Strawberry Shortcake Sheet Cake

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For the strawberry shortcake lovers, this sheet cake version is deliciously light, so easy to put together, and ideal for feeding a crowd! The recipe starts with baking my extra soft and moist bakery-style white cake in a 9×13 pan, then topping it with billowy whipped cream frosting and thick homemade strawberry sauce. Every element of this cake is made with simple ingredients and comes together so quickly – I particularly love that the whipped cream cheese frosting is made with COLD ingredients (no need to bring them to room temp!) and you can use fresh or frozen strawberries for the strawberry sauce. If you’re looking for the perfect Spring or Summer party cake, this is it! 

Bakery-Style Vanilla Sheet Cake 

This strawberry shortcake sheet cake recipe begins with my favorite bakery-style white cake, which is extra soft, packed with vanilla flavor, and stays moist for days. The batter is simple to make and it bakes beautifully in a 9×13 pan. Here are some of the key ingredients that make it the perfect texture (and some substitutes in case you need them):

• Cake Flour. To achieve the super soft bakery-style texture in this cake, you’ll need to use cake flour. It produces a much fluffier cake than all-purpose (or plain) flour because of its lower protein content (the more protein in your flour the stiffer the dough and less ability to maintain moisture). You can find cake flour at most grocery stores, but if all you’ve got is all-purpose flour in your pantry, here are instructions for how to make your own cake flour. Keep in mind that if you do use the homemade version, the gram measurement will weigh more (295g instead of 265g) since all-purpose flour is heavier than cake flour.  
• Butter + Oil. A combination of butter and oil are used as the base fats here. The butter adds richness and structure while the oil keeps the crumb super moist and flexible. If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use that and omit the salt in the recipe. And while I like to use plain vegetable oil, you can substitute an equal amount of any neutral oil you’re used to baking with (canola, refined avocado, etc). 
• Egg Whites. To keep the cake extra light (and nearly white in color), I use four large egg whites in this recipe. You can either use fresh egg whites and save the yolks for another recipe, or use ½ Cup of carton egg whites in place of the fresh ones if that is more convenient.
• Pure Vanilla Extract. To create that perfect vanilla flavor, use a good quality vanilla extract or substitute with an equal amount of vanilla bean paste.
• Buttermilk. The fattiest of all the milks, buttermilk creates a rich texture and locks in lots of moisture. If you can’t find buttermilk locally, you can easily make a DIY version using whole milk and vinegar or lemon juice. The instructions are in the notes of the recipe card below. 

Thick Homemade Strawberry Sauce

This strawberry sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and tart, bursting with fresh strawberry flavor, and beautifully thick without being too jammy. It’s everything you want in a strawberry topping for shortcake (or in this case, sheet cake)! If you’re planning on making the whole recipe in one baking session, it’s ideal to make the strawberry sauce while the sheet cake bakes. This way, the sauce will be cooled enough to top the cake by the time the cake is cooled. You can alternatively make it up to 5 days ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble the strawberry shortcake sheet cake.

You’ll need a handful of ingredients for the strawberry sauce: fresh or frozen strawberries, lemon juice, a little sugar, and cornstarch dissolved in water (aka a cornstarch slurry) for thickening the sauce. To make it, you’ll hull and quarter the strawberries, then add most of them into a medium saucepan with the lemon juice and sugar (reserve about ⅓ of the strawberries for adding later). 

The strawberries will release their juices while you bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes. Then, you’ll add the cornstarch slurry and cook until the sauce thickens to the point where it coats the back of your spatula (1-2 minutes longer). Finally, fold in the reserved strawberries into the strawberry sauce. Since most of the cooked strawberries get mashed up in the simmering process, adding in some fresh ones guarantees bigger chunks. 

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting    

When the vanilla sheet cake and strawberry topping have cooled and you’re ready to assemble, it’s time to make the whipped cream cheese frosting. This is essentially a whipped cream frosting with cream cheese added, which helps stabilize the frosting and makes it thick enough for frosting the cake. I love that this whipped cream cheese frosting comes together with just four ingredients in about five minutes. The only thing you’ll need to do as prep work is place the bowl of your stand mixer (or the large metal or glass bowl you’re making the frosting in) in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes so it’s cold when you get started. 

To make the whipped cream cheese frosting, you’ll essentially whip up some full-fat brick-style cream cheese until creamy, then mix in a little powdered sugar and vanilla until combined. All that’s left to do is slowly add heavy whipping cream and whip until soft peaks form. You’ll want to keep a close eye on your mixer so you don’t over-whip! The resulting frosting should be silky smooth, deliciously light, and so easy to work with.

