Strawberry Sheet Cake is made from scratch by pairing fresh, juicy strawberries with pantry staple ingredients, ready in under an hour! The perfect summertime dessert to share with friends and family!
Use up more of those freshly picked strawberries in recipes like my Strawberry Blondies or Strawberries Romanoff!
Soak up that Summer sunshine with a slice of this Homemade Strawberry Cake in hand! Every backyard BBQ and warm weather gathering needs a sweet, fruity dessert, and this is it!
Each bite is bursting with fresh, strawberry flavor thanks to the 3-ingredient strawberry puree that’s added to the moist cake and creamy buttercream frosting! Not only does this dessert please in taste and texture, but it’s also very time friendly!
In just 50 minutes the entire cake is done and ready to be enjoyed without costing you much time. Leaving you with no excuses not to whip up a homemade summery dessert before heading out to the next cookout!
Ingredients For Homemade Strawberry Cake
This Easy Strawberry Cake Recipe has three homemade parts: The cake, buttercream frosting, and Strawberry Puree that gives the cake and frosting their strawberry flavor.
The cake recipe is made of mostly pantry staple ingredients, making it quick and easy to mix up! You’ll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salted butter, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, and sour cream.
Once the base of the cake batter is made, some of the homemade strawberry puree is added to it. The puree is made of fresh strawberries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice.
After the cake is baked and cooled it’s then frosted with the 3-ingredient Strawberry Buttercream. For this, salted butter, powdered sugar, and a portion of the strawberry reduction are mixed until light and creamy.
How To Make Strawberry Sheet Cake
- Prepare the Strawberry Puree by heating the sugar, lemon juice, and destemmed strawberries in a medium pot. Bring this mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat, stir often while the berries continue to break down.
- Prepare the Strawberry Cake by whisking the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together. Set this aside while you beat the butter until it becomes smooth and creamy.
- Blend in the oil, slowly add in the sugar, and beat again until smooth. Afterward, mix in the vanilla extract and the eggs one at a time.
- Mix in the strawberry reduction and sour cream, being careful not to over-beat this mixture. Next, add in the flour mixture.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to completely cool before frosting.
- Prepare the Strawberry Buttercream by beating the butter until light and creamy in the bowl of a stand mixer. Then slowly add in the icing sugar.
- Add in the strawberry reduction until the buttercream reaches your desired consistency.
- Frost the cooled cake with the strawberry buttercream and garnish with fresh strawberries if desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are There Other Frostings That I Could Use With This Strawberry Cake Recipe?
You could swap the strawberry buttercream frosting out for a plain cream cheese frosting or even a strawberry cream cheese frosting. I’ve found that this cake is also good with Chocolate Ganache!
Can Yogurt Be Used Instead Of Sour Cream For The Cake Recipe?
Yes, just be sure to use full-fat Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream.
How Come The Cake Needs Both Oil And Butter?
The butter gives the cake a nice flavor whereas the oil makes it moister. Together the two ingredients deliver the perfect cake! If you prefer, you can just use one or the other, 1 cup of butter or 1 cup of oil.
Could I Make A Layer Cake Instead Of A Sheet Cake?
Of course! You would just need 2 – 8 inch round cake pans to do so. The frosting recipe may need to be doubled to ensure there’s enough for a thin layer between cake layers.
For easier frosting, I’d recommend chilling the cake overnight first.
How Will I Know If The Strawberry Reduction Is Ready?
Once the strawberry sauce has reduced to 1/2 the amount it was that you started with it’s ready. The sauce will be thick!
What Do I Do With The Leftover Strawberry Reduction?
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 5 months. Leftovers are great over ice cream or served up with pancakes!
How Can I Make The Cake A Brighter Pink?
Since this cake is made from scratch it typically doesn’t come out as pink as a box mix does. No worries though, you can just add pink gel food coloring to create a brighter pink color.
What’s The Best Way To Store this Strawberry Cake?
This is best stored covered and in the fridge for up to 3 days. You could also freeze it for up to 3 months.
I’d Like To Have Strawberry Pieces In My Cake – How Can I Do This?
Dice up 5 large strawberries and add them to the reduction puree after it’s fully cooked.
