After so many requests for a strawberry version of Crazy Cake, I’m excited to finally share my Strawberry Crazy Cake recipe, made with fresh strawberries! And just like the original Crazy Cake, it’s made with no eggs, milk or butter!
Strawberry Crazy Cake (Wacky Cake) – No Eggs, Milk or Butter!
This Strawberry Crazy Cake is incredibly easy to make, wonderfully moist and tender, with a light, fresh strawberry flavor. You’d never guess it’s made without eggs, milk or butter! Like all of my Crazy Cake flavors, it’s also budget-friendly and a great option for those avoiding eggs or dairy. Serve it plain, with a dusting of powdered sugar or a dollop of whipped cream, or dress it up with an easy strawberry glaze, lemon glaze or your favorite frosting. It’s perfect for spring and summer, but delicious any time of year!
This Strawberry Crazy Cake is adapted from the cherished Chocolate Crazy Cake recipe, an old-fashioned favorite also known as Wacky Cake, Depression Cake, War Cake, Three-Hole Cake and more. Over the years, I’ve had so much fun creating different flavors of this simple cake, and I’m so excited to finally add strawberry to the collection!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- Canola or vegetable oil
- Strawberry extract
- Vanilla extract
- Fresh strawberries
- Water
- Pink or red food coloring, optional
See the recipe card below for the full ingredient amounts and instructions.
How to Make Strawberry Wacky Cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
Make three depressions in the dry ingredients — two small and one larger. Pour the vinegar into one small depression, the strawberry and vanilla extracts into the other, and the oil into the third larger depression.
Stir the food coloring into the water until well combined, then pour it over the dry ingredients. Mix until the batter is smooth.
Toss the chopped fresh strawberries with a little flour until evenly coated, then gently fold them into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
Bake on the middle rack for 35–40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before serving.
Enjoy it plain, with a dusting of powdered sugar or a dollop of whipped cream, or top it with strawberry glaze, lemon glaze, or your favorite frosting.
Helpful Baking Tips
Here are a few helpful tips for making the best Strawberry Crazy Cake.
Need a quick and easy strawberry topping? For an 8×8-inch cake, combine 1/2 cup strawberry preserves or jam with 1 to 2 tablespoons water or lemon juice. Lemon juice helps cut the sweetness. Add 1 teaspoon butter for extra shine, if desired. Warm the mixture in the microwave in short intervals, stirring between each one, until smooth and pourable. Let it cool for a few minutes before spooning or pouring it over the completely cooled cake. I like to spoon it over individual slices just before serving.
Use fresh strawberries. Fresh strawberries work best for this cake because they make it easier to control the amount of liquid in the batter, which can affect the texture of the finished cake.
Food coloring is optional. The food coloring gives the cake its pretty pink color but does not affect the flavor. Feel free to leave it out if you prefer.
Strawberry extract gives the best strawberry flavor. Because the cake uses just enough fresh strawberries to add flavor without adding too much liquid to the batter, the berries alone won’t give the cake a strong strawberry flavor. I recommend using strawberry extract along with vanilla extract for the best results. If you don’t have strawberry extract, you can use all vanilla extract instead. In that case, I highly recommend topping the cake with the fresh strawberry glaze for an extra boost of strawberry flavor.
Where can I find strawberry extract? If you can’t find strawberry extract at your local grocery store, you can easily order it online from retailers like Amazon or Walmart, or look for it at a specialty baking supply store.
Let the cake cool completely. Strawberry Crazy Cake is best served once it has cooled completely, which allows the texture to set properly.
Add fresh berries when serving. Top individual slices with fresh strawberries or a combination of your favorite berries for an easy, pretty finishing touch.
More Crazy Cake Recipes to Try
All made without eggs, milk or butter!
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Pin this Strawberry Crazy Cake recipe for later!
Strawberry Crazy Cake (Wacky Cake) — No Eggs, Milk or Butter
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon strawberry extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- ¾ cup plus 2 Tablespoons of water
- 2-4 drops pink or red food coloring, or enough to reach desired color (optional)
FRESH STRAWBERRIES
- ½ cup fresh strawberries, chopped and blotted very well with paper towels
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour, for tossing with the chopped strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F, then spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
- Next, make three depressions in the dry ingredients — two small and one larger. Pour the vinegar into one small depression, the strawberry and vanilla extracts into the other, and the oil into the larger depression.
- Stir the food coloring into the water until well combined, then pour it over the dry ingredients. Mix the batter until smooth.
- Last, toss the chopped strawberries with the 2 teaspoons of flour until evenly coated. Gently fold them into the batter, then pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35–40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven.
- Allow to cool completely.
- This cake is wonderful served plain or topped with homemade strawberry glaze (see Notes below), a dusting of powdered sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, your favorite frosting, fresh strawberries, or any combination of these.
Notes
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup finely mashed fresh strawberries
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons water (only if needed for desired consistency)
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