Strawberry Coffee Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze — Sweet, juicy strawberries are found in every bite, and the cream cheese glaze is the perfect tangy complement to the creamy, sweet cake.
Easiest Strawberry Coffee Cake Recipe
I used every trick in the book I know to create a soft, moist, and tender buttermilk coffee cake recipe. All those tricks paid off, and it’s the best coffee cake I’ve ever made.
It comes together in one bowl in minutes. Not only that, but I combined all the ingredients in the bowl all together, all at once, rendering it like using cake mix. Dry, wet, oil, eggs, all at once, beat it together, pour it in the pan, and bake.
No sifting together dry ingredients and setting aside, then creaming butter and sugar until fluffy, or adding eggs, one by one, before carefully folding in the dry. Not necessary. Wham-bam, slap it in the pan.
A month ago I made this Blueberry and Jam Buttermilk Coffee Cake and couldn’t get it out of my mind. That cake almost uses the dump-together method, with just a very quick whisking of the dry ingredients before adding the wet. It used to be my favorite coffee cake, until this one.
For this strawberry coffee cake, I added sour cream in addition to buttermilk, and used oil instead of butter. The trifecta of sour cream, buttermilk, and oil is guaranteed to result in good cake karma.
They add moisture and richness, and the cake retains some lightness and fluffiness, courtesy of the buttermilk.
Before baking, I sprinkled turbinado sugar over the top, which creates a slightly crunchy, chewy, and sweet crust. Underneath the golden browned top lies a moist, rich, soft, creamy, dense, yet tender interior.
While baking, the top domes and the strawberries sprinkled on the surface before baking sink down, creating potholes and craters filled with sweet, juicy berries. Best potholes ever.
The vanilla coffee cake glaze is truly the icing on the cake. It’s sweet, tangy, and the perfect creamy complement to the strawberries and cake. If you have extra frosting and don’t eat it all with a spoon, use it as a dip for fresh fruit.
I love this cake. It’s my new go-to cake batter for fruit-based coffee cakes. Sweet, soft, tender, fast, and easy.
You can make this cake faster than you can go to the grocery store and buy one. It’s the perfect lazy weekend morning cake or for brunches or showers. Or for Wednesday nights after work.
Move over, Entenmann’s. I never need you again.
What’s in the Strawberry Coffee Cake?
To make this strawberry coffee cake recipe you’ll need:
- Egg
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Sour cream
- Buttermilk
- Oil
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Salt
- Strawberries
- Turbinado sugar (optional)
And for the simple coffee cake glaze, you’ll need:
- Cream cheese
- Sugar (granulated or powdered)
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla extract
How to Make Strawberry Coffee Cake
Simply whisk together the coffee cake ingredients, then fold in the chopped strawberries. Turn the batter into a 9-inch springform pan and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
I baked it for 30 minutes at 400F, then lowered the temperature to 375F, and baked for 25 minutes. I probably should have pulled it out about 5 minutes before I did because the edges got a little dark, but I lost track of time. Whoops, it happens.
If at any time you feel your cake is becoming overly browned before the center is setting up, cover it with foil.
Let the coffee cake cool completely before drizzling with glaze.
Can I Use Frozen Strawberries?
Yes! Even though it’s strawberry season, I used frozen strawberries because my family ate the fresh ones I was going to bake with. I rarely bake with fresh fruit because it’s more expensive and usually gets eaten before I can squirrel some of it away to bake with.
If you’re using frozen fruit, thaw it only as much as necessary to slice it, before sprinkling it on top of the batter. Frozen fruit runs and bleeds less than thawed.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Yes, you can double the ingredients and bake it in a 9×13-inch pan. However, you may not need to double the glaze — it really just depends on how much glaze you like on your coffee cakes!
Tips for the Best Coffee Cake
Most any fresh or frozen fruit could be used in this recipe, including blackberries, blueberries, peaches, nectarines, mangoes, pears, plums, or cherries. This batter will make any fruit taste like a million bucks.
I baked it in a 9-inch springform pan, and although you maybe could get away with a standard 9-inch cake pan, I like being able to remove the ring so I don’t have to invert the cake to get it out. Plus, springform pans have higher sides and I like the extra insurance so there’s no chance of an overflow.
A tip is to place your springform pan on a baking sheet so if there’s a leak, the baking sheet catches it rather than the bottom of your oven.
Pin This Recipe
Enjoy AverieCooks.com Without Ads! 🆕
Go Ad Free
Strawberries and Cream Coffee Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sour cream, very thick Greek yogurt may be substituted, although I have not tested it
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 ¼ cups frozen or fresh strawberries, halved and loosely packed
- 2 to 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar, for sprinkling (2 tablespoons granulated sugar may be substituted)
Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze
- about 3 ounces, about 1/3 cup cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar OR about 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, granulated sugar prevents glaze from getting as ‘crunchy’ when exposed to air, but doesn’t incorporate as smoothly as confectioners’ sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside (I fear a regular 9-inch cake pan won’t quite be deep enough; but an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan is okay).
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and hand mixer), combine first 10 ingredients (through salt), and mix on medium-high speed until smooth and combined, about 2 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and mix on medium-high speed until smooth and combined, about 1 minute.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan.
- Arrange strawberry slices uniformly over the top of batter (looks like a lot but they sink down and shrivel while baking).
- Evenly sprinkle with 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar.
- Bake at 400F for 30 minutes.
- Lower the temp to 375F and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until cake is golden, set in the center (it will likely be domed), not jiggly, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs dangling, but no batter.
- Allow cake to cool in pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before removing from pan and turning out onto a rack to cool completely.
