This mini strawberry sheet cake is soft, fluffy, and made with roasted strawberries and freeze-dried strawberry powder for the best flavor! And for the ultimate in strawberry goodness, enjoy it with this creamy, homemade strawberry buttercream frosting!
Preheat the oven to 250ºF. Line a medium-size baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add the freshly cut strawberries, lemon juice, and granulated sugar to a medium-sized bowl. Toss to combine. Transfer to the lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. When done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
Add the cooled roasted strawberries to a food processor, and pulse to combine into a puree. Keep the roasted strawberry puree in a well-sealed container for up to a week.
Mini Strawberry Sheet Cake
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Generously spray a small rectangular baking pan (approx. 8.4 x 6.4 inches in size) or a round 6 x 3-inch baking pan with a flour-based baking spray. If you'd like, you can add a parchment paper sling to the rectangular pan or a parchment paper circle to the round baking pan. Set to the side.
Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a small mixing bowl.
1 cup Cake Flour, 1 teaspoon Baking Powder, ¼ teaspoon Salt
In a separate medium-size mixing bowl, combine the freeze-dried strawberry powder, unsalted butter, and granulated sugar with a hand mixer on medium-high speed.
3 teaspoon Freeze Dried Strawberry Powder, 5 tablespoon Unsalted Butter, ½ cup Granulated Sugar
Add the egg, vanilla extract, whole milk, and roasted strawberry puree. Mix until well combined.
1 Large Egg, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, ⅓ cup Whole Milk, ¼ cup Roasted Strawberry Puree
Combine the whisked dry ingredients with the wet ingredients over low-medium speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the cake batter. The cake batter will have a medium consistency (not too thin, not too thick) and is easily scoopable and spreadable in the baking pan. It will be light pink with visible red bits of strawberry puree and flecks of strawberry powder.
Transfer the strawberry cake batter to the prepared, small rectangular or round baking pan and bake at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes. The cake is ready when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream the roasted strawberry puree, freeze-dried strawberry powder, unsalted butter, and salt until well combined.
¼ cup Roasted Strawberry Puree, 2 teaspoon Freeze Dried Strawberry Powder, ¼ cup Unsalted Butter, ¼ teaspoon Salt
Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth and creamy. Apply the strawberry buttercream frosting to the cooled strawberry cake, then enjoy!
3 cups Powdered Sugar
Any leftover strawberry sheet cake can be wrapped in plastic wrap and kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or kept in the freezer (double wrapped and kept in a plastic freezer bag). Leftover strawberry buttercream frosting can be kept in an airtight container for up to a week or frozen for up to one month.
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Notes
For this recipe, you can use an 8.4 x 6.4-inch rectangular baking pan or a round 6 x 3-inch round baking pan.
Any leftover strawberry puree can be kept in an airtight container for up to a week.
The freeze-dried strawberry powder can be purchased in powder form, or you can get freeze-dried strawberries and grind them up using a Ziploc bag and a rolling bag. Freeze-dried strawberries can be found at Aldi, Trader Joe's, and Wegmans.
Any leftover strawberry sheet cake can be wrapped in plastic wrap and kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer (double wrapped and kept in a plastic freezer bag).
Leftover strawberry buttercream frosting can be kept in an airtight container for up to a week or frozen for up to one month.