Easy Strawberry Cake (+Video)
This Easy Strawberry Cake starts with a boxed cake mix, strawberry jell-o, fresh strawberries and is topped with cream cheese frosting!
A SIMPLE STRAWBERRY CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
This Easy Fresh Strawberry Cake starts with a boxed cake mix, strawberry jell-o, fresh strawberries and is topped with a sweetened cream cheese frosting! It is a deliciously simple way to use all those fresh-picked strawberries. The cake mix makes it easy but the fresh strawberries and cream cheese frosting make it taste totally homemade!
TIPS FOR MAKING STRAWBERRY CAKE:
- For this recipe I am using a vanilla cake mix and adding strawberry Jell-O instead of using a strawberry cake mix. This gives the cake a more homemade flavor rather than tasting like a boxed cake mix. But if you want, you could certainly use a strawberry cake mix.
- I’m also using my go-to cream cheese frosting recipe that I like to use for my Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake. It really is the perfect frosting for this cake but you can use a store-bought canned frosting if that is your preference.
- Frozen strawberries can be used. Just make sure they are unsweetened and thawed before using.
- If you don’t like a cream cheese frosting, just leave out the cream cheese. It will then be a buttercream frosting. Adjust milk in the frosting to get the consistency you enjoy.
- It’s super important that the cream cheese is fully softened. If not, it won’t mix smoothly and you’ll end up with al bumpy frosting.
- This can be made as a layer cake. Just use (2) 8-inch round baking pans. Adjust baking time as necessary (you can go by cake mix instructions on the back of the box.)
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- vanilla cake mix
- strawberry gelatin mix (Jell-O)
- eggs
- vegetable oil
- water
- fresh strawberries
- cream cheese
- butter
- powdered sugar
- vanilla extract
- milk
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY CAKE:
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.
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.
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 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. 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.
Mix until smooth and creamy and lump-free. Then mix in powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Mix until smooth and creamy. Note: If you have any leftover crushed strawberries, you could always add it to your frosting.
Slather frosting onto cooled cake.
Then slice and serve. If there are any leftovers, you’ll want to cover it and put into the fridge.
CRAVING MORE STRAWBERRY RECIPES?
- STRAWBERRY MESS
- STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE CAKE
- STRAWBERRY KOOL-AID PIE
- HOT MILK SPONGE CAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES
- STRAWBERRY MUFFIN MIX WAFFLES
Easy Strawberry Cake (+Video)
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 15.25 ounce box vanilla cake mix (or white, yellow cake mix)
- 3 ounce box strawberry gelatin mix (Jell-O)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup water
- 1 pint fresh strawberries, (or 1 cup crushed fresh strawberries)
For the frosting:
- ½ block cream cheese (4 ounces), softened
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon milk
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Give the strawberries a good rinse then gently dry them with a paper towel. Remove the stems and dice.
- Put strawberries into 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 oil, eggs and water.
- Once that is combined, add in 1 cup of the smushed strawberries. You will want to gently stir those in by hand.
- Then pour batter into prepared 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.
For the frosting:
- Using an electric mixer, mix together the softened butter and softened cream cheese. Mix until smooth, creamy and lump-free.
- Then mix in powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Mix until smooth and creamy.
- Slather frosting onto cooled cake. Put the cake back into the refrigerator for about an hour to help the frosting set up.
- Then slice and serve! I like to top each piece of the strawberry cake with a slice of fresh strawberry .
Video
Notes
- If there are any leftovers, you’ll want to cover it and put into the fridge.
- It’s really important the cream cheese is fully softened. If not, it will stay lumpy as you try to mix it.
- If you are not a fan of cream cheese frosting, just leave it out and it will be a buttercream frosting. Adjust milk as necessary in the frosting to get the consistency you enjoy.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: February 2013
Updated & republished: May 2020
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.
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.
The recipe calls for 1 cup of oil and 1/4 cup of water. Is it supposed to be the opposite??? Just curious?
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!
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!
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.
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.
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. 🙂
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
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!
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!
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
any pointers on making this into cucakes?? want to make this for my 2-year old's birthday party.
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. =)
Strawberry cake is one of my all-time favorite, and your recipe sounds delicious!
BLessings,
Leslie
Thanks for another delicious recipe!! Pinned this as well!! 🙂
Brenda
<a href="http://www.chattingoverchocolate.blogspot.com>ChattingOverChocolate.blogspot.com</a>
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
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.
Love this recipe!
Just made it for the hubby he loved it thanks so much for the recipe!
Martha B.
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.
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!!
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
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. 🙂
Thanks for this suggestion.
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.