I’ve never been a great fan of Spring. Living in the South, I knew all too well that it would last a few weeks, and then we’d be mired in Summer for what seemed like years. Since our move last fall to New York, though, it seems I’ve had a change of heart. I am actually excited about Spring! I stop on the streets and in the parks to take pictures of flowers and blooming trees. I have happily put away my scarves and boots until cooler weather.
This Easter, as I was basking in the early Spring-ness of New York, I decided that our meal should include something befitting of this beautiful season. In an unusual turn of events, I went with a non-chocolate dessert. You’re shocked, I know.
This cake features strawberries, and it does so quite boldly, I might add. It is also perhaps the sweetest cake I’ve ever made. Small slices are your friend. It’s absolutely beautiful in all its pink glory. It’s also very sweet. Did I mention that? It was also just the right ending to our Easter meal.
While I do like baking from scratch, I’m not one to turn up my nose at a recipe that uses a cake mix. Some of my favorite cakes have started that way. You baking purists may want to move on to the archives and find something else like this or maybe this. The rest of you, hold your head high and add cake mix, Jell-O, and frozen strawberries to your shopping lists.
Ingredients
- 1 18.25-ounce box white cake mix
- 1 3-ounce box strawberry-flavored instant gelatin
- 15 ounces frozen strawberries in sugar, thawed and pureed
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 ounces frozen strawberries in sugar, thawed and pureed
- 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
- strawberries for garnish (optional)
Instructions
To make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease/spray 2 (or 3) 9-inch round cake pans.
Combine cake mix and gelatin in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat in pureed strawberries, eggs, oils, and water until smooth. Pour batter into pans, dividing the batter equally between them.
Bake 25-30 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool in pans 15 minutes. Then, remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.
To make the frosting:
With an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Beat in strawberries. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth.
Spread frosting on cake, covering between layers, on top, and on the sides. Garnish with fresh strawberries.
http://www.bakeorbreak.com/2011/04/strawberry-cake-with-strawberry-cream-cheese-frosting/
April 29th, 2011 at 4:48 am
Oh how I miss Upstate NY int he Spring! I moved to Memphis, TN 4 years ago for graduate school and I now have the feelings you used to when you lived in the south. Oh yay it’s spring and nice out but that just means in a week it’ll be over 80 degrees and so muggy you’ll think you’re swimming. But I’ll probably have to make this cake anyway
April 29th, 2011 at 6:49 am
I literally gasped when I saw these photos — this looks AMAZING. My birthday is coming up and I will definitely be having this cake, whether someone bakes it for me or I end up baking it for myself.
April 29th, 2011 at 8:35 am
I am thoroughly enjoying spring, and nothing says spring like strawberries. Your cake is beautiful.
-Brenda
April 29th, 2011 at 8:29 pm
This is bursting with berries and spring. Perfect!
April 30th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
What a beautiful cake…Sometimes the simplest dish is the best! Great photography!
May 1st, 2011 at 10:00 pm
I’ve seen this cake recipe around and always been curious about it. Like you, I don’t turn up my nose at recipes that begin with a mix. They’re often more reliable than cakes made from scratch, especially for beginning bakers. Wondering if using less of the jello, would help to make it less sweet. May give it a try since, while I love cake, I’m not a big fan of overly sweet ones.
May 2nd, 2011 at 4:17 am
I simply love strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting. This cake looks so delicious! I am really enjoying your blog. Everything you bake looks amazing.
May 2nd, 2011 at 11:43 pm
This recipe looks so good. I love strawberries and the color pink. I’ll have to try this for sure.
May 5th, 2011 at 7:17 am
looks so good.
Can I have a piece.
Regards
Olga.
May 6th, 2011 at 4:16 am
My girlfriend loves strawberries & loves cake. I am sure she’d love this… Heck I’d probably like this and I am more of a pie person.
…my first comment didn’t go through due to an error?
