No-Bake Strawberry Cake with Cookies and Sour Cream

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Welcome to the ultimate summer dessert! This No-Bake Strawberry Cake is a lifesaver on warm days when you crave something sweet, creamy, and refreshing without heating up your kitchen. Built on a buttery shortbread cookie crust and topped with a luscious, velvety layer of strawberry and smetana (a rich Eastern European sour cream), this cake is pure delight. It's incredibly simple to prepare, yet the result is an elegant and impressive dessert that perfectly captures the essence of strawberry season.

A slice of no-bake strawberry cake on a plate, decorated with fresh strawberries and mint.

No-Bake Strawberry Cake with Cookies and Sour Cream.

Preparation: 4 hours
Cooking: 40 minutes
Quantity: 6 Servings
Per serving
Calories: 420 kcal
Proteins: 1 g
Fats: 19 g
Carbohydrates: 40 g

Ingredients for the Strawberry Cake Base

  • 200 g shortbread cookies
  • 100 g butter
  • 50 ml cold milk

Ingredients for the Jelly Filling

  • 150 g strawberries
  • 100 g sugar
  • 100 ml water
  • 200 g smetana (or full-fat sour cream)
  • 1 tablespoon gelatin
  • whipped cream, for serving

How to Make a No-Bake Strawberry Cake with Cookies and Sour Cream

Shortbread cookies inside a blender bowl, ready to be crushed for the crust.

Place crumbly shortbread cookies into a blender bowl.

Mixing cookie crumbs and butter in a blender using the pulse function.

Mix the butter with the cookies using a few pulses.

The finished cookie and butter mixture forming a dough in the blender.

Mix the ingredients for a few minutes until a thick, sticky dough forms.


Place crumbly shortbread cookies, such as butter or vanilla cookies, into a blender bowl and grind them into fine crumbs.

Add softened room temperature butter to the cookie crumbs; there’s no need to melt the butter. Mix the butter with the cookies using a few pulses.

Pour in cold milk. Mix the ingredients for a few minutes until a thick, sticky dough forms. At this stage, you can add a teaspoon of vanilla extract if your cookies are plain.

Pressing the cookie crumb mixture into the bottom of a lined springform pan.

Spread the cookie dough and press it down evenly.

Gelatin powder soaking and blooming in a small glass bowl of water.

Soak the gelatin in cold boiled water for 20-30 minutes.

Fresh strawberries and granulated sugar in a saucepan, ready to be cooked down.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of water into a saucepan, add berries, and sprinkle with sugar.


Take a springform pan and line it with plastic wrap. Spread the cookie dough evenly on the bottom, pressing it down with a cake spatula to create a smooth layer. This recipe uses an 18-centimeter (7-inch) diameter pan. Place the base in the refrigerator while you prepare the jelly filling.

Soak the gelatin in cold boiled water for 20-30 minutes. Leave the gelatin to bloom at room temperature.
Hull and wash the strawberries, then cut the berries in half. Pour a couple of tablespoons of water into the bottom of a saucepan, add the berries, and sprinkle with granulated sugar. If the strawberries are tart, you can increase the amount of sugar.

Using an immersion blender to puree the cooked strawberries in a saucepan.

Puree the berries with an immersion blender until smooth.


Cover the saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes until the sugar has completely dissolved. Then, use an immersion blender to puree the berries until smooth.

Pouring the dissolved gelatin mixture into the saucepan with strawberry puree.

Add the bloomed gelatin to the strawberry puree.

Adding a spoonful of smetana (sour cream) to the strawberry and gelatin mixture.

Add the sour cream and whisk the jelly for a few minutes.

Pouring the pink strawberry and sour cream filling over the cookie crust in the pan.

Take the chilled base out of the refrigerator and pour the strawberry jelly over it.


Add the bloomed gelatin to the strawberry puree, stir, and heat until almost boiling, but do not let it boil.

Add the smetana (a type of sour cream common in Eastern Europe; you can substitute with full-fat sour cream or crème fraîche) and whisk the mixture for a few minutes until smooth.
Take the chilled base out of the refrigerator and pour the strawberry jelly over it. It will be liquid at this stage, which is normal.

The assembled no-bake strawberry cake in the springform pan, ready for chilling.

Refrigerate the cake for 3-4 hours, or overnight.

Carefully removing the ring of the springform pan from the chilled strawberry cake.

Remove the springform ring and plastic wrap from the set cake.

The finished no-bake cake being decorated with fresh strawberry slices and mint.

Decorate the top with thin slices of strawberry and mint leaves.


Refrigerate the cake for 3-4 hours, or overnight, until set. By the way, if you have space in your freezer, you can place the cake in there for a while to significantly speed up the process.

Once the cake is firm, remove the springform ring and the plastic wrap. Carefully transfer it to a serving plate.
Decorate the top with thin slices of strawberry and mint leaves.

A slice of the finished no-bake strawberry cake served with a dollop of whipped cream.

Serve the no-bake strawberry cake with cold whipped cream.


Whip a cup of cold 33% heavy cream with two tablespoons of powdered sugar and a teaspoon of whipped cream stabilizer. Serve the no-bake strawberry cake with cold whipped cream.

And there you have it—a stunning No-Bake Strawberry Cake that's as delicious as it is beautiful. This dessert is perfect for any occasion, from a casual family gathering to a special celebration. Feel free to experiment with other berries like raspberries or blueberries for a different twist. Serve it chilled, perhaps with an extra dollop of whipped cream or a sprig of fresh mint, and watch it disappear. We hope you enjoy every creamy, fruity bite of this delightful treat!