More Michigan Strawberries Than I Can Count – Strawberry Cake

As much as I like to make desserts from scratch, there are just some recipes too good not to make just because they use a boxed cake mix or maybe some boxed pudding mix or dare I say Cool Whip as opposed to real whipped cream. I have learned through the years that I don’t like being a baking snob. I enjoy the convenience, albeit in moderation, of some store-bought ingredients and if I find a recipe that calls for them that is really awesome, won’t hesitate to put it in my recipe arsenal.

Even though this strawberry cake recipe starts with a boxed cake mix, it isn’t a quick and easy recipe. That being said, the results are so worth the effort. Actually, you can make this a whole lot easier if you skip the buttercream filling and just use whipping cream or Cool Whip in between the layers as well as for frosting the cake. Of course, the results won’t be as spectacular, but the cake itself is truly worth making. It is moist, super flavorful, and one that everyone I’ve served it to asks the recipe for.

Whatever you decide, definitely give this recipe a try at least once. I bet you’ll agree that the little bit of extra work in making the cake, buttercream filling, and diced strawberries is worth the time. Your friends and family will be asking for this cake over and over again.

Ultimate Strawberry Cake with Buttercream Filling

• Servings: 12 - 16 Servings
• Time: 1 Hour plus cooling
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients

• 1 Package White Cake Mix
• 1 Package Strawberry Jello (3 ounce size)
• 1 cup Water
• ½ Cup Vegetable, Peanut, or Canola Oil
• 4 Large Egg Whites
• ½ Cup Mashed Unsweetened Strawberries
• Buttercream Icing:
  • 2 Cups Butter
  • 2 Cups Sifted Powdered Sugar
  • 2/3 Cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 2 Large Egg Whites
  • ½ Cup Sifted Powdered Sugar
  • ½ tsp. Salt
  • ½ tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • ½ Cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 Pound Strawberries, chopped small
• 1 Container Cool Whip or 2 Cups Heavy Cream Whipped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour three 8″ round baking pans.
2. In a large bowl, combine dry cake mix, gelatin powder, water and oil.
3. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, until moistened.
4. Beat on medium 4 minutes longer.
5. In a small bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form.
6. Fold egg white and mashed strawberries into cake batter.
7. Pour batter into prepared baking pans.
8. Bake 25-30 minutes, until a knife comes out clean.
9. Cool 10 minutes in pan; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
10. Prepare buttercream filling:
    1. Place butter in mixing bowl; beat until creamy.
    2. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar; mix at low speed until smooth.
    3. Whip at medium speed, adding milk slowly until light and fluffy.
    4. In a clean bowl, whip egg whites until stiff while adding ½ cup powdered sugar slowly.
    5. Mix meringue mixture slowly into the butter mixture.
    6. Add vanilla and remaining ½ cup powdered sugar. Note: Double this last amount of powdered to 1 cup if you want a stiffer filling.
11. Place one cooled cake layer on serving plate.
12. Cover top with buttercream.
13. Place second cake layer on top.
14. Cover with buttercream
15. Top with final cake layer.
16. Combine Cool Whip or Whipping Cream with chopped strawberries.
17. Spread whipped cream mixture over top and sides of cake.
18. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Cooking Note

I have made this cake several ways. Another option when putting it together is to put additional chopped strawberries on top of the buttercream layers. Or rather than mixing the chopped strawberries into the Cool Whip, you can press them onto the sides of the cake. You could also top the cake with another buttercream layer and decorate with additional frosting or strawberries. The possibilities are endless.

There will definitely be some buttercream leftover, which can be stored in the fridge for up to a month.

Another option is to make a strawberry buttercream by adding some pure strawberry extract instead of vanilla — you can never have too much strawberry.

Recipe by:  Tilly Frueh – Simply Grateful Cooking 2018

Here is the second version of this cake that I’ve made. It was my first attempt at using my new Russian decorating tips, which definitely still needs a little work. Still it tasted awesome. This one has buttercream on the top and in between the layers and has chopped strawberries between the layers and pressed into the Cool Whip on the sides.

