Eight years ago, I wrote about a strawberry cake I’d been making and tweaking from Martha Stewart since, apparently, 2005 that felt to me like the epitome of early summer. The batter is a simple cake — butter, sugar, flour, eggs, milk. The berries are fresh, hulled and halved. There’s seemingly nothing new or revolutionary but what differentiates it from other summer cakes is the sheer volume of strawberries. There’s a full pound of berries placed on top before you bake the cake, more than easily fit. In the oven, the batter buckles around the berries, turning them into jammy puddles, especially if your strawberries are a touch overripe. The sunken berries dimple the top like a country quilt. The edges of the cake brown and become faintly crisp. If you can bear to wait half to a full day to eat it, and really let those baked berries marry with the cake, you might swear off all other summer desserts.
Clearly, I’m a fan. But I hadn’t expected on a site with many other cakes with fresh fruit in them for it to so quickly take off, ultimately joining the small club of recipes on SK with more than 1000 comments.* The only thing that’s never right about it, however, is the size. A cake like this is here to make friends, and eight wedges never last. For years, if anyone asked about making it in a 9×13 pan, I gave my default answer: double it! For most cakes, this absolutely works. But at home, it was never quite right. The cake was too thick and 2 pounds of berries never fit on top, meaning you’ll use less, and if you use less, the cake is, in my opinion, way less spectacular. I’m not sure why it took me until this summer to get it right, but I finally realized that I was scaling it wrong. The 1.5x yield of batter and berries creates the strawberry summer sheet cake I’ve always needed and finally have. I haven’t made it the original way since, and I thought you deserved an update that was more than a footnote, too.
I’ve reduced the batter effort to one bowl. Delightfully, the baking time for the larger size is a little less while the servings jump to 12 to 16 per cake. The most persnickety thing about the whole cake is arranging the berries on top and for this, but a messy, disorganized collage is the only way to go. If you have berries left when you’re done covering every speck of the cake, nudge them closer, even overlapping them by a little edge. Do not leave berries behind. Strawberries are phenomenal right now and the summer is in full, sultry swing. We need this on repeat.
* Curious what the others are? I was too. Mom’s Apple Cake, Apple Cider Caramels, Best Birthday Cake, Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake, and Best Cocoa Brownies. I apologize in advance for your electricity bill this summer if you find this list too good to pass up.
Previously
One year ago: Linguine and Clams
Two years ago: Drop Berry Shortcakes and Zucchini Grilled Cheese
Three years ago: Funnel Cake
Four years ago: Herbed Summer Squash Pasta Bake and Chocolate Chunk Granola Bars
Five years ago: Limonada de Coco and Cherry Almond Dutch Baby
Six years ago: Pickled Vegetable Sandwich Slaw
Seven years ago: Chocolate Swirl Buns and Cold Rice Noodles with Peanut Lime Chicken
Eight years ago: Rich Homemade Ricotta and Linguine with Pea Pesto
Nine years ago: Rustic Rhubarb Tarts, Scrambled Egg Toast, Strawberry Brown Butter Bettys and Shaved Asparagus Pizza
Ten years ago: Spanikopita Triangles, Neapolitan Cake, Cheese Straws and Strawberries and Dumplings
Eleven years ago: Fresh Ricotta and Red Onion Pizza, Sweet Cherry Pie, and Zucchini Strand Spaghetti
Twelve years ago: Strawberry Chiffon Shortcake
And for the other side of the world:
Six Months Ago: Plush Coconut Cakes and Baked Buffalo Wings
1.5 Years Ago: Banana Oat Weekday Pancakes
2.5 Years Ago: Chicken Wonton Soup, Crusty Baked Cauliflower and Farro and Chocolate Dutch Baby
3.5 Years Ago: The Browniest Cookies, Feta Tapenade Tarte Soleil, Chicken Chili and Leek, Ham, Cheese and Egg Bake
4.5 Years Ago: Mushroom Marsala Pasta Bake, Key Lime Pie and Make Your Own Vanilla Extract
Strawberry Summer Sheet Cake
- 9 tablespoons (125 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) plus 3 tablespoons (40 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (8 ml) vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (175 ml) milk, whole is preferred but all varieties have worked
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 1/4 cups (295 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 pounds (680 grams) of the freshest, even a touch overripe, strawberries, hulled and halved
Lightly coat the sides and corners of a 9×13-inch cake pan with butter or nonstick spray, and fit the bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat butter, salt, and 1 1/2 cups of the granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, yolk, and vanilla and beat until combined. Add milk and mix until (updated) combined; it may look a little curdled but don’t fret, it will smooth out in a minute. Sprinkle baking powder evenly over batter and beat into batter for 20 seconds longer than will seem necessary — this ensures it’s perfectly distributed. Scrape down the bowl. Add flour and beat or stir until just combined.
Spread batter in prepared pan. Arrange strawberries cut side down, as snugly as you can get them to fit. If you have extra, nudge them in anyway. Leave no strawberries behind. Sprinkle with remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar — it will seem like a lot but helps the strawberries get jammy and gives the cake a great texture.
Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out free of wet batter (gooey strawberries are a given and doesn’t mean it’s underbaked) — about 45 to 48 minutes. Let cool in pan on a rack. Cut into squares and serve as is, or with lightly sweetened whipped cream, if you’re Deb.
Do ahead: Cake is even better a half- to a full day later, when the strawberries marry with better with the cake. I like to leave the cake uncovered at room temperature so it doesn’t get sticky on top.
i used a very similar recipe with fresh farm-grown blackberries. It was life changingly delicious. I wonder if this cake recipe would work for whatever fruit is ripe, i.e., blueberries, raspberries, peaches…
It sounds amazing! What would you substitute for the milk to make this dairy free?
Any non-dairy milk should work fine here.
I’ve been substituting hemp milk for years – works great! Thanks Deb for updating this recipe. I made it two weeks ago in a 9 X 13 pan by doubling the recipe and thought “There is too much cake.” Yay!
I’ve made this cake a lot!!! So glad you gave bigger proportions!
It’s my favorite summer “go- to” cake!
For people who haven’t made it – please do! You’ll love it- psst- I sometimes swap the strawberries for ollieberries or do a blueberry strawberry combo! Yum!!
Sheet cake is generally on a sheet pan, not 9 x 13… so i’m confused about this recipe…? What size pan?
9×13. Too thick for true sheet pan.
My Mom’s chocolate sheet cake was always in a 9×13 pan.
9×13 = quarter-sheet; 13×18 = half-sheet. Both are often called sheet cakes since most home cooks aren’t baking such massive cakes as a bakery would at home.
Used coconut milk and it was AMAZING!!!! Not a crumb left
Coconut milk from the dairy dept. or canned coconut milk like for Thai food?
This is my second time making this cake and both time the berries sink to the bottom of pan, why? I’m think I need to use wider pan? I used 9 by 13.
Help!!!
Can you use frozen strawberries?
I think they may be too watery
I did this to great success with frozen berries but I did defrost and drain (and make a great gin cocktail with the juice).
What is the shelf life of this cake – I’m using it for dessert in a restaurant – and does it need to be refrigerated? Thanks
No fridge needed. Keeps for a few days at room temperature. Longer, I’d use the fridge, but don’t generally prefer it. It’s better served at room temp.
Should I refrigerate my cake? Cake is a little bit soft
I don’t if just a couple days but I will if the kitchen seems warm or I want to keep it longer.
It’s the drained that’s the issue. You need all of the moisture from every single berry to balance the cake. It’s usually more moist on the second day.
Try almond milk – delicious!!! My son is lactos intolerant
I made the original Strawberry cake with nectarines and it was very good indeed!
I think blueberry skins are too thick. I know I tried both halved cherries and quartered plums, and the skins kept them from going jammy. My favotie is blackberries and peaches.
It worked perfectly with in-season blueberries for me. Friends raved about it. Second time I made it I added lemon zest for blueberry version.
This was so good. My subs for what I had on hand were cream for milk and then added some water for a softer/more moist dough. I also zested a bit of lemon into the topping sugar, and rubbed it in, before sprinkling on top of the strawberries. (Also creamed and mixed all by hand because I don’t have a mixer, so it can be done!) Cut into 16 generous squares for 9 people and this morning there were only crumbs left lol. I already have a repeat request. 10/10.
Sounds memorable–and delicious! I loved this cake, especially with generous dollop of whipped cream. Post your photo!
I made this with half strawberries- half blueberries for dessert tonight. I served it with vanilla ice cream and my guests raved. I think this would be delicious with other berries and with stone fruit as well. A definite keeper.
Just answered my “what will I make for the 4th of July picnic?” question. But, at the risk of blaspheming the good name of ripe summer strawberries…have you tried with frozen? I have a sad bag of berries left over from a smoothie phase a while back and would love to use them up. Thoughts?
I haven’t but I know many others have on the original. It’s not the same but could still be good. The key thing is that they are halved so they stay in meaty chunks.
I made this substituting frozen strawberries, since the season is over in Virginia, slightly mashed while semi-frozen which resulted in thick fruit puddles that are delicious. Definitely a different texture than Deb is going for. My Grammy made a nearly identical seasonal cake in a sheet pan with sliced (skin on) peaches. The larger pan with the same amount of batter allows for even more fruit deliciousness!
Mine didn’t uncurdle! Could it be because I used skim plus milk?
That’s very strange. Flour always smooths it out. How did it bake up?
Yes, I was confused, too. It smoothes out after you add the flour.
I have a bunch of cherries (sweet) right now. Do you think I could use them for this instead of strawberries?
Can you use frozen berries? I had a bunch of nearing-expiration berries around Father’s Day so I sliced them and froze them.
Sliced them in half or thinner? If thinner, I’d probably save them for something else.
I find that there is too much white sugar in this recipe. Do you have any suggestions to lessen the amount of sugar and not with a sugar substitute either.
On top, probably you can use a little less. I know some people reduce it more inside and I think a couple tablespoons less will be fine, but any more, it will be more dry. Sugar provides moisture.
I use Deb’s suggestion from the original recipe, to use 7/8 cup sugar in the batter (one cup less two tablespoons)… and then, instead of white sugar on top, I use turbinado sugar! I can use less, the berries still “jam out”, and it yields a beautifully crackly top.
How much would you increase this for an actual half-sheet vs 13×9? Making for a bday party tomorrow!
I made this cake for my then friend, now boyfriend on our first “date”- we’ve been dating for almost 5 months now 😊. I love making it with almond flour. It’s super fragile and crumbly, but DELICIOUS. Thank you for a great recipe (strawberry boy bait?)
Hi, do you sub out all the flour for almond flour or partially? I was skimming the comments looking for exactly this, ie whether anyone has incorporated any almond flour. I love the texture in fruity cakes like this!
Can this be made in a half sheet pan do you think?
You’ll want to double it but it might be too much height for a 1-inch rim, I’m not positive.
I looove this cake and was already planning to double it for a crowd on July 4th, so timing couldn’t be better with your post!
My question: We have an egg allergy in our house, so I usually replace the egg with 1/4 cup applesauce in the smaller recipe and it turns out beautifully. For this new version, I’m not sure how to go about replacing the egg yolk. Should I just use 3/8 cup applesauce to approximate 1.5 eggs? Or does the yolk serve some more important magical purpose, making it problematic to leave out? Thanks!
I’m going to wait for someone with more expertise to pipe up — I’m sure someone will.
Can I use buttermilk instead of regular milk?
I’ve used egg replacer in recipes before with success. I would try that. It’s powdered and you mix it with water, let it sit to thicken.
I’ve used a flax egg instead in the original recipe and it works well
I’ve substituted 1 TBL applesauce for each egg before in cakes with great success. Never tried it in this recipe though. Good luck. Love to hear what you decide to do and how it turns out.
I sometimes use mashed bananas as egg replacements in baking. I think that could be delicious in this.
