This delicious strawberry cake is soft and fluffy, and at the same time super fruity. It’s a recipe for yellow cake with fresh strawberries. I add strawberries to the cake batter AND as topping, which makes a perfect summer cake.
During baking the strawberries from the topping sink slightly into the batter. I simply love that look!
Early summer cake
I love to bake this fluffy strawberry cake at the beginning of summer in June, when strawberries are in season and deliciously sweet. A few weeks later, in July, I always look forward to apricot season to make my fluffy apricot sheet cake or my apricot almond cake. Both are always a hit!
How do we eat this cake in Austria?
As you might know, I love fruity summer cakes. They have a long tradition here in Austria and are usually served in the afternoon with a cup of coffee or tea.
Low-sugar strawberry cake
Fruit cakes like this are not overly sweet in Austria, so you can easily help yourself to seconds J No icing with tons of butter and sugar needed! You’ll roughly need 3/4 cup of sugar for the whole cake.
I usually enjoy this strawberry cake plain as is, but a light dusting of powdered sugar (1 tablespoon is enough) would be considered traditional in Austria too. If it is super hot outside, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a great flavor combination.
How to store the cake?
As always with fruit cakes: They taste best on the day of baking. If there should be leftovers, store them in the refrigerator, covered. Let the cake come to room temperature before eating, otherwise the cake layer will be kind of dense.
Recipe strawberry sheet cake
Exact measurements as always in the recipe card below.
Line a 9×13-inch pan (23×33 cm)* with parchment paper or grease it with butter. You can also use a larger pan (half sheet pan with 13×18-inch) but the cake layer will turn out flatter and you will probably need more strawberries for topping the cake.
Wash strawberries, remove green hulls and let dry on paper towels (or gently pat dry).
Cut strawberries into small pieces.
Separate egg white and yolks. Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat egg whites and salt to stiff peaks. Set aside. In a second bowl, beat softened butter, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and finely grated lemon zest.
Mix until pale and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add sour cream and milk and mix briefly. Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C) top and bottom heat.
Add flour and baking powder and mix until combined.
Fold in half of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter. Then add the rest of the beaten egg whites together with about 1/3 to 1/2 of the strawberries. Fold into batter.
Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and smooth the batter with a spatula.
Top with remaining strawberries.
Bake at 350 °F (175 °C) until golden and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs, for about 35-40 minutes. If using a larger sheet, the cake will be finished baking a few minutes earlier.
Let cool and enjoy the cake plain, dusted with powdered sugar, or serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I prefer it plain as is. Fruit cakes like this taste best on the day of baking.
More delicious summer cakes
Did you make this recipe? Let me know in the comments how it turned out and also leave me a star rating if you want :)
Fluffy Strawberry Sheet Cake
Ingredients
- 500 g (or roughly a bit more than a pound) strawberries
- 4 eggs (large eggs in the US, medium in Europe)
- 7 tablespoons (100 g) softened unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (180 g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 organic lemon
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (150 g/5.3 oz) sour cream
- 6 ½ tablespoons (100 g) milk (2% or whole)
- 300 g (about 2 ½ cups) all-purpose flour (if you have cake flour on hand, use it for an even softer crumb)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
To finish:
- Powdered sugar for dusting or vanilla ice cream to serve (both optional)
Instructions
- Line a 9×13-inch pan (23×33 cm)* with parchment paper or grease it with butter. Wash strawberries, remove green hulls and let dry on paper towels (or gently pat dry). Cut strawberries into small pieces.
- Separate egg white and yolks. Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat egg whites and salt to stiff peaks. Set aside.
- In a second bowl, beat softened butter, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and finely grated lemon zest. Mix until pale and creamy, about 5 minutes.
- Add sour cream and milk and mix briefly. Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C) top and bottom heat.
- Add flour and baking powder and mix until combined. Fold in half of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter. Then add the rest of the beaten egg whites together with about 1/3 to 1/2 of the strawberries. Fold into batter.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and smooth the batter with a spatula. Top with remaining strawberries and bake at 350 °F (175 °C) until golden and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs, for about 35-40 minutes. If using a larger sheet, the cake will be finished baking a few minutes earlier.
- Let cool and enjoy the cake plain, dusted with powdered sugar, or serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I prefer it plain as is. Fruit cakes like this taste best on the day of baking.
