipe, homemade pound cake and crepe cake!

More Fresh Strawberry Desserts

strawberry sour cream cake on white plate with strawberries

Strawberry Sour Cream Cake

4.93 from 28 votes
Recipe by: Jamielyn Nye
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Cool: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Servings: 16
Perfectly moist and soft sour cream cake filled with fresh strawberries. Then topped with a sweet lemon glaze to make the ultimate summer cake recipe!
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Ingredients 

  • 1 cup butter , softened
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 4 Tablespoons lemon juice , divided
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 8 ounces sour cream
  • 1 ½ cups fresh strawberries , diced
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 375°F degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. Whisk together 2 1/4 cups flour, baking soda and salt. Then add in lemon zest and set aside.
  • With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next beat in eggs, one at a time. Then stir in 2 Tablespoons lemon juice. Alternate mixing the flour mixture and the sour cream into the butter/sugar mixture until all is incorporated.
  • Mix diced strawberries with remaining 1/4 cup flour. Then gently fold into the batter.
  • Pour batter into bundt pan and reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Glaze:

  • Once cake has completely cooled, mix together powdered sugar and 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice.
  • Drizzle glaze on top of cake with a spoon. Then slice and serve.

Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.

Notes

Glaze: Feel free to swap the lemon juice in the glaze with milk or strawberry juice. Or make a cream cheese glaze if preferred. 

Nutrition

Calories: 343kcal, Carbohydrates: 49g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 69mg, Sodium: 232mg, Potassium: 80mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 34g, Vitamin A: 485IU, Vitamin C: 9.5mg, Calcium: 29mg, Iron: 1.1mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.