It just isn’t summertime without a few sweet, strawberry recipes like this Strawberry Sheet Cake! Check out more tasty strawberry recipes to make this Summer!
- Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes – Moist cupcakes that have a sweet, fruity surprise filling!
- Homemade Strawberry Milk – Made with a 3-ingredient Strawberry Simple Syrup for fresh flavor!
- Easy Strawberry Shortcake – The classic summertime favorite that everyone loves!
- Strawberry Danish With Cream Cheese – Flaky, golden brown pastries ready to enjoy in 35 minutes!
- Quick Strawberry Dump Cake – An easy-to-make recipe that calls for simply dumping three main ingredients into a baking dish!
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Strawberry Sheet Cake
Equipment
- Medium pot
- Wooden spoon
- 9×13-inch baking pan
- Parchment paper
- Non-stick spray
- Large bowl
- Whisk
- Standing mixer
- Spatula
Ingredients
Strawberry Puree (Make Day Before For Best Results)
- 4 cups strawberries fresh or frozen (thawed), hulled
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup strawberry puree from recipe above
- ½ cup sour cream room temperature
Strawberry Buttercream
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons strawberry reduction from recipe above
Instructions
Strawberry Puree (Make Day Before For Best Results)
- Add the strawberries to a medium pot with the sugar and lemon juice and cook over medium heat, stirring often to avoid boiling. Once this mixture begins to boil, reduce heat down to medium-low. Stir often and the strawberries will continue to break down. Use an emulsion blender for a smoother puree.
- Allow this mixture to reduce by about half, this will take 20 to 30 minutes. If you are making this the day before, keep it in the fridge overnight – make sure to remove it an hour before adding it to the batter so it comes to room temperature. When the reduction is finished, remove it from the heat and allow it to come to room temperature before adding it to the recipe.
Strawberry Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. If you plan to remove the whole cake from the pan, line the pan with parchment paper and spray it with non-stick spray. If you are planning to leave the cake in the pan, just spray it with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy.
- Beat in the oil, then gradually add in the sugar and beat until smooth.
- Mix in the vanilla extract and then add the eggs one at a time, mixing between each one.
- Then gradually mix in the strawberry reduction and sour cream. Do not overbeat the mixture.
- Add the flour mixture and beat just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Place the pan on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely before frosting.
Strawberry Buttercream
- Prepare the frosting by beating the butter until light and creamy.
- Gradually beat in the powdered sugar.3 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup salted butter
- Then add the strawberry reduction until the desired consistency is reached.4 tablespoons strawberry reduction
Notes
- Are There Other Frostings That I Could Use With This Strawberry Cake Recipe? You could swap the strawberry buttercream frosting out for a plain cream cheese frosting or even a strawberry cream cheese frosting. I’ve found that this cake is also good with Chocolate Ganache!
- Can Yogurt Be Used Instead Of Sour Cream For The Cake Recipe? Yes, just be sure to use full-fat Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream.
- How Come The Cake Needs Both Oil And Butter? The butter gives the cake a nice flavor whereas the oil makes it moister. Together the two ingredients deliver the perfect cake! If you prefer, you can just use one or the other, 1 cup of butter or 1 cup of oil.
- Could I Make A Layer Cake Instead Of A Sheet Cake? Of course! You would just need 2 – 8 inch round cake pans to do so. The frosting recipe may need to be doubled to ensure there’s enough for a thin layer between cake layers. For easier frosting, I’d recommend chilling the cake overnight first.
- How Will I Know If The Strawberry Reduction Is Ready? Once the strawberry sauce has reduced to 1/2 the amount it was that you started with it’s ready. The sauce will be thick!
- What Do I Do With The Leftover Strawberry Reduction? Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 5 months. Leftovers are great over ice cream or served up with pancakes!
- How Can I Make The Cake A Brighter Pink? Since this cake is made from scratch it typically doesn’t come out as pink as a box mix does. No worries though, you can just add pink gel food coloring to create a brighter pink color.
- What’s The Best Way To Store this Strawberry Cake? This is best stored covered and in the fridge for up to 3 days. You could also freeze it for up to 3 months.
- I’d Like To Have Strawberry Pieces In My Cake – How Can I Do This? Dice up 5 large strawberries and add them to the reduction puree after it’s fully cooked.
Nutrition
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