Carbonated water is a good substitute for eggs, and could extend the applesauce without truly doubling. Haven’t tried in this recipe but have used bubbly water successfully many times, usually because I get a wild hair and start baking without knowing if I have the right ingredients 😅
Not a huge fan of strawberries but the cake looks scrumptious! Would raspberries work for this recipe?
It’s not that they won’t work here, I just prefer this cake for raspberries.
Much tarter–I’d increase the sugar. Kids in particular (most) don’t like that.
I made it once with fresh picked black raspberries but we weren’t happy with it. For one thing I didn’t realize how many seeds were in them, and they weren’t a pleasant texture. They cook down and don’t have as good of a bite. Pears and rhubarb both work, though strawberry is still the best fruit for it. This is my favorite thing I’ve made from SK, and the thing I recommend to people the most.
Perfect timing! I had the original bookmarked for this afternoon, and was deciding what to do with my extra berries (they were so cheap at TJs this week). Looks like I’ll have less to worry about now, thanks!
Mmmm, I made this (the original) just yesterday for a debate-watching event! The original recipe worked well in an 8″ square Pyrex. Lots of edges, and it was easy to pass around and self-serve with a small spatula. A perfect very casual summertime cake!
For anyone interested, I’ve made the cake with both whole milk and fat-free milk and noticed no difference, so use whatever you have on hand. Thanks, Deb!
Ohh I’m such a fan of the original that I can’t wait to try this!!! Perhaps next week for the 4th since it’s so festively colored, too!
Thank you for giving me a reason to make it! July 4 is perfect!
The original is truly a perfect cake. One of my most repeated SK recipes (up there with the cocoa brownies!) and one of my favorite “oh just a little something I whipped up” things to bring to a friend. I love that the data backs up its perfect reputation. Thanks for the update, Deb!
I love food that exists to make friends and this is certainly a good way to go about it. Slab pies are my go to summer pot luck recipe, but I think I’m going to make this next time just to shake things up a bit!
@RockyMountainWoman What are
“Slab Pies”? The name implies sheet pans instead of pie plates…Oronogue Orchards, Milford, CT used to make a delicious apple cake on full size sheet pans. I moved away and would like to have a similar recipe. Do you have a recipe for apple pie sheet cake? Thank y’all for any helpful comments.
Linda N
Can’t wait to try this! Also, I think you may have CupOfJo.com to thank for all the comments on your original strawberry cake post! :)
I love when my two favorite blogs collide. :)
Just wondering if you have suggestions for adjusting this for high altitudes?! In Vail, Co for the next two weeks and would love to make this…😬🤞🏼
I don’t have any personally tested tips, but understand the ones on King Arthur’s site are great.
Hi Adrienne. I’m not an expert but I do bake a lot in the Vail Valley. I’d make the original 9-10” variation instead of this new larger cake. I’ve made a lot of small format cakes (like the confetti party cake) without any adjustments because the smaller size gives the center enough time to bake through before the edges burn. And on a side note, for the last couple weeks the Edwards farmers market has had the most amazing strawberries I’ve ever tasted.
Ironically, I just made the original this morning, and I was thinking, man, I wish this made more because it’s so stinking good! Next time…. Thank you for such wonderful recipes, Mom’s Apple Cake is a favorite in our house as well!
How many cups of almond flour did you use?
I was just wondering what to bake for a potluck tomorrow, and this cake comes along! Looks delicious, and I love that it’s even better when made a day early. :) Can’t wait to try it out.
I love this cake and have been making it since you first posted it. I always wanted to double it but was afraid to try. This is perfect timing. The only thing that I add is some orange zest, just because I love that combination together. Can’t wait to make it this weekend. 💗
Is it possible to make this with other berries or cherries (I know, i know).
We’ve made this cake (the original version) with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and black raspberries. They’ve all turned out amazing. My mom even makes them in a bread pan sometimes instead of a pie plate. Next up is peaches!
As Deb recommended elsewhere, she has recipes for all kinds of cakes with all kinds of berries! Maybe take a look in the archive to find the right cake for your preferred berry?
I’ve made it a bunch of times with fresh sweet cherries and it’s great.
Currently making this with my toddler using the strawberries we picked yesterday! Quick question — can I assume the milk is added along with the egg, yolk, and vanilla? Can’t wait to devour this tonight with freshly whipped cream. Thank you!
Whoops, yes, will fix.
I made this yesterday morning and it was exceptional for pudding with cream and ice cream. Dying to try it again with blueberries or blackberries and some lemon zest in the batter.
I did wonder whether the milk could be added at the end after the flour – would it make a difference? I added it as directed and admit I was a bit horrified by the curdled glub that ensued (“she can’t have meant THIS”).
Although it did come back together perfectly once the flour was addedas promised, so I’m not sure why I’m making a fuss about it.
Would this work dairy-free with soy milk and margarine/earth balance or oil?
It should be fine.
Yesssss! The strawberry summer cake is such a huge hit when I make it so this larger version is much appreciated. But I did notice that this version doesn’t contain the barley flour. That is one of the lovely aspects of the smaller version so I would love to add barley flour to this one, too. Since the smaller version uses a mix of half all purpose and half barley flour, can I do the same ratio with this version? Or doesn’t the barley flour work as well with this scale?
It totally works — I honestly didn’t realize so many people were using that variation. I’ll add a note.
I absolutely love the original recipe and am so excited to try this! I have been thinking about doing it with cornmeal (and maybe swapping ricotta for the milk)—do you think the same ratio you suggest for rye flour would work with that? Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes, Deb!
I wouldn’t for cornmeal — it’s a bit too gritty for half/half. I’d do a 1/4 to 1/3 swap.
Do you swap 100% almond flour instead of the AP flour? or do you use half and half?
I am so excited about this! I make your strawberry summer cake frequently — it’s one of my favorites from your website — and am thrilled to have an up-sized version.
I love the original strawberry summer cake – so happy to see this larger version! Thank you for your continued tinkering. And at the risk of being that person who asks if changing a fundamental part of the recipe will work…I am also that person who is in possession of 25 lbs of peaches from the Georgia peach truck that just came through town, so, apologies, but…will peaches work?
I was wondering the same thing. Did you try it?
It’s in the oven right now, loaded with peaches and then dotted with blueberries to fill in all the nooks and crannies. I went a little overboard buying fruit at the farmers market recently. I’ve made this so many times with strawberries but our strawberry season was so short this year with all the rain. I can’t imagine it being bad with any kind of fruit!
How did it turn out with the peaches? Thinking of making it tomorrow and have a bunch of peaches!
Would you use the barley flour in the same ratio? I love it with that option. A nice nutty flavor. Thanks for the update! I always make 2, and it’s always a hit!
Yes, I added a suggestion in the headnote.
We went strawberry picking yesterday, and my husband was quite disappointed when the strawberry cake wasn’t also made yesterday afternoon… >:| This is my only go-to strawberry recipe (and clearly a family favorite). We look forward to it every year. Thank you!!
I’ve made the original recipe many times since reading it in your original article. Always with lots of compliments. I wanted to serve this for a big family get together we had in May but knew the smaller size wouldn’t be enough. My lovely daughter-in-law Maria actually made the cake I just prepped the berries. She’s an experienced baker and a real scientist so it was a joy to watch her work. She doubled the recipe except for the sugar (she used 7/8 cup) and we just kept putting on berries until the top was completely covered. The cake was a great success. Maria says she’s made the smaller version at home twice since then.
I have made the original recipe many times. Thanks for this update! I haven’t noticed your recommendation of barley flour before; I’ll have to try that. I have been making the cake substituting some of the APF with buckwheat flour. It makes the cake more silky and nutty, too, and the dark color of the buckwheat against the red berries makes for a dramatic look.
Yeeessss! I was solving the not-enough-cake problem by making two round cakes but this IS SO MUCH BETTER!
What if I don’t have the patience to be persnickety even just with placing the berries? Can I just sort of dump/sprinkle them over the top without exact placement? This looks wonderful!
Yes, but try to get them in one layer.
Oh Thank you Deb!
I was just thinking “I have to bring something to the mandatory work BBQ, but I’m so tired and I don’t care…”
And now I have the perfect thing, easy, seasonal, make-ahead.
You’re amazing!
Literally came here today expecting to to double the original recipe for a company party tomorrow, talk about great timing! Thanks Deb!
Hi! I love this cake and am excited to have a scaled up version. I notice you are using a metal 9×13 pan. Mine is glass. Do you think that would work? The texture of this cake is so wonderful and my round pan is metal …. so wondering.
Glass is fine. Sometimes it can help, when using a glass pan, to lower the temperature by 25 degrees.
Help in what way…? I am making this right now, using a glass baking dish and the batter is still wet after 1.25 hours of baking at 350.
I’m using a glass pan too. Total cooking time was 1 hour and 10 minutes. Turned it down to 325 once I saw the edges starting to brown at 50 minutes.
I used glass too. 1 hour 7 minutes all at 350. Ovens obviously vary.
Hi Deb,
I’m currently making this recipe, and I’m well over an hour into the cooking time, and the cake is STILL wet and gooey in the middle. My oventemp is accurate— I’ve tested the temperature. I notice another commenter had this same issue. Your recipes have always worked for me in the past so I wanted to flag this one as presumably containing a problem somewhere. Any thoughts. Sorry my first comment is a complaint— I love your site and recipes!
Baking in a metal 9×13 right now – it’s been over an hour and mine’s still not done. Can’t wait to try it, though. Smells delicious!
Honestly, not sure. Whenever I’ve tested it, these times are correct. Doesn’t matter, though. Just bake it until your cake is set. Maybe your berries were juicier?
Adding another voice to “45-48 minutes left me with a pan of raw goo”, and my oven temperature is also accurate. It took me 90 minutes to get a cake that was baked through.
I just made this for the second time and all the strawberries sank. The only visible ones are around the outside edges. I washed and dried the strawberries. Any suggestions? The first time I made it this didn’t happen.
I know this is heresy but I don’t care for strawberries…. Can I make this with blueberries instead?
Yes, but this is my favorite blueberry cake, for what it’s worth.
Perfect. I haven’t been able to keep up with my CSA strawberries (lucky problem) so this recipe was calling my name. Truth be told, I’ve long been loyal to the failproof NYTimes Plum Torte – which I make year-long with whatever fruit is in season – so I almost, almost whipped that up instead. So glad I tried this!
I’ll be making another one tomorrow after picking up my next csa box.
I am SO excited about this recipe!this is my family’s favorite cake and it is never large enough!
It’s great with buttermilk!!
I have made the strawberry summer cake more than once every summer since it was published and I adore it. (You wrote that you hoped it would become our summer cake, too, and for me, it did.) It’s actually the small size that I like. This one also looks terrific but I tend not to bake for a large group and I cannot allow myself to eat most of a cake this size. I’ll scrutinize any other updates, though, and apply as appropriate.
Lately I’ve had more trouble buying barley flour (which I agree adds wonderful texture and flavor) but I’m going to order by mail or trek to a store that sells it, because I’ve made only one strawberry cake so far this year and it wasn’t nearly enough.
The vanilla is added before the milk, but in the recipe list, they are reversed.
To replace a cup of the all-purpose flour with barley flour, what would be their weights in grams?
I’ll fix! Re, flour weight — barley is about 120 to 125 grams per cup, or so I’ve noted in the past.
Delicious! Eating it now, right out of the oven. The idea of some orange zest, as mentioned by Terry M, sounds like a wonderful addition. Thanks for sharing this, had missed the first version. Also, Mom’s Apple Cake is a big family favorite; I’m sure this cake will be, too.
I thought a “sheet pan cake” meant one of those larger jelly roll pan sized cakes?
In which case…. could I just do the math and get the full doubled recipe to use for that size of a pan? (I have 20 friends and kids coming this weekend. This seems like the solution to the “barbecue down two hallways, around a corner and at least 7 minute walk from my condo, so I’m looking to minimize the kerfuffle in any way that I can.)
