Description
This easy fresh strawberry sheet cake recipe features a moist, flavorful cake made with real strawberry puree, topped with a silky strawberry cream cheese frosting and fresh strawberry slices. Perfect for any occasion, this cake is light, fruity, and irresistible.
Ingredients
Scale
Strawberry Sheet Cake:
- ¾ cup vegetable oil (170g)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted (56g)
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup milk (80g)
- 340g fresh or frozen strawberries (about 1 ½ cups puree)
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (360g)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch (20g)
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- Optional: a few drops of pink gel food color
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 12 oz cream cheese, room temperature (340g)
- ⅓ cup strawberry jam (80g)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (60g)
- ⅓ cup heavy cream (80g)
- Pinch of salt
Assembly & Decoration:
- Fresh strawberries to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Set your oven to 350°F (conventional/non-fan) and line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper for easy removal.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl, combine vegetable oil, melted butter, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Prepare strawberry puree: Blitz fresh or thawed frozen strawberries in a food processor until mostly smooth with some texture remaining if desired.
- Combine wet ingredients and puree: Add the strawberry puree and milk to the wet mixture, whisking until well incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients: Sift together all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently whisk the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined with no lumps; avoid overmixing.
- Add food coloring (optional): If desired, fold in a few drops of pink gel food coloring for a vibrant cake color.
- Bake the cake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. Test doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center; it should come out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
- Cool the cake: Allow the cake to cool completely at room temperature before frosting.
- Make the frosting: In a bowl, whisk together cream cheese, strawberry jam, granulated sugar, heavy cream, and a pinch of salt at medium-low speed until smooth and creamy. Avoid overmixing to prevent runniness.
- Assemble and decorate: Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake. Top with fresh sliced strawberries for decoration.
- Serve and store: Slice the cake and serve at room temperature. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Notes
- This recipe yields a light layer of cream cheese frosting; increase frosting ingredients if you prefer a thicker layer.
- For best flavor, use fresh strawberries when in season; frozen strawberries thawed at room temperature work well too.
- Do not overmix the batter to keep the cake tender and moist.
- Using parchment paper helps with easy removal and clean presentation.
- Store the cake in the refrigerator if not served immediately but bring back to room temperature before serving for best texture.
