Anyone else dreaming of spring yet? I think it’s at this time of year that many folks are starting to get just a bit tired of winter. Especially if you live in one of the blizzard states. After shoveling snow for weeks and having to work and drive in it, I’m sure a sunny warm day is calling your name. So in honor of the coming spring (because it will eventually come, I promise), I’m making a strawberry cake. That beautiful, juicy fruit that is oh so tasty and ripe during those first warmer months of the year.
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We go strawberry picking every year. There is nothing like picking your own strawberries.
Not only are they delicious because you are picking them fresh, but it is also so much fun to make something from that fruit that you plucked from the earth yourself. Grab some family or friends and find a farm near you. I promise you will have such a great time and create some amazing memories.
For this recipe, I’m using my favorite Fresh Strawberry Cake recipe from Duncan Hines. It’s an old favorite and it has never failed me. And I’m using my go-to cream cheese frosting recipe that I like to use for my Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake.
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Ingredients:
FOR THE CAKE:
1 box vanilla, white or yellow cake mix
1 (3 oz.) box strawberry gelatin mix (Jell-O)
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1 pint fresh strawberries (or 1 cup crushed fresh strawberries)
FOR THE ICING:
1/2 block (4 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. milk
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. milk
vanilla extract and milk not pictured (obviously camera shy)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Y’all know I love this kind that has flour in it. Perfect for baking.
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Give your strawberries a good rinse then gently dry them with a paper towel. Remove the stems and dice them up.
Then stick them in a plastic Ziploc bag and start crushing them up.I’m using the flat side of my meat tenderizer here but you can use any heavy object or a rolling pin. This will probably take you a minute or two.
In the bowl, combine cake mix with strawberry gelatin powder. Mix until combined.
Then stir in your oil, eggs and water.
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Once that is combined, add in 1 cup of your smooshed strawberries.
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You will want to gently stir those in by hand.
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Then pour batter into baking dish.
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Bake for about 30-33 minutes. Oven times do vary, so to make sure it is done, stick a toothpick in the center, if it comes out clean, it is good to go. Allow cake to cool completely before adding frosting.
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If you’ve ever made a strawberry cake before, you know they always brown a bit on top. No worries, that is normal. We are gonna cover it up with frosting anyway. To make the frosting, mix together your softened butter and softened cream cheese. It’s easiest if you have an electric mixer.
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Mix until smooth and creamy and lump-free.
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Then mix in powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Mix until smooth and creamy.
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Note: If you have any leftover crushed strawberries, you could always add it to your frosting. Slather frosting onto cooled cake.
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Then slice and serve. If there are any leftovers, you’ll want to cover it and put into the fridge.
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Here’s a close up. You can see the bits of strawberry in the cake – oh yum!
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Enjoy!
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Fresh Strawberry Cake
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 12
Ingredients
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 1 box vanilla white or yellow cake mix
- 1 3 oz box strawberry gelatin mix Jell-O
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 pint fresh strawberries or 1 cup crushed fresh strawberries
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 1/2 block cream cheese 4 oz., softened
- 1/3 cup butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
- Spray 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Give your strawberries a good rinse then gently dry them with a paper towel.
- Remove the stems and dice them up.
- Then stick them in a plastic Ziploc bag and start crushing them up using a rolling pin or other heavy object. This will probably take you a minute or two.
- In the bowl, combine cake mix with strawberry gelatin powder.
- Mix until combined.
- Then stir in your oil, eggs and water.
- Once that is combined, add in 1 cup of your smooshed strawberries.
- You will want to gently stir those in by hand.
- Then pour batter into baking dish.
- Bake for about 30-33 minutes.
- Oven times do vary so to make sure it is done, stick a toothpick in the center, if it comes out clean, it is good to go.
- Allow cake to cool completely before adding frosting.
- To make the frosting, mix together your softened butter and softened cream cheese.
- It's easiest if you have an electric mixer.
- Mix until smooth and creamy and lump-free.
- Then mix in powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk.
- Mix until smooth and creamy.
- Slather frosting onto cooled cake.
- Slice and serve.
Recipe Notes
If there are any leftovers, you'll want to cover it and put into the fridge.
Dang that looks good!