Sheet cake usually refers to a half-sheet (13×18) or a quarter-sheet (this, 9×13), but most commonly this, because most people aren’t baking giant bakery pans of cake at home. While the cake is thin, I’m not confident that it’s under-one-inch thin, which would be the usual edge of a sheet pan.
Thank you for this update! I have made this cake so many times that I’ve lost count. It works so well with every type of berry and stone fruit, plus it’s beautiful and absolutely delicious! My personal favorite combination is strawberries and nectarines.
I made this out of curiosity of the simplicity and man oh man it was good. Like *eyes roll back* good. Luckily I had some unloved, overripe strawberries from the clearance area of our produce section and they were heavenly here. I was worried when my batter kinda curdled after adding the milk and even after mixing it forever (says to add milk and mix until smooth); it didn’t seem to matter though because the end result was incredible. Thanks Deb.
I’ll clarify the smooth — it’s totally normal with this one-bowl process for the batter to look a little broken after adding all the liquid at once but of course does fully right itself once the flour goes in.
I just made the smaller one 3 days ago! Perfect for our family my of two, I ate it for breakfast and after dinner. Now I’ve got your rhubarb strawberry crisp bars with oatmeal in my fridge, and yesterday served my book club the delicious strawberry rhubarb crumble (PS I don’t have a deep dish pie pan, made it in a 9 inch share pan…definitely not enough crumble). And, yesterday I made cinnamon sugar scones which are in One Bowl Baking, which you told me about!
Those cinnamon sugar scones from One Bowl Baking are perfect, aren’t they? In our house they’re called Storm Scones. The first time I baked them was a couple of years ago when we were staving off Hurricane Irma cabin fever by baking up a storm. (Also, I was trying to use up all the perishables before the inevitable loss of power. Which ended up lasting about a week, so we were melting in the extreme heat but at least we had plenty of cake)! Anyways, I now bake the scones often and they’re always the Storm Scones 😂 😋
That looks divine! Love that it’s in a 13×9! I lost my sheet pans in the divorce and I don’t have new ones yet! Jammy strawberries for the win! Can’t wait to make this!!
Haven’t made this yet (winter here in New Zealand), but just reading this recipe is making me long for the first berries in Spring. Also curious as to why the baking powder is added separately, rather than whisked into the flour first? I’ve never encountered this method before. Cheers from down under, karen
This was my question too!
This looks fantastic! I have a friend who dislikes strawberries (bummer) but was curious if you thought it would work out as a mixed berry cake instead? I was thinking raspberries (which are simply wonderful in baked goods), and potentially blueberries and blackberries. I also plan to sub a GF all purpose flour.
Yes, it will work, but this is my favorite mixed-berry cake, for what it’s worth.
HELP! I’m making this cake right now. When I added the milk to the mixture, it looks like curdled eggs – not smooth – is OK or should I dump?
It’s absolutely fine and will come together once you add the flour.
Deb,
Can you freeze it? Family do coming up!
Thanks, Sarah
Can we reduce the sugar? I would love to make it but want something a little more guilt free.
This is one of my absolute favorites! Been making it for years in a bunch of variations for others (using sugar alternatives, completely vegan, and often with raspberries instead). Glad for a sheet cake size update. Thank you!
Cami – Can you share how you made it vegan? Would love to use that adaptation for my daughter…she can’t tolerate dairy :(
I just made this vegan with Earth Balance sticks for butter, flax egg, and an almond/cashew milk. Came out beautifully! Instead of getting wonky, I just used two flax egg (two tablespoons flax meal, six tablespoons water) for the whole egg and yolk. Worked great! I think oat milk would work really well here too, but the almond/cashew was what I had on hand. Enjoy!
Earth Balance uses palm oil which is generally produced in a very harmful way for animals who lose their natural habitat so it would be preferable to choose a product that is truly respectful towards them. We should also be very careful with so-called sustainable palm oil. The Rspo certification allows deforestation and child labor. I’ve tried this recipe with (organic) sunflower oil and it came out great. You could also try with olive oil if you want a bit of tang. Anyway, thanks for caring!
Earth Balance uses palm oil which is generally produced in a very harmful way for animals who lose their natural habitat so it would be preferable to choose a product that is truly respectful towards them. We should also be very careful with so-called sustainable palm oil. The Rspo certification allows deforestation and child labor. I’ve tried this recipe with (organic) sunflower oil and it came out great. You could also try with olive oil if you want a bit of tang. Anyway, thanks for caring!
Hurray! I love the Summer Cake and thought that it would be impolite to complain about the size. Whenever we go strawberry picking, I made this cake. Now, there will be enough to share!
What do you think about using almond flour/meal for any portion of the all-purpose flour?
I actually made the doubled version two days ago! In my experience, it IS possible to squeeze 2 pounds of berries in a 13×9 inch pan if you try hard and believe in yourself. Definitely scale down the batter, though.
This is a lovely mild cake, but every time I make it, I want more brightness. I think it would be great with some lemon zest in the batter, or possibly some lemon juice on the strawberries / replacing a spoonful of the milk? (Not sure how the acidity would affect everything else, though.)
I just stumbled on and made the original recipe a few weeks ago. So delicious, but I thought it could use more strawberries (I actually thought the strawberries ripening in the heat was the best part of the cake). So I doubled the strawberries, putting some in the middle of the cake and layering the batter around it. Gave it to someone as a thank you and of course it got rave reviews! All this is to say, I wholeheartedly agree with increasing the recipe and packing in as many strawberries as possible! Thanks for a simple and yummy seasonal recipe!
Would it be wrong to sub in buttermilk for milk?
I was wondering the same think.
No, it’s fine here.
Absolutely delicious! Bought farm fresh berries at local Farmers Market. The only comment I have is that baking in Pyrex 9×13 took over an hour. 1 hour 7 minutes to be exact.
Same! Well, an hour and 12 minutes for me, using a glass 9×13 Pyrex dish. I topped with fresh local strawberries and the result was beautiful but it did take quite a bit longer than the time in the recipe (and I made extra sure everything was room temperature before starting).
Ooooh yes! Husband’s 40th next week and although I’m making him the chocolate peanut butter ice box cake for the actual day, his parents are hosting a bbq with his brother and sister and their partners and kids, so this is the perfect cake for that!
This cake sounds amazing. Any tips on scaling the recipe back, and what smaller cake tin to use?
Yes — make the original non-sheet cake; it’s smaller.
I am curious as to the technique of adding baking powder to batter rather than whisking into flour first. Thank you.
It’s my method of making cakes one-bowl. :) In most recipes, you need to whisk or sift the dry ingredients separately, guaranteeing a multiple-bowl cake. The concern is that if you don’t disperse the salt and baking powder/soda well in the flour, you cake won’t come out as well. But salt doesn’t really have to go in with flour, it can go in with the butter, heightening the flavor as soon as possible. If you mix the baking powder/soda very, very well (no harm in “overmixing” it, which we try to avoid with flour), you can put it in sooner. Then you can just add the flour at the end, and not overmix it. Now it’s one-bowl. I use this method in several cakes because I hate washing dishes and I like rethinking recipes to make them work better for us.
I was perplexed by this, because soda-based raising agents start to act as soon as they get wet. Do you not lose some of the rise by adding the raising agent so early in the process? Or do you use an ammonia-based raising agent, which doesn’t act until it reaches a certain heat? I sift flour onto a sheet of paper and shoot it in from there at the end: no extra washing up.
Trying this again with added orange zest – inspired.
It’s added one ingredient sooner than the flour, it’s not truly having any extra time.
I didn’t have a 9”x13” cake pan so I made it in two 9” round pans. I needed a tiny bit more strawberries to cover and it’s probably a bit thinner than the original, but it’s perfect and delicious! And I have two cakes!
I’m at a cottage with a very limited kitchen. Any chance I can make this without beaters? Just a wooden spoon and elbow grease?
Hi Deb. Loving this update! Is it possible to substitute cake flour for all of the AP flour? If yes, how would I properly adjust the baking powder ratio? All of my flour supply was impacted by the King Arthur AP E. Coli recall, so all I have is cake flour and I’m dying to make this today.
Cake flour is fine, so long as it is not self-rising. I hadn’t heard about the recall — good to know.
Thanks so much for your reply regarding the cake flour. I really appreciate you! Here is a link to the flour recall in case you want more info.
FWIW, when I’ve tried Deb’s method, I find the leavening tends to clump. (No shade!) Instead, I dump the flour in on top of the wet ingredients, then add the baking soda and/or powder on top, swirl it into the flour a little with my measuring spoon, and then carry on with the mixing. I haven’t had trouble with it being poorly dispersed, and it’s still one-bowl!
I love sheet cakes! Such a great way to enjoy everyday cake. This strawberry sheet cake looks so delicious and would make a great dessert with some ice cream on the side. YUM!
Can you please explain the “do ahead” notes? Thanks!
The word “is” is missing. Now fixed. “Cake IS better…”
Your strawberry summer cake is one of our favs, super useful when the kids think the berries are starting to get icky! I use extra berries and push them down a bit into the batter, so yummy.
I made this last night to use up some of my homegrown strawberries. I felt 300g of sugar was too much so only used 200g and it was plenty sweet enough esp with the sweetness of the fruit
I used almond milk and it worked fine, although I was beginning to worry when I saw the curdled mess in the bowl. It was perfectly smooth once I added the flour
Love this recipe and decided to try it with our backyard raspberries. Wanted to let you know that the recipe neglects to indicate when to add the milk. I got to the end and wondered why the mixture was so dry. Fortunately spotted the milk in the ingredient list before I went any further. Thanks for the great recipes!
I just thought I would tell you that I made the original strawberry summer cake with the new method instructions and it works perfectly. I made mine in a 9 inch square baking pan. So easy and fast, plus the buttery cake scented with vanilla is perfect with the jammy strawberries (and how could anyone ever serve this sans whipped cream?). We actually ate our pieces while warm because we could not wait any longer, but look forward to more, especially if it can get better than this!! We both decided this beats strawberry shortcake for sure! Thank you for the recipe.
I covered the cake with plastic wrap and it spent the night in the refrigerator. Then we let it come back to room temperature before having our second slice. Deb is right! Although it was delicious the first day, it was even better on day 2! My husband said it might be his favorite fruit style dessert! Now that is a compliment! Amazingly good! Thanks, again.
I tried this recipe using mostly raspberries, but the consistency didn’t work out well for me – make no mistake, it was well worth the admission ticket as far as delicious goes! Alas, I was in too much of a hurry to try this without reading the comments section. I would have realized other cakes would have worked better. Nice blog by the way, and impressive pictures!
Best wishes from France
Wonderful!
I made it with sour cherry because the strawberry season is over in Romania, but will try the original recipe on the first occasion.
Right now I regret all those years of using classic sponge on the fruit sheet cakes, but hey, live and learn :)
Thank you!
Im for sure trying this out. How long would this keep? I am asking not because I think it will not be eaten quick, but to see if this is an okay option for posting it somewhere. For a 1-2days delivery time maybe?
I have made your original recipe probably a dozen times over the years and it is an absolute favorite! I love the look of surprise on people’s faces when they taste it. I’m glad to finally have a recipe that makes a bigger portion, especially one that will more easily allow for tastes before bringing it to a party. :)
this cake looks delicious, will make it for the 4th, thanks for sharing.
I wish I could have been the one to tell you to increase the portions by 50% for a sheet cake version of this recipe! It’s what I’ve been doing for over a year! It’s the least I could have done for all that you do for us!! LOVE this cake, love you!!
Hi! It looks really delicious! Also can I remove strawberries with some other berries, e.g. raspberries?
Oh my this looks good!
Forgot to add a question to my original post. I want to bring this to a gathering but have to make the day before. It delicious at room temp however I’m assuming that It needs to be refrigerated due to butter, eggs…. What’s the best way to store after it’s cooled. Do you then let it come back to roomtemp?
