Homemade Strawberry Sheet Cake is a moist, tender cake topped with strawberry cream cheese frosting. Strawberry jam infuses this cake with sweet strawberry flavor with no artificial flavors!
I’ve made lots of strawberry desserts over the years…strawberry cakes, strawberry cupcakes, cobblers, breads, muffins…and I’ll link to all these yummy recipes at the bottom of this post. BUT I have never shared my recipe for a Classic From-Scratch Strawberry Cake! My mom used a recipe that started with a box mix and added in strawberry jell-o…and I’ll tell you, that cake was soft and delicious, with the magic that only a boxed cake can bring.
BUT I wanted to really crack the code on strawberry cake without adding artificial flavors!
Why Use Strawberry Jam In This Recipe Instead of Fresh Strawberries?
I tried a lot of variations of this recipe before I felt confident that I had nailed it. Here’s what I found:
I tried using diced, fresh strawberries, but didn’t like the way the fresh berries made the cake wet surrounding the berries. Plus, strawberries are a seasonal fruit and they aren’t always as sweet as they need to be for baking.
Frozen strawberries performed much like fresh, but made the cake even wetter in the pockets where the berries were.
I tried blending up the strawberries and using the puree, but found that it didn’t add enough strawberry flavor.
I made a homemade strawberry puree by boiling and reducing strawberries with sugar. Adding this to the cake made it too dense.
OUTCOME: So I tried seedless strawberry jam and found the exact right flavor and sweetness, plus it didn’t make the cake too dense.
Ingredients Needed For My Strawberry Sheet Cake
This cake recipe is pretty straightforward. Here’s what you’ll need:
Granulated Sugar
Butter and Vegetable Oil: I find the combination of these two fats are what gives this the moist texture, but also good flavor. You could make this cake with all oil for a lighter textured cake, OR all butter for a more dense, but rich cake.
Flavor: Vanilla extract and Seedless Strawberry Jam
Dry Ingredients: Baking powder, Baking Soda, Salt, All Purpose Flour
Wet Ingredients: Buttermilk, Large Eggs
Optional – pink food coloring if you really want to amp up the pink color of your cake!
If You Don’t Have Buttermilk…
Make your own! I have a great Homemade Buttermilk Recipe that you should definitely check out. Just a scant cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice mixed together creates a homemade version of buttermilk.
Do You Have To Refrigerate This Strawberry Sheet Cake?
If you use the cream cheese frosting recipe provided, yes, you do need to refrigerate this cake. If you don’t use a cream cheese frosting you can store the cake at room temperature instead!
What If You Don’t Like Cream Cheese Frosting?
There are plenty of other frostings you could use on this cake instead! You could even dust it with powdered sugar for more of an old fashioned vibe. Here are some ideas for other frostings that would be delicious on this cake:
Can You Make This Sheet Cake Into a Layer Cake?
Prepare the recipe as written. Coat 2, 9- inch round cake pans OR 3, 8- inch round cake pans with nonstick spray. Cut out parchment rounds to fit into the bottoms of the pans. Spray the pans again to coat the top of the parchment paper.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes, or until the centers are set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then flip the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
If using the frosting recipe provided, double the recipe so you have enough for a layer cake.
Garnishing A Strawberry Cake:
The beauty of a sheet cake is that it’s easy! No fussy layers or decorating to worry about. BUT if you want to dress up your layer cake, here are a few ideas:
Fresh Strawberries! Slice them or use them whole, strawberries on a strawberry cake is a no brainer. If you use sliced, place them on right before serving, so they don’t sweat onto the frosting which looks a little messy.
Frosting swirls. If you love to pipe frosting roses, or piped decorations go for it! This cream cheese frosting isn’t super stiff, so add in some more powdered sugar to make it a bit thicker so your roses will hold shape.
Sprinkles. Sprinkles are always a great decoration for cakes!
Looking For Even More Strawberry Recipes? Try These:
This from-scratch Strawberry Cake is very easy to make with a soft, tender crumb and topped with creamy frosting!
Cake
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup seedless strawberry jam
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup buttermilk
optional – a few drops of pink food coloring
Frosting
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
4– ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup seedless strawberry jam
3 cups powdered sugar
Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9×13 baking dish with baking spray. You can also line the baking dish with parchment paper and coat with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the butter and sugar together for 2 minutes on medium speed, until as combined as possible, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add in the vegetable oil and mix for 1 minute until creamy, and then the strawberry jam until combined.
Add in the eggs, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until smooth.
Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour and buttermilk in alternating portions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined. If desired add a few drop of pink food coloring to amp up the pink color.
Spread the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan completely.
Frosting: In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until smooth. Add in the jam and mix until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Turn the mixer to low and add in the powdered sugar. Once it’s combined, turn the mixer up to medium and beat until creamy and smooth. Spread the frosting on your cooled cake and garnish with fresh strawberries if desired.
Notes
Store airtight in the refrigerator (due to the cream cheese frosting) for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Serving Size:1 slice
Calories:677
Sugar:72.5 g
Sodium:210.2 mg
Fat:27.7 g
Carbohydrates:103.2 g
Protein:6.2 g
Cholesterol:106.7 mg
Keywords: cookies and cups, cake recipe, strawberry cake, strawberry sheet cake, homemade strawberry cake, strawberry desserts