Made this for the second time. Best if you use the French vanilla cake mix, and double the icing. Used organic strawberries; which I think taste better. Cake was even better the second time around. My son requested it for his birthday cake.
could you use frozen strawberries instead of fresh?
frozen,..unsweetened,works
I just made this wonderful cake & used frozen strawberries (not in syrup). I thawed what I needed in the microwave & mashed them with a fork. They produced quite a bit of liquid so I drained most of it off but I used 1/4 c. of it instead of water and the cake was delicious. Just thought I'd pass that along. 🙂
Alicia – you sure could. You want to buy the straight up frozen strawberries, not the kind with added syrup (unless you want this cake super sweet). Let them thaw and then chop and proceed with the rest of the directions. 🙂 ~Brandie
This cake sounds and looks delicious! We must have both been thinking about Spring today, I baked a pink lemonade cake with pink lemonade frosting. I have never tried it, so I hope it's not too sweet. Both the cake and frosting are Pillsbury. I didn't add anything to make them my own except I put sprinkles on top. Today's my birthday and I wanted a cake!So I made myself a cake!!
This is the recipe my mom always used for her strawberry cake. She did add some strawberries to the frosting…..it was delish!!!! Thanks for sharing.
Just made it for the hubby he loved it thanks so much for the recipe!
Martha B.
Love this recipe!
I made this and it was a hit. Next time I will use white cake mix instead of yellow.
Just curious. Why are you going to use white cake mix instead of yellow? To me, yellow cake has so much more flavor than white. I always use yellow when white is called for, unless color is important.
You have so many delicious recipes on your blog!!! 🙂 I make a cake similar to this called Strawberry Cake but have always used frozen strawberries. I will definitely need to give this a try as the Strawberry Cake is my favorite cake. Check out my blog at http://www.chickyscafe.com
Thanks for another delicious recipe!! Pinned this as well!! 🙂
Brenda
<a href="http://www.chattingoverchocolate.blogspot.com>ChattingOverChocolate.blogspot.com</a>
Strawberry cake is one of my all-time favorite, and your recipe sounds delicious!
BLessings,
Leslie
Looks beautiful and perfectly mouth-watering. Gotta try it soon…pinning for now. Thanks for sharing another lovely cake…and a pink one at that. =)
any pointers on making this into cucakes?? want to make this for my 2-year old's birthday party.
This is the recipe I use, but I have always used frozen strawberries, cook it in a bundt pan and make and icing out of confectioner sugar and the juice of the strawberries, my family loves it. Requested at holidays and
birthdays. I love the cream cheese frosting idea, I am going to try it your way and see what happens. Thanks for the idea. Love strawberries! Brenda
I was just going to ask about using frozen strawberries when I see you can. Yay! I am not planning a trip to the store for a week or so and I have everything but the fruit. Can't wait to make this!
I made this cake on Friday. It was so easy and so GOOD! The kids loved it, so did my husband and I. The tip about smashing the strawberries in the bag worked wonderfully too. I didn't even bother to dice mine, just chopped the tops off, threw them in the bag and took out some frustrations with my tenderizer mallet! LOL
Thanks for yet another great recipe. I will definitely be making this one again!
Laine – haha, smashing strawberries does have a way of calming one's soul. LOL. So happy y'all enjoyed this one & thank you for coming back to let me know! ~Brandie
If the cake is iced, can it be left out on the countertop?
when cream cheese is in the frosting, it's usually best to refrigerate it. at least that's what i've always heard… but i'm FAR from domestic diva, so i dunno. 🙂
I would keep it refrigerated because of the frosting. 🙂
I loved the recipe but I think next time I will make a different frosting, something less sweet. I am going to try using a small strawberry yogurt mixed with an 8 ounce container of cool whip. It would be slightly pink colored and great for a summertime treat.
the answer I have to…
" if the cake is iced, can it be left out on the countertop"
I kept mine refrigerated because of the strawberries in the cake and the frosting seemed to "set" better.
This cake is fabulous!! I made it last weekend & everyone loved it & practically licked the sides of the dish to get all the icing..lol!!!! Will definetly make again…
Hahaha! So cute. Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know how it turned out!
I just happened to have strawberries from a really good sale last week… and my son just happened to need a birthday cake for Saturday… so we stayed up half the night making this and it smells SO wonderful in here right now. We licked the batter spoon (but not too much, Sam 'n Ella aren't welcome here) and thought it was heavenly… and we licked the beaters after making the frosting and my boy (almost 8) says it's the best frosting he's ever tasted and that "she sure knows what she's doing!"
Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes with us!
What a sweet comment! Thank you so very much! I am so thrilled to hear you like this one!
The recipe calls for 1 cup of oil and 1/4 cup of water. Is it supposed to be the opposite??? Just curious?
