Strawberry Sheet Cake with Rhubarb Frosting

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Strawberry Sheet Cake with Rhubarb Frosting

 

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.

Strawberry Sheet Cake with Rhubarb Frosting

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 Frosting

4.95 from 20 votes

Strawberry Sheet Cake with Rhubarb Swiss Meringue Frosting

Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 1 sheet cake
Strawberry Sheet Cake with Rhubarb Frosting is a fluffy strawberry-flavored cake for a crowd topped with the most delicious roasted swiss meringue that tastes like rhubarb.

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

Some Swiss Meringue Assistance:
When you add the puree, the frosting may curdle a bit. Here's how to fix it:
Remove 1/4 cup (you can eyeball this measurement) of the frosting and microwave it for about 30 seconds OR set it over a double-boiler until it's very smooth and melted.
With the mixer running, slowly pour in the melted frosting. Beat for an additional two minutes. The frosting will magically come together and become fluffy and cohesive!
If you're frosting is soupy, stick it in the fridge for about 5 to 10 minutes and then beat it for 1 to 2 minutes. It should stiffen up a bit.
If rhubarb is out of season, you can replace it with strawberry puree. I would double the amount of strawberries and then use the exact same measurement of puree for the frosting (1/4 cup of strawberry puree).

Nutrition

Calories: 302kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Brunch, Dessert
Cuisine: American, English
Like this Recipe? Please Rate & comment below!

Love sheet cakes? Here are some of my favorites:

One Bowl Chocolate Sheet Cake

Carrot Sheet Cake

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

Strawberry Sheet Cake with Rhubarb Frosting

Cozy Latin-Inspired Comfort Food Recipes

Hi! I'm Adrianna and this is my cozy space on the internet that is super-charged by butter, flour and copious amounts of pasta. Stay awhile, will you!

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58 Comments

  1. Rhubard Meringie icing?? That sounds amazing!!! I love LOVE rhubarb! I am definelty making this cake for my Mum when she comes to visit next weekend, strawberries and rhubarb remind me of my Pop. He had a huge veggie garden with a massive strawberry patch and always had rhubarb, so I know she will love these flavours

  2. Oh that is so nice I’m looking it and I’ll definitely share website url to my mother coz I wanna try it.

  3. You had me at “pink cake.” I have this as cupcakes in the oven as we speak– but I’m going all in strawberry (classic, overly sugary buttercream with strawberry puree/jam). I am having a particularly rough day but I’m optimistic that pink cake with sprinkles will help.

    1. Oh that’s awesome! Let me know how they turn out as cupcakes. Sounds delicious. I hope they turn your day around 🙂

      1. I have been looking for the perfect strawberry cake for YEARS and (dramatic pause) THIS IS IT! I did a less sweet buttercream with strawberry puree and just a smidge of jam and then threw in some chopped up strawberries to cut the sweetness (next time I might decorate with strawberries). Cupcakes were great– I didn’t quite mix the batter up all the way (pilot error), so there were some weird butter-y, egg white-y parts on a couple. And I DO feel better. Cake does that. Thanks for sharing and making my Monday less sucky.

  4. Any suggestions for Rhubarb alternatives? I live in Miami and you can’t get Rhubarb down here (tragic, really)…

    1. I would replace it with strawberries! So you’d have a strawberry cake with strawberry frosting. I sort of grew up in Fort Lauderdale and I NEVER remember seeing rhubarb, so I feel your pain. I think strawberry on strawberry would be delicious! 🙂

  5. The colors of this cake are unreal. I always love strawberry and rhubarb together, and I have a hunch I’d love this.

  6. these pinks! the frosting swoops and swirls! it’s a gorgeous looking cake, but it sounds so tasty too (especially
    since i haven’t had much luck with strawberries yet, and roasting them might be the ticket).