May 7th, 2011 at 5:15 pm
Spring is very important up north. Only the most fervent of winter lovers do not anticipate and celebrate the advent of spring once it finally comes! The cake looks delicious!
May 9th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
I tried this recipe for mothers day. I definitely got a really great, sweet, strawberry flavor, but i also had an overwhelming canola oil flavor as well. Is there a substitute for the oil?
May 9th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Bursting with berries..perfect for spring
May 9th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Made this cake last week. It came out perfect. Moist and not too sweet (I used frozen strawberries frozen without sugar).
May 10th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
That is a beautiful cake. I have never attempted a strawberry cake before, but it is definitely something to consider. Most of the time I am too busy with chocolate cakes!
May 11th, 2011 at 6:54 am
Very pink, love it! Looks so moist I want to try this recipe now! I’m from WI so I absolutly love the spring time but I have ventured to New York in summertime and as much fun as I had, boy was it hot! Very nice pictures!
May 11th, 2011 at 10:45 pm
this looks amazing thanks so much for sharing!
May 12th, 2011 at 11:48 pm
love to eat strawberries. I try to made it few days back but i was failed to bake because i am very poor in baking,but now my mom is going to bake it and now will definitely be great.
hard to wait
May 13th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Am I losing my eyesight or is there no baking temp listed in the recipe???
May 14th, 2011 at 8:54 pm
Oops. It was kind of there, but my HTML was not quite right. It’s there now. Thanks, amandalee!
May 16th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
I made this cake this past weekend, it was UN-believably good!!! It was simple to make but soo delicious, and that frosting YUMMM! Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe!
May 17th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
I want to eat everything on your blog!!!
May 18th, 2011 at 9:00 am
Oh my goodness gracious! I should never have looked at the picture of this cake… now I have an intense desire to go preheat my oven, get my stand mixer out! Yummee!
May 20th, 2011 at 11:15 am
Bravo! Strawberry cake is such a good idea. We all need to eat more strawberries.
…Susan
May 22nd, 2011 at 1:38 am
My mother baked a very similar cake for my tenth birthday and I still remember how tasty it was. I’m looking forward to baking it for myself following your recipe. What a perfect May dessert!
May 24th, 2011 at 10:27 am
I like a dense cake. Did this turn out dense? Thank YOU!!
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:57 am
This looks really delicious. Yummy. I just loved your recipe. Keep it up, keep sharing amazing recipes. I have some amazing recipes too. For sure you will love it. Wish you will check it. :-] Have a good day guys.
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:08 pm
I have had a strawberry cake for my birthday every year since I can remember! I made a cake very similar to this once. It used frozen pureed strawberries and strawberry jello mix, but the rest of the recipe was from scratch. It was extremely moist and also one of the most dense cakes I had ever had. This year, I will have to try this one! It looks delicious!
June 7th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
my aunt made this cake for me last week….Paula Deen recipe…same one I see..
June 13th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
This looks like a wonderful strawberry cake. The cream cheese frosting sounds like a perfect topping.
June 14th, 2011 at 5:32 pm
I’ve been making this cake for years, just a different frosting.
Clean at least a pint of strawberries and chop then in the food processor or mash with a potato masher, and then mix with 1 box of powdered sugar and 1 8 oz pkg of cream cheese. This frosting will be soupy. I serve the cake in a bowl and poor the “frosting” over the cake. Always a family favorite!!
p.s. you can always alter the amount of sugar or strawberries
June 28th, 2011 at 5:52 am
That looks delish. I could tuck into a slice of that right now. Looking forward to having a nose around for more ideas and recipes. Lovely blog.
July 10th, 2011 at 12:49 am
Naaah, althoug it looks nice, and I’d sure be tempted to take a bite, for my baking I’ll stick with the chocolate
with strawberries perhaps 
I only found your blog recently and I love it. I no longer need a recipe box, just a bookmark!
