Classic Yellow Sheet Cake with Strawberry Rose Frosting
A classic yellow sheet cake, moist and tender with a hint of vanilla and lemon zest, topped with a fluffy strawberry rose buttercream.
Yield: one 9-inch cake (16 servings)
Ingredients
For Cake:
- 1 ⅛ cup / 141 g all-purpose flour, (that's 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup / 113 g (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature*
- 1 cup / 200 g granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup / 120 g full fat buttermilk, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons / 28 g vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
For Frosting:
- ¾ cup / 170 g (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1½ cups / 180 g confectioner's sugar, sifted, plus more as needed
- ¾ cup / 16 g freeze dried strawberries, ground in to a fine powder in a spice or clean coffee grinder
- 1½ teaspoons rose water
- pinch salt
- 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream, at room temperature, more or less as needed
- pink food coloring, optional
- sprinkles, optional, for decoration
- marzipan letters, optional, for decoration
Instructions
For Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-9-inch baking pan and line bottom and sides with parchment paper. Lightly butter parchment.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside.
- In another bowl or large 4-cup glass measuring cup, whisk together buttermilk, oil, vanilla and lemon zest.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes (seriously, set a timer and beat it for a full 3 minutes).
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition to allow the egg to fully emulsify. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in the second egg. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high for a 10 seconds or so at the end just to make sure the batter is nice and fluffy at this point.
- Add half of dry ingredients and mix on low speed until mostly incorporated, then mix in about half of the buttermilk mixture. Scrape down the sides, then add remaining flour, followed by remaining buttermilk, and mix until fully incorporated.
- Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until center is set and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before frosting.
For Frosting:
- To prepare frosting, in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in ground strawberry powder.
- Add 2 tablespoons of cream and rose water and increase speed to medium high, beating until frosting is very light and fluffy. At this point you can add additional cream to lighten the frosting and cut the sweetness. However, in warmer months, you may find the frosting is too thin as is to support any cream at all, and may even find adding a bit more powdered sugar is necessary to achieve the desired consistency. Use your best judgement here.
- The frosting will be a naturally light red color, if you want a brighter pink, add a few drops of food coloring and mix until evenly incorporated.
- Spread onto cooled cake using a large offset spatula. Decorate with sprinkles as desired.
Notes
- It is extremely important that your butter, eggs, and buttermilk be at room temperature, ideally about 65-67 degrees F (stick a thermometer right into the stick of butter if you're unsure). Having these ingredients at the same temperature will allow them to emulsify together into a smooth and fluffy batter. I like to pull out my ingredients at least an hour or two before I start baking and let them come to room temperature naturally.