Strawberry Sheet Cake with fresh Strawberry Buttercream Frosting has so much strawberry flavor and it is a cinch to make with a box of white cake mix. The cake itself gets its strawberry flavor from fresh strawberry puree and a box of strawberry gelatin.
The frosting is a creamy buttercream made with fresh strawberry puree that’s been reduced to thicken it and concentrate the flavors.
We live right next to a strawberry farm so I have no excuse not to make lots and lots of fresh strawberry desserts. Strawberry Shortcake, Strawberry Lasagna, and Strawberry Fritters are just a few of my favorites.
This Strawberry Sheet Cake is up there with my very favorite strawberry recipes. It’s unbelievably light, tender, and moist and absolutely bursting with strawberry flavor. It’s easy to cut into squares for a potluck or picnic. I like to decorate each slice with a strawberry half. Such a pretty spring dessert!
RECIPE TIP:
Frozen strawberries can be used instead of fresh. Thaw them in a colander so that any excess liquid drains away.
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Strawberry Sheet Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 heaping cups sliced fresh strawberries
- 1 (16.5-ounce) box white cake mix
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 (3-ounce) package strawberry gelatin
Strawberry Frosting
- 2 cups sliced strawberries
- 1 cup butter,, softened
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Lightly spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place 2 cups of strawberries in a blender or food processor and process until very finely chopped. Measure out 1 cup.
- Add cake mix, eggs, and vegetable oil to a mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to mix well.
- Mix in the 1 cup of strawberry puree and the (dry) strawberry gelatin.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.
- Make frosting. Process the remaining 2 cups strawberries in a blender or food processor until smooth. If you had leftover strawberries from making the cake batter, you can combine them.
- Place strawberry puree in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally until thickened. You should have about 1/3 a cup. Let cool completely.
- Use an electric mixer to beat butter until creamy.
- Beat in 1 cup of sugar and then half of the 1/3 cup of reduced strawberry puree.
- Beat in vanilla extract.
- Beat in another cup of confectioners' sugar and remaining puree.
- Beat in final cup of confectioners' sugar. Spread frosting on cooled cake.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published May 15, 2017.
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I followed the recipe exactly. Soooo yummy! First time I’ve ever cooked strawberries down to a purée like this. I think that’s what keeps the icing from being too runny. I love a good buttercream frosting, and mixed with the flavor of the fresh strawberries it made a creamy strawberry goodness! I made this for my boss’s birthday lunch and it turned out to be a hit!!
Crazy good! Best strawberry recipe ever.
Crazy good!
I need to do a 12×18 strawberry sheet cake…do I just double the ingredients?
This is a great recipe to use up a lot of fresh berries. I reduced the oil in the cake to 1/2 cup, and the butter in the frosting to 1/4 cup (I’m not a fan of icings that are predominantly butter) & found the cake to be very delicious!
I will say that I could have cooked the berries longer to reduce to create a more intense strawberry frosting, I just simmered for 10-15 min and used about 1/2 cup of the purée.
Icing wasn’t creamy at all not sure what happened. I followed recipe
This cake is incredibly flavorful I will definitely be making it again!
I decided to try making as cupcakes. Did 3 Tbsps of batter in each cup and it yielded 18 cupcakes. I have made this as a 13×9 several times and I must say the icing does have a tendency to be a little runny when I make it. I’m sure I use a tad too much puree but I like the flavor more with a half cup vs a third cup so I just add another cup of sugar. People love that icing. It really makes the cake special I think.
I noticed the recipe doesn’t specify “fresh” for the frosting, can I use frozen strawberries?
Can I substitute something else for the gelatin?
Maybe start with a Strawberry Cake mix and omit the jelatin?