strawberry milkshake cake

I made this festive cake for my family BBQ tonight in celebration of Independence Day. It was a hit, both in looks and taste! This is a great idea for the 4th of July, Pioneer Day, or any summer get-together.

I found the original version of this recipe from Paula Deen's website (see it here), but I've modified it slightly to better meet my specifications.

Strawberry Milkshake Cake:

Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix
1 (3-ounce) box strawberry-flavored jello powder
1 (10 -ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
Strawberry cream cheese frosting, recipe follows

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract (optional)
6 cups powdered sugar
Freshly sliced strawberries and blueberries to garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans or cupcake pans.

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 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean (time may be more or less depending on pans used).

Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

For the frosting:
In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in 1/4 cup of the strawberry puree and the strawberry extract. (The rest of the puree is leftover for a delicious topping for vanilla ice cream to serve with cake.) Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.

Frost the cakes (or cupcakes). Garnish with sliced fresh strawberries and blueberries.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

First was the recipe, now second, is the result:

This cake is DE-LIC-IOUS. It tastes just like a strawberry milkshake.

Paula's recipe called for two 9" rounds, but I decided to make miniature square creations using the square muffin pan made by Wilton (my new favorite Walmart discovery). Love it!

Again, this cake is gorgeous - and equally delicious. One thing I must point out is to make sure the cake has been refrigerated at least TWO HOURS before frosting. It falls apart easily, and the colder and more firm it is when frosting, the better. Also, I didn't use the strawberry extract in mine, and it still tasted just great.

Enjoy!