Easy Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
on Jun 01, 2023, Updated Feb 12, 2025
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Sheet cakes are simple, but they’re still a favorite around here! This strawberry shortcake cake recipe is the perfect treat when you want something sweet without the hassle. It’s light, fresh, and comes together so effortlessly — you’ll love how simple and delicious it is!
When it comes to entertaining a large group, nothing beats a sheet cake for convenience. What if we could marry the flavors of a summertime classic with the convenience of a crowd-friendly dessert?
Enter the easy strawberry shortcake cake recipe, a perfect blend of light cake, luscious strawberries, and fluffy whipped cream, sure to make your next gathering a sweet success. This simple recipe uses a boxed cake mix for ease and it’s always a hit at gatherings.
The best part is you can make this dessert ahead of time, letting the flavors develop for an even more delicious result. With just a few simple ingredients and steps, you’ll have a dessert that looks like it came from a bakery but tastes like it was made with love at home.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love Making This Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
- Recipe Ingredients
- Popular Substitutions and Variations
- How to Make This Strawberry Shortcake Sheet Cake
- Recipe FAQs
- Expert Tips
- How to Store Leftovers
- More Strawberry Cake Recipes To Try
- More Yummy Cake Recipes to Consider
- Easy Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe Recipe
Why You’ll Love Making This Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
- Time Saver: Using a boxed cake mix as the base means you’ll spend less time measuring and mixing, but still get that homemade taste everyone loves.
- Make Ahead: Prepare this cake up to 24 hours before your event – the strawberry flavor actually gets better as it sits!
- Always a Hit: This cake perfectly serves 12-15 people and combines everyone’s favorite summer dessert flavors in an easy-to-serve format. It’s a crowd-pleasing dessert that’s guaranteed to impress!
- Budget Friendly: With simple ingredients like cake mix, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream, you’ll get maximum impact without breaking the bank.
🍰 After bringing this strawberry shortcake cake to a family event, I’ve become the official dessert queen at every family gathering!
Recipe Ingredients
- White cake mix — or yellow
- Milk
- Butter
- Eggs
- Strawberries
- Whipping cream — heavy
- Sugar — granulated and powdered
- Vanilla extract
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Popular Substitutions and Variations
Berry Twist: Substitute strawberries with raspberries, blueberries, or a mixed berry blend. Berries can add a vibrant flavor and beautiful pop of color. Try using seasonal fruits for the best taste and freshness.
Frosting Alternative: Replace the whipped cream with cream cheese frosting for a richer taste and longer-lasting stability, especially good for outdoor events.
Cake Base Options: Swap the vanilla cake mix for lemon, strawberry, or even chocolate cake mix to create different flavor combinations that still work beautifully with the fruit. Vanilla adds warmth, while angel food keeps it extra light and airy. Each option gives a slightly different twist to the dessert.
How to Make This Strawberry Shortcake Sheet Cake
- Preheat the oven and prepare a jelly roll pan.
- Mix cake mix, milk, melted butter, and eggs in a bowl.
- Pour the mixture into the pan and bake until the cake springs back when lightly touched.
- Wash and chop strawberries into small pieces. Mix them with sugar and let them rest.
- Whip the cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract until it forms peaks.
- Once the cake is ready, top it with the strawberries and their accumulated juice.
- Spread whipped cream over the strawberries.
- Slice and serve immediately or store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, while a white or vanilla cake mix is typically used for a traditional flavor profile, you can certainly use a different variety based on your preferences. Lemon or yellow cake could lend a nice twist to the dessert.
Yes, you can use frozen strawberries if fresh ones are not available. Make sure to thaw and drain them well to avoid excess moisture, which could make your cake soggy.
If your whipped cream starts to break down, you likely didn’t whip it to stiff enough peaks. Try adding 2-3 tablespoons of dry instant vanilla pudding mix to your heavy cream before whipping — it works as a stabilizer and adds subtle vanilla flavor.
This natural color bleeding happens when the berries release their juices. To minimize this, toss your sliced strawberries with 2 tablespoons of sugar and let them sit in a strainer for 30 minutes before adding them to the cake. This pre-drains excess juice while still keeping the berries flavorful.
Expert Tips
- Perfect Your Layers: To ensure even cake layers, use an offset spatula to smooth the batter, and gently tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove air bubbles. For perfectly level layers, try using cake strips around your pans.