It doesn’t need refrigeration — the eggs are cooked, butter doesn’t need refrigeration, etc. I like to leave the cake uncovered at room temperature so it doesn’t get sticky on top.
This cake is beyond delicious. The tartness of the strawberries balances perfectly with the sprinkled sugar top and the tender cake. I shared with my neighbors so as not to inhale the entire cake myself! Thanks so much for what will become a summer strawberry season in my home.
Wondering if browning the butter would work here? I love the browned butter + strawberry taste, but thought I’d first ask if you’d tried it given you are The Queen of browned butter and so might have had a good reason for not using it in this recipe.
Lol. I am happy to be Queen. I think it will work here but I don’t think it will show up particularly loudly since it’s all about the berries. I’d save the effort for a more mellow or nutty cake.
So so good. I made it this weekend and it was happily snacked on all afternoon by a houseful of houseguests
I made the cake this morning for an event in the afternoon and it was wonderful. My only question is: why bother lining the the pan with paper? I don’t see any advantage to doing this at all.
It makes things easier, especially if your pan is not nonstick or if you want to be able to remove it for serving.
Can I just substitute gluten-free flour for the flour? I’d like to make this but one of my friends is gluten free. I know I can’t use all almond flour.
Nobody has commented yet here but if you check the original recipe, do a word search in the comments for “gluten,” you’ll find dozens of comments where a gluten-free swap suggestion has been made. I know many people tried it over the years.
I just made this yesterday using King Arthur GF flour blend. I did an exact substitution and kept everything else the same. I had to bake it much longer than 45-48 minutes (not something I usually find with GF baking) but once the center was baked it turned out perfectly!
This was an great recipe. I used peaches that I had frozen fresh from last years palisade peach crop. I added almond extract to the batter as well as the vanilla. I had some extra peaches and made a warm peach sauce to go with it… and of course some whipped cream.
I love strawberries. In this recipe also involved strawberry. I will try to this recipe at home.
Deb this cake is amazing. First recipe I’ve ever made that turned out EXACTLY like the pictures and was incredibly delicious to boot. Plus best excuse to go strawberry picking ever. THANKS!
I made this yesterday – really good today :)) I reduced the sugar to 200g because we don’t like really sweet cakes and it seemed a disproportionate amount to beat into the butter. It worked fine, as did using 2 eggs instead of 1 egg yolk, as I already have too many egg whites in the freezer and 1 egg white is no good for anything. This also worked – I reduced the milk a bit. So I’d say it’s a pretty flexible recipe – just what I like! THanks Deb!!
Hi Deb,
i have become very frustrated with the I’m not a robot box. If I want to share a recipe it makes me go through the mechanism literally almost 10 times. Has something changed? Is this to deter us from sharing? It just becomes such a hassle that it isn’t worth it. Thanks.
Is it a box for commenting or emailing? (I, of course, don’t use these features so am not aware of changes — I certainly haven’t made any.)
Of course you post this after strawberry season is over in the south. I could have used this a month ago ;) Ah well, guess I’ll have to try and remember for next year. Probably good that I don’t have one more thing to bake on my plate since its now blueberry season and I’ve been subbing in bluebs for rasberrys in your rasberry buttermilk cake recipe. I’ve made it multiple times in the past couple weeks. Its been a hit with neighbors.
I made this for my neighbor this past weekend. He texted me with “It’s very good!” I bake a lot for him because he has done my yardwork for decades without charging me. A great neighbor!!!
Would almond flour work in this recipe?
You can swap in some for texture but no, it doesn’t usually bake up as well as all-purpose.
I made this cake this weekend and it was delicious. My family loved it and I received rave reviews from friends as well. It almost tastes like strawberry shortcake in a way plus it is more portable for picnics. Oh, and a thank you for the note about the curdling with the milk addition, I saw mine and panicked before I read the next line:) Thank you!
I made this over the weekend and it was FANTASTIC! I used lemon paste in place of half the vanilla in the cake. It added a subtle lemon flavor but I think it could have used even more. I also used buttermilk, which gave a slight tang to the cake. I loved the way the strawberries get a little soggy and almost caramelized. This will definitely be made again and again! The cake is so moist and delicious, especially with these small changes.
Made this for a weekend party. I used strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. It was wonderful! My friends loved it and it was relatively easy to make. I loved the colors (red-white-blue is a popular combination in Washington DC suburbs, the Sunday before July 4!).
Thanks for another great recipe, Deb!
Thanks for doing the math for me for this sized-up version :-). This cake is always a summer favorite, and it was no different today. Although I have to admit I reduced the sugar to 230 g in the dough and thought it was still a touch sweet. Maybe my European taste buds.
I have made this cake with replacement of flour with l/3 cup polenta for a Summer Solstice Party two years in a row. Most people love it. They are still thinking about it weeks and months later. This year I ran into a friend two days later and she said I cannot get that strawberry cake out of my mind. It is that good.
Can anyone tell me — roughly — the volume amount of 1.5lbs of strawberries? Just don’t know how many quarts to buy at the market….
I also wasn’t sure, so I bought 2 quarts at the farmers market. One quart was sufficient.
I’ve been making this cake for eight years?! Where does the time go? We love it with the barley flour swap, but we have some folks in our house who can no longer eat gluten. We’re working on a possible sub for the flours. If anyone else has success, please let us know.
Nobody has commented yet here but if you check the original recipe, do a word search in the comments for “gluten,” you’ll find dozens of comments where a gluten-free swap suggestion has been made. I know many people tried it over the years.
Oh gosh, let the craving begin. How do you feel about swapping out the barley flour for buckwheat flour?
I haven’t tried it and probably wouldn’t in as high of a proportion, but a smaller swap could be nice.
How long do you think this will keep, either sitting out or refrigerated?
I prefer to keep it unwrapped at room temperature but I wouldn’t do it more than 3 days. Longer, use the fridge.
I prefer to keep it unwrapped at room temperature but I wouldn’t do it more than 3 days. Longer, use the fridge.
This sounds wonderfully refreshing. Would this recipe work with GF baking mix (I.e., Bob’s Red Mill)?
Thank you thank you thank you for providing Metric measurements . Volume measurements in baking are so imprecise. Then there are questions like ‘I’d they say half a pint, is it a North American 16 ounce pint or an Imperial 20 ounce pint?’ A Canadian living in France, I have a set of cups and teaspoons, but so much prefer my little electronic scale in grams and ml. I appreciate being able to use your recipes without having to do calculations. Merci.
Can you please share what your most popular savory dishes are? I’d love to see those too!
This index has a mix of sweet and savory, although it needs a few more recent recipes added.
Has anyone tried making this gluten-free? Could I use gluten-free flour plus the barley flour? Am making the sheet cake, but need to make another dessert for gluten-free family members and thought I could make the original version but gluten free?
Nobody has commented yet here but if you check the original recipe, do a word search in the comments for “gluten,” you’ll find dozens of comments where a gluten-free swap suggestion has been made. I know many people tried it over the years.
Thanks, Deb – I could not figure out how to search the comments, and tried scrolling through as far as I could. I only found comments asking how to make gluten free, etc., but no suggestions. I’m not too comfortable with gluten-free baking, so not sure what I will do!!
A few of the comments:
“I used earth balance, egg replacer, almond milk, and my favorite all-purpose gluten free flour mix (from the book Free for All Cooking).”
“we used gluten free flour and can I tell you it was still absolutely divine”
“I just wanted to let everyone know that I made this with King Arthur brand Gluten-Free flour and it worked very well. I didn’t change any of the measurements, just did an exact substitution.”
“Gluten-free success! I made this with Bob’s Red Mill One for One flour and it knocked everyone’s socks off.”
“I make it with a gluten-free flour called Cup 4 Cup; the ingredients are the same, but I find it needs an additional 8-10 minutes baking — rather than 50-60 min (after the initial 10), I usually end up at about 68-70 min.”
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!
Can I freeze? To defrost would you just take out night before and let it reach room temp?
Yes.
I added blueberries for a perfect July 4 cake. DELISH! Thanks, Deb!!!
With this cake there’s no reason to EVER make typical strawberry shortcake! Perfect for feeding a crowd. I made this cake using the smaller version recipe and baked in a 9.5” square springform pan. I added lemon zest and some raw almond meal to the batter (for freshness and a bit of texture) and also used “sour milk” (added lemon juice to a mix of unsweetened almond milk and heavy cream). Instead of white sugar on top, try crystal sugar for a nice crunch and a bit of sparkle. Yum!
What do you think about using frozen peaches from last summer?
and I have fresh cherries too?
I used a slightly smaller pan than is called for and all the strawberries in the middle sunk!
This is really good Deb! I’m tempted to have more then a slice. Amazing recipes. Thank you Deb!
I made this in an 11×15 lasagna pan; came out great. Adapted the recipe to fit. It’s swoon worthy, so soft, sweet and moist. 100% will make this again; I’ll looking forward to trying with blueberries.
Hi — what adaptations did you make for 11×15? I’m trying to make some tonight for my mom’s birthday.
An 11×15 will be a much thinner cake. You could probably even 1.5x this recipe to fit at the same thickness in the pan.
We added blueberries for the 4th of July.
The house smells wonderful
LOVE this recipe! I replaced one cup of flour with almond flour, used almond extract instead of vanilla, added a few raspberries in with the strawberries, and only sprinkled on tbsp of sugar on top. And shut the front door! My favorite new dessert. I don’t even care for sweets. But this is sooooo good!
I made this today with 1/2 strawberries and 1/2 blueberries. Delicious and festive! I make sure to make a variation of this cake AT LEAST once every spring/summer.
Just made this a few hours ago and it’s already gone! I didn’t have strawberries on hand but I did have fresh peaches, so I swapped (and I did use the version with the cup of barley flour, too). It did take a bit longer in the oven, but this is a fabulous recipe.
I made the Strawberry Summer Sheet Cake to share with family, and it was a hit! I took home an empty plate. I am going to make it again using peaches as someone suggested. Thank you for another delicious and easy recipe.
I’ve made the buttermilk raspberry cake before, so I knew I’d love this. Used dark sweet cherries instead of strawberries and obsessively lined them up, which made for fun servings (just one cherry, 1×2,
2×2, etc). The cherries are quite sweet so I reduced sugar to 1 1/4 cups (probably could have cut it even a bit more) and forgot to sprinkle the extra on top. Replaced about a third of the flour with white whole wheat. Added some lemon juice to the milk. Replaced vanilla (I am out) with double the quantity of bourbon (great combo). Thank you for a cake that is so endlessly riff-able! My friends were talking about raspberries and peaches, and all the other ways this would be delicious.
I made this today with blueberries, strawberries and raspberries in an american flag pattern. Also mixed a couple dollops of greek yogurt into the milk for tang and richness. Total hit at the block party- came back with an empty pan
Ran out of flour while making this (which never happens), and subbed 1/4 cup of almond flour. Will do that every time now. Added just a hint of nuttiness but wasn’t enough to change the batter.
I made this on Wednesday for 4th of July yesterday. It was a big hit. I used strawberries that were not as sweet as I would have liked, but the extra sugar on top really helps make it delicious.
My husband just asked me to make another one for him to take to work Monday for someone’s going-away party.
Thanks, Deb!
Well, I’ve gone and done it! “From experience” I can now say that this recipe totally rocked. And might I share a tidbit, that is a kissing cousin to your having changed ratios from your first iterations when you discovered this recipe? I followed your recipe to the letter regarding weights/measurements. So how could I make this in an 8 inch square pan? I divided your recipe exactly in half, and then added 10% more of each ingredient. It did take me a while to draft your recipe for my preferred pan size, but was this ever worth it. Let me tell you, this was a stunner. The juices from the berries did marry into the cake as you’ve stated, and created such a rich mouthfeel, regardless of the prudent amount of butter. Thank you Deb…..sincerely. This was eaten last night with whipped cream, and this morning with black coffee. YUM!
