This Vegan Strawberry Crunch Cake is easy and delicious. Strawberry cake is topped with vanilla buttercream and plenty of strawberry crunch!
Say hello to the perfect easy Spring and Summer cake! The strawberry cake, vanilla frosting and strawberry crunch topping make the perfect combo. The cake is moist, soft, the frosting is light and fluffy and the strawberry crunch is crunchy and delicious!
I love baking with strawberries! I love to use fresh strawberries like my Vegan Strawberry Peach Galette, and Vegan Strawberry Pound Cake but they have a major drawback. The amount of water in the berries waters the flavor down.
So, I also love to use freeze-dried strawberries like I use in my Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake Stuffed Cookies or My Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes. They impart a ton of strawberry flavor with out so much extra liquid. So thats what we are using today to make this tender and delicious Vegan Strawberry Crunch Cake.
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Ingredients
To make this cake you will need:
Flour: Regular all-purpose flour, here. I love King Arthur Brand.
Baking Powder: For leavening.
Salt: Salt is a requirement for all baked goods. It brings out flavors and balances them.
Non-Dairy Milk: Any non-dairy milk will work, here.
Oil: My top pick for baking is canola oil, but any neutral oil will work.
Lemon Juice: To bring out the strawberry flavor.
Vanilla: For background flavor.
Freeze Dried Strawberries: The strawberry flavor in this cake comes from freeze-dried strawberries.
Vegan Strawberry Crunch Topping: I'll get into this more below!
Vegan Vanilla Frosting: We are using my Vegan Vanilla Frosting recipe.
Method
To make this easy vegan strawberry cake, first, whisk the dry ingredients together.
Then, mix the sugar, non dairy milk, oil, lemon juice and vanilla together.
Next, add the well-crushed strawberries to the wet ingredients and whisk.
Now, add the dry ingredients and whisk to form the batter.
Now, just bake the cake!
How to Make Vegan Strawberry Crunch
The strawberry crunch topping is quick, easy and delicious!
First, crush some Golden Oreos in a food processor.
Then, add freeze-dried strawberries and a pinch of salt and pulse to chop.
Now, add coconut oil and pulse until the mixture is crushed to your liking. This mixture can be more coarse or finely chopped.
Finally, pour the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until it just starts to brown.
Substitutions
Use whatever non-dairy milk you have on hand for this Vegan Strawberry Crunch Cake.
And use store-bought vegan vanilla frosting if you want to skip a step!
Special equipment
You will need a food processor to make the Vegan Strawberry Crunch topping for this cake.
And a stand mixer or hand mixer for the Vegan Vanilla Frosting.
Freeze-Dried Strawberries
Freeze-dried strawberries are my favorite way to incorporate strawberries into most baked goods.
This is because they have all the flavor and none of the liquid. So, we can get BIG strawberry flavor without having a wonky textured cake.
Top Recipe Tip
Allow the cake to cool COMPLETELY before frosting it.
It can be tempting to frost a cake before its completely cool, but you will be left with a melted frosting mess.
Storage
For best results, frost and top this cake on the day you will serve it. The crunch topping will not stay crunchy overnight.
To store, place in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Looking for More Easy Cake Recipes?
Vegan Chocolate Cake by: Jessica in the Kitchen
📖 Recipe
Vegan Strawberry Crunch Cake
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor
- 1 Baking Sheet
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer optional
- 1 9x9 Square Baking Pan
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Vegan Strawberry Crunch Topping
- 10 Golden Oreos
- ⅔ Cup Freeze Dried Strawberries
- Pinch Kosher Salt
- 4 teaspoon Coconut Oil
For the Strawberry Cake
- 1 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt ¼ teaspoon if using table salt
- 1 Cup Non-Dairy Milk
- ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
- ⅓ Cup Canola Oil
- 2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ Cups Freeze Dried Strawberries, well crushed with a rolling pin This is an entire 1.2oz package
Vanilla Frosting
- 8 tablespoon Vegan Butter
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 tablespoon Non-Dairy Milk
Instructions
For the Strawberry Crunch Topping
- Preheat oven to 350* F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the golden oreos until they are roughly chopped. Add the freeze-dried strawberries and salt and pulse a couple more times to chop.10 Golden Oreos, ⅔ Cup Freeze Dried Strawberries, Pinch Kosher Salt
- Pour the melted coconut oil in and pulse 2-3 more times to combine.4 teaspoon Coconut Oil
- Pour the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake in a 350* oven for 6-8 minutes or until the topping just starts to brown.
- Allow to cool completely before using.
Next Bake the Cake
- Grease an 8x8" square pan and insert a parchment sling for easy cake removal.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt with a whisk. Set aside.1 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour, 2 teaspoon Baking Powder, ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- In a large bowl, combine non-dairy milk, sugar, canola oil, lemon juice and vanilla. Whisk to combine, then add the crushed freeze-dried strawberries and whisk once more.1 Cup Non-Dairy Milk, ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar, ⅓ Cup Canola Oil, 2 teaspoon Lemon Juice, 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 1 ½ Cups Freeze Dried Strawberries, well crushed with a rolling pin
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk to form the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and even the batter out with the a knife or offset spatula.
- Bake in a 350* oven for 23-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Make the Frosting
- While the cake cools, make the frosting. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the vegan butter until its completely smooth.8 tablespoon Vegan Butter
- Add the powdered sugar into the mixer and mix on low until combined.2 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
- Add vanilla and mix to combine.1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Add non dairy milk and mix until fluffy.1 tablespoon Non-Dairy Milk
Frost the Cake
- Spread the frosting across the top of the cake using a knife or offset spatula.
- Top with strawberry crunch topping and serve.
Valerie Shannon says
Megan, I thought you might be interested to know that Trader Joe's has a summer Joe Joe (their version of Oreo)...it's strawberry lemonade. I'm about to make your cake with them. Wish me luck!