This Simple Strawberry Cake is the perfect easy dessert recipe for all your spring and summer parties. Even the most novice baker in the kitchen can handle this recipe. It’s incredibly moist and jam-packed with sweet juicy strawberries and topped with a whipped creamy frosting that you’re sure to LOVE!
I know as a food blogger I’m supposed to say I make everything from scratch. But that would be a fib. I’m a real person. A real person who sometimes just wants to take the easy way out.
Yes, I use box brownie mix. Yes, I use box cake mix. There I said it.
Easy Peasy Ridiculously Simple Strawberry Cake
I have been making this Simple Strawberry Cake for years. I change out the fruit to make a simple blueberry lemon cake sometimes or a simple raspberry lime cake when I’m in the mood. You get the picture right? It’s a versatile cake that takes literally minutes to make that even my boys or Mr. Picky could whip for say Mom on Mother’s Day….hint hint.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Whenever I can cut a step and still have a recipe turn out fabulous, I’m always up for it.
And really, can you ever beat a Duncan Hines Yellow Cake mix? Moist every time.
And with strawberry season just around the corner, this is one easy cake recipe to make to showcase those beautiful berries.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- box yellow cake mix
- box instant vanilla pudding mix
- eggs
- water
- vegetable oil
- strawberries
- vanilla extract
- granulated sugar
- cream cheese
- confectioners’ sugar
- vanilla extract
- heavy whipping cream
If you’ve never tried a cake with some added boxed pudding mix I guarantee this won’t be the last time you’ll give it a go. It makes the cake ultra-moist and enhances the flavor of your cake.
Step-By-Step Instructions
The first step is to mix together the cake and pudding mixes until well combined. Add the eggs, water, vegetable oil and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in the chopped strawberries.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Next up is to make the frosting while the cake is baking and cooling. Add the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whip attachment and beat on medium speed until smooth. Turn the mixer down to low and slowly add the heavy cream, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. When you’ve added all the heavy cream add the vanilla and turn the mixer to medium-high and whip until the frosting holds stiff peaks.
Last up is to In a large bowl, combine strawberries and sugar and mix until well combined.
Once the cake is cooled and frosted I added the extra sliced berries to the top. So much strawberry flavor!
If you’ve yet to decide on a special dessert for Mom this weekend I hope you treat her to this cake! I bet she’d LOVE it!
Please let me know if you give the recipe a try. And if you have any questions about the recipe, just drop a comment below. Enjoy!
A Few Cook’s Notes for Simple Strawberry Cake
As I mentioned above, this cake is also delicious if you substitute the strawberries for blueberries and perhaps use some instant lemon pudding mix instead of vanilla.
My favorite cake mix for this recipe is Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Classic Yellow Cake Mix.
More Delicious Cake Recipes to Enjoy
Simple Strawberry Cake
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Strawberry Cake
- 1 15.25-oz. box Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Classic Yellow Cake Mix
- 1 3.4-oz. box Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups chopped strawberries
Creamy Whipped Frosting
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups heavy cream
Topping
- 3 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
Instructions
Strawberry Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the cake and pudding mixes until well combined. Add the eggs, water, vegetable oil and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in the chopped strawberries.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake completely before topping with the frosting and the berries.
Creamy Whipped Frosting
- Add the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whip attachment and beat on medium speed until smooth.
- Turn the mixer down to low and slowly add the heavy cream, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. When you've added all the heavy cream add the vanilla and turn the mixer to medium-high and whip until the frosting holds stiff peaks.
Topping
- In a large bowl, combine strawberries and sugar and mix until well combined.
Notes
I just made this cake for Miss Carlie’s birthday.
We haven’t tried it yet. Miss Ripley ate up strawberries and Carlie licked the beaters!
Easy to make. Used their standing mixer ~ now I need one of my own!
It may turn out this is the cake for Dave’s birthday.
Yay! Hope you all enjoy it. Hugs to the girls Tobie! Miss you!
We loved this cake! But how do you keep the strawberries from going to the bottom of the cake, it almost seemed like it formed the crust at the bottom of the cake.
So happy you enjoyed it Nancy. You could toss the berries with some of the flour before adding to the batter and see if that helps next time around.
Made this today for a family gathering and it was gone in less that 5 minutes!!! So delicious!
Soooo happy it was enjoyed by all Hannah! Thanks so much for trying the recipe!