Strawberry Earthquake Cake Homemade Recipe isn’t just a dessert—it’s a Southern drama baked into a pan. Imagine biting into layers of fluffy white cake, rich cream cheese, jammy strawberry pockets, and golden-toasted coconut—all tangled up in a crackled, gooey crust that looks like it erupted straight out of grandma’s oven. It’s messy in the best way. It’s sweet rebellion.
This is the kind of recipe that skips perfection and dives headfirst into feeling. It’s the cake you make when you want something nostalgic but bold—soft but wild. Born from old-fashioned earthquake cake and kissed with strawberry sunshine, this version pulls from the kind of kitchen I grew up in: a little chaotic, always soulful.
If you’ve got a box of cake mix, a tub of cream cheese, and a memory of summer strawberries, you’re halfway there.
Whether you’re looking for:
- a vintage-style dessert to feed a crowd,
- a fun way to use up strawberries,
- or a love letter to the kind of cakes that don’t behave—
This Strawberry Earthquake Cake delivers.
If you love playful, creamy treats, you’ll also want to try my chocolate peanut butter spread—it’s perfect drizzled over a warm slice of this cake.
Key Takeaways
Strawberry Earthquake Cake is a decadent, crowd-pleasing dessert that starts with a boxed white cake mix, swirls in sweet strawberries and cream cheese, and bakes into a gorgeously cracked top that hides a gooey surprise inside. It’s nostalgic, dramatic, and dangerously easy to love.
What You’ll Find Here
What is Strawberry Earthquake Cake?
Strawberry Earthquake Cake is a vintage-inspired dessert that starts with a boxed white cake mix and finishes with a gooey, strawberry-cream cheese swirl that erupts through the top like fault lines in sweet soil. Underneath? A soft bed of shredded coconut and optional white chocolate chips that melt into every bite.
The magic happens in the oven—where the heavy cream cheese filling sinks, the light cake batter rises, and the strawberries sneak through in juicy pockets. The result is a marbled, cracked top and a moist, tender crumb that feels like childhood and celebration in one.
This isn’t the kind of cake you slice into neat squares. It’s the kind you scoop, serve warm, and sigh into.
How To Make Strawberry Earthquake Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix (plus ingredients on box: eggs, oil, water)
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 can (21 oz) strawberry pie filling or 1½ cups chopped strawberries + 1 tbsp sugar
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup white chocolate chips (optional)
Directions
- Prep oven & pan: Preheat to 350°F. Grease your 9×13-inch dish.
- Layer 1 – Coconut base: Sprinkle coconut evenly over bottom of pan.
- Layer 2 – Cake batter: Prepare cake mix according to package and pour over coconut.
- Layer 3 – Strawberry swirl: Spoon strawberry filling over batter in scattered dollops.
- Layer 4 – Cream cheese mixture: In a bowl, beat cream cheese, melted butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Drop spoonfuls over strawberries.
- Optional – White chocolate chips: Sprinkle over the top.
- Bake for 45–50 minutes, until the edges are golden and the top has cracked open in true “earthquake” fashion.
- Cool slightly before scooping. Serve warm or chilled.
Strawberry Earthquake Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A gooey, nostalgic Southern dessert made with white cake mix, cream cheese, strawberries, and coconut. This scoopable cake is as dramatic as it is delicious, with crackled tops and sweet, jammy pockets.
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix (plus ingredients on box: eggs, oil, water)
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 can (21 oz) strawberry pie filling or 1½ cups chopped strawberries + 1 tbsp sugar
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup white chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13-inch dish.
- Sprinkle shredded coconut evenly on the bottom of the pan.
- Prepare the cake mix as instructed on the box and pour over the coconut.
- Spoon strawberry filling in dollops over the batter.
- Mix cream cheese, melted butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Drop spoonfuls over strawberries.
- Sprinkle white chocolate chips if using.
- Bake for 45–50 minutes until golden and cracked on top.
- Cool slightly before serving warm or chilled.
Notes
For best flavor, use full-fat cream cheese and don’t overswirl the fillings. Let the cake rest 10 minutes before serving. Try it with my chocolate peanut butter spread or frozen s’mores for an extra treat.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Southern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 scoop
- Calories: 380
- Sugar: 32g
- Sodium: 280mg
- Fat: 21g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
Keywords: earthquake cake, strawberry dessert, southern cake, cream cheese cake, coconut cake
For People with Diabetes: Sugar Substitutes
Swap powdered sugar with erythritol, use a sugar-free cake mix, and go for no-sugar-added strawberry filling. Avoid honey or maple syrup due to glycemic impact.
Tools You’ll Need
- 9×13-inch baking dish
- Mixing bowls
- Hand or stand mixer
- Rubber spatula
- Offset spatula (optional, but handy)
Why You’ll Love This Strawberry Earthquake Cake
Because it’s messy and magnificent. Because it tastes like your favorite childhood dessert met a strawberry cheesecake and got invited to a potluck.
This cake is perfect for:
- Potlucks where you want to bring something unforgettable
- Sunday dinners when the kitchen smells like sweet memories
- That moment when boxed cake mix becomes a secret weapon
I first made this cake with my grandmother, in a humid kitchen with a broken ceiling fan. We used a hand-held mixer older than me. But when that first bite hit—warm strawberries, sweet cream cheese, gooey coconut—I felt like we’d baked something holy. It cracked open more than just the top of that cake. It cracked open joy.
If you love layered, nostalgic desserts, don’t miss my cookie monster ice cream recipe—it’s just as joyful, and perfect after this cake.
The Technique & Tradition Behind the Cake
Why Does It Crack?
