EASY STRAWBERRY CAKE

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Easy Strawberry Cake with cream cheese frosting tastes and looks like a bakery cake, but is easier than from scratch! It’s full of strawberries in the cake and the icing.

This cake is ‘easy’ because it starts with a cake mix, but don’t worry unless you tell no one will ever know, it tastes homemade. Yep, moist strawberry cake recipe from box. It’s light, tender, moist, and bursting with strawberry flavor.

Easy Strawberry Cake

EASY STRAWBERRY CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

This is my recipe box. Yes, it’s quite large and it’s not the only recipe box I have. This is the box of my family ‘favorites’; I also have a box of recipes that I want to try. And a binder of pretty entertaining and party recipes and tips. And, I have cookbooks.

So many recipes, so little time! One-third of these recipes are for desserts! I know it’s my passion.

As well, this Strawberry Cake recipe has been one of my favorite desserts for many years. It’s the cake I always wanted my Mom to make for my birthday (or anytime I could persuade her to make it!)

Strawberry Cake recipe tips & suggestions

  • First, this strawberry cake starts with a boxed cake mix. However, because it has fresh strawberries it tastes homemade.
  • You can use fresh or frozen strawberries.
  • For the 1 cup of strawberries, you can mash with a potato masher, hand chop, or chop in a food processor. They add just the right amount of flavor and moisture.
  • As well, you’ll add a 3-ounce box of strawberry gelatin (Jello is the most-known brand) to the batter. If you have a strawberry flavored boxed cake mix, you can skip this step. However, adding strawberry gelatin to a white cake mix is a huge strawberry flavor boost.
  • This cake calls for vegetable oil. It adds moisture and makes the texture amazing. (I haven’t tried reducing the oil amount.)
  • You can make this into either 2 or 3 layers. It also works well in a 9x13x3-inch baking pan as well as cupcakes.
  • For a 9x13x3-inch cake, you may want to reduce the amount of frosting. (I don’t, but I love frosting!)
Easy Strawberry Cake

Cooking times for pan size

I prefer these brands for cake pans: Fat Daddio’s, Wilton, USA Pan Store, and Cuisinart. Various brands are listed below depending on what was in stock at the time I linked them.

If you want to accurately test a cake for doneness, I recommend using a cake thermometer. A cake is done when it reaches 210°F in the center. Use caution to not touch the bottom of the baking pan.

Easy Strawberry Cake

I prefer it made in three 8-inch layers and iced.

But, if it’s easier in a 9×13-inch pan, by all means, you do not have to stack it.

I made it for the teachers at my son’s school and baked it in an aluminum 9×13. It was much easier to transport and I didn’t have to go back and collect a cake pan.

ingredients in bowl

The beauty of this recipe? Dump all ingredients in the bowl and mix!

ingredients in bowl

I like using the whisk attachment for cakes. I think it incorporates more air into the batter.

Mix it all together and pour it into the pan. Bake, then frost. I frosted it with Cream Cheese Frosting.

WHILE YOU’RE HERE, CHECK OUT THESE RECIPES.

June 10, 2018. I updated the recipe for the cake and the frosting. This frosting has the same flavor and ingredients, I made it thicker. The changes are correct in the recipe as written.

Easy Strawberry Cake

Easy Strawberry Cake

Easy Strawberry Cake tastes and looks like a bakery cake, but is easier than from-scratch! It’s full of fresh strawberries in the cake and the icing. This cake is ‘easy’ because it starts with a cake mix, but don’t worry unless you tell noone will ever know!
Author: Paula
4.88 from 427 votes
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 16 slices

Ingredients

Cake

  • 15.25 ounce box white cake mix (use ingredients listed here NOT what is listed on the box) You can also use 16.25-ounce size
  • 3 -ounce box strawberry jello you'll use the powder
  • 1 cup strawberries fresh or frozen mashed or finely chopped (measured after you chop or mash them)
  • ¾ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup whole milk or 2% milk
  • 4 large eggs at room temperature

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 -ounces cream cheese at room temperature
  • ½ cup butter room temperature
  • 5 to 6 cups confectioners’ sugar sifted then measured, more if needed
  • 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream more if needed
  • ¼ cup strawberries fresh or frozen, mashed or chopped fine, drained

Instructions

PLEASE READ POST ABOVE FOR MORE INFO

    For the Cake

    • Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray pan(s) with non-stick spray or Wilton cake release.
    • Add cake mix, eggs, milk, and vegetable oil to a mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer and mix well. Mix in the 1 cup of mashed strawberries and the (dry) strawberry gelatin.
    • Mix 3 minutes, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl a couple of times.
    • Divide the batter evenly among layer pans or pour into a 9×13-inch baking pan. Cool the cake layers for 10 minutes in the pan before removing them to a wire rack. Wait until the cake is completely cool before frosting.

    For Cream Cheese Frosting:

    • Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Sift sugar and add one cup at a time to the cream cheese mixture. Add heavy whipping cream and strawberries and incorporate completely.
    • For a more professional cake, remove the domes from the tops of the cake layers with a cake leveler or large serrated knife.
    • Place one layer of cake on a serving plate. Spread about 1 cup of the frosting on top in an even layer. Repeat with the next layer of cake and frosting, then top the cake with the final layer of cake (if you have 3 layers).
    • Frost the outside of the cake. An offset spatula makes it really easy to get an even layer.

