Valentine’s Day Treat: Strawberry Cake

Hey yall!

I just wanted to share what I made for Valentine’s Day. I have never really been into V-Day, but this year was different because I kept seeing adorable baking ideas and pretty heart shaped foods on Pinterest/YouTube! I brainstormed and decided to make a strawberry cake because a) it’s delicious — definitely one of my top three favorite flavors (lemon vanilla would probably be number one) and b) because it’s pink!

I was looking up recipes on Pinterest and ended up coming across Paula Deen’s “Smply Delicious Strawberry Cake” recipe. I know there is controversy surrounding Paula, but I used to watch her all the time on the Foodnetwork and loved her show. (Probably because the food was fatty and delicious looking, haha)

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients Needed

Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake – Paula Deen

• 1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix
• 1 (3-ounce) box strawberry flavored instant gelatin
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water
• Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
• Garnish: sliced fresh strawberries (I decided to decorate it with icing hearts, but now that I think about it, a strawberry heart would have been perfect!)

 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour 2 round 9-inch cake pans.
  ***I used small heart shaped pans and cupcake tins***
• In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. (I always put the timer on a less time and check them, just so they don’t burn)
  ****I did not have a mixer, so I whisked everything***
• Decorate as desired

Cake Steps

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
• 1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract (I used vanilla)
• 7 cups confectioner’s sugar

CONFESSION: I refused to use that much powdered sugar, so I used about 4 cups and more puree because I wanted a strong strawberry flavor. I am not a huge icing fan, so I wasn’t planning on using a lot. I will say this, this made SO MUCH FROSTING. I would recommend cutting the recipe in half (maybe use 2 or 3 cups of powdered sugar) if you’re making cupcakes.

Directions:

• In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. (I used a fork and spoon because I didn’t have a mixer) Beat in 1/4 cup strawberry puree, reserving remaining for another use. (Again, I used a bit more puree and less sugar)
• Beat in extract.
• Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.
• You can add red food coloring to make it pinker.

Icing Steps

Here is the final product. The cake was absolutely delicious and very moist! You really could taste the strawberry flavor in both the cake and icing. (Again, I am not a huge fan of icing, so I didn’t put very much on.)

Finished Product! (minus the left)

What are your favorite cake flavors? Leave a comment to let me know!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day loving yourself and loving the important people in your life.
-Kimi