This easy Strawberry Compote bakery recipe has a deliciously fresh and natural strawberry flavor. It cooks in only 10 minutes and can be used as a cake filling or cupcake filling. This recipe uses frozen strawberries, which saves you time and results in consistent results all year round!
Use it to fill my Moist and Fudgy Chocolate Cupcakes or my Vanilla Almond Cake recipe. Then pair the cake or cupcakes with one of my Bakery-Style Buttercream Frostings.
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This recipe is also used in the cake batter and buttercream of my ever-popular Ultimate Fresh Strawberry Bakery-Style Cake recipe. It makes a bright and fresh filling in my summery Strawberry Banana Cake.
You can also use it as a topping or filling for cheesecakes or strawberry cream cheese danish pastries.
📖 Recipe & Step-by-Step Instructions
Easy Strawberry Compote Cake Filling with Frozen Strawberries
This easy Strawberry Compote bakery recipe has a deliciously fresh and natural strawberry flavor. It cooks in only 10 minutes and can be used as a cake filling or cupcake filling. This recipe uses frozen strawberries, which saves you time and results in consistent results all year round!A 1x batch will fill one 6" three-layer cake or about 14-18 cupcakes, and a 2x batch will fill one 8" three-layer cake or about 28-36 cupcakes.
👩🍳 For the most accurate baking results, use the grams measurements with a kitchen scale.
Ingredients
Strawberry Compote
- 1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons Instant Clearjel or 1 ½ Tablespoons Cornstarch (See Note # 1 for the differences)
- 50 grams (¼ cup) Sugar
- 8 ounces (227 grams, around 2 cups) Frozen Strawberries (unsweetened) (I prefer Frozen Natural Sliced Strawberries. You can use sliced or whole berries.)
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Lemon Juice (I use bottled)
Instructions
Make Strawberry Compote
- Whisk the sugar and your choice of 1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons Instant Clearjel or 1 ½ Tablespoons Cornstarch together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Combine the frozen strawberries and lemon juice in a nonstick skillet or saucepan.
When using Instant Clearjel
- If you're using Instant Clearjel, cook the frozen strawberries and lemon juice on medium heat until the berries are fully thawed and the liquid begins to simmer. Using a sturdy spatula, cut any large berries into very small pieces (around ¼ inch pieces) as they simmer. The berries should be soft enough that they are easy to cut with the spatula. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the strawberries are softened and you are happy with their size.
- Remove from heat and immediately add the Instant Clearjel/Sugar mixture and stir in quickly until it dissolves. The compote will thicken immediately, and continue to thicken as it cools. *Reminder--make sure you are using INSTANT clearjel. Cooktype and original clearjel do not work the same as Instant and require heat to thicken like the cornstarch method*
When Using Cornstarch
- If you're using Cornstarch, add the cornstarch/sugar mixture to the pan of frozen strawberries and lemon juice and stir. Cook on medium heat until the berries are fully thawed and the liquid begins to simmer. Using a sturdy spatula, cut any large strawberries into very small pieces (around ¼ inch pieces) as they simmer. The berries should be soft enough that they are easy to cut with the spatula. Cook for about 10-15 minutes as the mixture boils, scraping the pan frequently with a sturdy spatula. The compote is finished when it is thick and coats your spatula and the berries are soft. It will thicken more as it cools.
How to Store it
- Chill the strawberry filling in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. It may be used from cold as a cake or cupcake filling (See Note #2). It can be frozen, including when freezing a layer cake made with this filling. Enjoy!
Notes
* ½ Tablespoon= 1 ½ teaspoon (in case you don't own a measuring spoon set with a ½ Tablespoon)
- Read my article Instant Clearjel: a Magical Little-Known Bakery Ingredient to see why I think this ingredient is worth having in your pantry. Instant Clearjel must always be whisked thoroughly with other dry ingredients before being added to wet ingredients to avoid clumping. Cornstarch works great as well--the difference is that the Instant Clearjel option will be slightly thicker and glossier, and unused compote made with cornstarch can separate slightly the longer it sits in the fridge--simply stir before using.
- When using strawberry compote as a cake filling, pipe a 1" tall ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake, then spoon the compote in the middle of the buttercream ring. This will prevent the compote from spilling out of the cake.
Thanks for Reading. ❤️
Marcie says
Hello! You mentioned using this compote with your vanilla almond cake recipe but I was wondering if it would also work and taste right with the vanilla bean cake. My sister wants a strawberry cake for her birthday but others in the family aren’t as big a fan of strawberry as she is so I don’t think the strawberry cake is the right way to go. I made your vanilla almond cake for a family function in the past and it was excellent! However, I really want to try the vanilla bean cake so I am hoping vanilla bean cake and strawberry compote work well together. I can’t imagine they wouldn’t but wanted to get your thoughts. Thanks!
Amy says
Hi Marcie, thanks for checking! Absolutely, the strawberry filling would be delicious paired with the vanilla bean cake recipe. I hope you enjoy it! Also so happy to hear you liked the vanilla almond cake! 🙂
Marcie says
It was so good! I did make an error though by baking my 1x serving cake in a half sheet pan. So I had three very short layers, but it tasted good!
Amy says
I'm so glad you liked the strawberry compote, Marcie! I bet it was a delicious cake even with short layers! 🙂