Delicious and beautiful, thanks for the recipe!
Mine also took a bit over an hour to get golden on top. Used two boxes of strawberries and squeezed in the last dozen.
I made this with apricots that had been soaked in apricot brandy and I used a bit more butter to finish off the stick and oh lord was it good! We took it to a potluck and after trying a piece my husband snuck it back out to the car so nobody would finish it. When I got back to the car and found it on my seat my husband looked at me and said, “Oh please. You can’t tell me that anyone in there deserves a cake this good.”
Ha! I love this story.
Wow! This is summer personified. I made it for a friend’s casual birthday get-together and it was devoured (except for one piece that her daughter declared the best breakfast ever). I’ll make this again and again.
Coconut milk is delicious. We will try it! I am siding with the coconut milk recommendation.
Reporting in (first comment, probably 200th recipe made from the site, sigh).
I 1.5xed this recipe because I only have 10 inch cake pans and I added Deb’s cream cheese frosting as the filling between the layers. It was amazing and a huge hit! Thanks, Deb!
Hi! would you mind pointing me to the cream cheese frosting recipe? is it the red velvet cake one? thanks!
This tasted like summer. I sprinkled mine with vanilla sugar, that was nice.
I made two of these for the 4th – one regular and one gluten-free (with Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1 flour). Both were absolutely fabulous!! I served with freshly whipped cream, and everyone asked for the recipes!!!! Thank you!!!
I made this for the 4th and it was delicious. I used blueberries and halved, pitted, fresh cherries and it was amazing. I also used King Arthur’s Cup for Cup gluten free flour. It was a huge success. Thanks Deb for such a great recipe!
I was underwhelmed. I brought it to a party and no one asked for seconds OR the recipe. It was just okay.
This is delicious! Followed the instructions exactly as written and used the 9×13 pan. Reminds me of a rhubarb cake that my grandmother used to make. Will definitely me making this again!!!
This is my type of cake. In Sweden we like to add whipped cream on it too :). Love it! So simple and summerish!
I skipped the small version of this for my first time around and went straight for the big batch! This is a really simple recipe but the cake looks really impressive, so great to bring to parties. I’m so glad the recipe noted that the mixture would look curdled after adding the milk – it really looked like something had gone horribly wrong but it looked beautiful after adding the flour.
A quick note – I seriously bunched those strawberries together on the top so there was hardly any cake sticking through at the top, making it hard to gauge if it was “golden brown” at the end. I let it bake for about 10-15 minutes longer than suggested looking for some golden hint, but I bet the cake was actually done earlier since the bottom ended up browner than I would like.
I would love to try this with barley flour as suggested, since the cake is just slightly too sweet for me – it almost tastes like an angel food cake. It could use something vaguely nutty or savory (in my opinion) to counteract all of the sugar, so the suggestion of an alternative flour to include is great.
Great recipe. So easy to make. My strawberries sunk into the batter too but still tasted awesome. I’m looking forward to making it with dark cherries or peaches.
This cake is amazing! I made it for my July 4 BBQ (using one corner of the cake for blueberries to get that American flag look) and it was DEVOURED. I was initially concerned that there was too little cake batter, but honestly, that’s what made it so good — that it was mostly strawberries! (I would have used more than 680 g if I didn’t sub in blueberries.) Thanks for the update!
Recipe lists salt as an ingredient but it’s not included in the method, so I missed it.
It is — you beat it in with the butter. Not the usual place, but I prefer to lift the butter flavor as early as possible.
Easy and so delicious.
Has anyone just scattered the strawberries on top, instead of arranging such a neat layer? Any downside to that method?
None at all, but it’s best if there are no spots uncovered.
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G-L-Y simple and delicious!
Hi Deb
Have you tried this cake with any other berries… ie blueberries, raspberries, or cherries? If so, is it just a case of swapping out the fruit?
I haven’t because I prefer this most of all with strawberries, however, lots of people have with success.
I made this exactly as written, the night before I needed it for a casual outdoor dinner — so it got to sit for a day, unrefrigerated, for the flavors to meld. It was completely devoured and I got a lot of compliments. Excellent recipe, very easy to make. Will definitely make it again, it was superb! Thanks for making me look so talented and clever!
My colleague bought a pound of berries at the Farmer’s Market sponsored by our employer. I told her about this recipe that I wanted to try and she promptly donated her berries so I could make the cake. I made it when I got home from work and resisted tasting until I brought it to the office the next day. Oh delicious! Oh for more berries! Oh for whipped cream! Thanks for this gem!
Some variables in my version but still came out great – 2/3 strawberries and 1/3 sliced peaches; mix of white and whole wheat flour; 1/4 cup less sugar – – delicious results! Looking forward to experimenting different variations of this cake. Thank you, Deb!
This cake was everything and more than I hope for when I made it. I brought it to work so I did not have whipped cream to serve with it but I will next time I bake it. Rave reviews all around and not too sweet. Freshly picked berries did not hurt.
wow! Excellent cake. Because we are only two, I made the original smaller version. Spectacular flavour and great way to use local sweet strawberries (already made Jam, strawberry shortcakes and tarts so needed something else for remaining fruit!). Tastes like summer on a plate!
I made this recipe as written and it was delicious! Used a 9×13 glass baking dish, buttered but without parchment paper. The cake took a little longer than expected to bake – closer to one hour before the center tested done. So easy to put this together. As noted, the most time consuming part was prepping the strawberries. Served this with lemon whipped cream (beat heavy cream to soft peaks, then folded in prepared lemon curd). Will definitely make this again.
I made this using nectarines instead of berries and reduced the sugar to 3/4 c (using the proportions of the original recipe, but with the method updated here). 10/10 fabulous.
This was amazing! Last year we planted our own strawberry patch and this year we got to enjoy the fruits of our labor (ha)! Unfortunately the season is just about over and the heat/humidity and my lack of proper strawberry patch maintenance means I had a bunch of strawberries that I needed to use up ASAP before they went the way of the ones I hadn’t plucked in a few days (what can I say…life with kids). Any who-this was the best representation of summer in a cake I’ve ever had. My three year old licked the crumbs off his plate (we made it for breakfast). I have a couple varieties-big juicy Jewels and teeny tiny Arctic strawberries which have a distinct burst of flavor that was enhanced by the baking! I’m going to jazz it up with some whipped sweetened ricotta and nasturtiums that are just blooming all over in my garden. Thank you so much for this, it’s a keeper!
This cake has been the delight of the season! This cake to me…is perfect! Refreshing and only a little sweet…I’ve made two back to back upon request…whipped cream is a nice addition. We’ve been eating it both for dessert and breakfast! We recently moved into our first summer at our cottage and this recipe is sure to be a summer staple. THANK YOU!
I just made this for my sister’s birthday today. It’s in the oven and my house smells AAAHMAZING! We were out late last night and I made strawberry shortcakes at midnight for the birthday, but the description of your cake kept popping into my head and made me change my mind. We’re going to be a little late to meet them this morning, but I don’t think anyone will mind.
Question from a beginner baker – does the butter need to be softened before you beat it? The last time I beat softened butter, the entire stick got stuck inside the beater and I had to scrape it out.
OMG, yes. I cannot believe this, Comment #248, is the first mention of my mistake — I forgot to say softened or room temperature butter (which will be soft enough to beat). Thanks for the heads up. Now fixed.
As another commenter experienced, I have this in the oven right now and it is going on 1 hour of baking time in 9×13 pan. Batter still gooey in middle.
ugh. my berries sank. what did I do wrong?
I’ve made the original version of this cake several times – my sister says it’s her favorite cake and asks for it at least twice a summer! I have to admit, despite her glowing review, it always seems a bit dry to me. Any suggestions for making it a bit more moist? Thanks Deb!
Thanks! I loved the original (despite forgetting the sugar on top, d’oh) and will definitely give this a try. My first go was an attempt to deal with an overly-excited, ridiculous strawberry purchase, but I’ll go for it on purpose this time.
I made this with my 4 year old niece and she couldn’t have had a better first baking experience. She told everyone we served it to about how she put the strawberries on top (if you want to fit a lot on there, get a 4 year old to do it). Such a great recipe!
This looks amazing! I’m going to try to make it gluten-free as my husband has celiac, and I can’t wait to give it a go! I love ALL your recipes. I’ve skimmed the comments but couldn’t find anything in reference to gluten-free other than almond flour. I like to use Bob Red Mill’s 1-1 flour. I’ll report back! :)
This cake is so delicious. I’ve now made this TWICE this week – in the oven, despite it being 100 degrees outside. Totally worth it! We like to eat this with macerated strawberries. So yummy. Tastes like butter cake with strawberries!!
Since I wasnt a baker in 2011, I made the smaller version first yesterday. Can i just say, my husband declared that he had Never. Had. Anything. Like. This. Before!
I did sub out 1/4 cup (31g) plain flour for 1/4 cup (28g) almond flour, plus (because i do this always) added a heaped tbsp of sour cream and a small squeeze of lemon juice. My strawberries did neatly sink all the way to the bottom though, sigh. I think I figured out why that happens. If you don’t squeeze the top chock full of them, like properly, the batter buckling will overpower them and push em all down. I prepped the full lb of berries but in the end couldnt somehow put them all in (10inch deep pie), but i think i coulda/shoulda tried harder and really squeezed them in. When the batter bubbled up, it faced not enough resistance from, and found enough gaps in, the berries and pushed em all down. (I have an annoying habit of camping out in front of my oven and watching my cakes cook -think time lapse videos..without the time lapse).
Made this for my book club and it was a big hit. I wish I’d heeded your advice and left it uncovered overnight (I made it the day before) but I was worried it would attract hungry family members. As a result, it was a little sticky/overly moist on top, but it was still delicious! Would absolutely make again – simple and unpretentious but still absolutely delicious.
I wait until the cake and oven have both cooled, and stash it right back in the oven for the night. As long as I don’t have a brain fart and leave the oven light on, no one even notices it’s in there.
What would be the best sub for eggs?
I did not try it for this cake, but for other recipes I have used flax eggs as an egg substitute.
Anyone made this as cupcakes? I’m experimenting with paper baking cups (Simply Baked I think is one brand)
Definitely — a few people tagged me in pictures of cupcakes. Do a word search here for “cupcakes” or “muffins” and you’ll find more comments from people who have.
Found! They are in the original recipe. Here are some highlights for others wondering the same thing:
Some baked at 350 for 10 minutes then 325 for 40 min (another said 25-30 worked for them).
The original recipe yielded 12 cupcakes (or muffins depending on the time of day) with some leftover which was baked in a loaf pan.
People tried various methods of incorporating the strawberries. Two examples are mixing into the batter OR topping with 2 strawberry halves and then packing in diced berries around those. 2 year old birthday part this weekend, I’ll report back.
Hello Deb! I have to say this cake is incredible! I made the last version yesterday and I can’t stop eating it. I was wondering why you hull the strawberries ? I thought it was time consuming, so is there a reason for the hulling? Thanks a bunch!
Because a friend once told me that every time someone lops off the top of a strawberry, a pastry chef loses his/her wings.
More seriously, I always do. I only want to remove any stem or core, nothing more.
Hahaha that’s great! I do use the tops and cores to make strawberry water, it’s so refreshing. Thanks for the reply!
I’m thinking of This for my daughters birthday- in cupcake form. Do you think this could work? Baking 18 mins? It is so beautiful.
Frosting suggestions for 5 year olds?
See here. I’d just frost with whipped cream!
I made this and it was delicious! Perfect for a summer picnic. I served it right out of the pan. Thank you for mentioning that the batter would look “broken”, otherwise I would have been worried. I just used all-purpose flour.
Your recipes are amazing. Thank you so much.
My family love strawberry cake so much, so i tried it today by this way, i have added some green tea because i love tea too, but the taste would be better if i did not add tea into it. I will try your method totally the same next time.
