Fresh Strawberry Sheet Cake
Nothing makes me feel more nostalgic than strawberry sheet cake. It’s something my sister and I made for my dad’s birthday when we were little, although that was with a strawberry cake mix and canned frosting. It only felt right to redeem ourselves and create a fresh strawberry cake from scratch! No mixes, just fresh strawberries, cream cheese, and everything in between. It’s moist, flavorful, and all homemade!
How to make strawberry sheet cake using fresh strawberries
Before my mom told me that we actually just used a cake mix for my dad’s cake, I was scouring the internet trying to find the recipe I thought we might have used.
Through my deep dive, I found that most strawberry cake recipes out there rely on some sort of mix and hardly any actual strawberries. I just couldn’t accept that!
I made it my mission to create a flavorful and moist strawberry sheet cake that was also easy to make. To do so, I decided to use freshly pureed strawberries in the cake AND the strawberry cream cheese frosting.
The key is to get the perfect puree consistency. It should be thin enough to blend with the batter but not too thin to where you can’t see those pretty strawberry specks.
When running the strawberries through a food processor, stop right before they reach the point of a completely smooth puree. I’ve found this is the perfect way to bake with strawberries as I also did something similar with my Roasted Strawberry Cupcakes – they turned out to be a huge hit!
And because this is an oil-based cake, which is what makes it so moist, it’s important to use enough strawberries to cancel out the oil flavor. Using fresh strawberries helps to not only cancel out the oil, but also balance out the sweetness of the cake.
Why you should make strawberry cake from scratch
If you’re going to make a homemade strawberry cake, using fresh strawberries is the only way to go!
The main reason being that it’s easier than it might seem and doesn’t take that much more effort compared to using a jello or cake mix. The only extra step is to puree the strawberries which, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t that big of a deal especially when this cake is the outcome!
Many strawberry cake mixes have strawberry flavors and dyes to get that “strawberry” taste…but why bake the fake stuff when you can have the real deal??
Finally, you probably already have all the ingredients you need to make a strawberry sheet cake from scratch. It doesn’t require anything fancy, unless you don’t keep cake flour in your kitchen. If that’s the case, using all-purpose is totally fine. Your cake won’t turn out as tender, but it will still be just as moist and flavorful.
Ok, I rest my case. Just know that baking with a fresh strawberry cake is so worth it.
How to remove a strawberry sheet cake from the pan
There are a few ways you can serve a sheet cake. The most popular route is to keep it in the pan which makes it easy to frost and store in the fridge. All you have to do is cover the top in plastic wrap.
If you prefer to ditch the pan completely, there’s two ways you can remove the cake. The first way is to grease the cake pan and cover just the bottom in parchment paper.
When the cake is completely cooled, flip it out onto a cooling rack then flip that back onto a serving surface.
The other way, which is what I chose, is to line the bottom and sides with one big strip of parchment paper (also greasing the pan). Letting the paper hang over the edges along the length of the pan allows you to lift it out later.
The cake must in the fridge for at least an hour for this step. Then simply lift and place the cake on a surface, frost, and slice!
To store the strawberry sheet cake, it’s easiest to slice the cake then place the pieces in an air tight container. Keep the strawberry cake in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Silky strawberry cream cheese frosting
Arguably the best part about this strawberry sheet cake recipe. The strawberry cream cheese frosting is so smooth and flavorful. I could easily eat it by the spoonful.
It’s also so easy to make and consists of just 4 ingredients:
- Butter
- Cream Cheese
- Powdered Sugar
- Strawberries
First and foremost, make sure the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature to get the perfect silky consistency. Cream the two together using an electric mixer then mix in the powdered sugar one cup at a time.
Once combined, mix in the strawberry puree.
The frosting will seem very thin, almost like pudding, which is why it’s made right when the cake is removed from the oven. This way, the two can chill alongside each other so that the cake cools completely and the frosting thickens up.
After the cake is completely cool to the touch, smear on the entirety of the frosting. Just know that as the frosting warms up, it will soften into a super silky consistency.
How to store fresh strawberry sheet cake
Since the frosting softens quickly, I don’t suggest leaving the cake out at room temperature for more than an hour. So to store, cover the cake and keep it in the refrigerator. It will keep fresh for up to 7 days!
For more delicious strawberry dessert recipes, check out my:
- Strawberry Cupcakes (made with roasted strawberries!)
