This Strawberry Pretzel Cake Recipe yields a pretzel-flavored cake topped with a cream cheese whipped cream, macerated fresh strawberries and a pretzel crunch. This snack cake is my reimagining of the classic vintage recipe, strawberry pretzel salad.
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This cake is another installment of my vintage recipe redo series on social media. This time, I tackled strawberry pretzel salad, also known as strawberry pretzel dessert. According to southernkitchen.com, the dessert originated in the 1960s when the Joys of Jell-O cookbook was published. I really loved the salty sweet combo, and the fresh strawberries, but I am not personally a fan of the jello texture next to the super soft cream cheese layer. I took all of the elements from it, minus the strawberry gelatin, and turned it into a snack cake. I adapted the pretzel-flavored cake recipe from Milk Bar. I halved it and tweaked the fat content a bit.
I almost went with a strawberry cake for the base, and was going to use the recipe from this vegan one, but then I thought a salty pretzel flavored cake sounded more interesting. The malty, dark vibes of the pretzel cake base reminds me of my gingerbread snack cake, which is another great little snack cake. That one would even be great paired with the cream cheese whipped cream from this recipe.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- The syrup from the macerated strawberries is used as a cake soak to keep the pretzel cake moist.
- The salty pretzel crust pieces add a nice textural variation compared to the soft cake and plush whipped cream.
- This recipe uses fresh strawberries for a completely naturally-flavored strawberry dessert.
Ingredients
- Fresh strawberries get syrupy in granulated sugar and piled high on top of the cake.
- Unsalted butter adds richness to the cake and the pretzel crunch.
- Oil adds richness to the cake.
- Buttermilk brings moisture and tang to the cake. Be sure to let your buttermilk come to room temperature before using.
- Molasses deepens the malty pretzel flavor of the cake.
- Powdered sugar sweetens the whipped cream.
- Cream cheese flavors the whipped cream and stabilizes it.
- Kosher salt and vanilla extract balance the overall flavor profile.
- Heavy whipping cream is the base of the cream cheese whipped cream topping.
- Pretzels are ground to a powder to flavor the cake and broken into bits for the pretzel crunch.
- Cake flour and eggs give structure to the cake. Make sure your eggs are room temperature. Room temperature wet ingredients in this cake incorporate easier.
- Baking soda and baking powder give lift to the cake.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and variations
Here's how to customize this strawberry pretzel cake recipe to your liking:
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- Strawberry cake — use this recipe for the cake base if you prefer a strawberry-flavored cake. It is a vegan cake recipe, but don't worry it is moist and full of strawberry flavor. That cake has a cream cheese filling layer that would be great for this application too.
- Brown sugar — swap the powdered sugar in the whipped cream for brown sugar, if desired.
- Dairy-free butter — swap the unsalted butter in the cake and the pretzel crunch for dairy-free butter.
- No buttermilk — to make your own buttermilk, add ¼ teaspoon of white vinegar to 3 tablespoons of milk. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes before using.
- No zip top bag — instead of crushing the pretzels for the pretzel crunch in zip top bag, you can also use the food processor. I recommend pulsing just a few times, since you don't want the pretzel pieces too small.
- Cool whip — swap the heavy whipping cream for cool whip (also known as whipped topping), if desired. Once the lumps are beaten out of the cream cheese, fold in the cool whip with a rubber spatula.
- Sour cream — swap the cream cheese in the whipped cream for the same amount of sour cream, if preferred.
This recipe has not been tested with any substitutions or variations. If you try any, please let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
How to make strawberry Pretzel cake
Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt and pretzel powder. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, molasses and granulated sugar. Beat together on medium-high for 3 minutes, or until lighter in color and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically. Add the eggs and mix on medium-high again for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically. With the mixer running on low speed, drizzle in the buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium-high for 4-6 minutes, until much lighter in color and homogenous, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically. Add the whisked dry ingredients and mix just until no dry streaks of flour remain. Pour into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes before carefully tipping onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 2: Crush the pretzels with a rolling pin in a zip top bag. Prepare a large baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper. In a medium heatproof bowl, melt the butter in the microwave (or in a pan on the stovetop). Add the granulated sugar to the melted butter and whisk together. Add the crushed pretzels and stir to coat. Transfer pretzel mixture to the prepared pan, patting it down with the back of a rubber spatula or your hands until packed together. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Let cool completely on the pan. Crush the cooled crust into fragments.