- Berry Prep Matters: Slice strawberries just before assembling the cake and pat them gently with paper towels. For the prettiest presentation, save your most uniform, attractive berries for the top layer. Cut berries to a similar size (about 1/4 inch thick) for even distribution and better stability.
- Whipped Cream Success: Start with everything cold – the bowl, beaters, and heavy cream straight from the fridge. Whip until you see stiff peaks form, but stop before it becomes grainy. The cream should stand up firmly on your beater when lifted.
- Dust with Powdered Sugar: For an extra touch of sweetness and a polished look, lightly dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar before serving.
How to Store Leftovers
Store this strawberry shortcake sheet cake in the refrigerator, covered loosely with plastic wrap or in an airtight container, for up to 3 days. To prevent the plastic wrap from sticking to the whipped cream topping, insert a few toothpicks around the top of the cake to hold the wrap away from the surface.
Keep in mind that the texture is best within the first 48 hours – after that, the strawberries may start to release more juice and the whipped cream could begin to break down. If you need to prep ahead, you can bake and freeze the cake layers for up to a month, then thaw and assemble with fresh whipped cream and berries when ready to serve.
Avoid freezing the assembled cake, as the texture of both the whipped cream and fresh berries may not be so great.
More Strawberry Cake Recipes To Try
Looking for more strawberry-inspired treats? These delicious recipes are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.
- Strawberry Cupcakes are delightfully moist with bursts of fresh strawberry flavor in every bite, perfect for parties or afternoon indulgence.
- For a simple yet stunning dessert, try this Easy Strawberry Cake, made with real strawberries and topped with a luscious glaze.
- Lastly, nothing beats The Best Strawberry Shortcake, layered with fluffy biscuits, juicy strawberries, and whipped cream for a classic summer dessert.
More Yummy Cake Recipes to Consider
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Easy Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 white or yellow cake mix
- 1 cup milk, whole preferred
- ½ cup butter, melted and cooled
- 4 eggs
For the Topping:
- 2 pounds strawberries
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a jelly roll pan well (a rimmed baking sheet or cookie sheet that is 12×17 inches).
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the cake mix. Do not add the ingredients called for on the back of the box. Instead, you are going to add the milk, melted butter, and eggs to the cake mix.
- Stir very well to combine.
- Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake until the cake springs back when lightly touched, about 15 minutes (an under baked cake will leave an indent when touched).
- While the cake is baking, wash and remove the stems from your strawberries, and then chop them into smaller pieces. I like to cut the berries in half from bottom to stem and then lay the cut side down on the cutting board, cutting each half into 3 to 4 pieces about ½-inch wide. The goal is pretty small pieces that will fit on a fork nicely, but also not tiny.
- Put the cut strawberries in a medium bowl and add the sugar. Stir to combine well. I like to let the strawberries rest in the sugar for at least 10 to 15 minutes so that the sugar can draw out some of the natural juices in the strawberries.
- While the strawberries sit, whip your cream.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined, and then increase the speed to high. Beat on high until the cream is well whipped and it forms peaks when the beaters are removed, about 3 minutes.
- When you are ready to assemble the cake, spoon the cut strawberries over the baked cake (it can be warm or cooled), and then drizzle the juice that accumulated in the bowl evenly over the cake too.
- Dollop the fresh whipped cream over the strawberries and then use a spatula to spread it evenly over the berries and cake.
- Slice with a sharp knife and serve right away, or store in the fridge for up to 12 hours before serving.
Notes
- Other recipes call for putting the berries on top of the whipped cream, and while it looks pretty, I find that they slip off when you are trying to serve it. I also like when the berry moisture can soak into the cake a bit.
- This recipe was tested with a 15.25-ounce box of Betty Crocker cake mix (both white and yellow cake mix of this kind were tested).
- If you are making this ahead of time, I’d recommend finding heavy whipping cream (opposed to just whipping cream). The whipped heavy whipping cream is more stable and stays whipped longer without losing its fluffiness or weeping.
- You can make any of these parts ahead of time and assemble before serving, or you can assemble and keep it in the fridge for up to 12 hours before serving. I like to store my sugared berries no more than a few hours, though. They get soft after 4 to 6 hours.
Such an easy but delicious recipe. I add vanilla bean to the vanilla cake and it just adds that extra touch.
Made this for church, the whole pan was gone in no time! Also had plenty of compliments on it. Was super easy to make and is now going to become my “go-to” dessert for events.
Don’t you love how easy it is?? It’s a favorite of mine to take to a get-together too!