May marks the beginning of the strawberry season here in Oregon and I get so excited to buy the ripest berries my local grocery store has to offer. I don’t know if you can tell the difference between in-season and off-season strawberries but it’s pretty huge to me. Not only are in-season strawberries more red and juicy, they’re packed with so much more sweet flavor. My strawberry layer cake recipe is one of my favorite ways to use fresh strawberries, but this year I decided to try a sheet cake version and I am so glad I did! Look at how beautiful this turned out:
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I love layer cakes so much, but sheet cakes are the perfect solution for when you want an incredibly tasty cake without having to spend a ton of time decorating. It’s a great size for serving a crowd (you can get 18-24 slices here) and has the ideal ratio of frosting to cake in my opinion. Plus, they’re so fun to dress up with pretty piping, texture, sprinkles, and more. The flat canvas of a sheet cake offers endless possibilities!
The Freshest Strawberry Flavor
This cake is bursting with fresh strawberry flavor and here’s how: I pureè some fresh strawberries, then cook them down until most of the liquid has evaporated. This is called a reduction. Essentially, the process of reducing the strawberries eliminates most of the flavorless water content from the berries and keeps all of the powerful flavor intact. It’s much better for the overall texture and flavor of the baked cake.
And the texture is divine. So soft and moist, light, and just has that perfect melt-in-your-mouth quality. You might not want to stop eating this cake and I pass no judgment. I’ve been there!
My Favorite Strawberry Frosting
You can make strawberry frosting with fresh berries (here’s how I do it), but my favorite way to make it is with freeze-dried berries. Not to be confused with frozen berries, the process of freeze-drying removes all the liquid from the strawberries and leaves all the flavor. It’s similar to the reduction process I talked about earlier, only every bit of liquid evaporates from the berry.
Using freeze-dried berries (ground into powder) is great for buttercream because too much liquid content can really negatively affect the consistency, making it look curdled. With freeze-dried berries, you’ll always have that perfect silky smooth consistency in your frosting because you’re not adding any extra liquid. Plus, look at all those little strawberry flecks. I can’t get over them.
You can usually find freeze dried strawberries at your local grocery store in the snack section. I’ve had great luck at Trader Joe’s, Fred Meyer, New Seasons, Whole Foods, and Target. If you can’t find freeze dried strawberries locally, here’s a link to get them on Amazon. Be warned though, once you realize how amazing freeze dried fruit is for flavoring buttercream, you’re going to want to try all the flavors.
How to Decorate a Strawberry Sheet Cake
My inspiration for this sheet cake was mainly translating the design of my layer cake version into sheet cake form. I wanted to highlight those little strawberry flecks in the buttercream and add intrigue with pretty piping, fresh chamomile flowers, and fresh strawberry slices. The only difference here is that I added some rustic texture to the frosting before adding those accents.
For the piping, I used Wilton Tip 1M for rosettes and Tip 4B for stars and mainly focused on the opposite corners of the sheet cake, almost like the crescent design I do on top of the layer cake version. Then, I filled in the gaps with strawberry slices and chamomile flowers. I will say that chamomile flowers aren’t easy to come by all year-round. I typically see them at my local organic grocery store during the month of May, so I am sure to snatch them up any time they’re available. As an alternative, you can use fresh field daisies or other edible flowers.
Baking My Layer Cake Recipes as Sheet Cakes
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you can actually bake any of my cake recipes as sheet cakes! For recipes that yield three 6-inch layers or two 8-inch layers, you’ll mix up the recipe as-is, only spread the batter into a 9 x 13 inch cake pan or casserole dish and bake at 350ºF for 35-40 minutes. For recipes that yield four 6-inch layers or three 8-inch layers, you’ll want to halve the recipe before spreading it into your 9 x 13 inch cake pan and baking. Here’s a guide to converting my layer cake recipes to sheet cakes if you have questions.
Strawberry Sheet Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Strawberry Sheet Cake
- 3/4 lb (12oz) fresh strawberries, stems removed, pureed
- 3/4 Cup (180ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 2 1/2 Cups (265g) sifted cake flour*
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 Cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 2/3 Cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 Cup (75g) sour cream, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 drops pink food coloring (optional)
Strawberry Buttercream
- 2 Cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 Cups (34g) freeze dried strawberries**
- 6 Tbsp (90ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 6 Cups (720g) powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
Garnish (optional)
- 3 strawberries, sliced
- fresh chamomile flowers
Instructions
Make the Strawberry Sheet Cake
- Make the Strawberry Reduction: Start by pureeing 3/4 lbs of fresh strawberries with a food processor. Afterwards, you should be left with about 1 cup of puree. Place the strawberry puree into a saucepan over medium-low heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally. When you’re done with the reduction, you should have about 1/2 cup (if you have more, keep cooking!). Place the reduced puree into an airtight container and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes, or until it reaches room temperature. Then, whisk it together with the whole milk and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare a 13×9 inch cake pan or casserole dish by spraying the sides with cooking spray and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, add the sifted cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, whip the butter on high until creamy, 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat together with the butter at medium speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla and sour cream, then turn the mixer to high and beat for 1 minute.