This was awesome! I used the Duncan Hines Fudge Marble cake mix and made the cake just like you said. It tasted just like a chocolate covered strawberry. Huge hit at my house! Thanks for a different way of using those little red fruit.
Could you also use strawberry cake mix instead of white cake mix or will that be too much flavor?
I was wondering the same thing since I have a strawberry cake mix in my pantry.
I would not use strawberry cake mix in this as the strawberry flavor would be overwhelming. It is a very sweet cake. Having said that, for the frosting I used a 12 oz container of cool whip and folded into that a container and a half of strawberry yogurt and this cake was perfect. I tried it with the cream cheese frosting and it is just way too sweet. I do like the cake recipe though, it is so moist.
I've just tasted this cake and it was sooo tasty! Thank you for the recipe. I had to substitute a couple of ingredients for UK available stuff, but it turned out great. Will be trying one of the pudding poke cakes next! 🙂
That is so great Amanda! SO happy you were able to make this work!
I made just one like that/
For the birthday of my princess.
It smells so nice and so good for June… and Summer and for girls who likes strowberries … mmmmm
I know she will be happy
but 🙁 its always one small "but" in nice stories …. My cake isn't that beutifully pink like yours 🙁 its more strange gray 🙁 (inside of course)
Ready to make another one – but to get this nice pink colour . What was the secret ? Cause of Jelly ? By the way my jelly-powder was not that bright-pink as well…
Already tried small piece ))) mmmmm ooohhh so ideal and so moist … with frosting on top and fresh strowberries its will be like from the fairy tale — And I feel my self like a small girl having birhtday my self ;)))
thank you !
Hi! It should definitely be pink inside. Maybe it had something to do with the brand of gelatin you used? There is no secret at all, just red juicy strawberries and the Jell-o is also pink 🙂
Can this be make in 2 8 inch rounds for a layer cake? If so, should I make more frosting?
Made this cake w/frosting today with strawberries we picked over the weekend. OMG, yummo!!! Very easy and tasty. I added extra strawberries to the icing but be sure to drain the juice as much as possible (and discard) for the icing or you will be adding a lot of extra sugar to the recipe.
Looks amazing! Going to try to make a vegan version for this weekend 🙂 my oldest is allergic to milk and eggs. I think I'll try a soy yogurt frosting 😉
Fabulous cake! Was an awesome hit for my 3 year olds party! We have 4 servings left and will make it again in the future! We also added in the rest of the pint of strawberries (minus juice) to the frosting.
Thank you for a great recipe! Today is my grandaughters first day of kindergarten and we are having a
Happy First Day of School party tonight and she has been telling me strawberry cake is her favorite although she's never had one! Today another dream comes true….hey, Gramma's got to make what magic she can~ 🙂
I was so happy with how this cake turned out. My hubby rarely eats cake but loves strawberries so he thought he would try a sample. He loved it! I can't wait to make it again. Thank you for another great recipe.
Question…when you say "stir in oil, egg and water"…do you use a mixer as it appears in the picture? The cake mix box says to mix 2 minutes on medium speed so I did but wondered if stirring by hand would make a difference.
Making this for my 20 year old for her birthday. She loves strawberry cake but I am going to make cupcakes to make it easier to feed a crowd. Looking forward to tasting!
I only have raspberry jello will that work?
I made this cake yesterday and it is delicious. I did alter a few things. I used an entire pack of cream cheese (I think this made it not too sweet), and I used whole frozen strawberries that I thawed out (with no sugar added). So glad I found your site.
I made this for my daughters 15th Birthday today! It was a hit, everone loved it! Sooooooo Good!
Just checking recipe says 1 cup vegetable oil and 1/4 cup water. On the cake box it is just the opposite.
Thank you,
I was wondering if anyone has tried freezing this cake and how texture was after thawing
I don't have jello and really don't want to go to the store 🙂 how necessary is it? Or can I leave it out?
Hi there!
I couldn't find Betty Crocker white cake mix here in Athens(Greece, not Georgia) so I used a Greek brand white cake mix. The outcome was something inbetween a crêpe and a pancake but so chewy and gluey that was inedible. It was like it was unbaked…
Can I add the strawberries and the jello to a simlpe cake batter or should it be cake mix? I found only devil's food cake mix by Betty Crocker but I don't know if this will work with the rest of the ingredients.
Thanks!
just curious about the oil water mixtures. i have seen several people ask and didn't see a reply. are those amounts correct? thanks, looks delish
lisa
Do you think this would work with Blueberries? Would I just look for a blueberry jello?
