I love strawberries!
No doubt about that, strawberries have always been a part of my life and recipes. Almost 6 years ago, I blogged about a drool worthy fresh strawberry cake that I made and it has been a BIG hit on my blog, getting pinned and shared all over the place the last few years. The pictures I took are really bad….6 years ago I had no idea how to take decent pics, so it was pretty pathetic. I just went back and edited that post with a good picture and a printable recipe sheet that I’m adding here too.
One of my friends I went to college with sent me a funny note recently. She was looking for a strawberry cake recipe and her daughter found one on Pinterest and sent it to her. Yep, it was from MY blog from 6 years ago and I had to laugh. Small world, after all!
After bringing all these beautiful fresh strawberries back from Florida, I had to make another one of these strawberry cakes. So, I’m reprising the strawberry cake recipe today, which I’m also updating on a printable recipe page. We didn’t do that back then, but now recipes can be printed easily.
I pureed the strawberries and used about 3 cups fresh strawberries in this cake. One cup in the batter and one cup in the icing. I had leftovers for adding to the top too, so the strawberry flavor is pretty intense.
The recipe calls for a white cake mix, so I bought a Duncan Hines French Vanilla. Then you add some other ingredients to the cake batter mix, along with 4 eggs.
Mix it all up with a mixer. Puree the strawberries.
Then add the cup of fresh pureed strawberries.
Pour into a 9×13 pan. You could also make this as a layer cake too in round cake pans, I’m sure, if you wanted to. Layer cakes have never been my specialty so I did the sheet cake version.
After baking, it came out golden brown.
Mixed up the frosting, which is butter, cream cheese, confectioners sugar, and strawberries.
The icing is runny and not a hard icing, but it’s very yummy!
Please note that the icing is not a hard icing at all, it’s runny and if you leave out some of the strawberries it should be less runny so be aware of that. I used this icing recipe as I found it online, but the icing needs to be tweaked, it does make a lot of icing (almost too much) and the icing is very runny as is. I’ve read to add more powdered sugar to thicken up icing, so I would use less strawberries and more powered sugar to make the icing thicker.
Let it drip down the cake and then add a dollop of strawberries on top for garnishment. The taste is out of this world!
Invite some friends over and let them eat strawberry cake. It might taste from scratch, but it’s very easy to make and super delicious if you like strawberries! Feel free to pin this one too, I love that it’s been shared so many times! The sweetness is delicious and has such strawberry flavor.
Best Ever Strawberry Cake
Easy strawberry sheet cake made with a box cake mix base, with added ingredients and a cream cheese frosting with strawberries.
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 1 (3 Oz) box strawberry jello
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup oil, I used canola oil
- 2 cup fresh or frozen pureed strawberries (one cup for cake & one cup for icing)
- 4 eggs
Instructions
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Combine cake mix, flour, Jello and water. Add oil and eggs, one at a time, beating well between. Add strawberries. Beat 2 minutes. Pour batter into well greased and floured 9×13 pan. Bake at 350* for about 45 minutes.
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CREAM CHEESE ICING: adapted from Paula Deen online recipe
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1 stick butter softened
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1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
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1 cup frozen or fresh pureed strawberries ( or frozen strawberries)
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3 cups powdered sugar
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Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix with mixer until creamy. Pour over cake after it cools from the oven. Add a strawberry to top for garnishment or pureed strawberries to top. Eat and Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Cake recipe Adapted from Cooks.com
For those of you who can’t see the printable recipe above, here’s a screenshot of just the recipe:
Katherine says
My granddaughter will love this cake! I’m having a problem with the frosting. I had to add 6 cups of powder sugar and still runny. Next time I’ll blend ingredients before adding strawberry puree. What type of pan do you use for cake? I used a glass and the cake it very brown and I watched it carefully. Not very pretty to look at but I’m sure will taste delicious. The first time using a recipe is always an experiment and I’m not a baker. Thanks!
Rhoda says
HI, Katherine, I used a 9×13 glass baking dish for mine. I’m sure this would be good using round cake pans too, but I usually take the easy route. I know, that icing needs some tweaking to get it just right. I need to work on that too, the icing is runny but very good.
Katherine says
The cake was a big hit and tasted delicious! Thanks for the reply.
Robyn says
Rhoda I bet you’re wishing you didn’t post the recipe, huh? All the negative comments on how to “fix it” and such. It looks good and easy, I’m gonna a look up basic white cake recipe bc I don’t want to go to the store for a cake mix, and I have yummy strawberries to use up. And I’ll screen shot the recipe bc I don’t want to use up ink. ?
Rachelle says
Going to make this for my grandsons 19th birthday and drizzle chocolate across the top! Add vanilla ice cream and that will be memorable.
Rayna says
Could I do it in a bundt pan? If so would the temp and times be different?
Rhoda says
HI, Rayna, I haven’t tried that, but I don’t see why not, just keep an eye on it and look for too much browning.
