Chocolate Sheet Cake with Strawberry Frosting
Cheerful to look at and delicious to eat, this Chocolate Sheet Cake with Strawberry Frosting is delightful for Valentine’s Day, a baby shower, or the next celebration of a pink or strawberry-loving friend. The cake is rich and moist, the frosting sweet and irresistible, and the whole combination pure homemade magic.
Chocolate strawberry decadence.
This sheet cake is a breeze to make, with pantry staples and simple techniques, but a joy to eat and share. Everyone loves the chocolate strawberry combination, but something about seeing it in cake form is just extra fun!
Buttermilk keeps this cake ultra moist and infuses a very slight tang, just as in our all-time favorite chocolate buttermilk cake. The simple strawberry buttercream is surprisingly easy to make, thanks to the magic of freeze-dried strawberries. Serve this for a casual gathering or a weekend treat, and I challenge anyone to sample a bite without falling just a little in love.
Key Ingredients
For the chocolate sheet cake, you will need:
- Refrigerated items: buttermilk, one stick of butter, and two large eggs.
- Baking staples: granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract.
For the strawberry frosting, you will need:
- Freeze-dried strawberries. These can be blitzed down into a fine powdery crumb that perfectly replaces some of the powdered sugar for a noticeably pink and fruit-flavored buttercream. I buy freeze-dried strawberries at Trader Joe’s — look near the nuts and dried fruit, or possibly near oats and cereals — or online in a pinch.
- One stick of butter and a smidge of milk, any kind.
- Powdered sugar, table salt or fine sea salt, and vanilla extract.
You do not need fresh strawberries to make this cake or frosting as written, but they do make a really pretty garnish on slices.
Can I use a fresh strawberry frosting?
If you prefer to use a fresh strawberry frosting, or simply can’t find freeze-dried strawberries in store, a batch of the frosting from these strawberry lemonade cupcakes will work beautifully. It uses a strawberry puree and has a really lovely, fruity taste.
What can I substitute for buttermilk?
No buttermilk, no problem. Measure out 1 and 1/2 cups of milk, remove 1 Tablespoon of it, then add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for 5-10 minutes, stir again, and proceed as you would with true buttermilk in the cake recipe.
Top Tips for Recipe Success
- Start with truly room temperature butter. Room temperature butter is very easy to cream with sugar into a smooth mixture that yields a smooth cake batter. Conversely, this is nearly impossible to do with cold butter. If there’s one thing you do in advance of starting to bake, set the butter out at room temperature–all three sticks, as you’ll need one for the cake and two for the frosting.
- Line the pan with parchment for easy removal. If you plan to serve slices of cake straight out of the pan, a light coat of cooking spray is all the prep you need. If, however, you want to be able to lift out the whole cake, fully lining the pan with a rectangle of parchment paper is a must.
- Add fresh strawberries just before serving. Fresh sliced strawberries look beautiful on this cake as a garnish, but don’t add them until you are completely ready to serve. Otherwise, the moisture of the fresh berries will make the surrounding frosting soggy.
Related Recipes
We also love these strawberry lemonade cupcakes, classic chocolate buttermilk cupcakes, or champagne cupcakes for a sweet treat.
Can’t get enough of that chocolate strawberry combination? Chocolate sugar cookies with strawberry frosting are another charming and decadent treat, or get your fix with a little more nutrition in the form of chocolate strawberry protein bites.
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Chocolate Sheet Cake with Strawberry Frosting
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon table salt
Frosting:
- 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons milk any kind
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch table salt
- fresh strawberries optional garnish
Instructions
- Measure buttermilk and set out at room temperature while you mix the other ingredients. (The butter should already be softened fully to room temperature before you start.)1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9"x13" cake pan with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer if you have one, cream together the butter and sugar until they are fluffy and thoroughly mixed. Add eggs and vanilla extract, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and blend well again.1/2 cup butter, 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.1 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon table salt
- With the mixer running on low speed, add half of the flour mixture to the butter-sugar blend. (If mixing by hand, just add half the flour, then gently fold it in.) Pour in the buttermilk, beat to incorporate, then add the rest of the flour mixture.
- Continue to mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high, or mix as rapidly as you can by hand, to get a smooth and silky cake batter.
- Pour batter into the pan and bake for 28-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Let cake cool all the way to room temperature before frosting.
- To make the frosting, use a food processor or blender to blitz the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder. It should reduce in volume to around 1/2 cup.1 cup freeze-dried strawberries
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer if possible, beat the butter on medium-high speed until it is creamy. Add the powdered sugar, strawberry powder, 2 Tablespoons of milk, the vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Beat on low speed for about 30 seconds, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip until the frosting is smooth and even. Add the remaining Tablespoon of milk, if needed, to make the frosting loose enough that it is easy to spread. Add another pinch of salt if the frosting tastes overly sweet.1 cup unsalted butter, 3 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2-3 Tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, pinch table salt
- Frost the cake as desired. If adding fresh strawberries as a garnish, don't add those until immediately before serving. Cake will keep well tightly covered at room temperature for 3-4 days.fresh strawberries
Notes
- Buttermilk Substitute: Measure out 1 and 1/2 cups of milk, remove 1 Tablespoon of it, then add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for 5-10 minutes, stir again, and proceed as you would with true buttermilk in the cake recipe.
- Time Crunch?: In a pinch for time, you can sprinkle the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) directly over the butter-sugar mixture, beat those in, then add the buttermilk and low speed and increase to blend. But I do find it incorporates more evenly and reliably when you take the time to whisk the dry ingredients separately and add alternating with the buttermilk.
- Fresh Strawberry Frosting: You can swap in this fresh strawberry frosting if you prefer or have difficulty finding freeze-dried strawberries in store.
- Recipe Sources: This cake is our family recipe for chocolate buttermilk cake, unchanged; frosting recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Recipes.
We absolutely love this cake! If you try the recipe, please take a second to leave your star rating and feedback here. I hope you and yours enjoy it as much as my family does!