This Strawberries and Cream Cake is a light and fluffy strawberry cake filled with fresh strawberries and topped with a fresh whipped cream cheese frosting with strawberries and a touch of lemon.
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 13- x 9-inch baking dish (although the title says sheet cake it's referring to a non-layered cake. Do not use a jelly roll pan) with shortening and line with parchment paper, allowing 2 to 3 inches to extend over long sides. Lightly grease paper with cooking spray. Use this method if you plan on inverting the cake on to a serving plate. If you want to serve it out of the pan, just generously grease the pan.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer for 4 to 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, until well blended. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, strawberry-flavored gelatin, baking soda, and salt; Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until ingredients are just barely combined. Stir in the strawberries. Pour batter in prepared pan.
Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and cake springs back to the touch. You may need to cover the cake after 30 minutes with foil to make sure it doesn't brown too much. Cool in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes. Lift cake from pan, using parchment paper sides as handles. Invert cake onto wire rack; gently remove parchment paper. Or just leave in the pan if you chose that option. Cool completely (about 1 hour). Spread frosting on top.
For the frosting: Make sure your cream cheese is really soft. Stir the jello into the cream cheese. Add the strawberries and beat until blended.
In a separate bowl, beat whipping cream and lemon juice at medium speed until foamy; add 3/4 cup powdered sugar, beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Fold half of cream mixture into cheese mixture; fold in remaining cream mixture. Frost cooled cake immediately. Keep cake refrigerated until serving. Cut with a serrated knife to serve.
Notes
Buttermilk Substitute: Add 1 tablespoon vinegar to a measuring cup. Fill the measuring cup up with milk until it reaches the 1 cup line. Let sit 5 minutes or until mixture looks slightly curdled. You can also use lemon juice but vinegar is better.Cake Flour Substitute: For every cup of flour you need to substitute do this: Measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Remove 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and return to your flour bag. Replace the removed flour with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Sift the flour several times to incorporate the mixture completely.Adapted from: Myrecipes