Adreanna says
I can’t see the icing recipe 😢😢 someone help?!
Rhoda says
Adreanna, the icing is right inside the recipe post. See under Instructions, Cream Cheese Icing is listed there.
Ehren says
I just made this for my husband’s bday. It is probably the best strawberry cake I’ve had. And the frosting, OMG!
Nia says
Hi Rhonda,
Made this cake tonight for my husband birthday and my family loved it. I did tweak the recipe a bit. Used fresh strawberries and cooked them in 1/2 c of sugar with 2TB water & 2TB of cornstarch for 5mins. Then blended it to make like a jam. Worked out great and frosting was not runny. Also folded in some Cool whip in frosting also. Great recipe!
Rhoda says
HI, Nia, so glad you liked it too! Great idea on the frosting to make it less runny.
Stephanie says
Thank you so much for sharing this. Love it. Made it for my son for his bday because strawberry is his favorite. It was a big hit with everyone. . I also made cupcakes with it. Cooked them st 350 for 22 minutes. They were perfect. I did have to change to a cream cheese frosting for the cupcakes only because I made them fir a friend who wanted the frosting piped on. She loved them. So thank you.
Rhoda says
So glad you liked it too, Stephanie!
Debbie says
This is the best strawberry cake that I have ever had. I made it in the 9 x 13 cake pan and it turned out beautiful. It only took around 35 minutes to bake for me. I had a problem with the icing being too runny so what I did was I mixed in cool whip and put it in the fridge while the cake was cooling. The icing was still a little thin but no where near what it was before. With all the extra icing I made I just froze it for the next time I make this cake. Believe me I will be making this cake alot. Excellent recipe. Thanks for sharing this recipe with everyone.
Rhoda says
HI Debbie, I’m so glad to hear that. The icing is so good, but yes it’s runny if you follow the recipe. I don’t really mind that, but good idea to add the Cool whip.
Lydia says
Hi,
I made the cake twice now (last year and yesterday) with a round baking pan BUT it turned out pretty flat unfortunately! I mean really flat, about 2cm. I have no idea what the problem is. I even put 1 1/2 tspns baking powder in the flour but for the second time now it turned out flat like a flounder.
Rhoda says
HI, Lydia, sorry you had problems. I would think in a round baking pan it would be fine, but I’ve just done it in a sheet pan.
Deborah says
I made this cake for the first time and it is the most wonderful strawberry cake my father and I have ever tasted. I will be making this cake again that is for sure. I had a problem with the icing being too runny so what I did was I mixed some cool whip into the icing and then chilled it until the cake was cool enough to put icing on. Turned out really well, I ended up with a lot of icing but I just froze it for the next time I make this cake. Excellent recipe thanks for sharing.
Rhoda says
HI Deborah, thanks for sharing. I know the icing is a bit runny and makes too much, but it’s SO good, so I’m glad you figured out a solution.
Robin says
Very flavorful and moist cake.
I think that the baking time listed is too long, as my 9×13 cake was done in 30 minutes (I used a metal baking pan).
Icing: Mix the one cup of strawberry puree with 2-3 tablespoons strawberry jello and cook over low heat until thickened. Cool before adding to rest of ingredients. I also used 4 cups of powdered sugar because it was still a little runny.
Luzy says
Omg! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! My husband and I are both fans of strawberry cake and this was the best we’ve ever had! Love love love this cake!
Rhoda says
Hi, Luzy, thanks for letting me know how much you love it!
Sandy Buffington says
Could I use a strawberry cake mix and use the same ingredients as used in a white cake mix?
Rhoda says
Hi, Sandy, I would think that would work fine too. I added fresh strawberries to my cake mix, but I’m sure a strawberry cake mix would be good too.
RN says
Should I use unsalted butter for the cream cheese icing?
Rhoda says
Hi, RN, I think yes on that.
Stacy says
So, I ended up with strawberry soup, not frosting. And I am not a novie baker. Thats got to be more like 1/4 c strawberry
Rhoda says
Stacy, the icing is challenging, so it needs to be tweaked for sure. Using less of the wet ingredients should help the powdered sugar to blend better.
Shawnna says
Can the cake be stored in refrigerator after baking? I want to take to party tomorrow but wanted to make the cake ahead of time.
Rhoda says
Hi, Shawnna, sure you can put it in the fridge for keeping longer.
Tim McGee says
I just made this to today. The cake turned out just fine but the frosting flopped. For some reason the butter wouldn’t mix completely in and I got tiny lumps of butter all through it. What would you suggest I do the next time?
Rhoda says
HI, Tim, the frosting definitely needs tweaking. I haven’t had a problem with the butter not mixing in, but it makes way too much frosting for the cake & it’s on the runny side. Maybe play around with it next time and cut some of the strawberries down from the icing. Adding more powdered sugar makes it less runny.