Simple Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Simple Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a no-fuss way to turn a strawberry boxed cake mix into something unique and wonderful. The moist cake will be topped with a frosting whipped together from cream cheese and Cool Whip. Fresh strawberries and red sugar sprinkles put the finishing touches on a simple, yet beautiful cake.

This cake is so light and airy and comes together using a boxed cake mix. Everything comes together so easily that literally anybody can make this simple and festive cake. Whether making this for your sweetheart or just a delicious fruity summertime dessert, it is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

I am much more of a home cook than a home baker but someone that loves cakes and desserts (and sugar in general) as much as myself has had to start building on my baking skills. I’m very excited to be taking an adult education class in the next few months to up my cake decorating game. I’m really hoping to learn some basic and fancy decorating skills that I can apply in the years to come.

In the meantime, I decorate my cakes literally like your run-of-the-mill preschooler. Hey, I’m working with the limited artistic skills I’ve been naturally given. The decorating on this cake is super easy (and VERY basic) so I feel like this is a great beginner recipe as far as baking and decorating. Anybody can put this tasty treat together. And for what it’s worth, the babies were able to at least identify that the cake was decorated with hearts so that has to be a good sign (haha).

Like I said, this is a recipe that anybody can make. I love recipes where you combine a few ingredients to make your own frosting and you doctor up a traditional boxed cake mix. Boxed cake mixes are a godsend. They couldn’t be any more foolproof when preparing and baking and they always give you very moist and delicious results. This Simple Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting starts with a box of strawberry cake mix that gets baked in a good old-fashioned traditional 13×9 pan.

The real magic begins with my favorite frosting. Combining equal parts of cream cheese and Cool Whip makes for the most amazing cake topping. It has got the perfect amount of sweetness and the cream cheese is magical. This is the way to always get a perfect frosting and the texture is heavenly. I can’t tell you how many cakes topped with cream cheese and Cool Whip have been consumed in my family over the last few decades. This was my Nana’s signature frosting for her “Better Than Sex” Pineapple Cake. This recipe combines a boxed yellow cake mix with fabulous frosting and it is topped with pineapples and cherries. This has been the favorite birthday cake in my family forever.

I really love the idea of using these boxes of baked goods and making them your own. This cake isn’t 100% made from scratch. But there is something amazing about putting your own personal touch on a dessert. My Reese’s Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting comes together similarly. This recipe uses a box of chocolate cake mix. The cream cheese and Cool Whip frosting gets a peanut butter kick. The top is covered with chopped up Reese’s Cups. If you love these types of easy homemade recipes, make sure to check out my No-Bake Reese’s Ice Cream Sandwich Cake.

There’s something about strawberries that are just super gorgeous and romantic. Strawberries are so beautifully and boldly colored with vibrant hues of red. They can be cut very easily into a heart shape. The flavor of strawberries is such a burst of juicy, sweet freshness. I love baked goods that showcase strawberries. Strawberry Walnut Bread with Lemon Glaze is a great and light breakfast baked goodie. Strawberries are so amazing and gorgeous on their own that having them with just a simple Hazelnut Fluff Fruit Dip is even a very special treat.

Of course, baked goods are a treat and aren’t the healthiest things that we should be incorporating into our diets. However, when you’re having a baked good starring something as light and airy as strawberries, you do feel less guilty indulging. Strawberries just don’t feel as heavy as say… a quadruple layer chocolate cheesecake. Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is so light and it’s a dessert that you won’t regret taking part in.

How can I get a smoother texture in my cream cheese frosting?

There is nothing more simple than whipping together an amazing frosting that only consists of two ready-made ingredients. I love that you get little chunks of cream cheese throughout the frosting. You’ll want to make sure the cream cheese is room temperature so that it mixes more easily and evenly. However, if you want the frosting to have a smoother or creamier texture, then you can prepare it the way that my Nana used to. She would also incorporate a 12 ounce can of evaporated milk into the mixing bowl when preparing the cake frosting. The evaporated milk leaves the flavors alone and just offers the frosting a smooth consistency.