Strawberry season is coming to a close far too soon for me. Thankfully I enjoyed trying lots of recipes with them and have bags put up in the freezer to keep the good times coming, and for this I am — Simply Grateful.

 

 

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Quick & Easy Chocolate Lava Cakes

Typically for me I like to know what I’m making for dinner first thing in the morning. This gives me the day to plan and prepare everything ahead of time so I’m not rushing around an hour before serving trying to get everything done.

In a perfect world, this would be the case 90% of the time. As it is, in my not-so-perfect world, I’m lucky if I know what I’m making by noon, and sometimes not until I set foot in the kitchen panicking because I’ve got less than an hour to get something hot and hearty on the table.

Because of this, dessert is usually the last thing on my mind until everyone has cleaned their plates and all eyes fixate on me in anticipation of something sweet. Sure there’s always ice cream or probably some cookies stored on the shelf in the pantry, but as for something homemade and wonderful, that’s something I’m lucky to accomplish once a week.

When I found a recipe for a chocolate lava cake that could be prepared in 10 minutes and bake while we’re eating dinner, I knew immediately this would be a keeper. I mean really, who doesn’t have 10 minutes before dinner to throw a few ingredients together and pour them into individual bowls for something chocolatey, hot, and utterly wonderful? I know even on the busiest of days, I can manage to find 10 minutes.

Quick and Easy Chocolate Lava Cakes

• 1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)
• 2 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate
• 2 ounces Semisweet Chocolate
• 1 1/4 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 2 whole Eggs
• 3 Egg Yolks
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 1/2 Cup Flour
• Baking Spray for custard cups
• Vanilla Ice Cream

Preheat oven to 425. Spray 4 custard cups with baking spray and place on a baking sheet.

Microwave butter and chocolates in a large bowl on high until the butter is melted, approximately 1 minute. Whisk the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted.

Add sugar to chocolate mixture and stir until blended. Whisk in eggs and yolks and then vanilla. Stir in flour.

Divide mixture between custard cups and bake for 13 minutes, until sides are firm and the centers are soft. Remove from oven and let stand one minute.

Invert cups on individual plates while warm and serve with vanilla ice cream.

I made these after a week of being down from an awful gall bladder attack and the family couldn’t say enough about them. Now, granted they might have just been itching for something homemade and sweet, but seeing as they have already asked me to make them again and it’s only been a few days since I first made them, I’d have to say these are definitely a keeper.

Anytime I can make something from scratch for a special treat in just minutes for the family, I’m thrilled, and for this I am — Simply Grateful.

Quick & Easy Chocolate Lava Cake

• Servings: 4 Custard Cups
• Print

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)
• 2 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate
• 2 ounces Semisweet Chocolate
• 1 1/4 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 2 whole Eggs
• 3 Egg Yolks
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 1/2 Cup Flour
• Baking Spray for custard cups
• Vanilla Ice Cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425. Spray 4 custard cups with baking spray and place on a baking sheet.
2. Microwave butter and chocolates in a large bowl on high until the butter is melted, approximately 1 minute. Whisk the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted.
3. Add sugar to chocolate mixture and stir until blended. Whisk in eggs and yolks and then vanilla. Stir in flour.
4. Divide mixture between custard cups and bake for 13 minutes, until sides are firm and the centers are soft. Remove from oven and let stand one minute.
5. Invert cups on individual plates while warm and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Glazed Pineapple-Zucchini Upside Down Cupcakes

Most of the time when I find and try a recipe, the first thing I do after making it as written, is to try to find ways to improve or change it. Sometimes this works in my favor, other times I realize it was better left alone.

One of my absolute favorite recipes that my mother gave me was for her pineapple upside down cake. I loved it. Everyone loved it. I can’t think of one person who ever had it that didn’t ask for the recipe. It was perfect — or so I thought.

Once I started making the cake, I quickly realized, either out of laziness or perhaps divine inspiration, that using pineapple slices, as my mother had, for the top of the cake looked nice enough, but when I switched things up and used crushed pineapple instead — WOW, what a difference. Not only was there pineapple in every bite, but the pineapple was easier to eat and somehow more tender.

