This Strawberry Crunch Cake tastes like someone took the happiest memories from your childhood and baked them all together in this celebratory cake.
The yellow and strawberry cake layers are sandwiched together with both strawberry and vanilla, The cake is then covered from head to toe with strawberry crunch that is out of this world and super easy to create.
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Why Try A Strawberry Crunch Cake?
Strawberry Crunch Cakes mimic the whimsical childhood treat that many of us remember—a strawberry crunch ice cream bar. The vanilla and strawberry flavors create a strawberries and cream flavor that is irresistible, while the strawberry crunch on the outside provides a wonderful texture that is so much fun to eat.
What is Strawberry Crunch Cake made of?
Also called poke cake, this Strawberry poke cake / crunch cake has alternating layers of yellow cake and strawberry cake. There is also strawberry buttercream frosting in between the cake layers and a vanilla buttercream all over the cake.
The cake is then covered in the tasty strawberry crunch mixture that comes together really quickly. The end result is a cake-version of the best of the childhood strawberry treats.
A Strawberry Crunch Cake is such a fun cake to make and eat at the same time. Despite the different flavors and layers, the cake is made with one batter and one buttercream that can both be made into two flavors in no time at all.
Why make a Strawberry Crunch Cake crunchy?
The strawberry crunch addition is simply made out of freeze dried strawberries, Golden Oreos, and melted butter. For the freeze dried strawberries, you can usually find them at your local grocery store, Whole Foods or any health food store in general. Can we all say YUM!
The pink and white textures and flavors of the crunch cake make this Strawberry Crunch Cake a wonderful choice for a festive and unique Valentine’s Day cake.
If you are looking for more Valentine's Day ideas check out these amazing valentines day cake pops and these cute love bug fruit cups.
Strawberry Crunch Cake
🥘Ingredients
Cake
- sugar
- butter
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- whole milk
- baking powder
- all-purpose flour
- salt
- strawberry preserves
Buttercream Frosting / Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- confectioners sugar
- butter
- whole milk
- vanilla extract
- strawberry preserves
Strawberry Crunch Topping
- freeze dried strawberries
- Golden Oreos
- unsalted butter
🍽Equipment
- Round Cake Pans, either 6-7” pans or 8-9” pans
- Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
- Food Processor or Ziploc Bag with Rolling Pin
- Cake Spatula
🔪Instructions
For The Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line cake pans.
- Cream the butter and sugar.
- Add in the eggs and the vanilla extract.
- Next, add the flour and milk, alternately.
- Add plain cake batter to designated pan.
- Then add strawberry preserves to remaining batter.
- Finally, add strawberry batter to pans and bake for 25-30 mins.
- Cool cakes completely.
For The Buttercream/Strawberry Frosting
- Beat the confectioners sugar butter, milk and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Remove majority of frosting to separate bowl. Add the strawberry preserves to remaining frosting until combined.
For The Strawberry Crunch Topping
- Pulverize the ingredients until a sand texture.
To Assemble
- Stack cake with strawberry frosting in between layers and frost the whole cake with the remaining frosting.
- Press strawberry crunch topping on the cake.
💭Tips and Tricks
- If you want your strawberry preserves to not have any strawberry texture, make sure to warm the preserves slightly for about 30 seconds in the microwave. Then, pass the strawberry preserves through a sieve. The lumps will disappear instantly. Those who ate this cake like the strawberry texture, so we didn’t bother to strain. It’s up to you!
- It is a good idea to freeze your cake layers once they are completely cooled. The cakes will frost more easily this way. You can even place each layer of cake back into the freezer for 10-15 minutes between frosting each layer so the cake doesn’t slide or the buttercream doesn’t get too loose. You don’t need to freeze the cake before adding the crunch to the cake. It’s better if it sticks to fresh frosting.
- A kitchen scale is a good way to separate and measure the different flavored cake layers as well as the different layers of buttercream frosting. You can eyeball it, but if you want an exact breakdown of vanilla to strawberry layers or 2:1 etc, a kitchen scale will ensure this.