    Video

    Notes

    Cooking times for pan size
    • For 9×13 pan bake 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
    • two 9-inches round or 9×9 inch square 28 to 31 minutes
    • two 8-inch round or 8×8-inch square 30 to 33 minutes
    • three 8-inch round 28 to 30 minutes
    Easy Strawberry Cake original version. Make it like this and ignore the top recipe. OR make the top recipe and ignore this part.
    I revised the original recipe ingredients for the smaller size cake mix. It seemed to confuse everyone. However, I’m now including that change below since I have a lot of people asking for that information. This is the wording that I changed. As well, I used 1 cup oil in the original recipe but I prefer 3/4 cup oil instead.
    “Please note also the original Easy Strawberry Cake recipe used an 18.25-ounce cake mix. For a long time, you could still get the 18.25 size cake mix, but I have been unable to find it recently. Here are two options for adjustments to the 15.25-ounce, 16.5, or 16.25-ounce cake mix to make it work. Everything else remains the same after these additions.
    You can purchase two cake mixes. Use one complete 15.25 package plus measure 3 ounces out of the second cake mix. Likewise, if you have 16.50 or 16.35-ounce box of cake mix, make up the difference with another box of cake mix. Store the remaining for next time.
    Use one 15.25 ounce cake mix PLUS add 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.”

    Nutrition

    Calories: 574kcal | Carbohydrates: 94g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 489mg | Potassium: 115mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 75g | Vitamin A: 645IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 140mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Please take a moment to comment letting me know how you liked it & consider giving it a 5 star rating. I love hearing from you!
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    637 Comments

    1. Hi Paula. I am planning on making this strawberry cake. I am using Pillsbury Moist supreme white mix. Your recipe calls for 1 Cup oil and 4 eggs, and the box cake calls for only 1/2 c. oil and 3 eggs. Is this correct? A whole cup of oil seems like a lot.
      Just checking as I don’t want to mess it up.
      Thank you,
      Debbie

      1. A whole cup is a lot, it’s a very moist cake you could reduce it to 3/4 cup. This is an old recipe that used the 18oz cake mix, you may have the new smaller size cake mix. However, the recipe treated the cake mix as flour and didn’t go by the cake mix directions.

    2. I love this cake and so do all my coworkers. But everytime I make it, the frosting is always very runny. Is it supposed to be this way?

      1. It’s so hard to judge how juicy the berries will be. I usually start with a small about of berries and juice and add as needed.

        1. Just curious….I’ve seen a lot of comments on the frosting being too thin or runny….should the whipping cream be whipped before adding to the frosting mix? Would that help with the consistency? I can’t wait to try this recipe!

        2. No, the problem comes when the berries or too juicy therefore too much liquid for the sugar to absorb. I’ve started adding in the berries a few at a time, this has helped to add too much liquid

    3. I used to make this and lost the recipe – so glad to find it again! Hope you can help with a question, though. Is it 1 cup of strawberries, chopped? Or 1 cup of chopped strawberries? That’s a pretty big difference, and I doing want to use too much or too little.

    4. I made your Strawberry Cake for Easter and was thrilled at how beautiful it looked and it tasted even better! I added a phyllo dough “nest” and Cadbury egg candies for Easter. To keep the frosting from softening too much I refrigerated overnight & then let took it out Easter morning. It was perfect and moist . Wish I could add a pic because it was so pretty. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe !

    5. Do you put sugar on your strawberries before mixing them in or just cut them up and throw them in?

    6. I made this cake because I found it on pinterest and looked amazing. When I first took it out of the oven, it was very high to rI’m of my 9×13 pan. Now that it’s beenot cooling, it fell. My cake shrunk half its size and fell. Is this normal? I followed recipe 🙁

      1. it will fall some but shouldn’t fall to half the size. It may have needed to cook a little longer in a 9×13. Was it set in the center?

    7. Hey Paula, my mom made tHis cake for my dad’s birthday and Father’s Day . Now my daughter want.s this for all occasions 😊. I had to chuckle a little when I saw your cake. We never know how many ” ruffles and puddles” the frosting will have🙄. It looks like you had a couple of ruffles on the side of your cake too. I’m so glad others have this unique feature on this cake😊. It’s always delicious but sometimes we have to scrape the frosting back up on the cake!

    8. I’m making this cake for my Dad’s 61st birthday. I was wondering if you know if this recipe would work if you substituted the strawberries for raspberries and the jello for raspberry jello. My daughters birthday is in 2 weeks and she requested a raspberry cake.

    9. Hi, I didn’t see anyone posting questions regarding the whole milk. I was wondering if I would be able to use 2% milk instead of whole milk? Would this effect anything?

    10. after I baked a 13×9 cake it pretty much flopped down in the pan. not sure what I did wrong. thanks

      1. Mine did too. I think I should have reduced ingredients for smaller size cake mixes now (16.25 oz instead of 18).

    11. HELP. I made this yesterday and have a good bit of strawberry frosting left only thing it’s pretty thin. How can I make it little more thicker/pipe-able?

    12. This cake looks amazing, I’ve attempted something like this and couldn’t get the frosting thicken, what am I doing wrong?
      Thanks!

    13. Looks yummy!!
      But ingridients say you need strawberry cream cheese frosting. I just couldnt find when in the instructions is used???

    14. I made the strawberry cake into cupcakes for my grandsons school birthday party. He looovvveeessss strawberries. Only thing was he wanted chocolate icing. My husband loves all things batter & dough. He said oooo that would be so good drizzled over ice cream. Thanks for posting.

    15. I made the strawberry cake into cupcakes for my grandsons school birthday party. My husband is a lover of all things batter & dough! He said ooo that would be so good drizzled over ice cream lol. I had no problem with the oil in this as others have posted. My grandson looovvveeessss strawberries he was so excited when I showed him the picture of the cake. He wanted chocolate icing though. Thanks for posting. I tried putting my email in to follow you but kept coming up with errors.

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