Next to pineapples one of my favorite fruits is strawberries. I remember growing up and my home ed teacher, Mrs. Burns would sell this extra large cupcakes after school for $0.75 cents. Without fail every afternoon she would sell of this delectable delights of lemon, vanilla and strawberry. So this past Labor Day weekend I decided to re-visit an old friend, the Strawberry Cake. So as our farewell to summer until 2013, we celebrated with a delicious, scrumptious strawberry cake.  It was fresh, fruity and full flavor.  Just like I remembered.

Ingredients

Strawberry Cake

• 1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix
• 1 (3-ounce) box strawberry-flavored instant gelatin
• 1 (15-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed; Reserve 1/4 cup for frosting
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup water

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup reserved strawberry puree
• 1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
• 7 cups confectioners’ sugar
• red food coloring, optional
• Freshly sliced strawberries, for garnish, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.

2. 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 the center comes out clean.

3. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

4. Time to make the frosting: In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in 1/4 cup of the reserved strawberry puree and the strawberry extract. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until smooth.

5. Spread frosting in between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with sliced fresh strawberries, if desired.

*Chef’s Note – 1) You can use fresh or frozen strawberries. If you use frozen, let them defrost first and then place in a food processor and pulse until pureed. If you want puree to be seedless just run through a medium-sized strainer to remove the seeds.

2) Some chefs avoid using red food coloring, I did however add some food coloring to achieve that perfectly pink color. If you don’t care about getting the pink color, feel free to leave it out. I used about 5 drops, but you should add them one at a time until you achieve the color you are looking for.