If you love making beautiful cakes do try this Battenberg Cake recipe it makes a great dessert for Easter!
FAQ
What makes this Strawberry Crunch Cake crunchy?
The magic ingredient that are Golden Oreos provide the perfect sweetness and vanilla crunch to recreate the original strawberry crunch flavor and texture you might remember.
The crunch comes together with just the Oreos, freeze dried strawberries for the strawberry flavor, and a little butter to hold it all together. They will taste amazing on this already amazing cake.
How do I keep my Strawberry Crunch Cake from getting dry?
Make sure not to overmix your ingredients. Keep in mind that you will mix parts of both the batter and the buttercream a second time when adding in the strawberry preserves, so take care not to overmix.
The vanilla layer(s) of the cake will likely finish baking about 5 minutes earlier than the strawberry layers so don’t walk away from the oven for too long.
Do I need to use fresh strawberries for this recipe?
You can decorate the top of the Strawberry Crunch Cake with fresh strawberries if you like. For the cake and buttercream layers, you only need to add a total of ¾ cup strawberry preserves (that you either strain or only warm up).
For the strawberry crunch topping, you will be using freeze dried strawberries since fresh strawberries are far too wet to accomplish that classic strawberry crunch texture.
What is strawberry crunch ice cream made of?
Strawberry crunch ice cream is often a combination of vanilla and strawberry ice creams with crushed up shortbread cookies. You can easily use the strawberry crunch topping portion of this recipe to add to strawberry and vanilla ice cream.
Likewise, you can create a strawberry shortcake ice cream cake by layering the different ice creams and sandwiching them together with the same strawberry crunch topping. The possibilities are endless, and so is the deliciousness.
Strawberry Crunch Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For Cake
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup strawberry preserves strained, if preferred for strawberry layers only
Buttercream Frosting / Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 TBSP whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup strawberry preserves strained, if preferred for cake layers only
Strawberry Crunch Topping
- 2 cups freeze dried strawberries
- 30 Golden Oreos
- 4 TBSP unsalted butter melted
Instructions
For The Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two round pans (approx 6-7”) or two round pans (8-9”) and add parchment paper, if using.
- In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth and pale yellow, for about two minutes.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
- Lower the speed and add the flour and milk alternately into the batter in three parts, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl each time.
- If making three layers, remove ⅓ of the batter and add to one of the three cake pans. If making two larger cake layers that you can cut in half, remove ½ of the batter and add to one of the two pans.
- With the remaining batter in the mixer, add ½ cup strawberry preserves. You can warm the preserves first for 30 seconds in the microwave. If you don’t like the occasional strawberry texture in your cake, make sure to strain the preserves first.
- Pour the strawberry batter into the two small pans or one large pan. Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack and release from the round pan.
For The Buttercream/Strawberry Frosting
- In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the confectioners sugar and butter on low speed until smooth. You can add additional sugar to adjust the consistency.
- Add in the milk and vanilla extract and beat until the texture is smooth.
- Remove ⅔ - ¾ of the frosting to a separate bowl, depending on the size and number of layers in your cake. Add the strawberry preserves (again warmed and, if preferred, strained) to the remaining frosting and beat until combined.
For The Strawberry Crunch Topping
- In a food processor or by hand using a ziploc bag and a rolling pin, pulverize the freeze dried strawberries, the Golden Oreos, and the melted butter until the consistency of rough sand.
To Assemble
- Stack your cake layers in whatever number you are making. If cutting two larger cakes in half, slice them carefully and evenly. If stacking three smaller layers, arrange the layers pink-white-pink to mirror this cake.
- With a cake spatula, spread the strawberry frosting in between the layers and follow by frosting the entire cake with the remaining buttercream.
- Press the strawberry crunch topping all around the cake. You can simply add crunch to the sides, or to the entire cake. Feel free to decorate further as you like. This cake has fresh strawberries on top!
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