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Strawberry Poptart Sheet Cake. Sweet, simple, and delicious, this vanilla strawberry cake will quickly become a favorite. Light and fluffy strawberry cake baked with real strawberry jam, just like a strawberry poptart. This light pink, berry-filled cake is generously frosted with a sweet vanilla frosting that mimics the classic Pop-Tart frosting we all used to love (but is actually so much better). This giant “Poptart” cake is bursting with freshness. Decorate as desired with sprinkles. Delicious and fun!
With spring just days away, I’m excited to lean into more spring-focused recipes. For many of us, that means sweet strawberry cakes, cookies, and tarts to celebrate!
This last week at home in Colorado has felt pretty springlike during the day. The snow on the roads is melting, and we’ve had sunny bluebird days. But in true Colorado form, we’ve got a couple of springtime storms on the way. I know our winter is not quite over yet. But the longer days and small tease of spring are still exciting!
Once I had the idea for a simple strawberry sheet cake, I knew I wanted to make it. It’s so fun and light – a happy spring dessert!
Originally, I was thinking I would make more of a classic strawberry cake with a buttercream icing. But I thought back to these strawberry doughnuts. And then that giant strawberry pop tart I made, and I did a quick pivot.
I wanted my frosting to be more like a Pop-Tart than a cake. Something light that could be made easily and still taste delicious! I love a classic strawberry Poptart, but this cake is even better!
This would be great to make for Easter too!
Here are the details
Ingredients – for the cake
- Freeze-dried strawberries
- Salted butter
- Real strawberry jam
- Greek yogurt or sour cream
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Whole milk
Ingredients – for the frosting
- Freeze-dried strawberries
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Whole milk
Special Tools
For this cake, it’s helpful to have a food processor to grind the dried strawberries into a powder. You can also buy strawberry powder from Amazon and skip the food processor. You’ll also need a couple of mixing bowls and a cake pan.
Step 1: turn the dried strawberries into powder
As with my strawberry cupcakes, I use strawberry jam and freeze-dried strawberries to create the perfect cake. The jam is very important. I think it adds a real strawberry flavor.
The first step is to blend the dried strawberries into a fine powder. You can do this in a food processor or a blender. You’ll use the strawberry powder for both the cake and the frosting. Of course, you can also just purchase strawberry powder.
Step 2: make the cake batter
To make the batter, mix the wet ingredients with the dry. Beat together melted butter, yogurt, eggs, and sugar to sweeten.
Mix in high-quality strawberry jam. Ideally, the jam should have real chunks of strawberries. Using jam gives the most concentrated delicious strawberry flavor and makes this cake taste even more like a jam-filled Poptart (or doughnut!).
Add in all the dry ingredients: flour, strawberry powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then, beat in warm, whole milk.
Step 3: bake
Bake the cake for 30 minutes. When you pull it out, you should be able to smell the sweet strawberries.
Let the cake cool a bit.
Step 4: make the frosting
Mix cream cheese with sugar, more strawberry powder, and vanilla. Stream in hot milk to bring the frosting to a pourable consistency.
Step 5: frost and decorate
Pour the frosting over the cake. It should be ok if the cake is a little warm. Add sprinkles as desired.
I also used a few dried flowers for a nice spring touch!
Buttery, sweet, and honestly, this cake is going to put you in a happy mood because spring is almost here!
A wonderful cake to bake this weekend, over Easter, and throughout spring!
Looking for other spring strawberry recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars
Strawberry Chamomile Naked Cake
Lemon Strawberry Dutch Baby with Ricotta Cream
Lastly, if you make this Strawberry Poptart Sheet Cake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Have you read my most recent Nine Favorite Things? If you’re looking for lifestyle and travel related content, or simply want to keep up with HBH on the go, Nine Favorite Things is your best resource for that. I also share a medley of recipes each week for your weekly meal plan. Thanks for following along!
Strawberry Poptart Sheet Cake
Servings: 18 cake squares
Calories Per Serving: 469 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 cups freeze dried strawberries
- 1 cup melted salted butter
- 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup high-quality strawberry jam
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup warm milk
Frosting
- 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons freeze dried strawberry powder
- 1/4 cup hot milk, plus more as desired
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. In a blender or food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder. You need 1/2 cup powder for the cake.2. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.3. In a large bowl, beat together the melted butter, yogurt, eggs, sugar, strawberry jam, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add about 1/2 cup of the strawberry powder (save the remainder for the frosting). Mix until just combined, then slowly beat in the milk until fully combined.4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool.5. To make the frosting: mix all ingredients in a bowl with 3-4 tablespoons of strawberry powder. Stream in additional hot milk until your desired consistency is reached, you may not use it all.6. Pour/spread the frosting over the cake. Decorate as desired. Let set. Slice into squares and enjoy!
