Strawberry Cake (Doctored Cake Mix Recipe)
Oh how we love a big slice of strawberry cake, and today's moist & delicious easy strawberry cake from a mix is sure to become a new favorite.
We have a couple of fabulous scratch strawberry cake recipes 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!
Table of Contents
Why we Love It!
There are many reasons to love this Strawberry Cake Mix recipe! It has been one of our most popular doctored cake mix recipes over the years. Here are just a few reasons why:
- Great strawberry flavor from strawberry jello as well as strawberry puree!
- Easy to Make, and consistently delicious thanks to the cake mix.
- Tastes amazing with so many fillings and frostings (from sliced strawberries and whipped cream, to cooked strawberry filling, strawberry buttercream, and more!)
- Works well for sheet cakes and cupcakes
- Perfect strawberry dessert to celebrate birthdays, baby showers, picnics, potlucks, and more!
Benefits of a Strawberry Cake Mix Recipe
We have tons of favorite scratch cake recipes in our Recipes section (homemade strawberry cake, strawberry pound cake, strawberry shortcake cake, etc.) and we have tons of fantastic doctored cake mix recipes too!
The plus of doctored cake mix recipes like today's easy strawberry cake is convenience and consistency- no matter how many cakes you've baked before.
Even with the added ingredients, this strawberry cake can be put together quickly.
The addition of extra ingredients to the white cake mix, like strawberry jello and especially real strawberries (whether frozen or fresh) give it the edge over a box of strawberry cake mix. It has the flavor and texture of a from-scratch recipe.
How to make an Easy Strawberry Cake
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 by greasing, flouring, (and we also like to add circles of parchment to the bottom of each pan).
- Next, add all of the ingredients including the white cake mix, strawberry jello, flour, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, and mashed strawberries/strawberry puree. (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)!
- Now, it's just a matter of dividing the batter between the pans and baking!
FAQs
It's safe to say that this easy strawberry cake is always a good idea, and is sure to please any crowd! Make sure to check out our other Cakes with Fruit as well as favorite birthday cake designs!
More Strawberry Cakes
If you're looking for more delicious Strawberry Cakes, don't miss these recipes! Also, keep in mind that this versatile strawberry box mix recipe works well for strawberry cupcakes(cake mix) too!
Enjoy the Recipe
Keep this moist strawberry cake mix recipe in mind the next time you are looking for birthday cake recipes, a baby shower cake, bridal shower cake, or just in the mood for a strawberry dessert!
Have you made this? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!
Strawberry Cake- Doctored Cake Mix Recipe
This easy Strawberry Cake from cake mix is fluffy, tender, and delicious. It uses real strawberries and strawberry jello for a delicious boost of flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix ( 15.25 oz) (432g)
- 1 small box ( 3 ounce) (85g) strawberry Jello
- 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup vegetable oil ( I used canola oil)
- ½ cup milk
- ¾ cup pureed ripe strawberries (You can substitute with frozen strawberries)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees, grease and flour three 8 inch round pans or two 9 inch round 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 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl mid way through.
- The pureed strawberries should be well blended into the batter.
- Bake for 30 min. or until tooth pick comes out clean.
Notes
This recipe works for easy strawberry cupcakes also!
Freezing: The strawberry cake mix layers can be baked in advance and frozen for up to three months. Individually wrap each layer in plastic wrap followed by foil. When thawing, keep wrapped for 30-45 minutes at room temperature before unwrapping and thawing to desired amount for assembling and decorating.
When measuring 3 Tablespoons of flour, is it done by dipping the flour and pouring it into the Tablespoon as is done when measuring cups of flour? It just occurred to me to wonder. I don't want to add too much flour. Thank you.
could a 9" x 13" Pyrex pan be used? if possible what temp and time would be required?
thank you
Hi Susan! From what I understand, it isn't ideal because the glass/pyrex dishes don't heat as evenly as when using a metal pan and so the edges are likely to be done more quickly than the center. It may be fine- I just can't say or sure since I haven't tried it.
I made this cake for my sister’s engagement party and everyone loved it! Now she wants me to use for her wedding cake. I want to make a 3 tier cake; 3 layer 10”, 3 layer 8” and 3 layer 6” for the cake. How do you think I should adjust the recipe? Thanks!
Hi i would rather not use fresh strawberries. Would this affect the taste and would i need to make any adjustments to the recipe?
thank you!
Hi Tammy- I haven't tried this, I was looking to see if anyone else had experimented with this but I didn't see anything right away (lots of comments!). Without the 3/4 cup of puree, you would want to add additional milk to make up for that missing liquid. My guess would be either 1/2 to 3/4 cup.
thank you!! i appreciate your help!!
I am impressed!!!
Your cakes are beautiful. I love what you do with a box cake mix.
I bake from scratch.
Thanks so much, Mary! Make sure to check out our scratch recipes too! :0)
Recipe makes 24 cupcakes!
I saw a previous question about wanting a lighter color cake and that's what I want also. So do you think this would be achieved if the recipe is extended with a cup of flour and sugar as in some of your other recipes? I need to get about 10 1/2 cups of batter for my pan. I plan to use one box of gelatin per 2 boxes of white cake mix and maybe add some strawberry extract to make up for less gelatin. Also, I gather that the 3/4 cup strawberries is part of the liquid needed per box, so should I increase it with water or milk, for the added flour and sugar?
Would it be possible to sub 3 pans for 1 bundt pan?
Hi Marsha- I haven't tried it in a bundt pan but we've gotten comments from those who have with good results. Hope you enjoy the recipe ;0)
I'm hoping you can give me some advice on why my doctored, but extended, strawberry cake came out so VERY dense. It tasted ok, but more like a 'bread'. It didn't rise very much either. I was trying to use a combo of your recipes where you add 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of sugar to a box of White cake mix. I added only 2 T of strawberry gelatin powder (I didn't want the cake to look so bright), 1/2 cup of sour cream (I didn't want it as dense as the lemon version this time), plus 4 eggs and 3/4 cup of puree and 1 tsp strawberry extract. I used only 1/4 cup of oil, assuming the sour cream would sub for more fat. And I sifted the dry ingredients first. The batter tasted so very good! And it seemed the right consistency to me. But maybe not?
Hi Mary! It is hard to say exactly- It looks like your version is closest to one of our "extended" cake mix recipes like White Almond Sour Cream Cake or even our recent Easy Almond Cake (similar but uses butter)--but yours had a bit less fat & liquid plus the extra egg which all together could account for the difference in texture, etc.
I really like this strawberry recipe as is, but if I were experimenting with an "extended version", I would just make it like the wasc recipe, but swap in the 3/4 cup puree plus 1/4 cup milk or water in place of the cup of liquid in the recipe... and swap in your flavorings (in your case the 2T strawberry gelatin powder & strawberry flavoring.).
I hope this helps. Good luck with your experimenting ;0)
I used your 'extended version' this weekend and I liked the way it rose; much better than my last one. :) But I wish I had asked you about the consistency of the batter. Should it be very thick, as this one was? I keep thinking that the cake mix alone takes 1 cup of liquid, so by adding all the flour and sugar, should I add a little more liquid? Thru the years of baking, I notice how some cake batters are so thick and some, usually chocolate, are much thinner. But does this represent a good moist cake?
A separate question is how would an extended cake recipe like these that we're discussing, work out without sour cream?