Thank you for this recipe. It is delicious.
I made the sheet cake version a couple of days ago. Deb, I know you usually don’t like things too sweet–with 1 1/2 cups of sugar in the main batter, this cake was VERY sweet, and I think that muted the strawberry flavor. How much do you think I could cut back on the sugar without ruining the cake’s structure?
I’ve now made the full strawberry version and 1/2 recipe with fresh blueberries in 8×8 pan. Delicious! Served with choice of lemon curd or whipped cream (both delish). .
Awesomeness in a pan! Super easy and delish.
I made this to take into the office and it went down a storm. I was grateful for the part of the recipe that tells you not to worry about the mix looking curdled because honestly mine looked absolutely terrible at one stage!
I don’t bake, working on the theory that I live by myself and it would be down to me to eat a whole cake……….good but not good!
However, I was due to visit a friend who has just had twins and I saw your recipe in Cup of Jo. It got my attention and with some trepidation I made it with plums. I checked it after 50 mins by which time it was very very brown. I fretted about it for a day, was going to make another one as I’d decided that I couldn’t offer it as it was probably horrible. In the end I sliced into it and it was lovely, the plums were all squidgy and the cake was liight, with a good crumb and crunchy edges. I took it to my friends and everybody enjoyed, I aim to make it again…………I think I will always be nervous about baking, (my amazing sister makes wedding cakes for friends for heavens sake!!) but I was sooooo pleased with the end result.
If you blink where I live strawberry season is gone. Can still get them of course from distant places, but the whole point of this cake is the incomparable seasonal fruit. So….what if I use blueberries instead? They have a longer season so the goodness of local, seasonal bounty can be captured.
Blueberries in season are delicious. Served it 4 times to rave reviews. Served topped with whipped creamy and dollop of home made lemon curd. Soooo good.
Just sent a question about blueberries. Never mind. Should have read the other comments.
Delicious! Made it last night with some berries I had frozen from earlier in the summer (Marionberries , loganberries, tayberries, obsidianberries, boysenberries, and raspberries). Thawed them out, drained the juice, added to top of cake. You were right, it’s far better the next day. Will be making again with strawberries:)
When you say a 9×13 size pan, do you mean the inside dimension or the outside dimension? Thanks
Usually refers to inside. That’s what mine was but if it’s outside dimension shouldn’t make a huge difference.
It’s measured around the top.
Absolutely delicious! I made this for my toddler’s birthday and she loved it. I added the zest of a lemon to the sugar and massaged it, before following the recipe to a T. It didn’t taste all that lemony but did brighten up the strawberry flavour. Served it with whipped cream sweetened with a tablespoon of maple syrup. Will most definitely make it again!
Have made this twice now since the recipe appeared. Both times it turned out wonderfully and was a big hit! It is definitely even more delicious after sitting for a day. The first time I made it, I followed the recipe exactly (including barley flour, which I was thrilled to find out is not an expensive alternative!). The second time I cut the sugar back to 1/2C and used KA’s Fiori di Sicilia (citrus flavored extract) in place of the vanilla. I wanted to use lemon or orange zest but had neither on hand. The citrus addition was lovely! I will definitely experiment with zests next time. The reduction in sugar was almost not sweet enough. I wouldn’t be so drastic next time. It was still scrumptious, and made it more of a breakfast appropriate cake. With full sugar, it’s more of a decadent, dessert-at-a-summer-potluck treat. I liked it both ways and intend to make it all summer long!
I am planning on making this for my son’s 2nd birthday the next weekend! I was wondering if anyone has any frosting/icing recommendations? thank you!
A simple lemon glaze might be good on this. Otherwise, maybe cream cheese frosting or meringue (toasted with a blowtorch/the grill setting in your oven)? I think buttercream would be much too rich and would overpower the cake. Simply covering the cake in whipped cream would be good too.
It’s not what you would think of as the kind of cake you frost. We just use freah whipped cream.
This is in the oven right now (for the third time since you published this). I made it with a ridiculous amount of plums and blackberries, so it’s taking a while for the center to bake (soooo much plum juice), but it’s going to be delicious! Thank you Deb, everyone at my dojo (food doesn’t have calories if you eat it right after an hour and a half of grappling, right?)really appreciates all of your recipes!
So I was cooking at a friend’s house and there was no vanilla extract but — surprise, surprise — there *was* almond extract and I used that instead.
What a happy accident! It was AMAZING.
I’m going to try this with cherries too.
I tried it with cherries because my extended family grows them commercially. It didn’t taste bad by any means, but they didn’t go jammy even though I put them cut side up. I think it’s because the skin is far thicker.
You made it like it’s easy to make. Which I kind of struggled. But reading the comments as well helped. Thanks for the recipe.
I just made this but used coconut oil instead of butter and replaced half the flour with almond flour in a half-hearted attempt to make it healthier. It worked well and was fairly crumbly. Though, I think I would use butter next time.
Oh, and I halved the total recipe because there’s only two of us and I would devour the whole thing way too quickly.
Dear Deb,
I love this strawberry cake, especially with the barley flour substitution.
I recently purchased stainless steel cake and loaf pans from Amazon. The stainless steel loaf pans were the Norpro 3849 and the 8” square stainless steel cake pans were also Norpro.
Tonight, I combined the summer strawberry sheet cake version with the original 9-inch round cake pan summer strawberry cake version.
I filled two of the 8” square cake pans and only had barely enough for to cover 80% of one of the loaf pans.
I guess I should have just doubled the sheet cake version?
I was wondering if you could tell us how thick of a layer of cake batter should be used, regardless of the size and shape of the pan. I know stainless steel isn’t doesn’t conduct heat as well as aluminum, but for health reasons, I won’t use aluminum or non-stick Teflon pans. Trying stainless steel, despite the bad review of such pans by Rose Levy Berenbaum—or some other cake cook book author. Your recipe was a success on the first try. Thumbs up. You made a great recipe and I can’t wait to try the lemon yogurt blueberry cake.
Please advise on how to adjust for different size, shape and material of baking pans.
One last thought: how about making recipes with a little more batter for a small sample cake for the chef? So she doesn’t have to cut into and eat the cake she is bringing to the party. So that she and her kiddo can enjoy pre-party samples to make sure the cakes taste ok.
Yours truly,
Cake loving mom
Ryoung
Can you explain what size cake you’re interested in making? This was definitely not developed as a loaf cake. The sheet cake is thin — the original is too.
I just wanted to use stainless steel pans instead of non-stick coated pans, or bare aluminum cake pans.
The stainless steel pans I have are 2 8×8 pans, and 2 stainless steel loaf pans. I also have one or two 9” or 10” stainless steel round cake pans (I think-can’t find them at the moment.). Finally, I got myself a 9×13 18/10 stainless steel luxury baking pan. I’m finding that I have eaten almost entire cake.
Truthfully, I do find that I have to bake this cake a lot longer than the 45 mins. I would say about an hour. Maybe some tenting is required?
hi, i am making this for tomorrow’s galentine’s night. there are five of us and i have and 8″ square pan. i also have a 9×13″ glass pan. not sure if i should make the smaller version and if so, will and 8″ work? or should i go for the larger size? would an 8″ feed five comfortably or even work?
I was looking forward to this cake and followed the recipe, but all I ended up with was a slightly dry cake with cooked strawberries on top– not bad, but definitely none of the promised deliciousness. I added the sugar on top, but now I wonder if maybe I should have added more… Any suggestions?
If you used the full amount of strawberries (no less, even if it’s crowded), you should let it rest a day and let the baked fruit infuse the cake better.
Thank you for sharing such a good blog!
King regards,
Dinesen Schneider
You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but
I find this topic to be actually something which I think I would never understand.
It seems too complex and very broad for me. I’m looking
forward for your next post, I’ll try to get the
hang of it!
Can you make as cupcakes?
I made this cake exactly as directed and it was quite good. I think when I make it again, I will jazz up the cake batter with a big hit of orange zest. Also, it might be fun to swap out the granulated sugar on the top with some coarse turbinado sugar for a bit of texture.
I’ve made this twice in the last week – we love it! Our garden strawberries are really coming in. Tomorrow I’m going to make is several times more and wrap it for the freezer. That’s worked wonderfully for your three-berry bundt cake – I expect this one to freeze just as well!
For anyone who is worried about their cake not baking, mine took one hour and 18 minutes. Just keep baking until it sets! : ) Ready for tomorrow’s quiet Memorial Day bbq.
Looking back at the recipe I did use more strawberries than called for and did not remove the cores. (I just sliced off the tops and cut them in half.) I weighed out a pound and a half after prepping them, so maybe this resulted in extra liquid. (They were very juicy/overripe berries too.) All is okay because it tastes delicious. (Added 1/2 tsp of ground ginger and zest of one lemon. Can’t detect the ginger, but the lemon zest a little brightness to the flavor.)
Yummmmmmm!!
This cake is SO delicious. I made it with a good bit of cardamom in the batter and muscovado sugar on top and it was divine.
Could you just use salted butter and forgo the salt?
Terrific flavor and texture, but my strawberries, every last one, sunk! Please help…what did I do wrong?
I make this all the time! I make a vegan version with non-dairy milk, flax egg, and non-dairy butter and it is always a delicious crowd pleaser. Thank you!
I’m very excited to make this Strawberry sheet cake and was just wondering what you thought of adding blueberries to it (thinking it would look nice for 4th of July…). Do you think it would come out similar?
nevermind – didn’t read through the comments!
Very confused… I’m a pastry student. I prepared this using creaming method and followed the recipe to exact measurements. I had to bake in a 9×13 casserole dish because I do not have a sheet pan. It burned after 45 mins (due to sugar — I should have checked earlier) and was maybe 25% set. I tented, dropped the temp down 25 degrees, and had to bake another 25 mins. It came out around 95% done — I’m hoping carryover will finish setting it. Are the conversions to this recipe correct? Is there too much liquid in this recipe?
No, but if it didn’t set in the estimated time, it could just be that your berries were juicier than mine.
Ungh this is so freaking delicious… why is it so heavenly and disastrously good? Why?
I’ve been waffling on whether to make this for YEARS. Make it. Just make it…
I used slightly less sugar, maybe a heaping cup in the cake. Stuck with 3 full tablespoons on top. Also managed to shove 2 lbs of strawberries on top and I DO NOT REGRET IT. Everything else was the same.
We ate it hot out of the oven. It was falling apart and ugly. But we all scarfed it down like animals. YUM
I made this cake and didn’t have barley flour, so I subbed in quinoa flour. It was amazing. It gave the cake a subtle earthy flavor that melded so nicely with the sweet strawberries. I would definitely make it this way again, and I’m so interested to try the barley flour to see how it compares.
Hello Deb,
For Mother’s Day, I got myself a high-quality, heavy duty stainless steel 9×13 pan. If I bake this cake in a stainless steel pan, what should I do differently?
Should I preheat the pan before filling?
Ryoung
Why is this cake baked at 350 the entire time while the smaller version cooks at 350 for 10min, then 325 the rest of the time? I’m trying to make 1 sheet cake version and 1 regular size at the same time and just realized the temp difference as I was putting them in the oven. Can I bake them both the same?
Yes, you can.
Something funny/sad happened. I did not read correctly, and thought the last ingredient was the flour, so instead of adding 295g of flour, I added 680g of flour… at first I wasn’t sure why the dough was so thick. I added the egg white and more milk to loosen it up a bit. It’s now cooking… I didn’t put the strawberries because I didn’t want to loose them precious gems on a bad cake. Can’t wait to see how it will be when cooked. Probably really really heavy 😅
You’ll just need extra ice cream or whipped cream. :)
This turned out so good! 10/10. Mine ended up baking for closer to an hour. Also, I used more like a pound of strawberries, not 1.5, and it still tasted great. The cake is light and fluffy and perfectly compliments the strawberries. I will definitely make this anytime I have extra strawberries or just want a delicious and easy cake!