- Keeping the mixer on low, add all of the dry ingredients at once until just combined, then add the strawberry milk mixture and pink food coloring (if using) until just combined, about 30 seconds. Give the batter a few stirs by hand to make sure everything is incorporated without over-mixing. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and use a spatula to smooth the batter down evenly and spread it into all four corners.
- Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
Make the Strawberry Buttercream
- With a food processor, grind the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder and set aside. You'll have between 1/4 and 1/3 Cup of strawberry powder after grinding.
- Whip the butter using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium speed until it’s creamy and light in color (5-10 minutes). Add vanilla, milk, and strawberry powder and continue to mix on medium for 1 minute.
- Add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after each addition. Add the salt and mix on low for another 30 seconds.
Assembly
- To create the look pictured, reserve about 1 Cup of strawberry buttercream before frosting the (cooled to room temperature) strawberry sheet cake with the remaining strawberry buttercream. Use an angled spatula to create rustic texture in the frosting finish.
- Divide the reserved strawberry buttercream between two piping bags, one fitted with Wilton Tip 1M and one fitted with Wilton Tip 4B. Use the bag with Tip 1M to pipe rosettes along the edges of the cake, focusing mostly on two opposite corners. Use the bag with Tip 4B to pipe clusters of stars around the rosettes. Garnish with fresh strawberry slices and chamomile flowers.
Notes
- You can make the reduced strawberry puree up to one week before using in the cake recipe and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the cake. Just bring it back to room temperature by letting it sit on the counter for at least an hour.
- The cake layers can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively, you can wrap them and store in the freezer for up to two months before thawing and decorating.
- The buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip with your stand mixer on low for one minute to bring it back to frosting consistency.
Did you make this strawberry sheet cake? I want to know how it went! Leave a comment below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create!
I love this recipe! I make it every year for Christmas and birthdays now! Quick question though, if I were to convert this recipe into cupcakes, how many would they make?
Hi Nova! I’m so happy you love this strawberry sheet cake! This recipe will make about 30-35 cupcakes. I do have a scaled down cupcake version of this recipe that makes 14 cupcakes here: https://sugarandsparrow.com/strawberry-cupcakes/
I put my sheet pan cake instead the microwave to cool. But it sunk down and seemed to be dense. I should have left it on the counter. I think all the moisture got trapped and made the cake sink? What are your thoughts?
Hi Mollie! I’m so sorry that happened! From your description my first thought is that the cake may have been under-baked. If you tested it with a toothpick though, it probably is the microwave that is the issue. That small insulated space likely made the environment too humid for the cake and trapped the moisture. Next time I would just place the cake on the counter to cool. I hope that’s helpful for next time!
hi there, i am making this for my son’s birthday.And I made the reduction and added the milk.It seems to be not super thick, is that normal?
Hi Tanya! When you combine the reduced puree with the milk the mixture won’t be super thick. The milk will thin it out. Let me know how it bakes!
If I don’t plan to garnish the sheet cake outside of a layer of the buttercream, would you decrease the buttercream recipe or just use all the buttercream on the top layer?
Hi Christie! Yes, half the buttercream portion of the recipe if you don’t plan on doing any piping. Enjoy!
Would this work well for cupcakes? I assume it would and I think its about 18 min or so if I remember correctly. Any suggestions?
Hi Allison! Yes, this recipe works as cupcakes. Fill the tins no more than 2/3 full and bake for 15-18 min at 350F
How many cups of frosting does the recipe make? Can’t wait to try this for my sons birthday this weekend!
Yay, Lydia! I’m excited for you to make this and celebrate him! This recipe makes 6 Cups of frosting. Hope that helps!
Hi Whitney,
How many cups of batter do you get when making this sheet cake? I want to make one for a big birthday party and am using a 12x18x2 pan so need to make enough batter.
Thank you,
Laura
Hi Laura! This recipe makes about 6.5 Cups of batter. Hope that helps!
Thank you, Whitney! That helps a great deal!
Whitney, do you think it would hurt to freeze the strawberry puree once it’s cooked and cooled?
Thank you!
Hi Laura! I don’t think it would hurt to freeze it. Just be sure to bring it back to room temp before adding it into the cake recipe 🙂
Hello Laura,
I am hoping to do the same this next week. How did your cake turn out? How much frosting did you make (how many recipes)? I plan to make it like it is pictured, but twice the size.
Thanks for your feedback.
Jessica
Hi. Someone has posted your videos on their Instagram account as their own. Maybe you should check it out. It doesn’t mention that they are your recipes. There are a few . Don’t think that is right.
Hi there! Thanks for letting me know. Unfortunately this happens all the time and there’s not much that I can do about it except report them. You can help by letting me know their account name and also reporting them to Instagram.
What size cake pans are best for sheet cakes?
Hi Sarah! I like to use 9×13 pans (2.5 inches deep). That’s the size this recipe is written for.