Easy Homemade Fresh Strawberry Sheet Cake Recipe

This simple and fresh strawberry cake recipe is moist, delicious, and has fresh pureed strawberries baked into the cake. The perfect summer dessert for your next party or potluck. 

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How can one say no to the sweet smell of fresh strawberries in spring and summer?  I’ll admit, I tend to go overboard between April and June with the strawberry stands in my area.  There seems to be a strawberry stand on every corner, and I don’t know how to say no to the sweet call of fresh strawberries!  

I use them in oatmeal, yogurt parfaits, as a topping for my Brioche French Toast recipe, and my favorite, in this simple strawberry cake. This easy cake made with simple ingredients is a crowd-pleaser!

This easy strawberry cake recipe, using real strawberries and a helping hand from a box of strawberry gelatin, creates an incredibly fluffy cake, with a moist, tender crumb.  I love to make this as a sheet cake to make this homemade strawberry cake even easier. Happy baking!

The Players for this Fresh Strawberry Cake

For the cake:

• Butter – I always use salted butter in baking recipes. I leave my sticks of butter on the counter for an hour to allow them to come to room temperature. 
• Strawberry Jello –  My grocery store only sells the larger 6-ounce box, but no worries.  Use half of the package, and save the rest to bake another cake another day! This helps bring more strawberry flavor and gives the cake more color.  No need for food coloring in this recipe!
• Sugar – White granulated sugar is best for this recipe.
• Eggs – I like my eggs to be at room temperature before baking cakes.  To make them come to room temperature faster, crack them in a bowl and leave on the counter.
• Vanilla Extract –  Just a tiny bit of vanilla extract will bring out the sweetness of the strawberries.
• Flour –  I use all purpose flour in this fresh strawberry cake recipe.
• Baking Powder – This helps the cake rise so it doesn’t go flat.
• Baking Soda – The addition of baking soda reacts to the buttermilk, aiding in making the cake rise.
• Salt – Just a pinch of kosher salt to bring all of the flavors together
• Buttermilk – I prefer to make my own buttermilk using whole milk mixed with white vinegar.  In a measuring cup, add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar, and add the milk until you reach the 1/2 cup mark on the measuring cup.  Allow it to sour for 5 minutes before using.  

For the frosting:

• Fresh Strawberries – Strawberries are essential in bringing out that fresh strawberry flavor in this moist cake.  You’ll need to enough strawberries to make 3/4 cup of strawberry puree. You’ll need 1/2 cup for the cake batter, and 1/4 cup for the cream cheese frosting.
• Cream Cheese – Only half of a block of softened cream cheese is needed.  So save the other half of your cream cheese (with the rest of your strawberry jello!) to make this cake again another day.
• Powdered Sugar – This is used to make the absolutely delicious strawberry cream cheese frosting that goes over this great cake. 

How to make this Fresh Strawberry Cake

Move your oven rack to the middle of the oven and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 13″x9″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. 

If you are using store-bought buttermilk, you can skip this next step. To make your own buttermilk, place 2 teaspoons of white vinegar (you can also use lemon juice if that’s that you have!) into a measuring cup.  Pour milk over your vinegar until it reaches the 1/2 cup mark on your measuring cup. Allow the milk mixture to sit for 5 minutes while you make the rest of the cake. 

To make the strawberry cake:

In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed, beat your butter, strawberry jello, and sugar until fluffy and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Additionally, if you want to give your arm a nice workout, you can use a wooden spoon as well. It will create this sandy-like, pink mixture.

Add in your eggs and vanilla extract and beat for one additional minute on low speed.

In a separate large bowl, add your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk to combine. 

To your large mixing bowl with the strawberry gelatin and eggs, add half of the flour mixture to the bowl and mix well.  Next, add all of your wet ingredients (the store-bought or homemade buttermilk) to the bowl and mix again carefully.  Finally, add the rest of the dry ingredients to your bowl and mix once more. 

In a food processor, add your juicy strawberries and puree the strawberries until you get a smooth consistency.  Pour in 1/2 cup of the strawberry puree into the cake batter bowl, and gently mix with a rubber spatula. Save the other 1/4 cup of strawberry puree for the cream cheese frosting. 

Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly with a spatula. 

Bake the cake:

Bake the cake for 38-42 minutes, checking the cake at the 38-minute mark to ensure it’s not over-baking.  Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake.  If the toothpick comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack. While the cake cools, make your frosting.

To make the strawberry frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer,  using the whisk attachment, beat your softened butter and cream cheese together on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Slowly add in your powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing your powdered sugar into the butter and cream cheese after each addition. You might need to use a rubber spatula to scrap down the sides of the bowl.  

Add in your strawberry puree and vanilla extract and stir with a rubber spatula.  If the frosting is too thin for your liking, add 1/2 cup more of powdered sugar. 

Spread your strawberry cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake.  Top with diced strawberries or fresh strawberry slices if desired!  

How to store this Fresh Strawberry Cake

Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.  Before eating a slice of this fresh strawberry cake, allow your slice to come to room temperature before eating so it’s not so cold or hard.

How to make Fresh Strawberry Layer Cake or Strawberry Cupcakes

If you want to make a layer cake or cupcakes, you will make the strawberry cake batter the exact same way, but the cooking instructions would be as follows:

For a layer cake:

Spray two 9″ cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour the strawberry cake batter equally into the two prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 30 minutes on a cooling rack.

Remove the cakes from the cake pans and allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting. Add strawberry cream cheese frosting in between the cake layers. Additionally, you can spread strawberry jam in between the layers instead of using frosting, to give it a more pronounced strawberry flavor. 

For strawberry cupcakes:

Line two 12-muffin pans with cupcake liners and spray the tops with non-stick cooking spray.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Equally distribute your batter into the cupcake liners and bake the cupcakes for 20 to 23 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before moving them to wire racks to cool completely before frosting. 

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If you end up baking this easy fresh strawberry cake, leave me a comment, I’d love to chat with you!

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