Dreaming about food makes me happy. It usually sets me in a good mood the next day. My husband finds it amusing how food affects my morning, but he easily accepts it because a wife with a good dream means a husband with good food.
Not that I don’t try my best to make them good food all the time.
A few nights ago, I dreamed about sliding down along a mountain of strawberry ice cream. It was a bit of a weird dream because it started out with me skydiving over green mountains. It’s probably due to my subconscious thoughts.
I have been thinking about strawberries in the past few days. Since it was a weekend that day, I decided to go to the supermarket to search for any strawberries I could get my hands into. I came home with both fresh and sweetened strawberries.
I was searching for recipes online when I found this cake recipe over at Bake At 350. I was only supposed to make a simple icebox strawberry cake, but this caught my attention.
It was a pretty simple strawberry cake recipe and I couldn’t help but try it. So that weekend, my family enjoyed strawberry cake. There’s amaretto in this recipe, but it wasn’t as overwhelming so I allowed my sons a small slice each. They loved it too as much as my husband did!
Strawberry Cake Recipe
Yield :
Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients
1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix
1 (3-ounce) box strawberry-flavored instant gelatin
1 (15-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
4 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup water
Strawberry cream cheese frosting, recipe follows
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
¼ cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
½ teaspoon strawberry extract
7 cups confectioners’ sugar
Preparation :
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat atmedium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.
For the frosting:
In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in ¼ cup of the strawberry puree and the strawberry extract. (The rest of the puree is leftover but can be used in
smoothies or on ice cream for a delicious treat.) Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth.
Spread frosting in between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with sliced fresh strawberries, if desired.
