Strawberry Love Cake
Strawberry Love Cake is made of layers of strawberry cake with a creamy filling and fluffy topping. It’s an easy chilled dessert you’ll love.
A Strawberry Layered Cake
This Strawberry Love Cake was inspired by the original Italian Love Cake recipe that is chocolate flavored. Y’all loved that one so much, I thought, why not a strawberry version? It’s this cute, pink, soft cake with layers and a fluffy strawberry topping. I think it’s great for summer parties and gatherings as it’s an easy make-ahead dessert that always gets attention on the dessert table!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes. Traditional Italian Love Cake is made with ricotta cheese and many people had an absolute fit on that recipe and thought it would be gross and kept asking for alternatives. Look y’all, it is called ITALIAN love cake for a reason. The Italian part is the ricotta, and if ricotta isn’t for you, that’s fine, but it is the traditional ingredient, and when you switch it up, it does change the texture quite a bit. So I played around with this recipe and used cream cheese instead. It does make it more dense, so I will say that straight out of the gate. The ricotta is lighter and fluffier, but this recipe was created for the ricotta haters. However, I know that now that I have posted a version that doesn’t use ricotta, I will get a million comments telling me I should have used ricotta. You can’t win doing this job, y’all. You just can’t! Ha!
So having said ALL of that, If you’d like to use ricotta, substitute the cream cheese with the same amount (32 ounces) of whole milk ricotta cheese or mascarpone cheese.
Yes, this cake needs to be refrigerated because of the cream cheese, pudding, milk, and whipped topping layers.
Absolutely. This dessert is actually best when made ahead since it needs several hours to chill and fully set before slicing.
That’s completely normal and exactly what is supposed to happen with Love Cake recipes. The cream cheese (heavier) layer settles while the cake rises around it during baking.
The chilling time helps the topping firm up and allows the flavors and layers to fully set, making the cake easier to slice and serve.
Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Because of the dairy in this recipe, this cake should stay chilled until ready to serve. Freezing is not recommended since the topping can become watery after thawing.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- strawberry cake mix– you’ll also need the ingredients to make the cake like water, eggs, and oil. White cake, vanilla, or even lemon cake mix would work well with the strawberry topping.
- cream cheese– softened to room temperature. Grab these Tips to Soften Cream Cheese Faster if you need them.
- large eggs – if you have time, allow the eggs to come to room temperature. This allows them to mix into the batter much easier and completely.
- granulated sugar
- vanilla extract
- cold milk – you need cold milk for the instant pudding to thicken.
- instant vanilla pudding mix – you MUST get instant pudding. I can’t stress this enough. There is another type of pudding called Cook and Serve and they are almost always right next to each other on the shelf. Unfortunately they don’t always make it obvious. Cook and serve needs heat and to be cooked on the stove to thicken. The instant does not. If you grab the cook and serve, this will be a sloppy mess and won’t set.
- strawberry Jell-O mix – I haven’t tested this with sugar free but I am sure it would work.
- whipped topping– you can use any brand of whipped topping, it doesn’t have to be Cool Whip. You can also make a homemade whipped cream, just make sure it is properly stabilized so it doesn’t start breaking down before it’s time to serve.
How To Make Strawberry Love Cake
Prepare strawberry cake batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Mix the cake mix per the directions on the back of the box. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
Prepare cream cheese layer
In a large bowl, whip the cream cheese until smooth with an electric hand mixer. Add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla, mix until smooth.
Bake the cake
Spoon the cream cheese mixture onto the cake batter. Bake for about an hour, place on a wire rack, and cool completely.
Make the frosting
Once cooled, place the milk in a large bowl. Start adding the pudding mix a little at a time until fully mixed in, followed by the strawberry jello.
Add half of the whipped topping and mix it in thoroughly.
Spread frosting onto cooled cake
Add the remaining whipped topping and mix until combined with no streaks. Smooth the topping over the cake.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours or up to overnight. Slice and serve.
Craving More Recipes?
Strawberry Love Cake
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce box strawberry cake mix
- ingredients needed to make cake: water, eggs, and oil (use amounts on the back of the box you purchased)
- 4 (8 ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups cold milk
- 3 ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix (do not buy the cook and serve)
- 3 ounce box strawberry Jell-O mix
- 16 ounce tub whipped topping (Cool Whip) (larger tub)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Mix the cake mix per the directions on the back of the box (combining the 15.25 ounce box strawberry cake mix with ingredients needed to make cake: water, eggs, and oil). Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
- In a large bowl, whip the 4 (8 ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened to room temperature until smooth with an electric hand mixer.
- Add 4 large eggs, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, mix until smooth.
- Spoon the cream cheese mixture onto the cake batter. Bake on the middle oven rack for about 1 hour, place on a wire rack, and allow the cake cool completely.NOTE: Oven times can vary! Please go by doneness, not just by time. Some ovens have hot and cooler areas so it can vary from oven to oven.
- Once completely cooled, place 1 ½ cups cold milk in a large bowl. Start adding the 3 ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix a little at a time until fully mixed in, followed by the 3 ounce box strawberry Jell-O mix.
- Add half of the 16 ounce tub whipped topping (Cool Whip) and mix it in thoroughly. Add the remaining whipped topping and mix until combined with no streaks.
- Smooth the topping over the cake. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to overnight. Slice and serve.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
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.
