Description
This easy fresh strawberry sheet cake is a moist and flavorful dessert perfect for any occasion. It combines a tender cake infused with fresh strawberry puree and a smooth strawberry cream cheese frosting, topped with fresh strawberries for a beautiful finishing touch.
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 (makes about 1 ½ cup of puree)
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (360g)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch (20g)
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- Optional: 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 and prepare pan: Preheat your oven to 350F (conventional, no fan) and line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the vegetable oil, melted butter, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix for about 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Prepare strawberry puree: Blitz the fresh or thawed strawberries in a food processor until smooth, leaving some texture if desired for a bit of bite.
- Combine wet ingredients with strawberry puree: Add the strawberry puree and milk to the wet ingredients. Whisk everything together until fully combined.
- Add dry ingredients: Sift in the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the wet mixture. Gently whisk by hand until the batter is just combined and there are no lumps. Avoid overmixing to keep the cake tender.
- Add food coloring (optional): If using, add a few drops of pink gel food color and gently fold it into the batter until evenly distributed.
- Bake the cake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven 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. Avoid overbaking.
- Cool the cake: Let the cake cool completely at room temperature before frosting.
- Make the frosting: In a bowl, combine room temperature cream cheese, strawberry jam, granulated sugar, heavy cream, and a pinch of salt. Whisk on medium-low speed until the frosting is silky smooth and lump-free. Avoid overmixing to prevent the frosting from becoming runny. Add food coloring if desired.
- Assemble and decorate: Once the cake has cooled, remove it carefully from the pan or leave it inside if preferred. Spread the strawberry cream cheese frosting evenly over the cake and decorate with freshly sliced strawberries.
- Serve and store: Slice the cake and serve at room temperature. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for best freshness.
Notes
- This recipe provides a light layer of cream cheese frosting. To increase the frosting to cake ratio, you can double the frosting ingredients.
- If using frozen strawberries, ensure they are thawed at room temperature for 30 minutes before pureeing to achieve the best texture.
- Do not overmix the batter once the dry ingredients are added to keep the cake tender and fluffy.
- Use fresh strawberries for a brighter, fresher flavor, but frozen can work well when fresh are unavailable.
- The cake is best served at room temperature but should be stored in the fridge to keep the frosting fresh.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/12 of cake)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 60 mg