- While the cake cools, make the glaze.
For the Glaze:
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and beat until smooth, either with a whisk or a mixer. Play with ratios of all ingredients to suit your tastes.
- Drizzle glaze over cake in big ribbons, going up and back, over the surface (the photos show the glaze skimpier because I wanted the strawberries to be visible, but I used all the glaze after the photos were completed).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Easy Coffee Cake Recipes:
ALL OF MY COFFEE CAKE RECIPES!
Blueberry Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping — An EASY, no-mixer cake studded with juicy blueberries and topped with big buttery streusel nuggets that are just SO GOOD!!
Cinnamon Coffee Cake — Between the cinnamon-sugar crust AND the cinnamon-sugar swirled through the center, this EASY coffee cake is IRRESISTIBLE!! Soft, fluffy, light, and of course it’s perfect with coffee!!
Coffee Crumb Cake— This coffee crumb cake recipe couldn’t be easier to make! It’s made with boxed yellow cake mix, which is used in both the batter and the crumble topping.
Glazed Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake — A very fast and straightforward cinnamon coffee cake to make and isn’t fussy at all. It’s moist, dense, and way easier to make than actual cinnamon rolls!
Glazed Pumpkin Coffee Cake – A FAST and EASY no-mixer pumpkin coffee cake with rich pumpkin flavor and topped with big buttery crumbles!!
Vanilla Coffee Cake — The cake has enough density to give it some heft and body, but it’s still light, springy, bouncy, and fluffy.
Another gorgeous looking coffee cake Averie! I am loving the pockets of fruit and the yummy glaze on top! Plus a cake that can be made in a bowl in minutes is awesome!
I wanted to drink that glaze :)
You had me at strawberries… and of course cake ;) Pass me a big slice of this beauty!
I have to stop reading your blog in the a.m. before I’ve had breakfast…my mouth is watering! :-) This coffee cake looks wonderful! I’m excited to give it a try!
If you do try it, LMK!
I wish I could reach through the screen and grab a piece for breakfast! Love the flavors and pretty colors and that it’s super easy to make.
You would love this cake! It’s seriously the best coffee cake Ive ever had/made!
I love a cake that only requires one bowl and comes together in minutes!
I haven’t gotten your blueberry coffee cake out of my mind either, now there’s this one! It looks so moist and delicious and fruity! I love that its fast, too!
And between that one and this one, use this dough/cake base and if you want blueberries instead, that’s fine – but this dough base is the bomb!
Alright all these strawberry recipes are killer!! I am dying and now carving this coffee cake!! Everything looks so so so good and oh my gosh that glaze is the perfect topping! Oh and it is so easy! I love easy, it sounds perfect!
And all the strawberry recipes were sort of unplanned and happy random accidents!
I have been dreaming about this cake before it even existed. I saw it vividly in my daydreams for several weeks now. Perfect!!
Glad I could help. And thanks for sending me the telepathic vibes to make it :)
Seriously girl…it’s the best coffee cake I’ve ever had. I am not just saying that. I hope you try it if you ever need an easy coffeecake!
This sure does look perfect Averie! I love how moist and fluffy this cake looks!
I am drooling over here. I have a list of 101 things I must make… now I have 102, and its at the top of my list
My list is more like 1001 and 1002 :)
Gorgeous! SUCH a great weekend brunch dish. Perfect for entertaining. Gotta remember to try this one, for sure!! :)
Super fast and easy and you’ll be the hit of the brunch if you make this, promise!
The first thing I noticed was the texture of the top of the cake–potholes and craters as you called them…and puddles of glaze. All of your coffee cakes look so good, and each recipe has something a little different going on. I like the coarse sugar sprinkled on top too for a little texture.
The pics do not do this cake the justice it’s due. Just one of those days. The cake is sooooooooo good. If you need a cake, THIS is the one to make! We inhaled this thing!
Yes! “Best potholes ever”…love that! Averie, your Strawberries and Cream Coffee Cake looks delish! Just completed a paleo-ized layered Strawberry Shortcake with Mixed Berries that will be going onto the blog later today and I have another strawberry cake planned soon. Now, you’ve got me in the mood to make this one for brekkie. Thank you for sharing! xo
You’re a strawberry cake-making queen! They all sound wonderful!
I am loving all of these strawberry recipes – between the sweet rolls and now these! I have a recipe similar to this (but not quite) for the cookbook, Averie! We love the same flavors. I always have strawberries with my breakfast – definitely my favorite breakfast time fruit. Well, any time of day fruit. And the cake! It looks so moist, soft, and tender. All that glorious sour cream and buttermilk does the trick. Such pretty pictures. You make it hard to resist making this!
The funny thing with the strawberries is that I didn’t realize JUST how many posts using them I had; until basically I had mentally committed to posting them, timelines, etc. I have no more planned though. It’ll be a long ways off for the next one.
And your coffee cake – can’t wait to see what you come up with! I instragrammed a pic today of my book. SUCH a happy moment!
No sifting and no mixer required? That’s always a MAJOR plus in my book! I love my kitchenaid, I do, but sometimes it’s so annoying to lug it out, use it, clean it and put it back!
I did use a mixer on it, but actually my little KitchenAid handheld. It was perfect for this job. But literally put everything in one bowl like you’re cracking a box of cake mix & it works like a charm!
I think I got overly excited when I read “one bowl in minutes”! I’m fine using a handheld – sometimes you just need quick and easy recipes, especially when you’re dying to have a slice of this for breakfast!
YUM!! That cake looks ridiculously moist and delicious!