Easy Strawberry Cake and Frosting

I feel like there are some flavors that are universal in my family. As in, just about everyone likes them. Other than chocolate (because, duh), peanut butter is the main one that comes to mind: with the exception of Carly and Stefan, I think everyone in my family likes peanut butter (just don't put it into frosting 🤦‍♀️).

There's also strawberry. Other than my dad, I'm not sure if there's anyone in my family who doesn't like strawberries (if there is, they're not as vocal about it 😏). So since he wasn't going to be here for Easter, I decided to make something with strawberries in it. After looking at both hard copies and digital copies, I decided on a cake and frosting recipe from The Spruce Eats.

Easy Strawberry Cake and Frosting (source)

Ingredients

Strawberry Cake

• 1 package cake mix (white or yellow)
• 1 (3-ounce) package strawberry-flavored gelatin powder (a.k.a. Jell-O)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs (lightly beaten)
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup strawberries (mashed)*

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/4 cup butter (room temperature)
• 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
• 4 tablespoons strawberries (mashed or pureed)*
• 5 to 6 cups confectioners' sugar

*Note: a little internet search found that 1 cup mashed strawberries (apparently 4 tbsp = 1/4 cup) is about 1/2 pound of fresh strawberries

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Grease and flour two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans or two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners.
3. Combine the cake mix and gelatin powder in a large bowl.
4. Beat in the vegetable oil, eggs, water, and 3/4 cup of mashed strawberries.
5. Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans or among the lined muffin pans.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes for cake or about 18 to 20 minutes for cupcakes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. ​
7. Cool the cake or cupcakes in the pan on racks for about 10 minutes. Remove from the pans to the racks to cool completely.
8. For the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.
9. Add the 1/4 cup of mashed or pureed strawberries and about 5 cups of confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add more confectioners' sugar, if needed to thicken.
10. Spread the frosting between cake layers and then frost the top and sides of the cake. Or spread or pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.

I definitely under-frosted between the layers. At least that's what it felt like since I had leftover frosting (I ended up using it up by topping off some brownies for a work potluck). Either way, everyone loved it. Their main complaint was that the slices were too big (which, granted, was in part because I had put some chocolate decorations to help guide my cutting. But the cake also looked a bit tall...) so most everyone either shared their slices or took them home. I took the rest to work and it was gone within a couple days. And as you can see, I held back on the decorating this time. Slightly 😳.