Homemade Strawberry Cake Filling

Homemade Strawberry Cake Filling is made with only a few simple ingredients and almost no prep time, using fresh strawberries, sugar, water, lemon juice, and cornstarch, ready in only 20 minutes!

This cake filling is really versatile. Try making my Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with strawberry filling, or this White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake! For another type, try my Homemade Apple Pie Filling.

Strawberry Cake Filling is really simple to make with basic ingredients, and goes perfectly with both chocolate and vanilla cake recipes. This is hands down my favorite homemade filling, because it’s the perfect amount of sweetness.

You can also serve this strawberry filling in a bowl topped with whipped cream as a dessert all on its own! This also goes really well with a gluten free lemon cake or a fresh strawberry cake, or most chocolate desserts.

This is not just a filling for cake, it’s also an amazing ice cream topping! And perfect to serve on holidays over french toast with powdered sugar, or on top of some plain yogurt with gluten free granola. 

Ingredients You’ll Need

Strawberries. I like to use fresh strawberries, because fresh always has the best flavor. You can also use frozen strawberries for this recipe. If you’re going to use frozen, cut the water in half and just add more as-needed.

Sugar. Regular white granulated sugar is good for this recipe. White sugar adds a lot of sweetness without other flavor notes. You can also use brown sugar to give the strawberry mixture a deeper flavor.

Honey and maple syrup are also good options if you want more natural sweetness instead of white sugar.

Lemon Juice. The acidity from the lemon juice is balancing the sweetness from the sugar and the berries, so it doesn’t taste overly-sweet. You only need a bit of lemon juice to achieve this, add more or less to taste. 

Cornstarch. Cornstarch is our main thickener here. If we just boil the fruit down, it will taste good but the texture will be more of a syrup. You can add more or less cornstarch, depending on your thickness preference. 

Water. You need to add a small amount of water to the recipe initially, but the fruit will release the rest as it’s cooking. You can add additional water as-needed later. If you add too much water, you can cook it down. 

Food Dye. Red or pink food coloring is completely optional in this list of ingredients, and only used for aesthetics. I used a few drops of liquid red food dye in mine, but you can just leave it out if you don’t like to use food colorings. 

How to Make Strawberry Cake Filling

1. Place a medium sized saucepan on the stove. Turn the heat on to medium-high. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the water and 3 tablespoons cornstarch. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the saucepan.
2. Cut the green tops off of the strawberries and discard, then cut the berries into pieces. Add them to the saucepan, along with the sugar and lemon juice. 
3. Bring the strawberry mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer over medium-low heat. Stir often, using the back of the spoon to crush the berries as you stir. You can leave some larger pieces, depending on your preference.  
4. Cook until the strawberry mixture reaches the desired thickness, about 10 minutes. The longer you go, the more water will cook off and the thicker the strawberry filling will be. Once it reaches the desired texture, add a few drops of food coloring, stirring until well-combined. Add food coloring as-needed until the color you want is achieved. Allow the cooked filling to cool completely before using. 

How to Make Strawberry Cream Filling For Cakes

Strawberry cream filling is a really smooth filling that’s lightly sweet. It goes really well with rich cakes or desserts, because it’s very light, but still indulgent. 

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup strawberry cake filling

1. Using the whisk attachment, add 8 ounces of cream cheese to a cold stand mixer bowl and mix on medium speed. Switch to low speed and add 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
2. Slowly increase the mixer speed to medium, until completely combined. Be careful not to over-mix.
3. On medium-high speed, very slowly add 2 cups of cold heavy whipping cream. Pour it carefully down the side of the mixing bowl, not directly under the whisk. Increase the mixer to high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks.
4. Reduce to low speed and add 1/4 – 1/2 cup of cooled strawberry cake filling (at least room temperature, but refrigerated temperature if possible), mixing until just combined. 
5. Store the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use. Because this uses heavy cream and cream cheese, any cakes decorated with this strawberry frosting must be refrigerated. 

Frequently Asked Questions

More Strawberry Recipes

• Easy Strawberry Cobbler
• Orange Strawberry Salad Dressing
• Easy Strawberry Syrup
• Frozen Strawberry Margarita
• Gluten Free Strawberry Cake

Storage

Refrigerate homemade strawberry filling for 3-4 days in an airtight container. Remember if your airtight container is a mason jar, that it still only lasts 3-4 days because this is not a canning recipe. 

Freeze homemade strawberry sauce in an airtight container for 2-3 months.  

Recipe Variations

• You can make this with other types of fresh fruits. Try blueberries, raspberries, mango, blackberries, or your favorite fruit of choice for more homemade fruit fillings! This also works great for tart fillings.
• I like to make mine with some chunks of strawberries in it. If you want a really smooth cake filling, make a strawberry puree in a food processor before cooking.
• Or instead of a food processor, cook the strawberries down and use an immersion blender. Add more cornstarch slurry as-needed for thickness. This will make a really smooth strawberry cake filling. 
• You can add a teaspoon vanilla extract for another flavor variation. Or try a teaspoon almond extract. 
• Make this a strawberry pie filling by stirring in 1-2 cups of sliced strawberries right at the end, so they don’t cook down as much and look better for presentation. They’ll cook later with the pie.
• If your strawberry filling is still too sweet after the lemon juice, try adding 1/4 teaspoon salt.
• I also add about 1/4 – 1/2 cup of this homemade strawberry filling to my Easy Mascarpone Frosting and Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting for a really light and sweet strawberry frosting! If you’re making this frosting, you can also add 1-2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder for a chocolate version.

Cooking Tips

• This should be enough to make a standard 3-layer cake, but that can depend on how thick of a layer you want. You may have some leftover. Just remember to save a few extra strawberries for decorating.
• If you want the filling to stay in place when you cut a piece of cake, make sure it’s on the thicker side when you cook it. Also, try to avoid making really thick layers of filling on the cake. 
• If you feel like your strawberry cake filling is too acidic, add a pinch of baking powder to balance it out. 
• This works best with ripe fresh strawberries for that perfect real strawberry flavor. How sweet your strawberries are will impact the flavor, so add more or less sugar as-needed. 
• Cut any remaining strawberries into halves, then use them to decorate your cake later. 
• Try mixing a few spoonfuls of this delicious strawberry filling into your favorite cake batter, to give the cake itself a nice strawberry flavor! This works with both chocolate and vanilla cake batter. 
• This is not just for layer cakes, you can also add this to a piping bag and use it as a cupcake filling! Then top the cupcakes with a whipped cream frosting.
• Try making this for a strawberry cheesecake filling or topping. 
• If you notice your cake soggy, try making the filling thicker next time. Or use a crumb coat before adding the strawberry cake layers.  

If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!

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