Strawberry Cake Filling (20 Minutes)

This easy strawberry filling is made by chopping fresh strawberries, and cooking them with granulated sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch to thicken up the filling.

This recipe gives you a slightly tangy, sweet, full of strawberry flavor filling that you will want to spread on everything from waffles to pancakes to filling cupcakes!

Cakes are absolutely delicious, but you can take your cakes to the next level by filling chocolate cake or vanilla cake with this scrumptious strawberry filling.

For more strawberry recipes, check out our vanilla cake with strawberry filling, strawberry tiramisu, strawberry cheesecake cookies, strawberry compote, and strawberry cinnamon rolls.

Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.

Full measurements are in the recipe card below.

Strawberries- we used fresh strawberries for the filling, but you can use frozen strawberries as well! If you are using frozen strawberries, there is no need to defrost them. You will have to cook the mixture for longer.

Lemon juice- we used lemon from a fresh lemon. This balances the sweetness of the filling.

Cornstarch- to thicken the filling. The best way to add cornstarch to the filling is to mix a little bit of water with the cornstarch (making a cornstarch slurry), and then add it to the mixture.

Sugar- we used granulated sugar for the filling, but you can use caster sugar as well.

In a saucepan, add strawberries that are cut in half, add the sugar, and lemon juice, and mix over medium-high heat.

Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes mixing occasionally.

Mix the cornstarch in a small bowl with a little bit of water and pour it into the strawberry mixture mixing constantly. Simmer for another 2 minutes.

Set aside and let it cool completely before you fill the cake with the filling.

To freeze this filling, make it according to the instructions and let it cool completely to room temperature, then transfer the filling to a freezer-friendly container and freeze for up to 3 months.

To thaw, place the container in the fridge overnight or remove the container from the freezer and place it at room temperature for a few hours or until it's thawed.

Sugar- you can replace the sugar with stevia or natural sweetener for your preference.

Fruit- you can make this filling with other berries like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.

Cornstarch- feel free to add more cornstarch for a more thick and jammy strawberry topping.

Fruit- spice up this recipe and add your favorite berries to the mixture. This will give this filling a new flavor!

Food coloring- we didn't use food coloring for this filling, but you can add a few drops of red food coloring if desired!

Spices- instead of using citrus, you can add vanilla extract or vanilla bean extract, and add a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg for a warmer filling.

Strawberry compote- This easy strawberry compote can be made with fresh or frozen strawberries, takes 20 minutes from start to finish, and is a perfect way to use up ripe strawberries!

Strawberry sauce for cheesecake- This strawberry topping for cheesecake can be made with fresh or frozen strawberries, is easy to make, and takes a few simple ingredients.

Strawberry shortcake cookies- These soft and delish strawberry shortcake cookies are made with fresh strawberries, and rolled in buttery shortcrust crumble, and are chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside.

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