Strawberry Layer Cake with Strawberry Frosting

Strawberry Layer Cake with Strawberry Frosting — Soft, tender cake loaded with FRESH strawberries and a sweet strawberry frosting!! An EASY strawberry layer cake that’s perfect for parties! Strawberry fans will LOVE IT!!

Easy Strawberry Cake Recipe

Strawberry cake is one of my very favorites. It’s summertime perfection. I made this strawberry cake recipe using cake mix for my parents when they came to town for a visit for my birthday last month and we all loved it.

I never make myself birthday cakes, and didn’t set out with that as the goal when I made this cake. I make so many cakes as a blogger that I didn’t think twice when I embarked on this one, but it turned out to be a wonderful happy accident of a birthday cake.

This soft, tender, moist strawberry layer cake is loaded with so much strawberry flavor, both in the cake and in the frosting. It’s an easy recipe that starts with cake mix which gets doctored up with strawberry gelatin and fresh strawberries. It’s an almost scratch cake, which is fine by me.

What’s in Strawberry Layer Cake? 

To make this strawberry cake recipe using cake mix, you’ll need: 

• White cake mix
• Strawberry gelatin
• Canola oil
• Fresh strawberries 
• Cream or half-and-half
• Unsalted butter
• Strawberry preserves
• Vanilla extract
• Confectioners’ sugar
• Red food coloring (optional) 

How to Make a Strawberry Layer Cake

Simply whisk together the strawberry cake batter, then gently fold in the diced berries. Bake the strawberry cake layers until done, then let cool completely before frosting. 

To make the strawberry frosting, first beat the butter until smooth. Then, add the confectioners’ sugar, preserves, and food coloring (if using). Continue mixing until very well whipped, light, and fluffy. Add a splash of cream or milk as needed to achieve the right consistency. 

Once cooled, frost the strawberry layer cake. I garnished my cake with fresh berries as well just before serving. 

Do I Have to Make This as a Layer Cake? 

No, I baked the cake in two 9-inch rounds because I love the presentation pop that a layer cake lends, but you can make it as a 9×13-inch cake if you prefer.

Tips for the Best Strawberry Cake

I frosted the strawberry Jello cake with from-scratch strawberry frosting that’s made with strawberry preserves. Make sure you use a thick jam with strawberry chunks and not thin and runny jelly so your frosting has wonderful strawberry flecks throughout.

The frosting is very sweet, but then again all frosting is sweet. This one happens to be sweeter than most because there’s both strawberry jam and confectioners’s sugar in it, but if you have a sweet tooth you’re going to love it. If you don’t have sweet teeth I would suggest another less sweet frosting, such as doubling this one.

If you have leftovers of this strawberry Jello cake, I recommend storing it in a sealed container in the fridge. Leftovers will last up to 5 days, but be sure to bring the cake to room temperature before serving it again. 

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4.41 from 10 votes

Strawberry Layer Cake with Strawberry Frosting

By Averie Sunshine

Soft, tender cake loaded with FRESH strawberries and a sweet strawberry frosting!! An EASY strawberry layer cake that's perfect for parties!

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cooling Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 10

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Ingredients  

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Cake

• ▢ one 15-ounce box white cake mix
• ▢ one 3-ounce box of strawberry gelatin
• ▢ 4 large eggs
• ▢ 1 cup canola or vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 cup finely diced fresh strawberries, from about 1 pint
• ▢ ¼ cup cream or half-and-half, milk or water may be substituted

Frosting

• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks, softened
• ▢ heaping 1/2 cup strawberry preserves, thick jam with strawberry chunks, not runny jelly
• ▢ 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
• ▢ 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• ▢ 1 to 4 tablespoons cream or half-and-half, as needed for consistency
• ▢ red food coloring, optional and as necessary
• ▢ fresh strawberries, optional for garnishing

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Instructions 

• Cake
• Preheat oven to 350F. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans (or one 9×13-inch pan) with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pans; set aside.
• To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric handheld mixer), add all ingredients except strawberries, and beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Add the strawberries and beat to incorporate.
• Turn batter out into prepared pans, divided evenly, and bake for about 30 to 34 minutes, or until done and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
• Allow cakes to cool in pans, on a wire rack, for about 15 minutes before inverting and removing cakes to cool completely on wire racks.
• Make sure cakes are completely cooled before frosting them.
• Frosting
• To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric handheld mixer), add the butter, and beat on medium-high speed to smooth it.
• Add the strawberry preserves, extract, 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, and beat on medium-high speed to blend.
• Add 1 additional cup confectioners’ sugar, and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until very well whipped, light, and fluffy. As necessary, drizzle in the cream to thin frosting to a thick, yet spreadable, consistency.
• Optionally add red food coloring to make the frosting pinker; I added about 10 drops.
• Add about one-third of the frosting to the top of one of the cakes and smooth it with a spatula or knife. Place the other cake on top, add about one-third of the remaining frosting, and smooth it. Add the remaining amount of frosting to the sides of the cake and smooth it.
• Optionally add fresh strawberries for garnishing before serving.

Notes

• Note that the frosting is very sweet. If you prefer something less sweet, I recommend doubling this one.
• Cake will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temp before serving.
• Cake adapted from here, here, and here.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 812kcal, Carbohydrates: 83g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 52g, Saturated Fat: 18g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 31g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 139mg, Sodium: 184mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 68g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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