Blitzkuchen – a cake recipe with frozen strawberries

Hello there, today I wanted to show you this delicious Blitzkuchen a German cake recipe with frozen strawberries. You can whip up this cake in 30 minutes including baking time! Best of all this simple strawberry cake is made with frozen strawberries - so you don’t even have to spend time going to the shops.

This cake is moist, buttery, and nutty. The strawberries add a little freshness to the cake, and the almond flakes add a welcome crunch.

I first made this cake when I needed to clear my freezer as we were moving house. I had a pack of frozen strawberries left in my freezer and thought about the possibilities.

What to use frozen strawberries for?

I have posted a few recipes with frozen strawberries

• Strawberry infused vodka
• Skinny vodka strawberry ice cream
• Rote Gruetze - German Red Berry Pudding
• You can let them defrost and puree them for a strawberry sauce to serve with ice cream.
• On this occasion, however, I decided to use my frozen strawberries in a cake.

How to use frozen strawberries in a cake?

The simple answer is, just throw them in. You need to be aware that they will be a little moist, so you need to compensate for this.

Generally, you use fresh strawberries to decorate cakes. For example, my German strawberry cake with vanilla pudding or my dark chocolate strawberry cake.

If you use frozen strawberries in a baked cake you won’t notice the difference. The strawberries will add a little jam-like texture to the cake.

What is Blitzkuchen?

Blitzkuchen translates in English as lightning cake. “Blitz” is the word for “lightning”. It refers to the time it takes to prepare and bake the cake. It is not used for any specific type of cake but could be used to describe a simple sponge cake or a tray bake such as this one.

This German lightning cake is a variation of the popular German butter cake. The topping is a sugary, buttery almond layer. The base is a simple sponge layer. 

How to make this Blitzkuchen

Ingredients

For the sponge base

• 200 g/ 7 oz whipping cream
• 180 g/ 6.3 oz sugar
• 300 gr/ 10.5 oz flour (Germany type 405, UK plain flour, USA pastry flour)
• 3 teaspoon baking powder (affiliate link)
• 2tbsp milk
• 4 medium eggs (at room temperature)

For the topping

• 175 g/ 6 oz butter
• 125 g/ 4.4 oz sugar
• 200 g/ 7 oz almond flakes
• 1 bag frozen strawberries (500 g/ 17 oz)

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Line a baking tray (mine was 30 x 40 cm) with some baking parchment or grease it with some butter.
2. Make the sponge cake base first: Combine the baking powder (affiliate link) and flour in a medium bowl and set aside. Using a hand or stand mixer, combine the sugar, eggs and cream until they start to foam. Sieve in the flour and baking powder (affiliate link) and mix to a smooth cake batter. Spread the cake batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 10 minutes.

3. In the meantime, melt the butter in a little saucepan. Add the sugar, almonds and milk and mix well. Once mixed in, remove from the heat.
4. Remove the baking tray from the oven. Carefully press the frozen strawberries on top. If your strawberries are ready-sliced, you can simply lay them on top. 
5. With a spoon, spread the almond butter mixture on top of the remaining cake. If you are using sliced strawberries, you can also cover them
6. Place back in the oven for 15 minutes. That time is a guideline; the cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving. You can also let the cake cool completely before slicing and serving.

Recipe Variations

This cake recipe works also well with other fruits. Substitute the frozen strawberries with frozen raspberries or blueberries. This cake will also taste great without any fruit because the almond topping is just that delicious.

Storage Instructions

Keep the cake in an airtight container and store it at room temperature. Consume within 4 days. After that, it may dry out.

Freezing Instructions

This cake freezes well. Place in an airtight container and consume within 3 months.

More German Cake Recipes to try:

• German Cheesecake with or without Quark
• German Poppyseed Cake
• German Strawberry Cake
• Triple Chocolate Bundt cake

This post was first posted in August 2014 and updated in June 2021.

Recipe