Swanky Strawberry Cake & A Tribute to My Friend

I have this friend.  Her name is Bianca but she'll answer to almost anything.  She’s definitely an original … a one and only.  She lives her life from one fun loving epiphany to the next.  She’s energetic, a sucker for the movie Annie, and passionate about life.  She can be a bit squirrelly at times and she seems to eat, breath, and sleep craziness.  She loves adventures and being around her tends to be an adventure of its own.  She would tell you her greatest treasures are her kids!  She’s genuine, wild, super hilarious, and always fun. 

This same friend also happens to be my co-worker.  Her birthday is coming up but she has to be out of town on her real birthday.  Because of this, we celebrated last week.  She had put in a request for strawberry cake.  The afternoon beforehand, I bought an inordinate amount of strawberries and made the following super delicious strawberry cake.  With summer just around the corner, this cake is crazy easy and definitely one to keep in the recipe box. 

First, I rinsed the strawberries.  I took all the ends off and then cut them in halves (& quarters for the bigger berries).  I should note, I used 32oz of strawberries which made a bit more puree than I needed but I added extra berries to the frosting.  You know, a little extra for good measure...  I only pureed one set, so I didn't have to do it twice-because the recipe calls for puree in both the cake batter and the frosting.  I used our large food processor for the job!

Then, I made strawberry puree.

The recipe calls for a white cake mix as the base, so I bought Duncan Hines French Vanilla.  Then you add some other ingredients to the cake mix along with 4 eggs.

Cake batter with strawberry puree
(not-yet-mixed)

While the cake is baking, I took out half a cup of butter (1 large stick or 2 quarter cup sticks) and 8oz of cream cheese; I set aside to soften as I need this for the frosting.

Once the cake came out of the oven, I allowed it to cool completely.

Cooling cake before frosting.

I then made the frosting.  It is soooo good.  It’s a runny frosting and doesn’t firm up, which makes the whole thing even better once you cut into it.

Frosting ingredients, not-yet-mixed.

The Nitty Gritty Recipe Details:

Swanky Strawberry Cake

Preheat oven to 350°.  While oven is warming up, mix cake batter.

Cake Ingredients:

• 1 box white cake mix (I used Duncan Hines French Vanilla)
• 3 tablespoons plain flour
• 1 (3oz) box strawberry jello
• ½ cup water
• ¾ cup oil (I used vegetable but you could use canola oil instead)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen pureed strawberries
• 4 eggs

Combine cake mix, flour, jello, water, and oil.  Add eggs one at time, beating well (with a mixer) in between each egg addition.  Add strawberries and beat on medium speed for two minutes.  Pour batter into a well-greased and floured  9x13 pan. Bake for 45 minutes.

Frosting Particulars:

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

• ½ cup stick butter, softened
• 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup frozen or fresh pureed strawberries (I used more like 1 ¼  cup)
• 3 cups powdered sugar

Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix with a mixer until creamy.  Pour over cooled cake. 

The finished product.

Anyway, I hope you make this cake.  It really is super simple and super delicious – you can thank me later!  Also, feel free to wish my sweet friend a Happy Birthday!!!  We love her dearly and she’s pretty excited about it being her birthday!

From the Fullness of His Grace,
Lacey