Fresh One Bowl Vegan Strawberry Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Swirl

posted by Britt Berlin on Jul 19, 2023 3 comments »

This easy one bowl peanut butter swirled strawberry sheet cake uses just fresh pureed strawberries for a beautiful tender and moist cake! Baked with a peanut butter swirl on top and fresh strawberry peanut butter buttercream, this easy cake is naturally vegan (no eggs, no dairy!)!

The easiest strawberry sheet cake you’ll ever make:

There seems to be this common misconception that fresh strawberry cake is really hard to make, when in reality, it’s literally the easiest cake you can make.

This incredibly easy strawberry sheet cake is based off of my one bowl vegan strawberry cake– a deliciously tender and moist strawberry cake that entirely eggless and dairy free.

Then we’re making it even easier and baking it as a sheet cake- so way more approachable for new bakers (though we do have some really easy and fun layer cakes that you should try!).

slice of strawberry sheet cake leaning on another slice

The star of this cake? We’re simply using fresh strawberry puree (none of that fake stuff, and no, you don’t need to further reduce the strawberries!) for a true strawberry flavor bursting throughout this cake.

And to make things more fun, I added a peanut butter swirl on top (as an ode to the classic peanut butter & jelly sandwiches of our youth), and a creamy and slightly tangy vegan strawberry cream cheese frosting to finish.

This fresh vegan strawberry sheet cake is a bit of nostalgia and childhood with pure enjoyment in every bite. You’re just going to love it!!

And if you need even more strawberry desserts: Check out my vegan strawberry tiramisu and strawberry pie!

slice of strawberry sheet cake with a bite taken from it

How come other recipes reduce the strawberry puree?

Many strawberry cakes that you see on the internet either require you to drastically reduce the strawberry puree into a reduction sauce (which yields an even more complex layer to making a should-be straight forward cake) or they use artificial strawberry flavoring.

You need neither for that recipe. The reason being? I’ve taken into account the moisture that strawberries bring to a cake recipe. Additionally, I think in this instance, this is where conventional baking becomes more complicated than vegan baking.

There’s much more flexibility in ingredients and ingredient quantities when baking a vegan cake. Plus, vegan cakes tend to be way more moist and tender than regular cakes (eggs tend to dry them out more so than any vegan egg substitute) so really, it’s just finding a balance of flour to wet ingredients.

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Overview: How to make peanut butter swirled vegan strawberry sheet cake step by step

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

bowl of strawberry puree — First, we’ll make the strawberry puree. Simply blend the strawberries together and pour into a bowl. You can also make the vegan buttermilk here as well.

peanut butter swirl batter in a bowl — First, we’ll make the strawberry puree. Simply blend the strawberries together and pour into a bowl. You can also make the vegan buttermilk here as well.

strawberry batter in a bowl — Next comes the strawberry cake batter! Simply whisk together the wet ingredients (including the strawberries puree) followed by the dry ingredients and buttermilk.

strawberry cake before being baked — Next comes the strawberry cake batter! Simply whisk together the wet ingredients (including the strawberries puree) followed by the dry ingredients and buttermilk.

baked strawberry cake — Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes, then allow it to cool before making the frosting.

frosted peanut butter swirled strawberry sheet cake — Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes, then allow it to cool before making the frosting.

The strawberry cream cheese frosting:

This is a take on my easy vegan strawberry frosting. Basically the same ingredients, however, we’re swapping out half of the vegan butter for vegan cream cheese! Simple enough, yet really delicious.

You can, of course, keep is as strawberry buttercream. But I thought that the slight tang of the cream cheese complemented the sweet strawberry and nutty peanut butter quite well!

sliced strawberry sheet cake on parchment paper

Can I make this vegan strawberry sheet cake gluten free as well?

Absolutely! I recommend using King Arthur measure-for-measure gluten free flour. It’s the only one that I’ve been able to use successfully across both US measurements and metric measurements.

Be sure, though, that you’re still following standard baking practices of spooning and leveling the flour (if you’re not using a scale!) and being sure not to over mix your batter!

slice of strawberry sheet cake on a plate

This peanut butter swirled strawberry sheet cake is such a treat. Like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich meets cake, in the best way! You’re going to love it 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think down below in the comments section.

Enjoy, and happy baking!

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Fresh One Bowl Vegan Strawberry Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Swirl pinterest pin

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!