Hi friends! I hope you had a fabulous weekend and if you’re a mom, that you had a great Mother’s Day! Today I’m sharing a delicious strawberry cake that, yes – starts with a box cake – but you’d never know by the taste! Now, the story behind this cake. Strawberry cake is my husband’s favorite cake. And I’m sure I’m not the only one in history who’s tried a shortcut here and there – right? So when I was shopping for Easter lunch and saw a strawberry boxed cake and strawberry frosting in the store I thought I had hit the jackpot! But then I made the cake. And whoa. It was not at all what I had in mind! It tasted like some kind of strawberry candy – and when most of the cake went uneaten, I knew I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t impressed. So I set out for a delicious compromise.
So like many of our cupcake recipes here on A Night Owl, our Tastes Like Homemade Strawberry Cake starts with a box cake mix!
Strawberry Box Cake - Tastes Like Homemade!
Ingredients
- 1 plain white cake mix
- 1 3 oz box strawberry Jello
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup chopped strawberries and juice fresh or thawed frozen
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Mix cake mix, strawberry Jello, flour, oil, sugar, milk, eggs and strawberries and juice with an electric mixer until well blended.
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Pour batter into a rectangular cake pan or into three round cake pans.
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Bake for 33-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
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If you're stacking round cakes, remove from the pans and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before frosting.
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Frost with Easy Strawberry Frosting and enjoy!
Easy Strawberry Frosting
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp 1 stick butter at room temperature
- 4 cups sifted confectioners sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped strawberries
Instructions
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With an electric mixer, blend softened butter.
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Add sifted confectioners sugar and strawberries (with minimal juice) and mix on low until blended.
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Continue to blend on low until the frosting is creamy.
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If the frosting is too thin, add more sugar; if it is too thick, add more strawberries.
Well there you have it! The cake is fairly easy and tastes oh so delicious! And if making your own frosting is too much, you could even use a can of frosting from the store and I’m sure it would taste great as well. I think a yummy cream cheese frosting would be fantastic too – I just try to limit the amount of dairy in desserts I make for my boys.
So if you’re looking for a shortcut that won’t taste like a shortcut (ahem, strange-tasting strawberry box cake), then give this a try! Let me know what you think! This is one cake that didn’t go to waste in our home, and I’ll be making it again soon!
This looks super yummy. I think this is going to be a weekend cake make.
This looks soo yummy! I think I’ll have to try it.
Thanks Rhonda – you’ll have to let me know how you like it!
This looks delicious!
Thank you Phyrra!
This looks amazing!!
Thanks Ange! Sorry it’s another unhealthy post, hehe! 😉
Oh my, how I love strawberries, so I HAD to come see this recipe. I am going to save this and make it for sure, especially since there is a butter cream frosting! Thank you!
Thank you Linda! You’ll have to let me know how you like it!
YUMOMNOM. This would go well with my Bigelow tea sampler for an afternoon dessert and tea. Your food photography is astoundingly good. Fax me a piece of that cake!
Thank you Lana! Your spiked orange tea sounds fantastic!
My mouth is watering! Looks so yummy. I’m pinning!
Thank you Leslie!
I am making this cake now! Very excited for my husband to take to work. However, after 35 minutes it was no where near being ready. Had to bake for 45 minutes. Anyone else have this problem?
It could be different altitudes Tina – I would just bake until it’s done! Check with a toothpick as usual. You’ll have to let me know how you like it!
Thank you! That looks simply divine. I am so in love with Strawberries and strawberry favored what not. You have such a lovely blog.
Love, Richelle from Lynn + Lou
My kids and husband love anything flavored like strawberry … they’d LOVE this! {and I’d love the ease!}
Have you tried this recipe for cupcakes? I am going to give it a try!
Fantastic find! I plan to make a strawberry cake for my son’s graduation dinner on Monday and wasn’t too happy with the strawberry cake I made for his October birthday. This looks easy and more tasty. Really great timing. Thanks for posting!
Hello yumminess! This looks amazing… I love strawberries, too!
Take care,
Trish
I really love this recipe. This is my husband’s favorite cake and his mom gave me the recipe. I like anything that starts with a cake mix, makes life much easier!
This looks so delicious and I adore strawberry cake!! I can’t wait to make some!! Thanks for introducing me to a knew way to make this tasty treat!
Kimberly says she uses butter frosting instead of cream cheese because she trys to limit dairy in the deserts she makes for her boys. Butter is made from cream (dairy)! If you want frosting that is not dairy you can use a coconut frosting recipe or something like non-dairy Cool Whip.
Great point, Gail! They do tolerate butter well, so that’s not an issue. It’s usually just when I use milk that they have issues. But Cool Whip is a great idea for those who want to eliminate dairy completely! Thanks for sharing!
I made this recipe (minus the frosting) yesterday. I was a little worried about adding the extra 1/2 cup of sugar, but it was totally fine….not just fine but perfect! The cake had just enough sweetness, nice strawberry flavor, fluffy, and moist. I was, also, worried about the statement “strawberries and juice”. I used frozen strawberries and there wasn’t a lot of juice, but the cake came out great anyway. I frosted it with a swiss meringue buttercream, divine. Thank you for this lovely recipe!
I used this recipe this morning to make strawberry cupcakes and they were fantastic. I even had enough to make 30 standard cupcakes!!! I also made a strawberry buttercream icing.. My friends and family are going to love these!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
The taste and texture were fine, and it’s a pretty cake too! I may make this again, but my only change would be that I wouldn’t add any more sugar. My hubby loves strawberry cake but isn’t too big on sweets in general, and I prefer less sugar as well (but the kids don’t mind more!), and the box cake mix has plenty sweetness already.
Also, I had already bought a strawberry cake mix and don’t consume pork (Jello) anyway, so I just used plain beef gelatin. Seemed to work great!
Great to hear, Cindy! Thanks for your feedback!