Simple Basic Cake Decorating (that anybody can do)

As previously stated, I do not pretend to be an excellent cake decorator (yet). This is a skill I intend on developing more and more throughout this coming year. The decorating for this cake is very basic, which I think is great for absolutely anybody that’s wanting to make this dessert. This is a great one to make with kids. Maybe you’re looking for something simple and cute for Valentine’s Day or an Anniversary or summer treat. Or maybe you’re just making this because this Simple Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is delicious and you want a nice, light dessert.

You don’t have to go crazy decorating this cake. This cake will be perfect topped with frosting and some sporadically placed sliced fresh strawberries. You could also just toss your favorite sprinkles all over the frosting. Maybe you could add mini rainbow baking chips, chocolate chips or white chocolate chips over the top. You could also scatter some chopped walnuts or sliced almonds over the top of the frosting for added flavor and texture.

For this cake, I took two approaches. I tapped into my old second grader art skills and used paper to make a cutout of a heart. Then, I filled that cutout heart in with red sugar sprinkles. After that, I cut strawberries into small hearts and placed them scattered all over the frosting.

Heart-Shaped Strawberries
To cut the strawberries into hearts, remove the stem and leaves by cutting them out using a small knife. Cut V-shaped slits to remove. Then, holding the strawberry upright, cut the strawberry in half. You can round out the edges if desired.

Sugar Sprinkle Heart
Fold a piece of paper in half. Draw half of a small to medium-sized heart along the folded edge. Cut out the heart. Use the remainder of the paper (that you cut the heart from) as the stencil or outline that you will fill in with the sprinkles. Gently put the heart shape outline on top of the frosting. I scattered red sugar sprinkles inside to create a heart shape on top of the frosting. Once you have the desired amount of sprinkles, carefully lift the piece of paper off of the cake frosting.

Alternate Idea: Flag Themed Cake

This is an alternate decorating idea that’s perfect for Memorial Day, 4th of July or honoring a military member for an event. My Nana made this cake decoration when I was a kid and I loved how simple and creative it came out.

This design requires 8 ounces of strawberries and 3 ounces of blueberries. For the blueberries, arrange in 6 rows going down with 8 blueberries total going across. For the strawberries, cut the tops off of the strawberries and dice them into small chunks. Arrange them in 5 rows about 1-inch in thickness across the cake to mimic stripes on the flag. See the example below.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare and bake the strawberry cake mix according to package directions.

In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to combine the cream cheese and cool whip. Place in the refrigerator to chill until use.

After the cake cools, use all of the cream cheese cool whip frosting and spread over the entire surface of the cake. Decorate as desired. For tips on decorating the cake like the one pictured below, please refer to the blog post above.

Romantic Dinners To Make For Your Sweetheart

• Cajun Shrimp Farfalle with Lemon Cream Sauce is cheesy, spicy, smoky perfection. This is a rich pasta with amazing brightness from the lemon juice and lemon zest. Unbelievably, this dinner comes together in only 20 minutes!
• Chicken Cordon Bleu White Lasagna will be the most amazingly flavorful lasagna that you will ever taste. This recipe includes several tips to cut down on the prep time as well. Layers of chicken, ham, swiss, ricotta and alfredo sauce make for the perfect romantic dinner.
• Parmesan Crusted Chicken Parm is a classic comfort food dish. It comes together quickly and the unique flavor that the parmesan cheese in the breading lends to this dish is fantastic. The chicken is juicy, the sauce is flavorful and simple and the cheese is ever so melty.
• Creamy Chicken Broccoli Ziti with Alfredo Sauce is a classic dish made with plenty of shortcut options for an easy weeknight meal. With only 8 ingredients and 45 minutes from start to finish, you will have a phenomenal dinner.
• Classic Shrimp Scampi will put an amazing dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. And if you don’t have any wine on hand, no problem. This scampi is made without it.
• Quick Thai Steak & Asparagus Stir-Fry is the most flavorful and quick meal. The soy sauce and ginger marinade is so versatile and it can be used in lots of different stir-fry variations.

Let me know in the comments below if you’ve tried this cake. Did you make it for any special occasion? Maybe Valentine’s Day? I love hearing from you. Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my blog post. I appreciate you supporting the Spice and Sugar Mama food blog!