Oh how we love a big slice of strawberry cake, and today's moist & delicious easy strawberry cake recipe all starts with a 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 easy 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!
We Have More Favorite Strawberry Cake Recipes to Share!
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 too!
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 ( 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
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 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 full collection of favorite Cake Recipes and Tutorials. We have hundreds to share with you that we have created over the past 10+ years! We hope that you will find something that you'd like to try!
I have made this cake before and its delicious. I make the icing that goes with it as well. Best strawberry cake ever.
Are the pureed strawberries reduced on the stove, or are they just mashed and placed directly in the batter? Also, can frozen strawberries be used instead of fresh? Thanks.
Hi Rachel, The pureed strawberries are finely mashed or pureed in a blender. We used a small blender used for making smoothies. The pureed strawberries are not reduced on the stovetop. We often use frozen strawberries. Thaw the berries slightly and cut into smaller pieces so it will be easier to puree them. I hope you will enjoy the cake.
Thank you so much!
This recipe is my family favorite and I love the easy mix method with jello. Would it work to use cranberry jello with puréed cranberries? My granddaughter is requesting a cranberry birthday cake with decorated sugared cranberries. Thank you!
May I ask one more question? How many cups of batter does this recipe make? Thanks.
What kind of jello mix is used? Instant or regular?
Hi Sarah- It's just the regular Strawberry Jello mix (not pudding mix).
This recipe is my family favorite and I love the easy mix method with jello. Would it work to use cranberry jello with puréed cranberries? My granddaughter is requesting a cranberry birthday cake with decorated sugared cranberries. I am making her cake this weekend. Thank you!
Can strawberry cake mix be used instead of white?
Hi Rosa, We think some strawberry cake mixes have a more artificial strawberry taste that is why we use white cake mix.
I made this but a cupcake version. It taste good! Even my cousin who doesn't like sweets enjoyed it! It was moist too. I made my own cream cheese icing it with it though. Anyways thanks so much for this recipe! 9/10
Glad you all enjoyed it, Madia ;0)
Is this strawberry cake sturdy enough to use as a tier in a three-tiered cake?
Hi Rachel, it is soft, but with proper supports it should be fine! I probably wouldn't cover with fondant unless it was first frosted with ganache (rather than buttercream).
Thank you so much!
I used this recipe to make a cranberry cake for my granddaughter. I substituted chopped cranberries and cranberry jello for the strawberry ingredients and filled it with the orange cream filling from the Dreamsicle cake. It was delicious! And the orange filling was a perfect sweet touch to the sour cranberries.
Hi,
I just tried your recipe for the doctored strawberry cake mix cake. It smells and tastes great. The only thing is the layers didn’t rise. All three layers are very thin. Any idea why so I can try again? I followed the recipe exactly. Any advice? Thank you!
Hi Janet, You probably did everything right. The layers are not very tall, probably 1 1/4 inch per layer. This is because we used 3 (8x2) pans. We like having 3 cake layers for more filling and we think a pretty presentation. It would be fine to use only
2 cake pans if you would like to do so. The baking time would be a bit longer.
Can I make into cupcakes?
Hi Sabrina, yes you can!