When I made my version of my mother’s pineapple upside down cake one time for my parents, my mother was very critical. She eyed my cake sitting on the kitchen counter before dinner and asked, “Is that MY pineapple upside down cake recipe?” I smiled and told her it was, but with a slight tweak.

After dinner I brought the cake to the table and began to serve it. My father, of course, got the first piece (pineapple upside down cake is his absolute favorite). Without waiting for anyone else he cut into his slice. Before even swallowing he blurted out, “This is REALLY good!”

I cringed just a little. That’s all I needed, another excuse for my mother to get mad at my father. Thankfully he hadn’t said anything like ‘this is the best cake I’ve ever had.’ His “REALLY good” comment, though was enough to make my mother’s eyebrows raise and her face tighten.

Quickly I cut another slice and gave it to my mother. Critically she cut into the piece with her fork, slowly brought it to her nose, sniffed it, and then slipped it into her mouth. She chewed for what seemed like hours, but finally her eyes widened and her features softened as she exclaimed, “This really is GOOD. The crushed pineapple really makes this even better.”

Whew! What a relief. She liked it and her feelings weren’t hurt because I’d tweaked her recipe.

For the past ten years or so my mother and I have been making this recipe for pineapple upside down cake using crushed pineapple and loving it each and every time. This year however, once again, I had to throw a wrench in the recipe and tweak it again.

After trying a recipe for shredded zucchini faux pineapple, I knew right away that this would work perfectly in my mother’s recipe for pineapple upside cake. Instead of making a cake however, I decided to switch things up even more and make individual cupcakes — thus my very own (sort of) recipe for:

Glazed Pineapple-Zucchini Upside Down Cupcakes

1 1/2 Pints Shredded Zucchini Faux Pineapple (recipe found on Simply Grateful Canning)

1 Pkg. (4-serving size) Jell-O Vanilla Pudding & Pie Filling

1/2 Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

1 Pkg. (2-layer size) Yellow Cake Mix (do not use pudding included type cake mix)

1 Pkg. (4-serving size) Jell-O Vanilla INSTANT Pudding & Pie Filling

4 Eggs

1 Cup Water

1/4 Cup Vegetable or Peanut Oil

Combine zucchini, regular pudding mix, and brown sugar in bowl. Fill bottoms of cupcake sections with mixture.

Combine cake mix, INSTANT pudding, eggs, water and oil in large mixing bowl. Blend and then beat at medium speed of electric mixer for 4 minutes. Pour batter over zucchini mixture in pan being careful cake mixture covers zucchini well.

Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean and cupcakes begin to pull away from sides of pan.

Cool in pan 5 minutes. Invert onto cookie sheet and let stand 1 minute; then remove carefully from pan. They are going to stick. You will probably have to loosen them by running a knife around the edges first, but even then, they will stick.

Also, the zucchini will stick to the pan — without fail.

Remove the zucchini carefully from the pan and basically frost the tops of the cupcakes with it, glazing well.

Note: To make this the traditional Glazed Pineapple Upside Down Cake, use a 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple in place of the zucchini and bake in a 13 x 9 pan for 55 to 60 minutes.

I made these the day after I made my first batch of shredded zucchini faux pineapple and could hardly wait to share them. My parents just happened to stop by that day — what luck. I told them I had something I wanted them to try, but I wasn’t going to tell them what it was. I gave them each a cupcake on a plate with a fork. Immediately my mother asked, “What’s that green stuff?”

She has never been very adventuresome when it comes to trying new food, so I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything else. My father on the other hand dove right in. Again, before even swallowing he blurted out, “Wow, this tastes just like pineapple upside down cake.”

My mother immediately popped a bite into her mouth and nodded in agreement. Then I told them what the “green stuff” was. Neither of them could believe it, but my father right away asked if he could have a jar of my faux pineapple so they could take it home.

Everyone I’ve shared these cupcakes with I’ve refused to tell what the “green stuff” was until after they’ve tried it. I’m not sure if knowing it’s zucchini or not would influence their pallets, but I’m not taking a chance. We really like it and so far those who have tried it have too, and for this I am — Simply Grateful.

Note: There Suzanne, now you know what the “green stuff” on top of those cupcakes I gave you a while back was. Hope you enjoyed them.