25 Best Summer Cake Recipes

Bright, beautiful, and refreshing, these summer cake recipes are a tropical dream! 

What better way is there to showcase your summer produce than by turning them into cakes?

Along with the heat, summer brings a myriad of fruits and berries for your enjoyment. I’m talking oranges, limes, berries of all shapes and colors, and more. 

So instead of the usual chocolate cake, why not switch things up a little and make use of these seasonal delights? 

Whether you’re bananas for bananas, a lemon lover, or a pineapple stan, this collection of summer cake recipes has everything for everybody.

They’re all so good, it’s hard to pick just one.

Preheat your oven and grease your baking pans. Get ready to make summer cakes!

1. Fresh Strawberry Cake

Let’s kick things off with this stunning cake. Full of fresh strawberries, this cake is a true beauty.

With a simple cake base, the flavor of the strawberries really shines through.

It’s also very easy. After all, who wants to spend hours in the kitchen in the sweltering heat? 

Either warm or room temperature, topped with whipped cream or served on its own, this cake will not disappoint.

2. Lemon Raspberry Cake

Moist and fluffy lemon cake is layered with a stunning cream cheese frosting and topped with fresh raspberries. Talk about awesome summer flavors!

The cake is so light and airy akin to an angel food cake. The combination of lemon, cream cheese, and raspberries is a winner.

The best part? It tastes like you worked hard on it, but in reality, you hardly worked at all.

3. Tropical Summer Cake

If you’re a sucker for coconut and pineapple, you’ll love this cake.

Featuring layers of angel food cake, marshmallows, pineapple, nuts, whipped topping, and shredded coconut, this cake is a truly tropical treat!

Whether you bake the cake from scratch or use the good-old cake mix, it doesn’t matter.

All the other components will make the cake delectable, regardless.

4. Summer Fruit Sangria Cake

It’s literally sangria in cake form. It has all the elements you want in a cake and a sangria.

The sponge cakes are soaked in sangria to give them that distinct flavor. Even the fruit filling is sangria-fied, too! 

As for the frosting, I can’t even begin to express how delectable it is.

Made with heavy cream, mascarpone, white chocolate, and raspberries, I can eat it with a spoon.

5. Italian Summer Country Cake

I mean, how rustic does this cake look, am I right?

It’s not the most decadent-looking out of all the desserts featured here, but it’s mouthwatering just the same.

Baked in a tube or bundt pan, it’s definitely a looker. You’ll love the taste and texture even more, though.

It’s dense but moist at the same time. The cake itself isn’t too sweet, which is perfect, because you’ll really get to savor the flavors of the fruits.

It’s the perfect teatime treat!

6. Fresh Berry Cream Cake

Layer cakes may seem intimidating at first, but trust me, they’re not that difficult. Plus, they’re worth the effort.

Made with light and airy layer cakes with refreshing cream frosting and colorful berries in between, it’s the epitome of summer cakes.

It looks amazing but putting it together requires minimal effort. Trust me, you won’t need to be a cake decorating master to pull it off.

7. No-Bake Summer Berry Ice Box Cake

Icebox cakes are always a treat. Apart from being undeniably delicious, they’re also a breeze to make. 

There’s no baking involved, but they taste like actual cakes. It’s all thanks to graham crackers.

Once it soaks in cream or milk for a while, it turns into a soft, delicious, cake-like specimen.

For this icebox cake, you’ll have layers of graham crackers, cream cheese pudding mix, and fresh berries.

It’s a feast for the eyes and the tastebuds for sure.

8. Strawberry Lemonade Cake

Instead of sipping on a glass of cold strawberry lemonade, why not have a slice?

This dessert has everything you love in the tasty refreshment, only in cake form. 

Pretty in pink and bursting with flavor, this cake will tickle your tastebuds like no other.

The combination of strawberries and lemon is 100% refreshing. It’s tart, citrusy, and just purely amazing.

9. Portuguese Summer Cake

Called bolo de verao, this Portuguese summer cake is as colorful as it is delicious.

Just look at how gorgeous it is! Those slices of fruits and berries are absolutely stunning. 

Inside is a ridiculously soft and moist cake layered with Greek yogurt and pineapple slices, and frosted with billowing whipped topping.

The word delectable is an understatement.

10. Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Cake

Seeing buttermilk in a cake recipe is a good sign. That means the cake will be outrageously soft and moist.

Case in point – this lemon blueberry buttermilk cake.

Aside from the amazing texture, you’ll also love the taste. The cake is flavored with lemon, so it’s tasty in and of itself.

Made with cream cheese, cream, sugar, and fresh blueberries, the frosting takes it to the next level. 

11. Citrus Summer Cake

If you’re looking for something citrusy, this recipe is all you need.

Layers of orange and lemon cakes are filled and frosted with blackberry Swiss meringue buttercream. I’ll give you a moment to take all that in.

Both the cake and the frosting are the stars of this dessert. The cake is so lovely and moist, and the buttercream is just divine.

Unlike regular buttercream frostings, this one isn’t overly sweet.

12. Limoncello Cake

Limoncello is an Italian liqueur made with lemon zest, sugar, and water. This sweet, citrusy syrup makes this next cake extra special.

