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This party-ready strawberry lemon sheet cake is perfectly fluffy and delicious! Topped with swirls of whipped strawberry frosting, fresh strawberries, and lemon slices, this easy sheet cake is ideal for a birthday, picnic, or gathering. Recipe yields 15 servings.
Bursting with the flavors of fresh strawberries and tangy lemon, you’ll love this light and fruity dessert for summer. You can also make this sheet cake with fresh raspberries if you prefer raspberry lemon desserts.
The Best Strawberry Lemon Sheet Cake
Fresh Strawberries – Use fresh, sweet strawberries for this cake. Fresh strawberries provide natural strawberry flavor and color to the whipped strawberry frosting and make the most beautiful topping.
Lemon Extract and Vanilla Extract – Pure lemon extract and pure vanilla extract flavor the sheet cake, and a touch of vanilla extract flavors the strawberry frosting.
Buttermilk and Greek Yogurt – Creamy Greek yogurt creates a moist cake that’s tender and flavorful. We also use buttermilk to make each slice springy and light.
Cake Flour – For a soft and fluffy sheet cake with a fine crumb, cake flour is the secret. If you don’t have cake flour on hand, it’s easy to make your own cake flour substitute: For every cup of flour called for in a recipe, place 2 tablespoons cornstarch in an empty 1-cup measure, then top up with flour. Sift the mixture several times to evenly distribute the cornstarch and use as a substitute for 1 cup cake flour.
Cake Pan – Bake this cake in a 13 x 9-inch rectangular baking pan. To prepare the pan for baking, spray generously with nonstick spray. If you’re concerned about sticking, you can also line the pan with parchment paper.
Bake Cake – Bake cake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until the top and edges are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the edges are pulling slightly away from the pan. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool completely before frosting.
Strawberry Frosting – To make the frosting, combine sliced strawberries and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer until reduced and thickened. Transfer strawberry puree to a bowl and chill for 1 hour.
Beat butter and salt in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Mix in powdered sugar on low speed until incorporated. Gradually mix in strawberry puree until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and beat frosting for 1 minute, until light and airy.
Assemble Cake – Dollop frosting over cooled cake and swirl with an offset spatula. Chill the cake for 20 minutes in the refrigerator before slicing and serving topped with fresh strawberries and lemon slices.
Make Ahead – The cake can be baked, cooled, and frosted one day in advance. Cover the frosted cake and chill overnight. The next day, add the fresh strawberries and lemon slices just before serving.
More easy sheet cake recipes to try:
- Easy Funfetti Sheet Cake
- Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Fresh Strawberry Sheet Cake
- Lemon Sheet Cake
- Black Forest Sheet Cake
Did you try this Lemon Strawberry Cake Recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below!
Strawberry Lemon Sheet Cake
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 28 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 8 minutes
- Yield: 15 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Easy and delicious strawberry lemon sheet cake topped with swirls of whipped strawberry frosting, fresh strawberries, and lemon slices.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 1/2 cups (288 g) cake flour
- 1 1/2 tsp (6 g) aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (3 g) baking soda
- 1/2 tsp (3 g) salt
- 1/2 cup (112 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp (3 g) fresh lemon zest
- 2 Tbsp (24 g) pure lemon extract
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs (100 g), at room temperature
- 1 cup (240 g) low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 g) plain fat-free Greek yogurt, at room temperature
Strawberry Frosting
- 3/4 cup (128 g) sliced fresh strawberries
- 1 Tbsp (12 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (224 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp (3 g) salt
- 1/2 tsp (2 g) vanilla extract
- 3 cups (360 g) powdered sugar
Topping
- fresh sliced strawberries
- lemon slices
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13 x 9” baking pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with a sheet of parchment paper.
- Make sheet cake: Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Combine buttermilk and Greek yogurt in a small bowl. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk mixture (begin and end with flour mixture).
- Spoon batter into prepared baking pan and smooth with an offset spatula. Tap pan sharply to reduce air bubbles.
- Bake cake for 25 to 27 minutes, until the top and edges are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Cool cake completely in pan on a wire rack.
- Make strawberry puree: Combine sliced strawberries and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a spatula and pressing firmly on berries to release juices. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 8 to 9 minutes, stirring frequently, until reduced and thickened. Transfer strawberry puree to a bowl and chill for 1 hour.
- Make strawberry frosting: Beat butter and salt in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Mix in powdered sugar on low speed 1 cup at a time until incorporated, scraping down bowl as needed. Gradually mix in 2-3 tablespoons of strawberry puree until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and beat frosting for 1 minute, until light and airy.
- Assemble cake: Dollop frosting over cooled cake and swirl with an offset spatula. Chill cake for 20 minutes in the refrigerator before slicing and serving topped with fresh strawberries and lemon slices.
Notes
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To make your own cake flour: For every 1 cup of cake flour, place 2 tablespoons cornstarch in an empty 1-cup measure, then top up with all-purpose flour. Sift the mixture several times to evenly distribute the cornstarch.
Make Ahead: The cake can be baked, cooled, and frosted one day in advance. Cover the frosted cake and chill overnight. The next day, add fresh strawberries and lemon slices just before serving.
Hello, do the yogurt and the buttermilk have to be fat free and low fat?
Hi Gina, no they do not. The texture of the cake may be slightly less light and fluffy from the additional fat, but you shouldn’t have any issues making a substitution.
Just made this today, I absolutely loved it! The strawberry and lemon flavors came through nicely, even without extracts. The buttercream was a bit sweet for my taste, so next time I’ll be using the puree recipe for a strawberry creamcheese frosting. Such a treat!
Thanks so much, Sanne! 🙂 So glad you tried this cake – you may also like adding the strawberry puree to the vanilla cream cheese frosting that I use for this strawberry vanilla sheet cake.
Super yum! I made cupcakes instead of the sheet cake. The strawberry icing is reminiscent of strawberry ice cream. The cake is delicious. The two together are over-the-moon-good.
Love the cupcake idea, thank you Rosie! 🙂
Is aluminum free baking powder necessary or can I use the regular kind?
Hi Kristal, you can use regular baking powder. Happy baking! 🙂