Step 3: In a medium bowl, add the halved strawberries, sugar, salt and citric acid or lemon juice (if using). Stir with a spoon until the strawberries are coated. Let sit for at least 20 minutes to let the mixture get syrupy.
Step 4: In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, whip the cream cheese and powdered sugar on high speed until no lumps remain. Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract. Switch to the whisk attachment and beat on high until soft peaks form. Poke holes in the top of the cake with a fork. Spoon some of the syrup from the bottom of the bowl that the macerated strawberries are in on top of the cake and let it soak in. Spread the whipped cream on top, making a bit of an indention in the middle for the strawberries to sit. Spoon on the strawberries and some of the juices. Garnish with pieces of the crunchy pretzel crust.
Top tips
- For best results, use a moist bake-even strip around the cake pan during baking.
- Be sure the pretzels for the cake are very finely ground!
- For snack cakes and tea cakes I like to line the cake pan's edges too, since they will be exposed for serving. It makes them look nicer and less crummy.
Recipe FAQs
Store the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. The components can also be stored separately until serving. Store the cake and pretzel crunch at room temperature and the cream and strawberries in the refrigerator. You can also store the plain cake layer in the freezer, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap before placing in a freezer bag. It will keep for 3 months.
I do not recommend frozen strawberries for this. Frozen berries will become soggy if macerated. I would recommend cooking them, with the sugar and lemon juice or citric acid, in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 5-10 minutes until jammy. Let cool before using as a topping.
Yes, omit the cream cheese without issue.
More recipes you'll love
Lastly, if you make this Strawberry Pretzel Cake Recipe be sure to leave a comment or give it a rating. I love to see when people make my recipes, so please tag me @youthsweets on Instagram if you post!
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Pretzel Cake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Pretzel cake
- ⅓ cup cake flour (43g)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups pretzels ground to a fine powder (75g) about ½ cup pretzel powder
- ¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature (56g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (125g)
- ½ tablespoon molasses (13g)
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
- 3 tablespoon buttermilk (50g)
- 3 tablespoon cup oil (40g) any neutral-flavored oil will work, I used avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pretzel crunch
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter (42g)
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar (21g)
- 1 ¼ cup pretzels crushed (55g)
Macerated strawberries
- 1 lb strawberries washed, hulled and sliced in half
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar (40g)
- Pinch kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon citric acid or ½ teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
Cream cheese whipped cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream chilled (240g)
- 2 oz cream cheese room temperature (60g)
- 3 tablespoon powdered sugar (23g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Do ahead
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
Make the cake
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt and pretzel powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, molasses and granulated sugar. Beat together on medium-high for 3 minutes, or until lighter in color and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically.
- Add the eggs and mix on medium-high again for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically.
- With the mixer running on low speed, drizzle in the buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium-high for 4-6 minutes, until much lighter in color and homogenous, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically.
- Add the whisked dry ingredients and mix just until no dry streaks of flour remain. Pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes before carefully tipping onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the pretzel crunch
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a large baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper.
- In a medium heatproof bowl, melt the butter in the microwave or the stovetop. Add the granulated sugar and whisk together. Add the crushed pretzels and stir to coat.
- Pour onto the prepared pan, patting it down with the back of a rubber spatula or your hands until packed together.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes. Let cool completely on the pan before crushing into fragments. Set aside.
Macerate the strawberries
- In a medium bowl, add the halved strawberries, sugar, salt and citric acid or lemon juice (if using). Stir with a spoon until the strawberries are coated. Let sit for at least 20 minutes to let the mixture get syrupy.
Whip the cream
- In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the cream cheese and powdered sugar until no lumps remain. Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract. Switch to the whisk attachment and beat on high until soft peaks form.
Assemble
- Poke holes in the top of the cake with a fork. Spoon some of the syrup from the bottom of the bowl that the macerated strawberries are in on top of the cake and let it soak in.
- Spread the whipped cream on top, making a bit of an indention in the middle for the strawberries to sit. Spoon on the strawberries and some of the juices.
- Garnish with pieces of the pretzel crunch.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published 07/25/2025.
The cake has a great pretzel flavor. It's a great little snack cake! Full disclosure, I am the author of this recipe.