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.
Best ever strawberry cake
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:
Can i use milk instead of water for this RECIPE?
Thank You
Hi, Teresa, that might change the outcome, I think I’d stick to water.
Can i make cupcakes with This recipe?
HI, Kesha, I don’t see why not, but you will have to experiment with bake time.
Question….everything turned out perfect with the exception to the icing, it was Very soupie and I followed the recipe to the tee
Hi, Brun, if you read the post I’ve added the disclaimer that the icing does tend to be runny. I have added less strawberries and more powdered sugar to thicken it up, but it definitely needs to be tweaked. It tastes good though!
Can you recommend a cake recipe in place of the cake mix? How would I alter the recipe with a scratch made cake?
Hi, Sally, I’m really not sure what to tell you on a made from scratch cake. I guess look for something online.
This might be a silly question, but is it 2 cups of fresh strawberries then puree? Or 2 cups of strawberry puree? I’m assuming I need to measure out 2 cups then puree it, but just want to make sure before I ruin it. lol. Thank you.
Hi, Victoria, you can use fresh or frozen, but yes 2 cups puree.
I made the cake twice and both times it was very thin and spongey. I’m thinking it needs less liquid but where? Most recipes I have made before calls for 1/2 cup strawberries. Could this be the issue?
Hi, Sandra, I think it probably is the liquid in the strawberries, so cut back on that part.
Was disappointed in the texture, too heavy, and didn’t like the runny icing. In spite of my disappointment, my friends all liked it. I won’t make it again.
Drain the strawberry puree over a bowl for a couple hours. Then use juice in place of water (add water to make correct amount) Then spread out strawberries on layers of paper towels. Scrape off for frosting that won’t be runny! Been doing for 30+ yrs and requested often.
Can u use a strawberry cake mix instead of a white.?
I suppose you could, but it might be overkill.
Can I use banana crème pudding packets if I want to experiment with different flavors? Can’t find banana jello.
HI, it doesn’t call for banana jello, but strawberry.If you want to experiment, go ahead and try it.
Does this cake need to be refrigerated?
I think it should be refrigerated.
Hi, I just wanted to let you know that this strawberry cake was the best I mean the best strawberry cake I have ever tasted! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe 😋
Thank you, Sonya for letting me know. It’s a really good strawberry cake!
Can this cake be made in a bundt pan?
I think it would probably be fine in a bundt pan.
If you don’t want runny icing then don’t use a spread butter.
Made this delicious cake…my family loves it….thanks for sharing the recipe.
Hi, I have been making this cake for over sixty years using the same recipe from my mother but to answer some of the ladies questions about substitutions…I now substitute the same amount of milk for water and same amount of butter for oil. I think it makes the cake richer. I have also used a bunt pan and it was fine but use a little less icing. They used to drissel it down the sides of the cake. It became one of the favorites for the whole family and was requested for birthdays and still is, even
the grandchildren request it. I come from a time when a lot of meetings were held at our homes for different organizations. Easier for the majority of us young mothers’ with very young children and our desserts were some of the best.
I read your comments & have a few questions.
Do you melt the butter or make sure it’s very soft when adding?
Do you bake the bundt cake for 60min?
Thanks Nancy
HI, Jan, use softened butter or melt it I don’t think it makes a difference in the icing. I used a sheet pan and not a bundt cake pan so just experiment with time and use a knife to test doneness.
This cake offers a delicious way to use those fresh strawberries! As an alternative, you could also use frozen strawberries for this recipe.
What if you dont have strawberry jello. I have coconut cream. Think it would work
HI, Sammie, give it a try, the strawberry flavor would still be there if you are using fresh strawberries.
My family loves this cake recipe! I followed the recipe and added 1/4 cup strawberry jam to the icing as well as the strawberry puree. Oh my, that took the strawberry flavor over the top! Like a strawberry milkshake 🙂
Planning on making this this weekend. When you puree the strawberries do you add them to the cake straight from the food processor? Or do you simmer them over the stove first? This is what i found when I looked up a strawberry puree recipe but not sure what works best for this cake.
HI, I just added them straight in.
Can you use less oil, like 1/4 cup,? To me the oil makes the cake heavy. Thanks Belinda
HI, Belinda, give it a try and see how it works.