This post was originally published on March 14, 2025
I made this right before Easter and it is absolutely delicious. I only had half of the required freeze dried strawberries and it is still strawberry enough for me! Used Whole Foods brand strawberry jam and poured it into a loaf pan because that was all I had. Baked for 60 minutes at 325F, turned out moist and not too sweet. Omitted the icing because I don’t like “cake” and find this to be a great alternative to my usual banana bread. I will definitely make this again!
Hey Margaret,
Fantastic! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! Happy Wednesday! xx
Made this cake for Easter and it was a huge hit!! I got the freeze dried strawberries at Trader Joe’s where they’re very reasonably priced. I used 4 packages of them to make the powder and had plenty of powder left over. I also doubled the icing recipe because I personally just enjoy a lot of icing. Yummy strawberry flavor and I liked the dense texture of the cake!
Hi Celeste,
Happy Monday!! Thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and your feedback!🌷
Made this for easter and it was great! Great strawberry flavor.
Cake was dense almost like a pound cake. Is there any method to making it fluffier or is it just a dense cake?
Delicious.
Hi Kate,
Happy Monday!! Thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and your feedback! I would be sure not to over-mix your batter, it shouldn’t be super dense.🌷
Made this with blueberry powder/jam for a baby boy shower. Huge hit beautiful and tasty!! We love you Teagan and all you do with your recipes
Hi Teresa,
Happy Monday!! Thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and your feedback!🌷
I can’t wait to make this. Can I substitute Almond milk instead of regular milk? And how warm should it be?
Hi Regina,
Sure, almond milk should be just fine for you to use. I would use lukewarm milk, you don’t want it to be too hot. I hope you love this recipe! xx
Made this with blueberry powder/jam for a baby boy shower. Huge hit beautiful and tasty!! We love you Teagan and all you do with your recipes
Wish I could add a picture 🩵
Hey Teresa,
Amazing! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try, so glad it turned out nicely for you! Thanks so much for your kind message:) Have the best weekend!🌸
Made this and it came out so good.
How do I store the leftovers?
Hey Keri,
Amazing! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try, so glad it turned out nicely for you! You can keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Have the best weekend!🌸
Hi!
Making this for Easter…whatn you say “2 pc eggs”, is that 2 packs (2 dozen)? Wanted to be sure before I dive in head first! Thanks!
Hi Lauren,
Sorry, I am not sure where you are seeing this, but you are going to use 2 large eggs. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Funny! Now that I am looking at it on the screen is say “2 large eggs”. But when I printed this recipe, as well as your lemon glazed carrot cake recipe, they both print as I listed. So weird! Sorry about that!
I can’t wait to make this cake for Easter!
What do you think about stirring in the jam at the end, after the dry ingredients are mixed in? Would this allow the jam to have more of a swirled in affect when baking?
Thank you?
Hi Kate,
Sure, you could give that a try! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you!
I have a Nordic Ware flower pan, kind of like cupcake size but can’t use a liner because they’re flower shaped, would this recipe work in there? I think it would be beautiful for Easter treats, just not sure if it will work.
Hi Leslie,
So sorry, it’s really hard for me to say because I’ve never tested this, but I think it’s worth trying! I hope you love this recipe! xx
Tried it in the Nordic Ware mini flower pan! Oh my gosh! They’re perfect!!
Yay!! So glad to hear this!
Hello, I will be making this the day before my event. Do you recommend it be refrigerated ?
Hi Belkys,
Yes, that would be a good idea for you:) Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! Happy Friday!
I just made this and it was very easy and delicious. It is more dense than I thought it would be but we still loved it. It required one and a half bags of dried strawberries (Trader Joe’s) which were only $2.99 each bag. Very affordable. I will definitely make this again especially when we have guests over.
Hey Mac,
Amazing!! Love to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and your feedback:)
This is sooo good!
Wondering if it could be made in to cupcakes? If so, recommendations for baking temp and times?
Hi Grace,
I would recommend using this recipe for cupcakes:
https://fett-weg.today/double-strawberry-cupcakes/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
How much strawberry powder = 2 cups freeze dried strawberries?
Hi Colleen,
You will need 1/2 cup powder for the cake and 3-4 tablespoons of powder for the frosting. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Frosting was great, added more cream cheese and freeze dried strawberry powder. Used some of the freeze dried strawberries for decoration.
One comment is that the cake was very dense. Followed the recipe exactly and the cake was not cake like, but more of very dense brownie like texture
Hi Laurie,
Happy Monday! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and your comment!! So sorry about the texture of the cake!
Hello! I bought the ingredients to make this cake for my moms birthday and am excited to make it! Do you think this recipe would work as cupcakes? Long time HBH here, love everything you do! <3
Thanks so much, Samantha!! For cupcakes, I would use this recipe:
https://fett-weg.today/double-strawberry-cupcakes/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> I hope this helps! Happy Birthday to your mom! xx