My mom has made this strawberry cake for my birthday every single year since I was a little girl! I’m not one to be tempted by cake all that often, but I could eat this cake in one sitting. It is never dry and tastes like you are biting into a fresh strawberry on a hot summer day. I like to do the same and make this cake for Maxi as it feels like such a tradition in our family.

On Monday, Maxi asked if she could have the “pink Barbie birthday cake” which means strawberry cake. I jumped to make it for her because with quarantine and no playdates, I’m all for anything to brighten up her day. She loves helping me make it and my husband is always happy to find this on our counter. I thought I’d share the recipe with you today if you need a little sweet treat with your coffee or something to do with your kids this week.

A few notes to make:

• My mom makes this cake using two cake pans and she ices it as you can see below from one of my birthday cakes. She has an online recipe she sends to friends, but I think each year she kind of tweaks her recipe. But I will source the online recipe for you all at the bottom, because it’s what I follow, as she just does this recipe by heart without measuring.
• I actually prefer to make this as a bundt cake. I do not use the online recipe’s version for the icing, and will share how I make my glaze for the cake below.
• Since there are so many fresh strawberries in this cake you have GOT to be generous with your non-stick spray or cake release. Be generous in the application, and then be even more. I have made this cake dozens of times and my mom makes it dozens of times each year for everyone’s birthday, and we still always remind ourselves of this, so it won’t stick to the pan. But I promise, even if you have one spot that sticks, this cake is SO worth it. Just cover it in some icing and sprinkles, you won’t even know!

*Also, I apologize these photos aren’t the best in terms of recipe photos.* We just randomly made this as a family on Monday. I wanted to share the recipe with you all so Paul snapped these yesterday on the iPhone while we were having a cake break and it was raining outside.

Ingredients:

• 18 Ounces WHITE Cake Mix. Cake mixes come in 16 ounces, so you can either use one box and add extra flour, or you can grab two boxes. My mom uses one box and then adds extra flour. I just grab two boxes, as I know I’ll use the rest of the other box for cupcakes or something with Maxi.
• 3 Ounces Strawberry Jello. This is half a regular box.
• 1 Cup Fresh Strawberries Finely Chopped. You can use less if you have less. I’ve done this recipe with anything from 1/2 cup to 1 cup and sometimes I don’t even use the full cup.
• 1 Cup Canola Oil
• 1/2 Cup Whole Milk
• 4 Large Eggs Room Temp

Icing Ingredients:

• 1 Jar of your Favorite Icing {Maxi loves Funfetti, I love Whipped Cream Cheese, you could use strawberry.}
• 1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray your cake pan or bundt cake pan with plenty of non-stick spray!
2. Using a stand-alone mixer or electric mixer like Kenwood köksmaskiner, mix together cake mix, jello, strawberries, oil, milk, and eggs. I mix about 4 minutes.
3. Pour into bundt cake pan and bake for 35 minutes. It may need to go 40 minutes depending upon your oven.
4. For icing, dump your jar of favorite store-bought icing into your mixer. Mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. If you have strawberry icing, you can also add in about 4 ounces of softened cream cheese, but I used cream cheese icing so I don’t add extra. Then, take your icing, and microwave in a microwave-safe cup for about 20-30 seconds. Once cake is fully cooled out of oven {about 45 minutes to an hour} drizzle icing over the bundt cake. I let Maxi help me with this and then she applies the sprinkles of her choice.

Enjoy with your family!

Recipe adapted from here.

What is your favorite celebratory desert with family?!