Strawberries and Cream Sheet Cake
Strawberry shortcake and strawberries and cream are quintessential summer flavours. As a kid, I would always go strawberry picking with my mum, I wasn’t always thrilled about it, crouching on damp hay picking berries. Plus, my mum always wanted the smallest berries because they were better for making jam, so it took so long to pick a quart of strawberries! Anywho, usually my mum or grandmother would make scones and whip some cream and we’d have the most delicious strawberry shortcakes for dessert with freshly picked strawberries. They were so good, ripe, Ontario strawberries are so sweet and flavourful and juicy.
This Strawberries and Cream Sheet Cake is really easy to make and it’s very reminiscent of my childhood having strawberry shortcakes on a warm July evening at my cottage. I love that this cake has a delicious strawberry swirl and it gets cooked in a 9x12 pan and then instead of icing, just spread over some whipped cream once the cake is cooled. Garnish with some fresh strawberries and you have the perfect Summertime dessert.
What is a sheet cake?
Great question! A sheet cake is typically a large slab cake baking on a cookie or baking sheet. This cake is baked in a 9x12 pan, but it still follows the same principles of being fuss-free, and easy to make with minimal clean-up, plus you can ice it, garnish it, and serve it right from the pan!
For this cake I use my trusty vanilla cake recipe which is always a winner, it’s moist, flavourful, and is made in just one big bowl! This cake recipe is the same cake I use for the base of my Funfetti Cake.
What you need for this strawberries and cream cake:
Flour
Baking powder
Butter
Oil
Sugar
Eggs
Vanilla extract
Buttermilk
Strawberries
Maple syrup
Whipping cream
The Details of Strawberries and Cream Sheet Cake
Let’s start with the strawberry compote. In a medium sized pot, add your strawberries and maple syrup. Bring that to a boil and cook for 10 minutes until thickened slightly. Set aside to let cool.
While the strawberry compote is cooling, let’s make the vanilla cake. For the cake, you want to cream together the butter and oil until they are a homogenous mixture. In order for your butter and oil to blend together, your butter needs to be at room temperature. Once, your butter and oil and combined, add in your sugar, eggs, and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Then, add half your flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine. Then add half the buttermilk and combine. Repeat with remaining flour mixture then remaining buttermilk.
Grease and line a 9x12 baking pan with parchment paper.
Pour the batter into the pan. Spoon dollops of the strawberry compote on to the cake. Use a knife to swirl the strawberry mixture throughout the cake. Don’t over-swirl otherwise you’ll end up with a pink cake without any swirl! Transfer the cake into the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes or until it’s golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool completely.
In a bowl with an electric beater, whip 2 cups of whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over your cooled cake and top with sliced strawberries. Serve and enjoy!
Strawberries and Cream Sheet Cake
Author: ElizabethServings: 8-10
Ingredients
1 cup strawberries
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup oil (i.e. vegetable, grapeseed, canola)
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cups buttermilk (or 1 1/3 cups preferred milk mixed with 1 tablespoon white vinegar)
1 cup whipping cream
Sliced strawberries for garnish
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease and line a 9x12 baking pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium pot, add your strawberries and maple syrup. Bring to a boil and boil for 8-10 minutes until the mixture is thickened. Set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and oil until it's a homogenous mixture. Your butter needs to be at room temperature for this step. Add eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Cream until light and fluffy.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.
5. Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir to combine. Add half the buttermilk to the butter mixture and combine. Repeat with remaining flour and buttermilk and combine.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spoon dollops of the strawberry compote onto the cake. Use a knife and swirl the strawberry compote into the cake.
7. Transfer to the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. In a bowl, beat the whipping cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream onto the cooled cake.
9. Garnish the cake with sliced strawberries, serve and enjoy!
Still hungry? Try these:
Chickpea Peanut Butter Chocolate Blondies
Lastly, when you make this Strawberries and Cream Sheet Cake be sure to leave a comment on Instagram or share it on Pinterest! Above all, I love to hear from you and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favourite!
