How to Make the Dreamy Strawberry Cake

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 8x8-inch baking pans with non-stick spray or Baker’s Joy.

In a large bowl using a mixer, combine the cake mix, eggs, milk, and vegetable oil, mixing until well blended. Add the 1 cup of mashed strawberries and the dry strawberry gelatin powder to the batter and mix until fully incorporated.

Continue mixing for 3 minutes, pausing once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is evenly combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans or pour into two 8-inch round pans. Bake for 30 to 33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake layers cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before carefully removing them and transferring to a wire rack. Allow the cakes to cool completely before applying the frosting.

Strawberry Frosting

Using a mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, or until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar, freeze-dried strawberry powder or strawberry puree (or a combination of both), heavy cream or milk, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds to combine, then increase to high speed and beat for an additional 2 minutes until light and fluffy.

If the frosting is too thick, add 1 to 3 more tablespoons of heavy cream or milk to thin it out to your desired consistency.

Optional: To make a strawberry cream cheese frosting, add 8 ounces of softened cream cheese to the frosting at the end. Make sure the cream cheese is well-softened and smooth before mixing it in. You can also blend it with the butter before adding the other frosting ingredients.