This easy strawberry sheet cake is packed with real strawberries in both the cake and the frosting. It’s soft, fruity, and perfect for berry season!
If you’re craving a strawberry dessert that’s as simple as it is stunning, this strawberry sheet cake is the one to try. It’s made with fresh strawberries, a swirl of strawberry preserves, and a tangy cream cheese frosting that’s dotted with even more strawberries. Every bite is soft, sweet, and bursting with flavor.
I love this kind of cake—unfussy, one layer, and easy to pull together but still totally celebration-worthy. And that pretty pink frosting? It’s all natural thanks to the strawberries. No food coloring needed!
Why You’ll Love This Strawberry Sheet Cake Recipe
- Strawberries galore. You’ll get that sweet berry flavor in every single bite.
- Simple and straightforward. One bowl for the dry ingredients, one for the wet—easy as can be.
- Cream cheese frosting. A little tangy, a little sweet, and a lot of strawberry flavor.
- Perfect for sharing. This 9×13 cake is just right for gatherings, potlucks, or casual celebrations.
Key Ingredients
- Strawberries – Fresh is best here for both the cake and the frosting. You’ll fold chopped strawberries into the batter and stir more into the frosting for that pretty pink color and bright flavor.
- Strawberry preserves – This gives the cake even more strawberry flavor without extra moisture. Look for a good-quality preserve for the best results.
- Buttermilk – Adds a subtle tang and keeps the cake tender. Don’t substitute regular milk—if you don’t have buttermilk, try a simple homemade version.
- Butter – Melted for the cake and softened for the frosting. You’ll need unsalted butter for both.
- Eggs – Help bind the cake and add richness. Room temperature eggs work best.
- Cream cheese – The base of the frosting. Make sure it’s softened so it mixes smoothly.
- Flour, sugar, and leavening – Basic pantry staples here: all-purpose flour, granulated sugar for the cake, confectioners’ sugar for the frosting, and baking powder to give the cake its lift.
- Vanilla extract – Adds a warm note that complements the strawberries.
How to Make Strawberry Sheet Cake
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center to get ready for the wet ingredients.
- Combine the wet ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, strawberry preserves, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
- Bring it all together. Pour the wet mixture into the well in the dry ingredients, then stir just until combined. Fold in the chopped strawberries.
- Bake the cake. Spread the batter evenly in a greased 9×13-inch pan and bake until golden and a toothpick comes out clean—about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
- Make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, then mix in the confectioners’ sugar gradually. Stir in the chopped strawberries last.
- Frost and chill. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
Tips for Success
- Use fresh strawberries when you can. They give the best flavor and texture. Frozen will work in a pinch, but thaw, rinse, and dry them really well first.
- Measure carefully. Especially the flour! A kitchen scale is ideal.
- Stick with a light-colored metal pan. Dark pans can cause the edges to over-bake before the center is done.
- Pay attention to the mixing method. This recipe uses the muffin method (wet ingredients into dry), which works well here since the cake isn’t overly sweet. It keeps the crumb soft and tender.
- Don’t skip the buttermilk. It adds both flavor and moisture. No buttermilk on hand? You can use a DIY substitute.
- Frosting sweetness is flexible. If you like a less-sweet frosting (especially with the sweetness of the berries), stick with the written amount. Prefer it sweeter? Add up to 3/4 cup more confectioners’ sugar.
Serving Suggestions
This cake is lovely served chilled straight from the refrigerator, but you can also let it sit at room temperature for 15–20 minutes if you prefer a softer frosting. For a little extra flair, top with sliced strawberries just before serving.
Storage Tips
Because of the cream cheese frosting, this cake needs to be refrigerated. Keep it tightly covered in the refrigerator, and it should stay fresh for up to a week. For longer storage, you can freeze individual slices for up to 2 months—just wrap them well and thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
More Strawberry Cake Recipes
Get the Recipe:
Strawberry Sheet Cake
This strawberry sheet cake is soft, tender, and full of fresh strawberry flavor. With an easy batter and a creamy strawberry-speckled frosting, it’s a simple dessert that’s sure to impress!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 1/4 cups (270 g) all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup (133 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) buttermilk
- 1/2 cup (approx. 160 g) strawberry preserves
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup (113 g) chopped fresh strawberries
For the frosting:
- 8 ounces (226 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 3/4 cups (413 g) confectioners' sugar*, sifted
- 1 cup (170 g) chopped fresh strawberries
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Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9"x 13"x 2" baking pan.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, preserves, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into the well in the flour mixture, and stir to combine. Stir in strawberries.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake completely on a wire rack.
To make the frosting:
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and butter until thoroughly mixed and smooth. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, mixing until combined. Stir in the strawberries.
- Spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Notes
- *Add up to another 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar if you want a sweeter frosting.
- Store tightly covered in the refrigerator up to a week.
- Recipe adapted from Bake from Scratch.
Show off your baking masterpiece!Snap a pic, tag @bakeorbreak, and use #bakeorbreak on Instagram. Can’t wait to see your creation!
11 Comments on “Strawberry Sheet Cake”
YUM! I love strawberry desserts! This sheet cake looks delicious!
Fresh strawberries in the cake AND the frosting! Brilliant! I’m in. Jennifer, I was thinking that I’d like to make this in a 10 x 15 sheet pan like your wonderful banana bars with browned butter icing – which is still a favourite here all these years later and in my regular rotation (thank you for that recipe!). I’ve compared the two recipes and it looks like I could do it but I want to check with you first. My question is would you make any changes to the strawberry cake recipe to make it in a jelly roll pan (10 x 15) instead of a 9 x 13? Thank you!
Hi, Maria! You’ll need to reduce the baking time because the cake won’t be as thick. I’d probably check for doneness after 20 minutes. You may also want to make more frosting because you’ll have more surface to frost. I’d try scaling the frosting by 25%.
Thank you so much, Jennifer! I will definitely modify the recipe taking those two things into account. So excited to be making this for a large family dinner Sunday (also the banana bars!) – long May two-four weekend here in Canada :). For a crowd, I find the bar form easier to serve, and easier for people to eat instead of cake. Not very dignified, I know, but I can place small squares on the platters with other bars and cookies and they can use their fingers – napkins will be plentiful! Thank you again ;).
I’ll be trying this next!
Enjoy! 🙂
Late question. Could I use a yellow cake mix and just add the preserves?
Hi, Liz. You can, but keep in mind that you won’t get exactly the same result. This cake is fairly different from a standard yellow cake. It has less sugar to account for the sweetness from the strawberries. With a cake mix, the texture will be different and it will be sweeter.
So I made this cake a couple of days ago. A few things I don’t really like but I still thought I would give it a try.
So I find that although I love butter I find that cakes made with canola or olive oil are just such a nicer cake and tend to not dry out so fast as those made with butter.
And the really worst thing is this frosting. Not that it is a bad frosting but why the outrageous amounts? Seriously if I would use the full recipe of icing my husband would refuse to eat it. I do not know of anyone who would use that much and not everyone likes that leftover icing to try to use up before it gets shoved to the back of the fridge and forgotten.I wish I would have made exactly half.
I made this cake yesterday and it was delicious, as was the frosting (my husband had three pieces)!. . I just found it peculiar that with using self rising flour and a tablespoon of baking powder the cake did not rise. much. Any thoughts on this? Thanks!
Hi, Sandy! You don’t need self-rising flour for this cake. Using that plus baking powder can make the cake rise too quickly and then fall and be flatter than it should be.