Note: it’s super important to use full-fat brick-style cream cheese in this recipe. Other kinds of cream cheese (low-fat or the spreadable kind in tubs) contain too much water and will ruin the consistency of the frosting. If you can’t find full-fat brick-style cream cheese, mascarpone cheese makes the best substitute for the cream cheese in this recipe or you can make the stabilized whipped cream frosting from my Black Forest Cake recipe instead! 

How to Assemble a Strawberry Shortcake Sheet Cake  

Once your vanilla sheet cake and strawberry sauce are cooled and you have your whipped cream cheese frosting ready to go, here’s how to assemble your strawberry shortcake sheet cake: 

• Step 1: Transfer the sheet cake to a serving platter (optional). If you’re planning on presenting this sheet cake on a pretty platter, now is the time to carefully remove it from the 9×13 pan. Place the serving platter (or a large cutting board) over the top of the pan and flip the pan over to release the sheet cake. Then, remove the parchment paper backing. I say that this part is optional because you can absolutely leave the sheet cake in the pan and add the toppings if you’d rather! It will still be pretty and even easier to transport if needed.
• Step 2: Add the whipped cream cheese frosting. Add all of the whipped cream cheese frosting on top of the sheet cake and smooth it to the edges using an angled spatula. Don’t worry about getting it perfect – the whipped cream cheese frosting looks best when it’s a little rustic and swoopy. 
• Step 3: Add the strawberry topping. Add all of the strawberry topping on top of the whipped cream frosting, leaving a little room for the frosting to peek out around the edges. 
• Step 4: Garnish. I added a few fresh strawberry halves and slices on top of the strawberry sauce to add extra texture and intrigue. It turned out so pretty!

This strawberry shortcake sheet cake is so fun to make and absolutely delicious! The whipped cream cheese frosting and strawberry topping aren’t too sweet, which makes this cake so light and refreshing. The notes of strawberry and whipped cream really come through and taste AMAZING on top of the super soft vanilla cake. It’s the perfect Spring or Summer party cake! 

Recipe FAQs

• Do I Sift the Flour Before or After Measuring? In this recipe, you’ll sift the flour before measuring. I recommend having a kitchen scale for the easiest workflow – you can place a bowl on the kitchen scale and sift the flour right into it, measuring exactly what you need without having to spoon and level the cake flour into cups.
• What if I Don’t Have Cake Flour? Cake flour makes this cake extra light and fluffy, so I do recommend making a trip to the grocery store for it. However, if you don’t have access to cake flour you can make your own homemade version using all-purpose flour (or plain flour) as a base. The instructions are in the notes section of the recipe card below.
• What if I Don’t Have Buttermilk? You can easily make a buttermilk substitute using whole milk + 1 tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice. Stir it together and let it sit for about 15 minutes before bringing it to room temperature if it’s not already. Don’t worry if the milk curdles, that’s actually a good thing here.
• Can I Use Carton Egg Whites Instead of Fresh? Yes. Substitute 1/2 Cup of pasteurized egg whites in place of the 4 large egg whites in the cake recipe. Just be sure to bring them to room temperature before adding them to the batter.
• What’s a Good Substitute for Cream Cheese in the Frosting: if you can’t find full-fat brick-style cream cheese for the frosting, do NOT substitute with low-fat or spreadable cream cheese. Instead, substitute with an equal amount of mascarpone cheese or make the stabilized whipped cream frosting from my Black Forest Sheet Cake recipe instead!
• How Tall is this Cake? The cake layer bakes up to about 1.5 inches (slightly shorter on the sides). The frosting and berries add another .5 inch or so, so altogether each slice ends up being about 2 inches tall. If you want a taller sheet cake with filling in between the layers, you can double the recipe. I’d recommend baking two separate cake layers vs. torting one taller cake layer.

More Strawberry Dessert Recipes You’ll Love

If you love strawberry desserts, here are some more of my recipes to try: 

• No-Bake Marbled Strawberry Cheesecake
• Strawberry Sheet Cake
• Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Cake
• No-Churn Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
• Strawberry Layer Cake
• Strawberry Cupcakes

Did you make this strawberry shortcake sheet cake? I want to know how it went! Let me know if you make it in the comments below (be sure to leave a star rating!) and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me if you post a photo. I love to see what you create with my recipes!