Lower Sugar Vanilla Cake with Fresh Strawberry Frosting

This delicious cake recipe makes a perfect light but super moist vanilla cake with the most fluffy fresh strawberry frosting you will ever make! 

Chocolate lovers, be sure to check out our Double Chocolate Banana Cake.

The next time that you’re looking for a classic vanilla cake, whether for a birthday, holiday, or a special event, you must try this one! It’s easy to mix up, has a wonderfully delicate crumb, and it boasts the rich flavor that you expect from a vanilla layer cake. It also has less sugar in both the cake and the frosting than similar cakes. This makes it a nice choice to share with your entire family.

Lower Sugar Cake

This cake has a small amount of granulated sugar for sweetness. Coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than regular granulated sugar and is a great choice for baked goods. In a lighter cake however, regular coconut sugar produces a much darker product. If you prefer to use coconut sugar, try using blonde for a cake that is the classic vanilla cake color. (If you’re looking for a perfect fruit-sweetened first birthday cake, check this one out. Or this Banana Birthday Cake. Or this Sweet Potato Apple Cake.) It also manages to maintain the flavor and texture that you want from a classic cake, while also including less sugar—especially since it features a cream cheese frosting, rather than a classic buttercream.

Fluffy Homemade Strawberry Frosting

A small slice of this cake is perfect for a birthday party or a special event. It also goes a long way towards satisfying a craving for dessert. The fresh berries add a nice contrast to the rich cake. The frosting, made with cream cheese, fresh pureed strawberries, Greek yogurt and a little powdered sugar, is creamy and fluffy without being overly sweet. In short, the elements combine to make a delightfully fresh tasting dessert with real ingredients that everyone  will love.

My daughter, who generally prefers vanilla ice cream over any other dessert, loved her little slice of this cake. And she got her little fingers into the icing when I wasn’t looking. I took it to be a sign of homemade dessert success!

This vanilla layer cake is best served on the day that it’s made, though we had no problem eating up the leftovers on the day after. (Just be sure to cover the cake so that the frosting doesn’t dry out.)

Delicious Lower Sugar Dessert Recipes

• Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
• Simple Summer Apple Dessert
• Healthier Homemade Donuts
• Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chia Cookies

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

3.8 from 311 votes

Lower Sugar Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Frosting

Super moist, dense and low in sugar with a light and airy fresh strawberry frosting.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 16 1 slice

Calories: 307kcal

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt, plain
• 4 tablespoon butter, unsalted
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar*
• 3 large eggs + 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups flour white whole wheat
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Frosting

• 1 1/2 cups cream cheese room temperature
• 3/4 cup pureed strawberries
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 5 ounces strawberry Greek yogurt

Topping

• 15 medium strawberries

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease two 8-inch round baking pans well. Use the pans to trace rounds of parchment paper, cut out, set inside the pans, and grease again. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat together yogurt, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and honey and milk until well mixed.
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, and stir until combined.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, shaking gently to ensure that the batter is spread to the edges. Bake for 24-26 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then invert carefully onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
• To make frosting, in a large bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until fluffy and creamy.
• Place one cake onto a serving plate and top with about 1/3 of the frosting. Layer on sliced strawberries. Add another 1/3 of the frosting onto the second cake and invert on top of the strawberries, sandwiching the berries between the frosting. Add the remaining frosting to the top of the cake and spread evenly to the edges. Top with whole berries if desired. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serves 12-14.

Notes

* You can use coconut sugar in this recipe.  If you use regular brown coconut sugar, your cake will turn out darker.  If you use blonde coconut sugar, it will turn out a lighter color typical of vanilla cake.  

Nutrition

Calories: 307kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 192mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 25g

Keyword : Lower Sugar Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Frosting

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*We have updated this recipe. The cake recipe is almost the same but if you are looking for the original frosting recipe, here it is:

Strawberry Frosting

• 1 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 2 tablespoon butter, unsalted
• 1/4 cup jam, all-fruit
• 3 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract