Every August when there is a glut super cheap winter strawberries from Queensland  I wonder if I should make use of this abundance by making a strawberry shortcake and I think yeah – nah because once you bake and assemble a strawberry shortcake it has to be eaten immediately and I need a bit of leeway between the making and eating of anything sweet, otherwise I always end up throwing cake out which seems a terrible waste.

This strawberry sheet cake is perfect, not only is incredibly easy to make, it uses a plentiful amount strawberries (which is always good in a glut) and it gets even better after a day or two in the tin, in fact it is at it’s best a day or a day and half after baking. The strawberries baked to a jam like intensity because of a generous sprinkling of sugar on top become even more intense after a day and because of the copious amounts of strawberries crammed on top it doesn’t dry out like a normal cake.

Despite it’s unprepossessing appearance this cake is spectacularly delicious. I baked two of these sheet cakes before I actually tasted it properly, even with people raving about how good it was, I didn’t think it looked that impressive. Then when I did finally get to taste it I ate three pieces in one go because it’s that kind of cake and hard to stop at one piece. You could serve this with some whipped cream and call it desert but it really doesn’t need anything because it’s perfect just as it is.

Strawberry sheet cake

If you’re not baking for an occasion that demands a large sheet cake this is a scaled up version of a smaller summer strawberry cake here.

Strawberry Sheet Cake

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• • 125 grams of unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 3/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup milk

• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 1/4 cups plain flour
• 680 grams (About 3 punnets) of strawberries hulled and halved (The strawberries can be slightly overripe)

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C
2. Grease and line a 23 x 32 cm ( 9 x 13 inch) cake pan with baking paper.
3. Beat butter, salt and 1 1/2 cups of sugar until light and creamy. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla and beat until combined, then add milk and beat until combined. The mixture will look a bit curdled at this point but soldier on it will turn out fine.
4. Add baking powder and beat into egg mixture until well combined, Then add flour and mix until just combined.
5. Cover dough as tightly as possible with cut strawberries and sprinkle top with 3 tablespoons of sugar. This amount of sugar may seem excessive but it’s necessary to give the baked strawberries on top their jammy intensity.
6. Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. This always seems to take slightly longer in my oven.