This is the second year I have made this recipe during strawberry season and I love it!! Ended up using oat milk as it was all I had on hand and it was as tasty as ever. Might make it again next week before the berries are gone! Thank you :)
I have enough butter and strawberries in the house to make half of this recipe. Would it be possible to cut it in half?
Yes, or you can just make the OG strawberry summer cake.
I made this recipe, ended up very wet I think from the juice of the strawberries and sponge was too sweet, any tips on resolving this?
Did the cake set and brown? If not, baking it further will make it more cake-y. You might have had particularly juicy/sweet berries. You could reduce the sugar next time if so.
I have done this twice now: once with strawberries (using some spelt flour, and made vegan with Miyoko’s butter – the only good vegan one – and oat milk), and once with blueberries (everything else the same). Both were absolutely delicious. My family ate the strawberry version in one sitting, something we never do but it was that good. The blueberries sunk to the bottom and it ended up more like a coffee cake than the light cake that emerged when I followed the recipe religiously, but it was still delicious.
This is a wonderful recipe. I made it yesterday with blueberries and it was incredible.
Excellent recipe. HIGHLY recommend, for someone that bakes often this is going on the rotation of recipes that were successful. Simple ingredients that yield a showstopper, fudgy cake. Forgot 3 tablespoons sugar for sprinkling on top but it turned out amazing. Also added milk after baking soda by accident but no damage done. 2 lbs strawberries were used.
For those of you who used glass/pyrex 9X13– it worked okay? Do you find that it normally does, or is it worth getting a baking pan, specifically? Thanks!
Mine works just fine! I have made it successfully a few times in it.
Check it’s doneness a few times. Depending on my fruit the baking time varies.
Baked this with both strawberries (1 lb) and blueberries (1/2 lb) and it was TO DIE FOR! I made it a day early, let it sit overnight as recommended and brought it to a Fourth of July picnic today, where it got rave reviews. With whipped cream as the white part, it was very patriotic. I wouldn’t change a thing and will be making it again soon.
I am late to the party with this cake, just discovered during quarantine. It is now at the top of our list for desserts! I have made this cake 4x already and every time am asked for the recipe. So simple to make! If you haven’t tried it yet run out and buy strawberries. You won’t regret it! 🍓😋
Loved this! I halved the recipe, quartered some of the big strawberries, and used a medium egg instead of a large one. I baked in 9″ deep dish pie plate similar to the one in the old recipe. It still required at least 45 mins at 350/325 convec. Maybe I’ll bake with convection off next time. My batter also looked curdled all the way through after adding milk, but it didn’t really affect the cake post-baking.
I may even make it again if there are still fresh strawberries next week. Another hit. Thanks, Deb!!
Delicious! Farm fresh picked strawberries are a must and definitely cut the sugar in half. 3/4 cup is plenty if the strawberries are ripe.
Would this work equally well with a mix of almond flour and GF flour, or almond flour only? I am looking for something to do with a giant bag of almond flour, and could imagine this working well for a moist-ish, yummy cake.
We made this today with a few substitutes for what we had on hand. We used dark rye flour instead of barley, defrosted blueberries and apples instead of strawberries, 2 eggs, 1 cup of sugar, and lastly chocolate/vanilla Bakers extract. It took 1 hour in our ceramic cake pan, though I suspect we could’ve taken it out a bit sooner because the bottom was slightly brown. The flavor of the rye was amazing, though the cake was not really wet like others described. Next time I’ll try pineapple chunks because I think it’ll mix quite well with the rye flavor.
Everyone really liked it and said it was reminiscent of coffee cake, a couple people added melted butter on top.
So I’ve made the regular summer strawberry cake every year for many summers now and it hasn’t ever been an issue but when I made it as a sheet cake I found that it was a drier cake than usual. Maybe it was my strawberries or something but the outcome wasn’t as moist and jammy as usual… I’ll try again as this has been a foolproof recipe in the smaller version so I’m not sure if I did something weird. Thanks for making a larger version of this recipe for us to relish the summer berries, Deb. You’re the best. Xx
OMG! This is soooo delicious! I baked it this morning and served it after dinner. We couldn’t stop eating it. Thanks Deb!!
I made this with frozen quartered strawberries. I partially thawed and drained the berries, but if I did this again I would make sure they are fully thawed and drained. The center of the cake was wet despite being baked through, although the side pieces were nice and crispy. I also misread the recipe and accidentally added the 3T of sugar to the batter instead of to the top. Despite these mistakes, this was an awesome recipe. Served with fresh whipped cream, it tastes like a strawberry shortcake. The cake itself is a little under-sweet to complement the berries’ natural sweetness, and those crispy browned edges are to die for. Definitely saving this one!
Amazing dessert. I did sprinkle a bit of brown sugar on top prior to baking…couldn’t resist since I love strawberries with brown sugar and sour cream.
Looked for this after making your blueberry crumb cake a few weeks ago. Both recipes are outstanding and will be part of the regular rotation.
Any ideas for how to make this gluten free?
I’ve made this several times – yesterday I didn’t have strawberries but I had cherries. Pitted and chopped them, sprinkled them over the batter and baked – also delicious!
My three year old daughter is requesting strawberry cake for her birthday. I obviously checked your recipes first as they never disappoint and you always seem to have a recipe for whatever I need! Do you think it would work to use the frosting from the peaches and cream cake you made for your daughter’s birthday a few years ago? Or is there a different frosting you’d recommend to make this a strawberry birthday cake?!
Made this today – it was really delicious! The whole family enjoyed it. I was nervous it would be too sweet given that strawberries are pretty sweet on their own, but it was a good level of sweetness 👌
I’m at the 24 hr mark after making the cake. Although still very delicious, the bottom of the cake is very soggy. Any tips on what to do in the future to avoid that?
So delicious. I’d made the previous version before, and it was nice to have the larger version recipe because, well, we always want more. One question though – I always notice my strawberries sinking down a little into the cake after it cools. Still tastes delicious, though not as pretty anymore. Anyone else?
Have made the recipe as is many times and it’s great, but this berry season requires pandemic substitutions, and they turned out great too! This is a very tweak-able recipe. Our fav so far is to sub coconut milk for dairy, and plums for strawberries, half the recipe and make in a quarter sheet pan. I reduce the sugar a further 30 grams and the end sprinkle to only 1/2 tablespoon as I like my cake on the less-sweet side. So outstanding!
great recipe- very forgiving, so my young kids can easily help me make it- i’ve made it with both strawberries and peaches now and both are delicious. i drop the sugar in the recipe by about 80g and don’t miss it at all. my favorite easy summer cake recipe!
Although I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, I’ve never commented on a recipe before. This may be less of a comment and more of a fan letter. The Strawberry Summer Sheet Cake recipe. Oh, my!
I read that it’s better the next day, I’m still waiting to find out. My family hasn’t had one last a full 24 hours, yet. The Strawberry Summer Sheet Cake has made our pandemic more tolerable.
Since late June, I make it at least weekly. If I can’t get strawberries in our grocery order, I top it with blueberries, streusel, or apples AND streusel. I’ve even had to replace a portion of the milk with heavy cream. It always turns out wonderfully. Every time.
Thank you!
this looks incredible and just perfect for those hot Israeli summer days when the strawberries are juicy and dirt cheap at the Jerusalem shuk! I cannot wait to try it. also, I so enjoy your writing!
This looks fantastic. :) I definitely have to try making it!
Question: Has anyone made this recipe using buttermilk rather than regular milk? I’m tempted to do so, but am assuming I’d have to adjust the leavening agent if I do that, to keep the alkali-acid ratio in balance…
This cake is easy and so, so good. I did have to bake it longer than the recommended 45 minutes and upped the temp to 380 towards the end because it was not close to being baked at the end of the initial time. Other than that it worked out well.
Is there a way to not use refined sugar in this recipe? Would it be too much liquid to sub for honey or maple syrup?
I have made this twice now. And, while my husband loves it, I find it dry. We’ve served it with ice cream French pastry cream and whipping cream and still it seems dry. I’ve added a note to take this out of the oven before it seems done. I still need to figure out what the timing would be for this change.
Also my grocery store didn’t have any fresh strawberries when I went to buy them to make this a second time. So I used frozen, defrosted, sliced and drained strawberries and which worked out fine.
I wonder if it’s the butter you’re using. Either that, or maybe your strawberries weren’t quite ripe enough. Just a few thoughts. I splurged and bought a slightly more expensive butter, one of the European style ones available at Walmart. And the strawberries I used were on the verge of being over ripe. I’m glad that that was the case because the cake had really full, juicy flavor.
If the cake seems dry, it’s often a Day 1 issue — the cake is on the firm side until the strawberries settle in more. The second day should be perfect. For us, the cake is perfect right away when the berries are very ripe or even borderline overripe.
I don’t think the butter should matter. I, rather stubbornly, only use inexpensive butter when baking here, unless I specify that it’s worth the splurge for higher-fat butter (and I only do this when it’s the star, such as with this shortbread). I *like* European butter, but these recipes should work regardless of butter quality.
I make this cake every year when strawberries are at their peak and I just can’t manage to stop buying flats of them. This cake is perfection, thank you!
I made this last night for a group of friends. Delicious! Will make again.
One substitution: I ran out of flour, so I substituted 1/2 cup almond meal for 3/4 cup flour, and I liked it so much I think I will always make it this way.
@Rebecca – You can substitute hemp milk for whole milk in most recipes. It is thick and creamy so it works well for quiches, pancakes, muffins –basically most baked goods.
I love this recipe! Wondering if I may substitute gluten-free 1-to-1 flour for the all-purpose?? Or if you have other suggestions? I have a GF friend.
I scaled this up to fit a half-sheet pan. Worked great! 12 tbsp butter, 2 whole eggs, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 cup milk, 3 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt. Spread out and covered in berries (I ran out of strawberries and filled in with blueberries) and sprinkled with lemon sugar before baking.
Just pulled this out of the oven and it smells amazing. I am not serving this until tomorrow. Can I leave in pan? or should I cut up into pieces today? Thx!
Leave it in the pan at room temperature. Leave it uncovered, if you can bear it.
Thanks, Deb! I left in the pan and put a cheesecloth over to protect it from any kitchen interlopers!:) Can’t wait to cut it tonight.
I made this with strawberries the first time – amazing! The next time I used halved pitted Lapins cherries … life changing!!!!!!!!
How cruel to mention all these wonderful sounding dishes and not one recipe did you share with us. They all sound so good
Which one would you like? :)
Just made this tonight and WOW! So delish. Question: I had company tonight and was supposed to have company tomorrow evening but now they have postponed until Sunday. Will the cake still be good to serve on Sunday? Should I put it in the fridge tonight and Saturday? I am worried the strawberries will spoil with the heat wave here in Toronto. Thanks in advance and thank you for another delish recipe!!!
This cake is sooo good and easy to make. Have made this probably 10 times, generally exactly as per recipe, sometimes with barley flour and sometimes not, cutting sugar down a bit. This is the best cake ever!!
I want to make this for my daughter’s first birthday (don’t have energy for full on layer cake), and am hoping to squeeze out a 4 inch smash cake. Do you think I should do 1.5 times recipe? Or just have shorter cake?
I’d say 1.5 it. The strawberry summer sheet cake has 1.5-ish proportions.
I’ve made this a few times, but this time I ran short on strawberries. I spread them out and added some blueberries I had on hand and it was so good! The cake part is so tasty that I think would work with a lot of fruits. I think I’m going to try slicing fresh peaches for it next time.
I made this recipe this past weekend for a family get-together. I thought it was delicious! It brought back memories of Dairy Queen strawberry sundaes in the best sort of way. I’m a huge fan of your writing and recipes. Thank you so much for keeping things delicious and interesting.
