This extra moist and fluffy strawberry sheet cake is made with fresh strawberries and topped with strawberry whipped cream.
This fresh strawberry sheet cake is the ultimate summertime dessert.
Made with ripe, juicy strawberries and a light, fluffy cake base that is made with fresh strawberry puree, every bite is a taste of sweet perfection.
The vibrant red berries are the star of the show, complemented by a tangy strawberry whipped cream cheese frosting that ties all the flavors together seamlessly.
This easy-to-make sheet cake is perfect for feeding a crowd at backyard barbecues, potlucks, or anytime you need a crowd-pleasing dessert.
For more strawberry desserts, check out our strawberry jam cake, strawberry danish, strawberry bundt cake, and strawberry brownies.
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Why this recipe works
- Ease- this cake comes together in one bowl and is extremely easy to make and is also made with super simple ingredients.
- Texture- the texture of this cake is light, soft, and airy with a melt in your mouth texture along with the light and creamy whipped topping and juicy strawberries.
- Serves a crowd- this cake is made in a sheet pan, so it can serve a crowd of people and is perfect for a summer gathering.
- Strawberry loaded- This cake is loaded with plenty of fresh strawberries in the cake itself, whipped frosting, and more strawberries on top.
- Strawberry whipped cream- this cake is topped with strawberry whipped cream that is made with strawberry puree and cream cheese.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.
Eggs- you will need 4 large eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor. You can use regular vanilla extract or vanilla bean extract.
Buttermilk- gives the cake extra moisture. You can make your own buttermilk if you don't have one on hand. Simply mix a cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
Strawberries- we used fresh strawberries for this recipe. You will need fresh strawberries for the strawberry puree, chopped strawberries, and strawberries for the top.
Baking powder and baking soda – to allow the cake to rise. Ensure that your baking powder and baking soda aren't expired and are active.
Vegetable oil- we used vegetable oil for this recipe. Canola oil will work great for this recipe as well.
Granulated sugar- we like to use granulated, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
For the strawberry whipped cream
Heavy whipping cream- use cold heavy whipping cream.
Strawberries- for the strawberry whipped cream, we finely chopped fresh strawberries.
Cream cheese- we used cream cheese to this strawberry whipped cream, it adds a very delicious flavor and we highly recommend not skipping it. Make sure that your cream cheese is softened.
Powder sugar- you will need powdered sugar for this recipe. You don't have to buy powdered sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Vanilla extract- for extra flavor.
Instructions
Start by preheating an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper.
Into a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, kosher salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix with a whisk until combined.
Into a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar, and mix with an electric hand mixer until the mixture is fluffy and light in color.
Add the vanilla extract, strawberry puree, vegetable oil, chopped strawberries, and strawberry jam. Mix until combined. Add the buttermilk and mix until combined.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Don't overmix! Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake the cake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Make the strawberry whipped cream
Into a big mixing bowl, add the cold heavy cream, and powder sugar, and mix with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
Add the softened cream cheese and the strawberry puree and mix until just combined. Don't overmix.
Top the cake with the strawberry whipped cream and smooth it out. I made a wave pattern with a spatula.
Slice fresh strawberries in half and top the whipped cream with more strawberries. Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and buttermilk. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Use ripe, juicy strawberries for the best flavor in your cake. Look for strawberries that are deep red in color and fragrant.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently to ensure that you have a homogeneous mixture that has no lumps.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cake will release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let it cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up. You don't want to frost a warm cake as well, to prevent the frosting from melting. Cool the cake to room temperature.
Faq's
Yes. But you will need to thaw the strawberries and blend them into a puree.
We use all-purpose flour for this cake. Self-rising flour and cake flour will work great as well.
Yes. You can use two 8 or 9-inch cake pans. Take into consideration that the cake layers will take less time to bake, about 30 minutes.
Storing
This cake will last up to 4 in the fridge. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out. This cake tastes amazing for 4 days!
Freezing
You can freeze this cake after it cooled completely in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months, some people find the cake tastes better after freezing it.
You can freeze the whole cake or slice it into slices and then freeze it.
If you are freezing individual slices of the cake, I would recommend storing them in a ziplock bag and then transferring them to an airtight freezer-friendly container.
Substitutions
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Dairy-free- you can make this cake dairy-free by replacing the buttermilk with dairy-free buttermilk and swapping the heavy cream with vegan heavy cream.
Variations
Frosting- You can use any kind of your favorite frosting on this cake. You can use strawberry frosting, chocolate frosting, vanilla frosting, cream cheese frosting, mascarpone whipped cream, etc.
Chocolate-swirled- add a rich chocolate swirl running through the moist strawberry cake. Top it off with a silky chocolate buttercream for an indulgent treat.
Strawberry mascarpone cream- use the cream recipe from my strawberry tiramisu and divide it in half.
Freeze-dried strawberries- for extra strawberry flavor, add ⅓ cup of ground freeze-dried strawberries.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl (set of 3)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
- Rubber spatula
- 9x13 baking pan
More sheet cake recipes
Lemon poke cake- This lemon poke cake is made with a moist and tender lemon cake, lemon condensed milk filling, and lemon mascarpone whipped cream.
Banana coffee cake- This banana coffee cake is made with soft cinnamon banana cake, filled with a cinnamon swirl filling, a cinnamon crumble topping, and a delicious glaze.
Dark chocolate sheet cake- This dark chocolate sheet cake is super moist, made in one bowl chocolate cake that is topped with dark chocolate buttercream frosting. This cake was made for us chocolate lovers.
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If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Fresh Strawberry Sheet Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups Flour
- 2 ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- 2 cups Granulated sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ cups Buttermilk
- ⅔ cups Vegetable oil
- ½ cups Strawberries chopped
- 1 cups Strawberry puree
- ½ Kosher salt
- ⅓ cups Strawberry jam
Strawberry whipped cream:
- ½ cups Chopped strawberries
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ cups Powder sugar
- 1 ½ cups Heavy cream
- 115 g Cream cheese
Instructions
- Start by preheating an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper.
- Into a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix with a whisk until combined.
- Into a big mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and mix with an electric hand mixer until the mixture is fluffy and light in color.
- Add the vanilla extract, strawberry puree, vegetable oil, chopped strawberries, and strawberry jam. Mix until combined.
- Then add the buttermilk and mix with the hand mixer until combined.
- Add the dry ingredient, and mix until just combined. Don’t overmix!
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake the cake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. let the cake cool to room temperature.
- Into a big mixing bowl, add the cold heavy cream, powder sugar, and mix with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Add the softened cream cheese and the strawberry puree and mix until just combined. Don’t overmix.
- Top the cake with the strawberry whipped cream and smooth it out. We made a wave pattern with a spatula.
- Slice fresh strawberries in half and top the whipped cream with more strawberries. Serve and enjoy!
Dina says
I couldn't believe how delicious and moist this cake was. Would make it again!
Daisy Lagunas says
This was my first time making a homemade cake. The recipe was easy to follow and came out delicious. I couldn’t believe how moist it was and the strawberry whip cream was to die for. So good that my hubby came back for thirds.
RichandDelish says
I'm so glad you liked it! Thank you for your kind comment!