Sponge cake layers are brushed with limoncello, topped with lemon curd, and covered with mascarpone and cream cheese frosting.

It’s insanely bright and refreshing, so it’s hard not to ask for a second slice.

13. Trisha Yearwood Key Lime Cake

Moist and crumbly key lime cake is frosted with a sweet and tangy key lime glaze. 

Just when you think it couldn’t get any better, it does. This masterpiece is covered with decadent cream cheese frosting. 

It has flavor upon flavor upon flavor. It’s the cake that keeps on giving. 

14. Punch Bowl Cake

Just by looking at all those layers, you can already tell it’s delicious.

Light and fluffy cakes are layered with creamy pudding, fruits, and a fluffy whipped topping to top it off. 

If you think it requires mad baking skills, think again. This dessert takes advantage of the ever-reliable cake mix, so making it is a breeze. 

The rest of the components are store-bought, so it’s really just a matter of layering them on top of each other. It couldn’t get any easier than that.

15. Banana Cake

There are tons of banana cake recipes out there, all claiming to be the best.

If you can’t decide which one of them to try, let me do it for you. Trust me on this one.

This banana cake recipe is quite like no other. For one, it’s baked at a low temperature.

Then, it’s popped in the freezer after baking. It’s a strange concept, but it makes the moistest most delicious banana cake ever!

16. Lemon Cake With Yellow Cake Mix

Cake purists might frown upon you using a cake mix, but believe me, they won’t have a problem with this cake.

As long as you throw gelatin into the mix, your boxed cake mix won’t taste artificial at all.

Plus, with the sweet and tart lemon glaze, I’ll bet no one would even be able to tell the ingredients came out of the box.

17. Orange Crush Pound Cake

Don’t have oranges on hand? That’s alright, use orange soda instead! It may not be as good as the real thing, but it’s delicious, nonetheless.

This pound cake has orange soda and orange flavoring in it, so the orange flavor cannot be denied.

Fluffy cream cheese frosting goes on top, because why not? 

18. Bisquick Strawberry Shortcake

Layers of flaky biscuits, fresh strawberries, and billowing whipped cream make up this delicious shortcake. 

This summer dessert is one of the best. I mean, just look at it! And because the biscuits are made from Bisquick, the recipe is quick and easy.

It’s perfect for when you’re hosting an impromptu summer party.

19. Margarita Cake

Love margaritas? Why not have a sip and eat it too? This margarita cake recipe is exactly what you’ll need.

Flavored with lime and tequila, this cake really encapsulates the iconic flavor of the classic margarita.

The frosting is flavored with limes as well, balancing out the sweetness with some acidity.

20. S’Mores Chocolate Cake

If you miss those fun camp trips you had as a kid, a slice of this s’mores chocolate cake will take you back to the good old days.

Moist and fudgy chocolate cake is filled with chocolate ganache and covered with toasted marshmallow frosting and even more ganache.

It sounds like heaven, but it doesn’t end there.

For inside the cake awaits a crunchy surprise: a delicious mix of crushed graham crackers, butter, and sugar baked to perfection.

You’re treated to an explosion of flavors and textures with every bite.

21. Duncan Hines Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

From look to flavor to its sheer simplicity, this upside-down cake is a game-changer.

This cake is effortlessly beautiful. You won’t need to worry about frosting or decorating it. It’s perfect as it is.

The trick is to place pineapple rings, maraschino cherries, and a butter and brown sugar syrup at the bottom of the cake pan.

Once you flip the cake over, voila! You’ll have a ridiculously moist cake jazzed up with fruits and dripping with caramelized brown sugar.

22. Strawberry Icebox Cake

Icebox cakes are every non-baker’s dream recipe. There’s no baking involved, so no need to figure out what “preheating an oven” means!

The result doesn’t seem like it took no effort to make, though.

In this recipe, for instance, you’ll simply arrange graham crackers, fresh strawberry slices, and whipped cream in layers and pop it in the fridge. 

After a few hours, your cake is ready to serve. The graham crackers magically turn into tender cakes, while the strawberries and cream stay delicious as ever.

23. Easy 5-Layer Ice Cream Cake

With this 5-layer ice cream cake, there are 5 different flavors to look forward to.

You’ll get two of your favorite ice cream flavors, whipped cream, hot fudge, and sprinkles. Need I say more?

Best of all, it’s another no-bake recipe that even kitchen newbies will pull off with ease.

24. Sweet Tea Lemonade Cake

What do you get when you combine a sweet tea-infused cake and a lemon cream cheese frosting?

A light, refreshing, and delicious summer dessert, that’s what.

I never thought to infuse cake batter with tea, so I was pretty intrigued by this recipe. I’m happy I tried it because it turned out amazing! 

The tea added such a nice, unique flavor to the cake, and the lemon cream cheese frosting, as expected, is fantastic.

Together, they make a phenomenal combination.

25. Root Beer Float Cake

Wrapping things up is another refreshment turned into a dessert. If you’ve never had root beer float cake before, you’re in for a treat.

The cake itself is already amazing – dense and moist, and full of flavor, thanks to root beer. It’s so good, no one will notice it’s made of cake mix! 

Drizzled with a sweet glaze on top, this cake is a guaranteed hit. Serve it for breakfast with coffee or an afternoon snack with tea. Yum.