Strawberry Cake with Thick Strawberry Glaze

I made this cake last month for a Mother’s Day dinner/birthday party for Andrew with Joe’s family. When I was throwing out cake ideas, Andrew got pretty pumped about the idea of strawberry cake – and I thought it would be a lovely springy sort of cake, so that’s what I went with. When we got to the dinner, though, we discovered that Joe’s grandma had made Andrew a chocolate cake shaped and decorated like a teddy bear – so all excitement about my humble strawberry sheet cake went right out the window. That sweet lady is a constant reminder to me of what I need to strive for in my culinary life; she’s an amazing baker!

Thankfully, everyone still loved this cake, me included. The cake itself is moist and packed with strawberry flavor, but it’s the sweet, sticky strawberry glaze that takes it over the top. The glaze was supposed to be a frosting, but I used more strawberries than the original recipe indicated, so it turned out to be thinner than a frosting but thicker than a traditional glaze. What a happy accident that was! Since strawberry season is now in full swing, I’m eager to try this again with juicy, sweet fresh strawberries.

Strawberry Cake with Thick Strawberry Glaze

adapted from Food Network

For the cake:

1 18.25-ounce box white cake mix

1 3-ounce box strawberry-flavored instant gelatin

1 15-ounce package frozen strawberries, thawed and pureed

4 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

For the frosting:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 10-ounce package frozen strawberries, thawed and pureed

7 cups confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13 x 9-inch cake pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely.

3. To make the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixture until smooth and creamy. Beat in the strawberries. Gradually add confectioners' sugar to desired thickness, beating until smooth.

4. Spread frosting over cooled cake. Store leftovers (if there are any!) in the refrigerator.