A fun instant pot recipe for the whole family, this Instant Pot Strawberry Cake is the simplest cake recipe you will ever make – and you don’t even need to heat up the house to bake it! A delicious summer dessert using fresh strawberries.
Instant Pot Cake Recipe
If you’re reading this post, chances are you’re already an Instant Pot convert.
I love mine, especially when life gets a bit busy and I forget to thaw out ingredients for supper, or have a million things to do and literally need a magical pot to throw ingredients in, ignore it, and then pull out a delicious meal minutes later.
But recently, I’ve been having fun experimenting with developing my own Instant Pot dessert recipes!
While I’ve done a few cheesecakes, my daughter isn’t a huge fan, so I started exploring what else my Instant Pot might be able to do well. It had to be a recipe that benefited from the moisture in the pressure cooker, which excludes a lot of recipes!
After a few failed attempts, I came up with what I think is the best Instant Pot cake recipe, and then because it’s summer and I have like 5 cartons of strawberries in my fridge at all times, I thought I’d toss in some fresh strawberries.
(Frozen would work well, too! Or use your favorite mix-in fruit.)
My Instant Pot is a 4L/4 quart size and this recipe resulted in a small cake with approximately 4 servings. I’ve also given the measurements to double this recipe (in the recipe card below) in case you have a bigger Instant Pot or are serving a bigger crowd.
This recipe is super simple in that you don’t need to follow any ingredient order and you don’t even need to break out an electric mixer. Just whip all ingredients together, fold into your “baking” dish and put in the IP.
And when you finish dinner and go to grab your Instant Pot cake from the IP? You’ll find that the fruit gets soft and sweet, similar to a stewed or caramelized fruit, while the cake is spongy and soft with a simple vanilla flavor. You can adjust this cake with different extracts or mix-in ingredients to make this the perfect cake for you. (Chocolate chips and mint extract? Almond extract and cut up apples?)
Because this cake is steamed, the texture is a bit different than a traditional oven-baked cake. It’s dense, spongy and just melts-in-your-mouth.
I hope your family loves this recipe and I look forward to seeing what creative variations you come up with! Be sure to tag me on social media if you make this Instant Pot Cake – whatever flavor you choose!
What is the cake setting on the Instant Pot? Some of the newer models of Instant Pot (like the Lux 6qt or Ultra 6qt) actually have a cake setting! But, I’m working with two models that don’t have a dedicated cake setting – as I’m imagining most readers are, too. For a standard Instant Pot, just use the Manual Pressure Cooking setting for cakes.
Can you use Pyrex in Instant Pot? Anything you put in the oven, you can put in your Instant Pot! If you are cooking with Pyrex, you may need to adjust your cooking time slightly.
What cake pan is best in the Instant Pot? You can actually purchase an Instant Pot cake pan with handle, which would make removing this cake so much easier. However, as long as your cake pan can fit in your Instant Pot – you can use it! If using a springform pan, make sure you wrap it tightly with foil to avoid additional moisture from getting into the cake.
If you typically cook savoury dishes in your Instant Pot, you may want to look at purchasing some extra sealing rings to ensure that your cake doesn’t take on a savoury flavor from your other recipes.
This cake recipe also works in the oven, you just need to increase the baking time.
You can also use a boxed cake mix for this recipe and just add in the strawberries.
Check out our quick recipe video for how to make an Instant Pot Strawberry Cake – and then don’t forget to scroll down to grab your free printable recipe card:
Looking for more Instant Pot Recipes? Check out our full collection here!
Also, my friend Corinne just put out an Instant Pot ecookbook for just $4.99! I have tried a few of the recipes myself and they are delicious and family friendly. I highly recommend it for a reliable collection of Instant Pot recipes to help you fall in love with your IP (if you haven’t already).
Ingredients for Instant Pot Strawberry Cake
- All purpose flour
- White granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Milk
- Butter, softened
- Vanilla extract or paste
- Strawberries, chopped
This recipe serves 4.
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.
Tip: switch out the fruit or extracts to make this cake your own.
To double this recipe, see note in the recipe card.
Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful
- Instant Pot
- Baking dish that fits inside IP (I used a Corelle ramekin) – you can also do small individual ones, but that seemed like too much work. There is also a Instant Pot cake pan with handle
- Trivet that came with your IP
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Sharp kitchen knife
- Extra sealing rings <– highly recommended if you cook with a lot of garlic or seasonings in your Instant Pot normally
How to Make Instant Pot Vanilla Cake
Grease a ramekin or baking dish and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and baking powder.
