Meet the Author: Anne Byrn - The Cake Mix Doctor

Strawberry Cake
with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
join our Healthy Lifestyle & Cooking Groups

Anne Byrn
author of: "The Cake Mix Doctor
see the interview
Recipe excerpted from THE CAKE MIX DOCTOR Š1999 by Anne Byrn
Used by permission of Workman Publishing, All Rights reserved

Shirley Lambert of Tullahoma, Tennessee, take strawberry cake seriously. So seriously she adds only fresh strawberries to this dazzling pink cake, along with coconut and chopped pecans. Now, this type of cake has been around for some time. It's based on a white cake mix to which you add strawberry gelatin and berries. But of the countless cakes of this genre I have
tasted, this is my favorite.

SERVES: 16
PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes
BAKING TIME: 28 to 30 minutes
ASSEMBLY TIME: 20 minutes

Cake:

Solid vegetable shortening, for greasing the pans
Flour for dusting the pans
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
1 cup mashed fresh strawberries with juice (1 ˝ cups whole berries)
1 cup vegetable oil, such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean, or sunflower
˝ cup of whole milk
4 large eggs
1 cup of frozen unsweetened grated coconut, thawed
˝ cup chopped pecans

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
3 ˝ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
ž cup fresh ripe strawberries, rinsed, capped, and mashed to make ˝ cup, then drained well
˝ cup frozen unsweetened grated coconut, thawed
˝ cup of chopped pecans

What you do:

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease three 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans aside.
Place the cake mix, strawberry gelatin, mashed strawberries and juice, oil, milk, and eggs in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides down again if needed. The strawberries should be well blended into the batter. Fold in the coconut and the pecans. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and place them in the oven; if your oven is not large enough, place two pans on the center of the highest rack.
Bake the cakes until they are light brown and just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, 28 to 30 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the layer on the highest rack oven. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto the rack, the invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes more.
Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on low speed for about 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the sugar and drained strawberries. Blend the frosting on low until the sugar has been incorporated. Then raise the speed to medium and mix the frosting another minute or until the frosting lightens and is well combined. Fold in the coconut and the pecans.
To assemble, place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with frosting. Add another cake layer, right side up, and frost the top. Repeat this process with the third layer and frost the top. Use the remaining frosting to frost the sides, working with clean, smooth stroke. Serve at once or chill the cake for later serving.

* Place this cake, uncovered, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. Cover the cake with waxed paper and store in the refrigerator, for up to one week. Or freeze it, wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Interested in Anne Byrn's book?
Buy them here (click below)

Original Book | New Chocolate Cake Doctor

Sales of this book using the links above
help to pay for this FREE website
Thank you! - - Sue

Meet the Author
Gregg Gillespie
"1001 Muffins" and many other books

Interview & FREE Banana Nut Muffin recipe

Gregg has written a glorious salute to quick breads. Gregg has developed into one of America's foremost bakers and cookbook authors. Currently he has over 4,000,000 books in print and is always on the look out for writing another great book. His recipes are easy to prepare, yummy to eat, and inspires everyone to take out their baking trays. 1001 MUFFINS is a beautiful book. Each recipe is accompanied by a beautiful color photo of the finished product. Since there are 1001 recipes in Gregg' s book you get the idea of how many photos there are.