The cracks in a Strawberry Earthquake Cake aren’t a mistake—they’re a statement. When you drop heavy, rich cream cheese over light, fluffy cake batter, gravity works its magic. As the cake rises, the dense cream cheese filling sinks and swirls, pushing through the surface in gooey rivers.
This is what gives the dessert its rustic look and irresistible texture: pockets of sweetness, unexpected tang, and that unmistakable creamy ripple in every slice.
It’s not unlike life—messy, layered, and better when shared.
Who It’s For
- Home bakers craving a dessert that feels homemade and dramatic
- Hosts who want to wow a crowd without overthinking it
- Families with a soft spot for vintage desserts and cream cheese frosting
When to Bake It
- Mother’s Day or birthdays—because it’s festive without being fussy
- Potlucks & picnics—it travels well and tastes even better chilled
- Sunday suppers—especially with roasted chicken or Southern mains
My Tips for Perfecting Strawberry Earthquake Cake
- Don’t swirl too much. You want ribbons and pockets, not soup.
- Use full-fat cream cheese. This isn’t the time to cut corners.
- Let it rest after baking. Ten minutes of patience gives you better scoops.
- If using fresh strawberries, toss them with sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice first for brightness.
Want another nostalgic favorite? Try my croissant sourdough bread recipe—it brings the same kind of comforting, flaky magic.
Grandma Kitchen Strawberry Earthquake Cake
The Heart of the Cake Is Home
The first time I saw my grandmother make something like this, she didn’t have a name for it. No recipe card. Just a cracked Pyrex dish, a tub of cream cheese, and a warm kitchen that smelled like vanilla and coconut.
Her version skipped the frills and doubled the love: real butter, hand-mixed batter, and strawberries she picked that morning. She didn’t care about smooth tops or Instagram swirls. She cared about comfort. Warmth. That pause people take after the first bite.
If you’re aiming for the “grandma kitchen” version of Strawberry Earthquake Cake:
- Use fresh strawberries—chopped and sugared until they glisten.
- Swap boxed mix for homemade white cake if you’ve got time.
- Top with a dusting of powdered sugar after it cools.
Why It Works
Because it doesn’t try too hard. Because it reminds us that a cracked cake can still be beautiful. Because when it bubbles and splits in the oven, it smells like someone loves you.
This cake is meant to be scooped, not sliced. Served on mismatched plates. Paired with laughter and second helpings.
If this story stirred your memory, try my easy apple chocolate chip cookies—another recipe that lives in the land between simple and sacred.
Strawberry Earthquake Cake with Coconut
The coconut isn’t just garnish here. It’s foundational. Spread across the bottom of the pan, it toasts into a golden, caramelized crust that catches every oozy drip of cream cheese and cake batter. The result? A chewy, slightly crisp edge that makes each scoop a little more irresistible.
In my house, coconut was pantry gold. We used it when the berries weren’t quite ripe or when we needed the cake to stretch just a bit further. That sweet, nutty layer became the flavor that brought it all together.
Tips for Coconut Lovers:
- Use sweetened shredded coconut for the most flavor and browning.
- Toast coconut first if you want an even nuttier bite.
- Add a sprinkle on top before baking for a dramatic, flaky finish.
You can also play with textures here—swap in unsweetened flakes for a less sugary bite, or go big with toasted coconut chips stirred into the cake batter for crunch.
Looking for more fruit-forward desserts with creamy contrast? My banana cinnamon overnight oats are just the thing to start your morning with the same comfort this cake brings to your evening.
FAQs
Why is it called an earthquake cake?
Yes, the name comes from how it bakes.
As the cake cooks, heavy ingredients like cream cheese and strawberry filling sink and swirl, causing the surface to crack and split—just like the ground in an earthquake. The dramatic look is part of its charm.
It’s not supposed to be perfect. That’s the point. It’s a celebration of flavors colliding and settling into something beautiful. Just like life.
Does strawberry earthquake cake need to be refrigerated?
Yes, especially because of the cream cheese.
After the cake cools completely, refrigerate it to keep the dairy fresh and safe. You can serve it chilled, room temp, or warmed up in the microwave for 15 seconds.
It tastes incredible either way—but that cold strawberry-cream cheese swirl? It hits different on a summer afternoon.
Does Dollar Tree carry strawberry cake mix?
Sometimes, but not consistently.
Dollar Tree occasionally stocks boxed cake mixes, including strawberry. But availability depends on location and season. If you can’t find strawberry mix, use a white or vanilla cake mix and swirl in strawberry pie filling.
It’s that swirl that brings the flavor—cake mix is just the stage.
Why add Sprite to cake mix?
Some recipes do this to make the cake fluffier.
A can of Sprite can replace eggs, oil, and water in some boxed cake mixes to create a lighter, airy texture. However, for earthquake cakes, the structure benefits from a standard mix to hold the weight of the filling.
In this recipe, stick to the regular cake mix instructions—because we need that support for all the creamy chaos on top.
Conclusion
No matter what version you make—coconut or not, fresh berries or pie filling—this cake never fails to bring joy. It doesn’t need frosting or fanfare. Just a fork and a little silence after the first bite.
I hope this recipe brings as much comfort to your kitchen as it brought to mine.
If it does, let me know. Share it, comment, or tag someone you’d love to bake it with.
For another soul-satisfying bake, don’t miss my frozen s’mores—they’re cool, creamy, and a perfect follow-up treat.
Come hang out with me on Facebook and Pinterest—I’d love to see your creations!
Chef. Curvy girl turned kitchen guide. Tiffany dropped 45 lbs by cooking with heart, not counting calories. Now she shares real-life recipes from 35+ countries.💬 Follow her on Pinterest for daily inspiration.