- Fresh Strawberry Cake (layer cake)
- Strawberry Pizza
- Strawberry Pop Tart Shortbread
- Strawberry Pretzel Tart
- Roasted Strawberry Cheesecake
- Strawberry Pretzel Marshmallow Treats
Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram or leave a comment below if you make this Fresh Strawberry Sheet Cake. I love seeing my recipes come to life in YOUR kitchen! To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, the buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!
Watch how to make this Fresh Strawberry Sheet Cake:
Fresh Strawberry Sheet Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 9×13 sheet cake
Description
This strawberry cake is incredibly moist and made with FRESH strawberries! No mixes, no food coloring, just natural strawberry flavor with a silky strawberry cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Strawberry Cake
- 2 cups (264g) all purpose flour *see notes for GF option
- 3/4 cup (98g) cake flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (170g) vegetable oil
- 1 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups (325g) lightly pureed strawberries** (about 1 1/2 pints)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz full fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (110g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup (58g) lightly pureed strawberries**
Instructions
Strawberry Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease and line a 9×13 baking pan with strip of parchment paper. Allow the paper to cover the bottom and the two longest sides of the pan with some paper overhang for easy removal.
- To puree the strawberries, place them in a food processor and let it run for a couple seconds. Then pulse until it’s almost completely pureed but with a few small strawberry chunks. This is also the same process for the strawberries in the strawberry cream cheese frosting.
- For the cake, whisk together the all purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, strawberry puree, and vanilla extract.
- Fold in the dry ingredients just until the batter comes together.
- Pour it into the prepared pan and spread it even.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cake cool completely in the pan before frosting. If you would like to lift the cake out of the pan, refrigerated it for at least an hour before doing so.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- Make the frosting right when the cake is done baking so it can chill alongside the cake.
- Using a hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the cream cheese and butter.
- Mix in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, followed by the strawberry puree.
- Refrigerate the frosting for an hour so it can thicken up.
- Once the cake is completely cooled, spread the frosting on top. Serve right away or store in the fridge for up to 7 days. Enjoy!
Notes
*GLUTEN FREE – Although I haven’t tested it, I believe this cake would do well with gluten free flour. Sub the flour with a good quality gluten free baking flour – one with xanthan gum. I like Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour. Also spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a flat edge. Don’t scoop directly into the flour as this packs it into the cup, leaving you with way too much flour – thus a dry cake.
**PUREE – These measurements are of the puree, not the strawberries. First, puree the strawberries and then measure to the amounts listed above.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
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Meet Jenna
I’m the creator, baker, and photographer behind Butternut Bakery. Here I share desserts for every diet because I believe everyone should have a chance to indulge!
Can this be baked in a 10 x 15 sheet pan instead of 9 x 13 cake pan?
This cake is actually amazing. So moist and full of strawberry flavor. I made a couple small tweaks that worked for me:
– instead of all vegetable oil, I used canola and some good quality olive oil. Same amount of total oil that the recipe calls for, just a third of it was olive oil.
– I halved the amount of sugar in the frosting and added a bit of cream for a strawberries and cream frosting. Dash of salt too
– cooled in the pan for 25 mins on a wire rack before popping in the fridge for 1.5 hours still on rack
– made sure to use a light colored pan which I greased with butter
Hands down one of the best cake recipes I’ve ever had. The texture and flavor was perfect. I would make it the exact same way next time.
Hi! Could I cut the sugar down for the recipe ? Would this effect the overall texture ? I was thinking just a cup
Can this recipe hold up for a tiered cake?
Thank you in advance!
Delicious strawberry sheet cake!
Oh my word this is an amazing cake. I don’t even like cake, but I’m thinking of having a second slice of this one. We have an egg allergy in the house so I omitted and added about 1/3 cup plain yogurt instead. Personally would half the frosting recipe next time. This is a definite keeper. Moist, flavorful, not too sweet. Everyone raved.
Hi! I bought farmers market strawberries but they were getting very soft so I froze them. Will this still work if I let them thaw?
This cake is SO GOOD. First-it’s so easy. I made the whole thing with my two toddlers which is no easy feat. Second-the frosting. Oh my word-maybe make double so you can eat the whole first batch with a spoon. Third-I want to cry this cake is so good. It’s light, it’s fresh, it tastes like the best white cake ever and a batch of the best summer strawberries you’ve ever had had a baby. Going back for fourths and making it again ASAP.
When making this gluten free, do you omit the cake flour and just do 2 cups of the GF flour?
Made this cake this weekend and everyone loved it! I love it when recipes are easy to follow, simple to make, and taste amazing- thank you!