Strawberry Sheet Cake

I ran across this blog awhile back and thought it had a lot of wonderful recipes that I wanted to try. The first one that was put in the must-try-soon category was strawberry sheet cake. Being a Texan, sheet cake is a very important dessert that needs to be consumed often, so I was excited to see a variation of your typical chocolate sheet cake. I made it on Monday and everyone who came to my home from Monday-Wednesday had to eat it...otherwise I would have eaten it all myself! It was absolutely delicious and perfect for the summer. The icing was the most amazing icing I've ever eaten....my new favorite. Please try it soon!!

STRAWBERRY SHEET CAKE

• 12 oz .fresh strawberries, stems removed and chopped (about 3 cups)
  
• 2 cups of sugar plus 2 teaspoons
  
• 2 cups of flour
  
• 2 sticks of butter (1 cup)
  
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
  
• 1/2 cup of buttermilk
  
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Over the chopped strawberries, sprinkle 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1/4 cup of water. Let them sit for an hour at room temperature so they can release some of their juices. The berries should reduce to about 1 1/2 cups. In a blender of food processor, crush the berries on a low speed for a few seconds—you want them juicy but still with some texture. Take 1/2 cup of the strawberry mixture for the frosting and leave the remaining crushed strawberries for the cake.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Sift the sugar and flour together in a bowl.

Melt the butter on low in a saucepan and then whisk it with the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and baking soda. Add the liquid to the flour and then stir in one cup of the crushed strawberries.

Pour batter into greased 9x13 inch pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cake is done when a knife comes out clean from the center. Let it cool and then frost with the strawberry cream cheese frosting (recipe below).

Note: The cake will be a little brown. This, I hear, is because of the alkaline reaction of the ingredients. Do not be alarmed!

STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• 1/4 pound of butter (1 stick) at room temperature
  
• 8 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature
  
• 3 cups of powdered sugar
  
• 1/2 cup crushed strawberries
  
• 2 teaspoons of lime juice (about half a lime)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon lime zest
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar until blended. Add the strawberries, lime juice, lime zest and vanilla. Spread over cooled cake.

Note: Depending on how juicy your berries are, your icing may be runnier than usual. If this is the case, I'd add more cream cheese to thicken it up.