If strawberries are one of your favorite fruits, you'll love this German strawberry cake.
This cake is a great dessert for any occasion. The cake layer is soft and fluffy, and the pudding layer is smooth and heavenly creamy.
German strawberry cake is the perfect treat when strawberries are in season. During the summer, you can't pass a German bakery without being tempted by the beautiful strawberry cakes on display.
But since you probably don't have a German bakery right around the corner, here's a quick and easy recipe I got from my friend Andreas, who owns a fantastic cake shop in Germany.
This cake is made in less than 30 minutes active time and will need about an hour of cooling time.
If you are looking for a German fruit flan aka Obsttorte recipe you can find it here.
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Strawberry cake is called Erdbeerkuchen (m) in German.
Click on the play button to learn how to say Erdbeerkuchen in German.
Strawberries are called Erdbeeren (f) in German.
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make a German strawberry cake from scratch.
- sugar
- vanilla extract
- eggs
- neutral vegetable oil
- orange soda or sparkling water
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- heavy cream
- sour cream
- vanilla extract
- instant vanilla pudding
- strawberries
- cake glaze
- water
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Follow these easy steps to learn how easy it is to make a German strawberry cake with vanilla pudding filling.
Since it takes so little time to make the batter for the cake layer, you should start by preheating your oven to 350°F and getting your spring form pan ready. I like to spray a little oil spray on the pan and place a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. This makes it easier to transfer the cake from the pan onto the cooling rack.
In a stand mixer bowl, whisk the eggs, with vanilla extract, and sugar, until light and fluffy.
Then add the oil and orange soda and sift the flour, salt and baking powder on top of the wet ingredients.
Fold in the dry ingredients gently on low speed with the whisk of your stand mixer or by hand with a spatula.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 25 minutes in a preheated oven.
In the meantime, whisk together instant pudding mix, whipping cream, sour cream and vanilla extract until everything is well combined. Beat on high speed for about 2-3 minutes
Spread the vanilla pudding cream on the cake evenly, and then arrange the strawberry slices on top.
Prepare the cake glaze.
When adding the glaze, always start in the middle. For best results, use a spoon to carefully layer the glaze over the cake instead of just pouring the mixture onto the cake.
Hint: Allow the cake to cool completely before you add the vanilla pudding.
Substitutions
- Vanilla pudding - If you want to change the flavor of the cake, use chocolate pudding or strawberry pudding instead of vanilla pudding.
Strawberry Cake Variations
Change the flavor profile with these ideas:
- Fruit - Instead of strawberries, you can use any kind of berry. If it's not the right time of year for fresh fruit, you can use bananas, canned pineapple, peaches, apricots, or Morello cherries.
- More strawberries - add finely chopped strawberry pieces to the vanilla pudding mixture to add a fruit boost to your cake.
- Festive Look - You can decorate the sides of your cake with heavy cream and chocolate shavings. This turns a simple strawberry cake into a festive German strawberry torte.
Equipment
You need these kitchen tools to make this delicious cake:
- 10-inch spring form pan
- stand mixer or hand held mixer with whisk attachment
- mixing bowl
- spatula
- fine meshed sieve
- saucepan
- whisk
- cutting board
- knife
Cake Glaze
People in Germany usually buy Tortenguss, which is an instant cake glaze powder mix that needs to be cooked with water and sugar. This is easy and convenient. You can buy these small pouches with glaze mix in European grocery stores or online shops.
But if you can't find the easy-to-use packages, it's not hard to make your own glaze. You can find a recipe for homemade cake glaze here.
Serving Ideas
You can serve the cake as is, but German strawberry cake is usually served with a generous dollop of whipped cream.
Storage
The cake can't be frozen, but it will last up to 3 days in the fridge.
Cooking Video Tutorial
Top Tip
Before you place the pudding cream on top of the cake layer, add a layer of strawberry jam. This adds even more strawberry flavor.
Recipe
German Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
Cake Layer
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup oil
- ⅓ cup orange soda or sparkling water
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
Toppings
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- ¾ cups sour cream
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix 5.1 oz.
- 16 oz. strawberries
- 1 pouch cake glaze red
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Put parchment paper on the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan and lightly spray the pan with oil spray.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar to a stand mixer bowl and mix until light and fluffy.
- Stir in oil and orange soda.
- Sift flour, salt and baking powder on top of the wet ingredients.
- Fold in the dry ingredients gently with a spatula or the low-speed whisk on a stand mixer. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 25 minutes.
- Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes. Then remove the baking pan and allow the cake to cool completely on a baking rack.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together instant pudding mix, vanilla extract, and whipping cream until everything is well blended.
- Add sour cream and beat on high speed for about 2-3 minutes.
- Wash strawberries and take out the stems. Slice strawberries.
- Spread the vanilla pudding cream on the cake evenly, and then arrange the strawberry slices on top.
- Prepare the cake glaze according to the package and the glaze cake with it.
- Allow the glaze to set before serving.
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