This Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake is the best celebratory sweet treat for such a special day and is actually my second year baking myself a cake for my Birthday. Not only is it completely soft + fluffy, but it’s rich in flavor from the vanilla cake layers and comes loaded with a velvety cream cheese buttercream that when paired with this sweet strawberry jam filling, it’s absolutely irresistible and is sure to become the newest celebratory tradition for the entire family. Vegan + Gluten-Free options.
It's my Birthday and I'm the big 31!
Prior to last year's cake, I usually made Cheesecake Bites to ring in another year. I know. So untraditional, but cheesecake is one of my faves so it was perfect every time.
There’s nothing like a bite of this velvety and creamy Mango Cheesecake + Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust. Unlike the traditional cheesecake, these bites are the perfect spin on flavor meets bite-sized goodness! Oh how delicious these are! Bursting with tropical flavor and topped with a mango glaze and fresh strawberries for a nice balance of fruitiness and tartness; and made atop a sweet and crisp chocolate-y crust.
Now that I'm officially settling into my 30s, I must say that my journey to this point has carried some very valuable lessons.
Relationships have been my biggest lesson for the past few years, which often times felt pretty uncomfortable and painful in most retrospects. However, I can say that this year has birthed some pretty amazing relationships that I am excited to continue to cultivate, despite the many people that I've lost along the way.
I am a big believer that God's hand has been in it all and it has allowed me to grow in ways that I didn't know that I could.
Another lesson for me has been in business and my own self worth.
If you've been an avid follower of Orchids + Sweet Tea, then you're already aware of the fact that I'm pretty transparent about my journey, both in Food + personally.
When it came to business, I can honestly say that I didn't push myself as much as I could've in the beginning because I wasn't as confident in my own capabilities.
This cake as I’ve mentioned before is super easy to whip together and doesn’t require anything special when it comes to ingredients. All you need to whip up this simple Best Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake batter is:
Vanilla Cake: This part of the cake is the soft, fluffy component that just melts in your mouth. Personally, I chose to substitute a few ingredients to limit the amount of dairy, however, you can feel free to create a full vegan version if that's your thing. See the Notes for how to do so!
Cream Cheese Buttercream: Normally with shortcake, you would have whipped cream instead, however, because I love to create a beautiful twist to most things, I chose to make a cream cheese frosting because who doesn't go crazy for a creamy cheese frosting, right? Haha. Plus, this buttercream is so velvety and pieces everything together so beautifully that you couldn't make this without out, to be honest.
Fresh Strawberries + Preserves: OK, so this is my other favorite part----the strawberries. It's Summer, therefore, you can't NOT have strawberries, right? Exactly. Point proven. Haha. That's why I chose to add fresh sliced strawberries atop this cake and spoonfuls of strawberry preserves in between the layers and a top frosting.
Another thing that I’ve learned about baking a cake is having the right tools. As a basic—-you should have a cake stand (preferably one that has a turnstile table), spatulas (big + small), piping bags + tips, correct baking pans and parchment paper.
One of the essential ingredient combos for a light, silky cake texture is baking soda/baking powder and acid ingredient (usually apple cider vinegar + plant-based milk for vegan cakes). When acid and baking soda/baking powder reacts, it creates bubbles and helps to create a nice rise for your baked goods, leaving an airy texture.
One of my latest tricks to a perfect cake has been to ensure that ALL of my dry ingredients are sifted. Trust me, ya’ll—-this works! Making all the dry ingredients fully sifted makes things airy, as you’ve guessed it and allows everything to combine faster.
Never Over-mix! When creating a cake, it’s so important to add the dry ingredients and wet ingredients alternately and as soon as everything is combined very well, THAT’S IT! Over-mixing creates a more dense cake.
It’s super fluffy and moist.
Bold strawberry, cream cheese, + vanilla flavors.
Delicious and comforting in every bite.
Melt in your mouth goodness!
Can be made as a traditional 2 or 3-layer cake, sheet cake, or cupcakes. Your choice!
