Fresh Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

My Mom's birthday was over the weekend so Todd & I invited my parents over for presents and dessert to celebrate.  I usually use my parents as guinea pigs to try out new recipes and I'd say 90% of the time, it's a big hit.  I tend to make a lot of desserts with chocolate and peanut butter so I ventured outside the box for this one.  With the weather turning more spring-like, I thought this Fresh Strawberry Cake would be perfect.  The verdict: everyone loved it!

Fresh Strawberry Cake

Source: thecountrycook.net via Jenny on Pinterest

The Ingredients

First step: mix the cake mix with the jello powder

Add all the wet ingredients

and gently fold in the diced strawberries

The batter was a pretty pink color before going in the oven

It smelled amazing right out of the oven

Final touch was to add the homemade cream cheese icing

Served with vanilla ice cream and a strawberry on top

Fresh Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

Cake
1 box vanilla, white or yellow cake mix
1 (3 oz.) box strawberry gelatin mix (Jell-O)
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1 pint fresh strawberries (or 1 cup crushed fresh strawberries)

Icing
1/2 block (4 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 9x13 caking pan with nonstick cooking spray
2. Rinse strawberries, dice them up, and place them in a ziploc bag.  Using a rolling pin or meat tenderizer to crush them up.
3. In a bowl, combine the cake mix and jello powder and mix.
4. Next, stir in oil, eggs, and water. Once that is combined, gently fold in strawberries.
5. Pour batter in cake pan and bake for 30-33 minutes.
6. Allow cake to cool completely before adding icing.
7. To make the icing, mix together the softened cream cheese and softened butter. Mix until smooth and lump-free.
8. Next, mix in powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Mix until smooth and creamy.
9. Frost cooled cake, slice, and serve.  Refrigerate any leftovers.


from The Country Cook