July 18th, 2011 at 12:23 am
It sounds like the perfect idea
to taste it on a hot summer’s day!
July 20th, 2011 at 7:35 pm
a close friend of the family used to bake a strawberry cake with luscious strawberry frosting on it when she and her family would come to visit in the summertime. seeing this recipe made me think back to that and makes me want to bake it for a friend!
July 27th, 2011 at 6:22 pm
Spring in the Northeast is very nice. You will like the change of seasons.
August 3rd, 2011 at 6:11 am
I believe this is, if not exactly, a Paula Deen recipe. It’s delicious and my daughter’s go-to birthday cake. What’s more southern than a mile-high super sweet moist cake? LOL.
September 6th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Wow, this looks absolutely delicious! Love the color- it would be so perfect to make for a birthday party for a little girl.
-Miriam
September 14th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
This is a family favorite for us! Every birthday includes this. We make it in a rectangle glass dish and add icing that’s just butter, powder sugar and more strawberries. Totally melts in your mouth!
Love the blog!
September 22nd, 2011 at 10:19 am
This cake brings back such good memories of my four year old self watching my mom ice a strawberry cake. I always loved the color,(and the taste)!
September 22nd, 2011 at 10:25 am
I’ve been looking for a recipes for strawberry cake that is actually PINK. This one looks just divine!
September 24th, 2011 at 10:58 am
very nice pictures and it seems that is sooooo delicious, but where is the recipe please. I can’t see any recipe for your postings
September 24th, 2011 at 11:01 am
khalas I found it .. thaaaaaaanxxxxxxx .. insha’alla i’ll try it and give you my opinion
:)
January 4th, 2012 at 10:17 am
Wow! The pinkness of this instantly drew me in. And the cream cheese frosting of course.
Maria xx
http://www.cheekypinktulip.blogspot.com
February 6th, 2012 at 3:32 pm
This cake looks delicious! Everything about it draws me in, the texture, how pink it is, the frosting. It just has a “take a bite out of me” look to it. This cake recipe would be a good idea for a nice Spring/Summer day when fruit season begins!
Will give this one a try for sure.
October 25th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Love this cake!
March 8th, 2013 at 3:40 am
what if you have 2 8-inch cake pans or a 9×13-inch pan instead? will it still work? probably won’t look as pretty…
March 8th, 2013 at 8:56 am
Hi, Amanda. You can use 8-inch pans, but you might not be able to use all of the batter if they’re too full. A 9″x13″ should work fine.
March 25th, 2013 at 1:58 pm
This cake sounds so good! Can you make cup cakes from this recipe?
March 27th, 2013 at 3:24 pm
This recipe is absolutely fantastic,thank you so much for sharing it! I was filled with a crazy urge to bake something pink when I stumbled upon this recipe during my subsequent recipe-hunt. I baked it for my sister’s birthday and she [a chocaholic of the highest order] was quite taken with it. I also made a batch of cupcakes using left-over batter and icing[sprinkling white chocolate chips on them]. This is an extraordinarily simple,nearly fail-proof recipe.Very effortlessly pretty ,too.
April 28th, 2013 at 9:33 am
This cake is AMAZING!! I make it quiet often for my family or friends! I have one question…sometimes my frosting is tooooo runny…what am I doing wrong??? I am planning on making this cake in a few days for my Mothers 77th Birthday…so please let me know asap about the frosting…so it can be perfect!!! Thank You (love your web site) Baking is my passion:)
April 28th, 2013 at 8:07 pm
Hi, Sandy. If you didn’t make any changes to the recipe, my guess is that your butter is too soft. Happy birthday to your mom!
May 5th, 2013 at 3:32 pm
I made ths last night and it was fantastic! I would make ths again without provocation. Everyone raved and the frosting was perfect. Thanks for your blog. I get the best compliments when I make something from your recipes. (Those peanut butter chocolate chip brownies are beyond awesome.) I look forward to more baking soon.