Let’s talk cakes, specifically this one. Easter is this weekend, which really is the kickoff to spring brunches. There’s Mother’s Day and spring weather, which makes for ideal brunching-weather. I say we make this Strawberry Sheet Cake with Rhubarb Frosting! It’s a glorious spring cake that is perfect for this time of year!
Sheet Cakes are Brilliant For the Lazy!
If you love cakes but can’t find the energy/skillz to decorate them, then the whole ‘sheet cake category’ is for you. They are ridiculously easy. All you’ll need is a proper baking pan and a spatula and a handful of sprinkles.
This strawberry + rhubarb sheet cake is the complete opposite of this Neapolitan number. That cake requires a few cups of coffee and some concentration (or at least the decorating part does).
This cake is made up of the most delicious white/strawberry cake combo ever. I could eat it over and over. And the rhubarb frosting is delicious tart and smooth.
If you think of yourself as more of a cook than a baker, then this cake is for you!
How to Make This Strawberry Sheet Cake!
The whole recipe begins with the strawberries and rhubarb sharing a baking sheet and roasting together but separately.
Then they’re blended up, separately, but I didn’t bother to rinse the blender because I was being lazy.
This is a lazy-friendly cake.
After it was done cooling, I added all of the frosting to the top, smoothed that it out and threw some sprinkles on and called it a day!
It was glorious and I hope you make this Strawberry Sheet Cake with Rhubarb Frosting soon! If you do, let me know!
xo
Adrianna
Strawberry Sheet Cake with Rhubarb Swiss Meringue Frosting
Ingredients
Roasted Strawberries + Rhubarb:
- 2 cups sliced strawberries from 1/2 pound strawberries
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar divided
- 1 cup diced rhubarb from 4 to 5 shortish stalks
- Pinch of salt
- 3 drops of red food coloring optional
Strawberry Sheet Cake:
- 2 3/4 cup cake flour plus more for dusting pans
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cups unsalted butter
- 1 3/4 cups white granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup milk
- 6 large egg whites
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla paste
Rhubarb Swiss Meringue Frosting:
- 3 large egg whites
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/4 cup rhubarb puree
- 2 to 3 drops of red food coloring optional
Instructions
To Make the Roasted Strawberries + Rhubarb:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add the sliced strawberries to one side of a parchment-lined baking sheet and the diced rhubarb to the other side. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of sugar onto the strawberries and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar onto the rhubarb. Toss them gently and keeping them separate, transfer them to the oven to roast for 10 minutes.
- Remove and allow them to cool for about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the strawberries to a blender and pulse until smooth. (You should end up with about 1/2 cup puree. Mix in 3 drops of food coloring, if you like.) Next, add the rhubarb to the blender and pulse until smooth.
To Make the Sheet Cake:
- Keep the oven at 350 degrees F (as it was for roasting the strawberries). And grease a 13x9-inch baking pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk until combined. Set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. In a measuring cup, pour in the milk, egg whites, vanilla extract or paste and reserved 1/2 cup strawberry puree (discard any extra) and whisk until combined.
- Turn the mixer to low speed and, alternating between the dry ingredients and the liquid ingredients (the strawberry/egg white mixture), add the them butter/sugar mixture until the batter is relatively smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and transfer to the oven to bake for 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack and cool to room temperature. It’ll probably take a good hour.
To make the frosting:
- Bring a saucepan filled with a few inches of water. Place the clean bowl of a stand-up mixer atop the saucepan. Add the sugar and egg whites to the bowl and mix.
- Heat the mixture until it reaches 140 degrees F or until the sugar has dissolved completely. Carefully (it’ll be hot!) transfer the bowl to the stand-up mixer and with the whisk attachment, beat for 5 to 7 minutes, until very fluffy. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with the paddle attachment. With the mixer running on low speed, add the butter, one cube at a time until smooth and glossy. Lastly, pour in the rhubarb puree and red food coloring and mix until combined.
To Decorate the Cake:
- When the cake is completely cool, pour the frosting on top of the cake. Using an offset spatula or any spatula you own, smooth it out until it reaches the edges. Make a few swoops in the frosting so it looks cute. And then top it with a bunch of sprinkles!
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi! I’d love to try this recipe but it looks like all the images are broken links and it makes it hard to follow the text. Any way to fix this?
hi sorry about that. not sure what’s happening. i reached out to my support team to figure it out. thanks for pointing it out.
The cake looks delicious, but I cannot have rhubarb! Is there a way to substitute?
This sounds sooo delicious!! I want to make this but have been trying to get in the habit of reading through recipes before giving it a go.. i noticed that the sheet cake asks for strawberry preserves in the directions, yet does not list it in the ingredient list. Is this the roasted strawberry rhubarb purée mixture that should be mixed in, or is this a separate strawberry jam from the jar? :^) can’t wait to try!!
Made this cake 3 months ago and can NOT stop thinking about it. We ate the entire cake in 2 days (there’s only two of us) it’s sooo good! Making it again tomorrow!!
amazing! haha love hearing this!
Hello! Any thoughts on converting these to cupcakes? Would like to make this cake but also want to be as social-distance friendly as possible. Cupcakes are just a little easier to share during this time. 🙂
Yes it should make about 30 cupcakes. I would just fill up each of the cupcake tins 3/4 of the way and bake them for probably 18-20 minutes. Should be great!