095 / 100 · Sweet and Unhurried
Strawberry and Buttermilk Sheet Cake
1 nine-by-thirteen-inch cake, cut into 12 pieces Active 25 min Total 1 hr 30 min
Sliced strawberries sink just slightly into a soft buttermilk cake, leaving pockets of fruit and a pale golden surface. Butter brings flavor while a small amount of oil helps the crumb stay tender after cooling. This is a simple sheet cake rather than a tall celebration layer cake, so it needs no filling or frosting. Dry the berries well before slicing them and scatter them lightly over the batter. A little sugar on top makes a delicate crust around the fruit.
Prepare the pan before mixing
Butter the corners well and line the base with parchment so the first serving is as easy to lift as the last. Room-temperature eggs and buttermilk blend into the butter mixture more smoothly than cold ingredients. If the batter looks slightly curdled after the eggs, it usually comes together once the dry ingredients are added. Beat the butter and sugar thoroughly at the start, then use a lighter hand once flour enters the bowl.
Keep the strawberries near the surface
A thick layer of fruit would weigh down the crumb and release too much juice. The measured amount gives each piece a few tender strawberry pockets without saturating the whole pan. Set the slices over the batter rather than stirring them deeply through it. They will settle as the cake rises around them. Small berries make particularly neat slices, but larger berries work if cut thinly.
Cool before making clean squares
The cake is delicate while hot, especially beside the juicy fruit. Give it at least half an hour before cutting, or let it cool completely for the cleanest edges. Test a plain patch of crumb near the center rather than pushing the skewer through a strawberry, where fruit juice can look like raw batter. A few moist crumbs are fine; streaks of wet batter mean the cake needs more time.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (270 g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (113 g), plus a little for the pan
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g), plus 1 tablespoon for the top
- 1/4 cup neutral oil (60 ml)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature (240 ml)
- 10 ounces strawberries, hulled, dried, and sliced (285 g prepared)
Set out
9-by-13-inch baking pan, Parchment, Electric mixer, Two mixing bowls, Spatula, Wire rack
Allergens
Wheat, milk, egg. Check ingredient labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Heat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Butter a 9-by-13-inch pan and line its base with parchment.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
- Beat the softened butter and 1 cup sugar for 3 minutes, until lighter and fluffy. Beat in the oil, then the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
- On low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions. Start and finish with flour. Stop as soon as the batter is smooth, scraping the bowl once.
- Spread in the pan. Arrange the strawberry slices evenly over the surface without pressing them deeply in. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon sugar.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the center springs back lightly and a skewer inserted into plain cake near the center emerges without wet batter.
- Cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting into 12 pieces.
A useful detail
Buttermilk reacts with the baking soda; plain milk is not a direct substitute in this formulation.
Make it your own
- Use 8 ounces (225 g) blueberries instead of strawberries.
- Add 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest with the vanilla.
Keep it well
Cover and refrigerate the cooled cake at 40°F/4°C or colder for up to 4 days because of its moist fruit topping. Let individual pieces stand briefly before serving if preferred. Freeze wrapped pieces for up to 2 months.