Oh how we love a big slice of strawberry cake, and today’s moist & delicious strawberry cake all starts with a simple cake mix!
We have an amazing scratch strawberry cake recipe that we love, but sometimes you need a tried and true doctored cake mix recipe that you can whip up in a flash & that is guaranteed to please a crowd. THIS is that recipe!
Cake Mix Recipes Vs. Scratch Baked…
Have you ever stumbled into the message boards section of a cake decorating site only to find a heated discussion between cake mix bakers and scratch bakers about whether or not cake mix cakes count as homemade?
It can be pretty entertaining, and did I mention heated? Well, I happen to love both scratch recipes and doctored cake mix recipes. If the cake tastes amazing, just bring me a fork, I’m not complaining!
We have tons of favorite scratch cake recipes in our Recipes section, and we have tons of fantastic doctored cake mix recipes too.
The plus of doctored cake mix recipes like today’s strawberry cake is that they can be whipped up in no time, and the addition of extra ingredients and flavorings really takes the cake texture and flavor to another level.
How to make a Strawberry Doctored Cake Mix Recipe
Although you can easily find strawberry cake mixes at most grocery stores, we prefer to use white cake mix and then add a nice flavor boost from both pureed strawberries as well as strawberry jello.
This cake has received rave reviews over the years and we hope that you enjoy it too!
To make this recipe, prepare three 8 inch round pans.
Next, add all of the ingredients including the white cake mix, strawberry jello, flour, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, and mashed strawberries. (By the way, I love that this recipe calls for real strawberries rather than just the jello. It really does make a difference in the strawberry flavor)!
Then, it’s just a matter of dividing the batter between the pans and baking!
How to make your cake extra moist
Once my cake layers have baked, whether I’m working with cake mix or scratch cake layers, I remove them from the oven, allow to cool (in the pans) on cooling racks for about 10 minutes, and then flip them out, wrap with plastic wrap, and then with foil.
Next, off to the freezer they go! Freezing the layers while they are still warm adds a noticeable boost in moisture. It’s a myth that freezing cake layers somehow results in a less flavorful or moist cake. We’ve been doing this for 15 years now! It really does make such a difference. We’ve frozen cake layers for up to 2-3 months and they still taste as fresh as the day they were made. I’ve even popped freshly baked, wrapped layers in the freezer for just a few hours when I’m in a time crunch!
When the cake layers are ready to thaw, simply place the layers, still wrapped, on the countertop and allow them to come to room temperature (or at least partially thawed if you prefer to assemble while the layers are firm). Keeping the layers wrapped will ensure that the condensation forms on the foil rather than the cake itself.
What Frostings & Fillings Taste Great with A Strawberry Layer Cake?
Well, this is a trick question, because there are so many options! I love strawberry cake with:
Cream Cheese Frosting (our Classic and Pipeable Cream Cheese Recipes are perfect)
Strawberry Whipped Cream Cheese Filling
We hope that you enjoy this wonderful recipe! We especially love strawberry cakes in spring and summer months, although I would never turn down a slice in the middle of winter ;0) It’s safe to say that strawberry cake is always a good idea, is sure to please any crowd!
Save this Doctored Strawberry Cake Mix Recipe for Later! Click Here!
Strawberry Cake- Doctored Cake Mix Recipe
This easy Strawberry Cake all starts with a simple cake mix! So flavorful!
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix (without pudding in the mix)
- 1 small box ( 3 ounce) strawberry Jello
- 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil ( I used canola)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3/4 cup mashed ripe strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare three 8 inch pans
- Put all ingredients into your mixing bowl and mix on low speed until the ingredients are blended. Then increase speed to medium and mix for approximately 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl mid way through.
- The mashed strawberries should be well blended into the batter.
- Bake for 30 min. or until tooth pick comes out clean.
In addition to this doctored cake mix Strawberry Cake Recipe, we also have a scratch Strawberry Cake Recipe that we know you’ll love! Make sure to hop over and print or save a copy here!: Strawberry Cake from Scratch!
Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to check out our Recipes section for more of our favorite Cakes, Frostings, and Fillings! If you are interested in learning more about cake decorating, you should stop by our Free Cake Tutorials Section, which includes a Free Cake Video Tutorials Section!
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I am making a grooms cake in a couple of weeks. Is this recipe dense or stable enough to be tiered? I know cakes like carrot cake aren’t really ideal for tiered cakes. Just wondering if you have any insight about this particular recipe.
Hi, We have had no problem with stacking softer cakes like this one as long as the supports are in place to handle the weight of the upper tier. Will it be a fondant covered cake? If so, I would use ganache under the fondant to create a firm shell for the fondant.
Okay, thanks so much!! No these will be covered in chocolate buttercream. Can’t wait to test out this recipe!!
I have this cake in the oven and I accidentally used sugar free jello. Do you think it will be fine?
Hi Jessica, Your cake should be just fine. The sugar free jello is sweetened with an artificial sweetener so it should work well also. Hope you will enjoy the recipe.
I made this for a groom’s cake and it was delicious and held up beautifully! Thanks so much for the recipe! This was the doctored strawberry with chocolate buttercream and ganache accents
Hi Meghan, your cake is gorgeous!! I’m so glad that you were happy with the recipe. Thanks so much for your feedback!
Can this recipe be used to make cupcakes?
Hi Cristal. Yes, the recipe will be fine for cupcakes. For standard size cupcakes, bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
Hi, should i combine pudding and flour in my box cake or just pudding?
So I accidentally bought strawberry cake mix will that be too much? Or will it be fine?
Hi Nicholas, There is no pudding in this recipe. The recipe uses a boxed cake mix that does not contain pudding . Some box mixes will state on the front of the box ….pudding in the mix. We often use Betty Crocker Super Moist boxes mixes.
Hi Rebecca, I am just not sure how intense the strawberry cake mix is.
Hi! I’m really excited to try this recipe but I’m wondering what you mean by prepare the pans? Grease them?
Hi Sianna, Yes, grease and flour the pans or use a non stick spray
I made this today using cupcake liners. They came out pretty but shrunk. What happened? I didn’t over mix.
Hi Cassandra, I am very sorry that happened. Over mixing can be a cause so we will rule that out as you were careful about that. Too much liquid can cause shrinkage, opening the oven door too often, using non-stick spray on the cupcake liners.
Hi, I forgot the strawberries to purée, can I just use the strawberry jello?
Hi Alicia, I am sorry but I’m not sure of the outcome with extra strawberry jello.