We loved your summer strawberry cake, so when we were invited to a dinner party I knew I had to try the upscaled version! My only issue was that it too WAY longer to cook than the directions specified. Like, close to 75 minutes. I’m wondering if my strawberries were “too” juicy?
My almost 3 year old has declared he wants a BIG CAKE and that “strawberry is my favorite flavor.” He also wants a cake with a runway on it. I COULD make the pink lady cake, but this seems much more strawberry. He’s not so much a frosting fan but did ask for vanilla ice cream with his cake. So I’m thinking just lay a fondant runway with a toy airplane on top of this cake. No reason that would be an issue, other than not being traditional for birthdays, right?
Sounds memorable–and delicious! I loved this cake, especially with generous dollop of whipped cream. Post your photo!
Made this with marionberries, and split the liquid between 2% milk and whole buttermilk. DIVINE. Half gone and not two hours old. Maybe it will make it to day two the next time I make it? Also, my Pyrex pan needed 55 min total at 350 to cook through. Brava, Deb!
Can you make this with mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries and raspberries)?
I had really ripe strawberries to use up and found this recipe. I made this cake exactly as stated but didn’t use the parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. I just sprayed the pan well with Pam. After it cooled I guided the lily with a light dusting of confectionery sugar when serving. Delicious!
I like to check Smitten Kitchen whenever I’m trying to find a recipe for something I have in mind! I wanted to make a summer cake with fruit (in my case, green apples). So I made this cake with apples. I used buttermilk. I sliced the apples with lemon juice and some powder sugar. I had a lot of juice from the apples & lemon so I drained the juice and cooked it over the stove with a little water, sugar, & cornstarch. I drizzled this glaze over the apples on top of the cake just before baking. No cinnamon – I did not want it to be a brown autumnal spiced cake but a bright light sunny summer apple lemon cake. I think I succeeded. Thanks again, Deb!
Making this for a diabetic or his birthday. Has anyone substituted monk fruit for the sugar in this recipe. I know when measuring monk fruit it would be half the amount of what sugar would be, but should I reduce it even further?
Would I work with blackberries or raspberries? Our strawberry season is over. 😢
Could you answer a long time puzzle I’ve had? What’s the reason to have an egg yolk instead for a 2nd full egg?
I can understand in a very few recipes that that extra bit of egg white might be a liquid issue but most recipes- including this on- seem to be ok if the white was added. But there must be a reason, right? I’d love to know! I usually just add the whole egg instead of keeping a portion of egg white aside
I’ve made this cake at least 8 times and decided I would drop a note about how spectacular it is (and pretty easy)! If you’re wondering if it tastes good dairy-free, the answer is YES – I use dairy-free substitutes almost every time I make it. It’s a perfect summer cake but I make it year-round!
I have frozen strawberries from my garden from last year. would these work??
Can I use whipped cream to frost this cake?
This cake is so delicious! I had some ripe strawberries from the stand and this was the best way to enjoy them. Deb I love your recipes and how you anticipate questions etc. I will definitely make this again and again!
Looks like a yummy cake for my June 22nd birthday and a nice change from shortcake. Isn’t this a take on Marion Burros’s famous plum cake, which I love and not merely because it is the quickest special dessert- with whipped cream. Thx for all the tempting summer meals-you are my go-to and living in VT as I do, can reliably find the best of fresh produce all season long.
Love the idea of making this cake larger. A version of this recipe is my summer go to. Mine has the zest of two oranges and almond extract as well as vanilla. I can’t imagine making it without the orange zest, but I am looking forward to using your recipe to make a larger cake. The pie pan size just isn’t enough. Thank you for doing the work to expand this recipe.
Thank you for this update! If I had young kids, I would call this my “bake sale” cake because I am just one pack of strawberries away from having all the ingredients and it’s so easy and forgiving. I often make it for work events and to bring to get togethers. I only had 1lb of strawberries and it was still delicious and jammy, as Deb likes to say. I am embarrassed but relieved to say it is also delicious if you bake it for an extra 15 minutes because you miss your timer while playing Harry Potter LEGO on Xbox.
I made this gluten free today by using 1C almond flour and the rest. 1:1 gluten free flour. It worked beautifully! Melt in the mouth delicious, and very easy to make and serve.
I made it as written and it came out great. I used 2% milk, and it took over an hour to cook. Only change I’d make next time is to use a little less sugar. But a delicious recipe.
What a cake! Made it recently for a birthday party and it was such a hit. Definitely recommend adding the barley flour if you have it. We also pre-roasted the strawberries at 350 for 15 mins to reduce some of the liquid and concentrate the flavour. We added them to the cake as normal (could fit a few more because they shrink when you roast). Yum!
I made a gluten free version that was great!
I used about 100g almond flour, 100g superfine brown rice flour, 50g millet flour, 75g tapioca flour, and 50g sweet white rice flour. (Yes, more total weight than the original because almond flour is so hydrated already). I didn’t quite cover in strawberries because I didn’t have that many, I think it could have stood up to that easily though. I think you could do 100mg almond flour and then 225g cup for cup GF flour and have a great cake too!
I subbed in 1/3 almond flour (by weight in 9″ recipe; about 63 grams) and it was out of this world. I’ve made it exactly as written, too, and it’s delish, but the almond flour/meal just suited the berries perfectly.
Made this for a small dinner party, subbing in brown sugar for much of the sweetener because I ran out of granulated, and it SLAYED. Fantastic recipe.
Today I opened my strawberries and they were almost all moldy. Horrors. I made up the difference with wild Maine blueberries, a peach, and a nectarine. I have high hopes.
Oh my! This is so wonderful. My strawberries, 800g of irregular size, had the country quilt appearing to be from some ramshackle corner of the world, but a land whose kitchen smelt of sunshine and joy. Had a splash of milk (why does no-one mention that when they put the bottle back in the fridge… :) ) so made up the rest with Greek yoghurt. Baked in 48min exactly. It tastes heavenly on day one, just barely cooled. Hanging out to try it tomorrow. Thank you for the recipes, books and blog.
My nephew wanted a strawberry birthday cake so I turned this recipe into two 8” cakes and put them together with whipped cream and whipped cream on top. It’s February and strawberries aren’t quite ‘peak season,’ so I decided to par roast prior to putting them on the batter just to help concentrate the flavor and stave off any unwanted juice. I also used 75% of the original amount of sugar. Big with the kids and the adults. Keeper.
Excellent to the point article and news.. Well appreciated, My sites: okbet
It looks like with both versions of this cake you serve it straight from the pan. Big fan of the original recipe and as such I was thinking of doing it in a few weeks for my 1 year old’s birthday and “frosting” it just with whipped cream. Would/could you turn it out onto a platter when fully cooled or would it be best to leave it in the pan and just serve from there?
Has anyone tried making this with coconut flour instead? Looking for a good coconut flour cake for a birthday- any tips for swaps/ratios would be so appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Made this with frozen strawberries (good ones) and the crowds went wild. I did try to thaw them as others suggested but in the time it took me to throw the rest of the ingredients together, they had barely thawed any, so this is effectively an endorsement for using them straight from the freezer (after halving, of course) if that’s all you’ve got.
If I want to try this with barley flour, what sort do I get? Hulled barley or pearl barley? Have never used either, so need some advice. Thanks.
I’ve never seen it noted, whether it was hulled or pearled.
Can you make this using gluten free flour?
I overbaked it 😞 – couldn’t get a clean toothpick until ~60 mins. I used a glass 9×13 – does that make a difference?
Yes, it’s often recommended that you bake cakes at 25 degrees less if using glass.
I made this in a 9×13″ cake pan as listed in the amended recipe. It took MUCH longer before the batter was baked through. If a sheet pan was to be used instead, I would like to have known that. By the time the batter was baked, some of the strawberries began to shrink ad collapse. Not pretty. It’s still cooling so not sure how it will taste. DID you mean a sheet pan? Seems like much too much batter for such a shallow pan. Please advise. I did buy barley flours and swapped out a cup as in the amended recipe because you made it sound so tantalizing.
Not sure if I ca take this to a social dinner tomorrow. But if you did mean a sheet pan, please let us all know and Ill try again.
Hi. I read above, someone else was also asking about the type of pan to use. Here is what Deb responded: “9×13 = quarter-sheet; 13×18 = half-sheet. Both are often called sheet cakes since most home cooks aren’t baking such massive cakes as a bakery would at home.”
So, you use a regular 9 x 13 pan. The strawberries should shrink and collapse and get jammy and melty and soft. Not sure why yours took so long to cook. I just baked mine and it took the full 45 min. Are you sure about your oven temp? This cake is delicious! I’m going to try it with raspberries tomorrow.
In the original recipe, you have an option to sub barley flour for half of the APF; do you happen to know the grams to make the same sub in this recipe?
Curious, could you make/have you made this with brown butter? Seems like it would up the flavor – but might not work for cake texture?
Gahh never mind I see the answer up top.
It should work fine, I just tend to only brown butter where the flavor will really show up and I don’t think it will strongly here.
Hi, does anyone know if you could use half almond meal half flour? I just happen to love almond flour. Thank you for the great recipe!
My choice is to bake this on Friday morning or late Saturday night for a lunchtime Sunday birthday party for a strawberry loving 1 yo. Which would be best?
Either will work!
The strawberries I had were definitely on their last legs, but they were also massive. I bought more, since I was a few ounces shy of 1.5 pounds, and I’m glad I did. 1.5 pounds of gigantic berries did not cover a 9×13 pan when they were halved. I only needed four more, but thought others might like to know that when making this with huge berries, have some extras on hand just in case. It’s in the oven now and I can’t wait for the aroma to fill the house! Thanks as always for your wealth of excellent recipes!
Great texture, but too sweet for me. I’d cut the sugar by 25% next time. I’d also add some spices, and I think go back to the original amount of batter in a larger pan. It was quite thick, and I’d like to try it with lower batter to fruit ratio.
I debated whether to use one whole egg or two whole eggs because I dislike having to decide what to do with one white. After comparing proportions of the ingredients in Marian Burros’ famous Original Plum Torte in the NYTimes, I went with two whole eggs and no other ingredient adjustments. The taste and texture were perfectly fine.
I baked it on a 13″ x 9″ glass dish, so I adjusted the baking temperature down to 325° and checked for doneness at 45 minutes. I know I added a few more minutes but forgot to look at the clock when the center reached 200°.
This was wonderful while it was warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I’m going to store it uncovered in the microwave just in case my cats decide to taste it. I can’t wait to try it for breakfast.
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Made this twice this last week- subbed out the sugar with Pure (stevia) and 2 cups of the flour with almond flour- also added 2 T cream cheese with the milk and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract with the vanilla. Everyone loved it and the littlest grandkids loved shoving the strawberries in and shaking sugar on the top- I made it in the food processor just for ease of mixing (and then no one argues about who gets to stir) we used a tad less sugar than called for- also ate for breakfast in lieu of pancakes!! Such a hit we are having it again on the 4th of July for dessert with whipped cream and a sprinkle of fresh blueberries . Thank You Deb!!!
Deb: On a hunch, I marked this recipe to make for a friend’s birthday. As it turns out, she requested strawberries on yellow cake with whipped cream from her mother (not a baker) every year for her birthday when she was a child. I did not know that before I made this and I even had the whipped cream. She was blown away and it all disappeared at one sitting with multiple second helpings! It is delicious and I think I will be making it next year as well.
Thanks for helping us make a memory!
I just made this with sour cherries instead of strawberries and it turned out amazing! Feel like this cake base would work with any fruit. Will try with peaches next!
Such a yummy cake and perfect for summer. I have made this several times and today decided to give it a whirl dairy free for my son that’s allergic. It tastes just as good using coconut oil and vanilla ripple!!!
I wanted to scale up by 50% to make about 30 small squares. (For a dinner with 30 guests where I’m also making 2 other desserts.) Does it make sense to just add one whole extra egg?