Spare Spoons Kitchen
Aunt Betty’s Comfort Kitchen · Entertaining
Strawberry Cake
A pink potluck classic — a white cake mix beaten with strawberry gelatin and thawed berries for a tender, fruity crumb, finished with a fresh strawberry-butter icing. Cheerful and crowd-pleasing.
Effort ●●○○
Time ●●○○ Some Doing
Vegetarian
Servingsamounts scale to match
12
Units
Ingredients
The strawberry gelatin is the secret — it colors and flavors the whole cake. Beating the gelatin and thawed berries into a white cake mix gives a tender pink crumb and real strawberry flavor with no fresh-fruit fuss. Beat a full 4 minutes for an even rise.
Easier, if you like
- Tub strawberry frosting instead of the homemade icing.
- Sheet cake in a 9×13 skips the layering and frosting-between-layers step.
Method
Cook's notes
Gelatin does double duty — color and flavor — so you don't need fresh berries in the batter.
Use the thawed strawberries with their juice; it carries flavor into both cake and icing.
If the icing is loose, add more confectioners sugar; if stiff, a teaspoon of the berry juice loosens it.
Bake as a 9×13 sheet for an easier, travel-friendly version.
Vegetarian as written; easy to make gluten-free
Gluten-free: use a gluten-free white cake mix.
Fresh berries: a half cup of mashed fresh strawberries can replace the frozen in both batter and icing.