Strawberry Torte is a delicious, classic German summer dessert.
A light and airy sponge cake with a layer of creamy vanilla pudding, topped with fresh, glazed strawberries. Serve this cake with a side of plain whipped cream or, even better, mint whipped cream.
This recipe has summer written all over it.
And it was one of my family's favorite cakes for birthday parties, celebrations, or just Sunday afternoon 'Coffee and Cake' with the grandparents.
In Germany, you're raised to buy fruit when it is 'in season'. And while you get most fruit all year long in the larger German supermarkets, Germans still think in seasons. 'Erdbeerzeit' (strawberry season) in Germany is between May and July.
Ingredients
Please check the recipe card below for a detailed, printable ingredient list.
- 4 cups fresh STRAWBERRIES
- 1 stick BUTTER - unsalted, room temperature
- ½ cup SUGAR - granulated
- 3 large EGGS
- 1 teaspoon VANILLA EXTRACT
- ¼ cup MILK
- 1¼ cup all-purpose FLOUR
- ¼ teaspoon SALT
- 1 tablespoon BAKING POWDER
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 package instant pudding
- ½ cup water, divided
- ½ cup SUGAR
- 1 tablespoon CORNSTARCH
How To Make This German Strawberry Torte
Making The Batter
- Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy.
- Add the eggs. One at a time! Beat at medium speed.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt and continue to beat on medium speed.
- Pour milk into the batter. Continue to beat at low speed.
If the batter looks too sticky, increase the amount of milk. Increase incrementally one tablespoon at a time. - Bake for 20 minutes at 350° Fahrenheit.
- Remove and immediately flip the warm baked cake onto a wire rack. Carefully remove the pan and allow the cake to cool completely.
- Combine heavy cream and instant pudding. Whisk until creamy.
- In a small bowl, combine water (¼ cup) and cornstarch (1 tablespoon) and mix until there are no lumps.
- Bring water (¼ cup) and sugar (½ cup) to boil. Pour in the cornstarch liquid into the boiling water.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and whisk continuously until the mixture turns syrupy. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Transfer the cake onto a cake stand.
- Use a cake spreader or spatula to spread the pudding mixture across the cake.
- Top with sliced strawberries.
- Use a pastry brush to brush on the glaze. Allow the glaze to harden for 30 minutes.
Tips for Recipe Success
Be sure to grease and dust the bottom of the tart pan (or springform pan).
Do not grease the sides as this will prevent your batter from rising during the baking process. Instead of using flour, you can also use sliced almonds on the bottom. It will add a bit of extra crunch.
If you decide to make the torte without a filling, drizzle a light layer of finely crushed breadcrumbs (or shredded nuts like almonds) over the cake before adding the sliced strawberries. This will help separate the strawberry juice from the sponge cake and prevent it from getting too moist.
More Delicious German Desserts
- Butterkuchen
- Streuselkuchen - Basic German Crumb Cake
- Käsekuchen
- Vintage German Pound Cake
- German Cherry Crumble - Der Kirschkuchen
Did you love this German Strawberry Torte? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Strawberry Torte
Ingredients
Batter
- 1 stick butter unsalted, room temperature
- ½ cup sugar granulated
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup milk
- 1¼ cup flour all purpose
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
Filling
- 1 package instant pudding mix
- 1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Glaze
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup water divided
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Topping
- 4 cups strawberries sliced
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Grease the bottom of an 11" tart pan and lightly sprinkle with some flour. Be sure not to grease the sides of the tart pan as this will interfere with the batter rising.
Making The Batter
- Use a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer and beat the softened butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt together on high speed until smooth. About 2-3 minutes.
- Reduce the speed to low and add in one egg at a time. Allow each egg to fully incorporate into the batter before adding the next egg.
- Slowly add the milk into the batter. Beat on low until the milk is well combined.
- Add the flour and baking powder to the batter and continue to beat on low speed. Use a spatula to scrape the sides. Beat until the dry ingredients are well combined.
Baking The Cake
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer onto a cooling rack. Remove from the tart pan and allow it to cool completely.
Making The Filling
- Use a medium mixing bowl and combine instant pudding with heavy whipping cream. Use a hand mixer and whisk until the mixture is creamy. Set aside.
Making The Glaze
- Use a small bowl and whisk 1 tablespoon cornstarch with ¼ cup of water until there are no lumps. Set aside.
- Use a small saucepan and bring a ¼ cup of water and ½ cup of sugar to a boil. Once the water has reached a boil, reduce the heat to medium and whisk in the liquid cornstarch into the boiling sugar water.
- Whisk continuously for about 3-5 minutes until the mixture becomes thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and set aside.
Cake Assembly
- Once the cake has fully cooled. Spread the pudding cream mixture with a spatula or cake spreader evenly across the cake.
- Top the filling with sliced strawberries. Use a pastry brush to glaze the strawberries. Allow to harden for 30 minutes.
Hanne
So fun can’t wait to try.
Bonnie
The package of instant pudding a German pudding?
Maike
Great question. No, I used Jello Instant Pudding Mix (or the Whole Foods version). I try to find options that are easy to find in the US. But if you can find a German Pudding Mix (like Dr. Oetker) you can definitely use it, too. 🙂
Chris
Thank you for thinking of making it easier to use a pudding from U.S. I did find a 3 pack A 3 pack of Dr. oetker on Amazon. This was important because this will be my dear German daughter-in- law❤️
Maike
Yes, Amazon can be great for finding German products. Thanks for sharing. Hope she likes it.