Add the milk, butter and vanilla extract. Mix well, then fold in the strawberries.
Place the trivet in the IP and add 1 cup of water.
Place the ramekin/baking dish on the trivet and secure the lid.
Select High Pressure for 18-23 minutes. Natural release.
NOTE: This recipe previously called for a cook time of 12 minutes. However, with testing it, I found that 1/3 times this was not enough of a cook time. I think this has to do with the water level of your strawberries and also how small you chop them.
If you make the “half batch” the cook time will be 18 minutes, if you cook the full batch, it will be 23 minutes.
We left our cake plain but you can top it with some fresh whipped cream and more strawberries or a delicious homemade frosting.
Pin this easy Instant Pot Cake recipe with Strawberries:
Grab your free printable for our Instant Pot Strawberry Cake:
A super simple recipe for a Instant Pot Cake with fresh fruit. Delicious and melt-in-your-mouth tender. NOTE: 18 minutes works for the half batch, 23 minutes works for the full batch. For the half batch: To double this recipe: Makes 8 servings. Increase cook time to 30 minutes. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.Instant Pot Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Recommended Products
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4
Serving Size:
1/4 of the cake
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 415Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 390mgCarbohydrates: 61gFiber: 2gSugar: 27gProtein: 6g
This Instant Pot strawberry cake recipe is super simple and easy to make. It’s perfect to whip up when you just want something sweet but don’t have a ton of time or energy to make something more complicated.
Check out these other Instant Pot cakes:
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake from In the Kids Kitchen
- Instant Pot Lemon Cake from One Happy Housewife
- Instant Pot Confetti Birthday Cake from The Food Network
For more delicious Instant Pot recipes, check out our Instant Pot Hawaiian Pot Roast or our Instant Pot Taco Pasta.
Claire says
Mine was only half baked in 12 minutes. So disappointed, stuck it I need for another 12 minutes
Claire says
I put my cake back for another 12 minutes and it was cooked. Looking up accessories I came across a comment that you need to add 5 minutes when using Pyrex, I used a Pyrex bowl so that explains it. My partner really enjoyed it with real whipped cream.
Jennifer Tammy says
Thank you for coming back to share that with me – I will update the instructions with that info!
Rose says
Strawberries are my favorite fruit and I look forward to making this cake. Are there any adjustments that need to be made if I use frozen strawberries? Also there are frozen strawberries with the juice or just the fruit, which one?
Maria says
If I double the recipe do I need to increase cooking time?
Jennifer Tammy says
Yes, so that it will be cooked through to the center. I’m not sure exactly how much but I would at least do 30 minutes.
New2IPCooking says
Thank you for the recipe, I didn’t have Milk so I used 3 eggs, came out nice and springy. I am using the 3.5 in silicone pumpkin muffin cups, two fit in my 3qrt Duo. Didn’t have to adjust the time.
Jennifer Tammy says
Ooh thank you for that tip! That’s great for dairy allergies, too!
Callye says
Can I use a springform pan I bought for my instant pot instead of a ramekin?
I’m sorry if this is a dumb question, but I hardly bake and I just got an instant pot.
Nicole says
I did 12 min cook, 12 min nat release x2 and it still wasnt cooked. It was in 7in spring form. So sad, bc it looked so good!
Jennifer Tammy says
Hi Nicole,
Just so I understand, did you cook for a total time of 24 minutes at high pressure? That is weird – I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out.
As you can see in the pictures, mine was fully cooked but dense and moist after 12 minutes, so I would expect even using a different pan yours would be cooked after 24.
Candace Vincent says
Flavor is good, but it’s almost like undercooked sugar cookie dough- incredibly dense. I may try again sigh egg?
Cara says
Just a question – could this come out under cooked for most because it’s not covered as it cooks? I’ve done a lot of bread recipes in my IP and all of them call for the dish to be covered with foil. It seems like the moisture from the water in the pot gets into the cake and makes it soggy and therefore, seems uncooked. Has anyone tried this covered with foil before?
Jennifer Tammy says
I’d definitely be interested in how this may change some people’s experience! I’m going to be trying a few different methods of making the cake, like using different pans/dishes, to compare the results.