Oil and water amounts are correct as shown for this recipe. And yes, I think blueberries would work. Sounds wonderful! 🙂
About the boxed white cake mix, if you can't find where you are, just use your favorite recipe for yellow or white cake and replace that with the boxed cake mix for this.
Dear Brandie,
thank you for your prompt reply. Should I omit the water and the oil then?
Thanks again!
I made this for our church 4th of July celebration and it was delicious!! I got a small piece and went back to bring the rest home and it was completely gone!! My mama who is not big on sweets even liked this cake and wanted more, but it was gone!! I was ready to make it again the next day, but didn't have the ingredients!!
Made this for years and I use frozen. Berries…I also put some of the purée in the frosting….makes it pink and really makes the cake better……..better the second day
I've made this cake several times and it's absolutely one of my favorites. I found blueberry jello and plan on trying a blueberry version soon. Thanks for sharing this recipe, it's delicious.
I cooked this cake, and my nephew, who doesn't eat cake, almost had a fit! Says the best cake he has ever had! Each time I cook it, it is gone in one day! My sister (nephew's mom) cooks it for her church socials, and it's always a hit. However, she keeps losing the recipe, which is why I am on this site today. I lost mine when my computer crashed.
If I use a white cake mix do I use all the eggs or just the whites.
hi love the sound of this cake but in the uk we dont have yellow cake mix, do you know what the uk equivalent would be and is jello – jelly ? sorry to sound like such a thicko
I've made this cake twice now and it is absolutely delicious!!! Would highly recommend – my friends have been begging me to make it again for them!
made this today, it was sooo good!! thanks for sharing, I love your recipes:)
Just curious if you can substitute the water for buttermilk?
Thanks i will give this a try. It is very similar to a recipe i just used.
Just made these as cupcakes with my godsister today. Substituted the oil for butter and the water for milk. Turned out great and the fresh strawberries were perfect! Posted pictures on facebook and one of my neighbors came and picked up few since we had so many.
Could I use a bundt cake for this recipe bad just drizzle the frosting over it? I'm going to make this as a birthday cake….it looks so yummy.
How about for cupcakes?
This would be great for cupcakes too!
I usually use applesauce in recipes that call for veg. oil. Can i Use applesauce with this recipe or will the applesauce and the strawberries together in the mix make it too runny?
Thanks!
I have not used applesauce in this recipe so I can't say for sure. I have used applesauce in other recipes with great success. If you try it this way, make sure you come back and let me know how it turned out for you.
I am using the Betty Crocker rainbow chip super moist cake delight mix… I was wondering to I still use the 4 eggs you have for your recipe or do I go by what this box says? Thank you 🙂
Follow this recipe and use the 4 eggs.
Can you make and freeze for later?
This one disappears so fast I never have to worry with freezing but I think you could. Make sure you wrap it very tightly.
Think I'll and use cheesecake pudding mix instead of the jello mix
Instead of jello can I use strawberry extract?
I have never made it that way so I can't say for sure. If you try it this way, come back and let us know how it turned out for you.
Loved this cake and will make it again. I added strawberries to the icing and added a little to much so it was a little runny but AMAZING!!! Thank you!
This is one of my favorites. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Can this recipe be made in two round cake pans instead? I’m wanting to do a layered cake for my friend’s birthday.
I have this cake in my oven now. Smells so good. I used frozen berries and partially thawed them in microwave, then put them in a bowl and smashed them with a potato smasher… Can’t wait to
try this!
I have made this cake about 14 times. I have also varied the recipe to make an “Orange Dream” cake. Replace the strawberry gelatin with orange flavored jello and replace the strawberries with mashed peaches (still fresh or frozen, no sugar added).. Delicious!
You can replace any flavor of gelatin and any fruit that has about the same moisture/texture.
Love it Kate!! And thanks so much for letting us know how it turned out with other combinations!!
It is too simple!!! Today on my mother’s birthday, we made this cake. It was very delicious!!!! Everyone loved it!
does this recipe require any changes to make as a layer cake
This cake was good, but it was really rich. The icing was delicious and sweet probably making it rich. I had to bake mine a little longer, the middle of the cake was slow getting done.
I’m about to make this. Thought I’d let you know that something peculiar happens when you print the recipe; the printed version says:
1 oz box strawberry gelatin mix 3 ., Jell-O
I had to go back to the recipe on the web site to figure it out.
This recipe looks fun –I just wish it used more strawberries. I can’t keep up with the ones coming out of my garden.