Not too sweet, but perfectly sweet at the same time.
That Whipped Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting is EVERYTHING. Literally!
Absolutely delicious!
The perfect Birthday Cake!
When it comes to the main ingredient of this entire recipe—-the flour, I enjoy using Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour, which is ideal for all kinds of baking, including this one.
However, I do occasionally use Super-Fine Cake Flour which adds a nice airiness and fluffiness to your cakes as well.
If you would love to make this cake gluten-free, then substituting all-purpose flour with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour is the easiest option. It’s a special blend of gluten-free flours, starches, and xanthan gum, which makes this cake just as soft, fluffy, and airy as the original! They also have a great All-purpose GF flour that works great as well.
Yes! To make this cake dairy-free and egg-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter. Omit the eggs and use apple cider vinegar or ‘flax eggs’ as an alternative. To decorate your vegan Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake, use the vanilla buttercream recipe here instead of the cream cheese.
Sure! To turn this cake recipe into individual cupcakes, simply divide the batter between about 30 cupcake wells. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the centers are set.
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Best Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake.
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Could you please enlighten me as to why a couple of other comments mention tripling the ingredients to make a 3 layer 8" cake. I was under the impression that the recipe as given is sufficient for either a 3 layer 8" or 2 layer 9" cake. Am I missing something?
Hi Marie! Yes, those comments were based on how I had the recipe prior to recently updating + improving it! The current measurements will suffice! 🙂
Well, this is just the perfect cake for a summer birthday! It combines cake and one of the best summer desserts of all time. It looks incredible!
Yum! Perfect summer cake! It turned out amazingly well. Very moist and airy texture - couldn't ask for anything more! Great recipe - thanks!
I love this twist on a classic favorite recipe!
I love the idea of making strawberry shortcake in layer cake form! What a perfect summer dessert.
This was absolutely wonderful. So moist and with so much strawberry flavor. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hi Shanika, thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I am planning on making it for my mom for her birthday! I was wondering, do you think I would be alright using whole milk rather then almond milk?
Hi Kristen! Awww, of course! That sounds like such an amazing idea---I really do hope that your mom enjoys! Happiest of birthdays to her---by the way! And yes, you definitely can use whole milk for this! I just use Almond milk to reduce the dairy! 🙂
Can the frosting be made the night before in order to frost cake the next morning?
Hi Heather! Absolutely! Just tightly seal the frosting when refrigerated and remove it to room temp the day of for about 15-20 minutes until soft enough to pipe. 🙂
I made this for my daughter's 3rd birthday. I did a 3 tier - 8 inch cake, so tripled the ingredients. In place of vegetable oil i used avocado oil, but everything else I followed exactly. It came out so sooooo yummy! Everyone loved it!! Thanks for an amazing cake recipe! 🙂
OMG! I'm honestly so thrilled that this cake was such a hit with everyone! Thanks so much for choosing my recipe for such a special moment! 🙂
This cake looks delicious! If making a three layer (8 inches) cake, do I need to also triple the icing ingredients?
Hi Michelle! Thanks so much! That's absolutely correct-----you can triple the ingredients! 🙂
Gorgeous photos! And happy belated birthday!
Thanks so much, Ashley! I truly appreciate that! 🙂
Omg yum!! Happy Birthday! I need to make this for my birthday in Sept!
Happy Birthday! This cake looks delicious! I think my kids and I will make this for a special treat this weekend.
This cake looks so delicious and so pretty! I can't wait to make this! My daughter loves anything strawberry!
Happy Birthday Shanika! Gorgeous cake, it looks absolutely divine!
Thanks for this gorgeous cake recipe! It was so delicious
Omg! Happy Birthday! You deserve all of the deliciousness today and everyday. Such a beautiful soul and beautiful recipe creations to match! I can’t wait to make this with the kids. They will be happy to know I know the person who created it!
Awww, thanks so much babe! I truly appreciate that! And I can't wait to hear what the kids thought----it's SO GOOD! 🙂