Strawberry Cake

I am not usually one for making cakes unless it's a birthday or some other special occasion, mainly because I love sweets and if they are within a five mile radius I will eat them all and more; but in honor of my grandmother who passed away last month I decided to make one of her cake recipes that is one of our favorites.  My grandmother always had something sweet on the counter in case you needed a sweet fix after lunch or dinner.  My brother and I came up with the name "slack cake" because it's so easy and really tasty.

Since I had super sweet strawberries and I just happened to have a strawberry cake mix ... one of my favorite flavors for cakes, cupcakes and pies, I decided to make a strawberry cake. 

With this recipe you can do any flavor, with or without frosting.  It's all good!

Now I got a bit carried away, but you certainly don't have to with this recipe.  My grandmother always did just a plain cake without frosting. I incorporated diced pieces of strawberry into the batter and then I also pureed some strawberries and drizzled it on the warm cake so they would soak in.  I used what was left of the strawberry puree to make the strawberry cream cheese frosting. Feel free to just make the cake and frosting without all of the extra strawberries mixed in and drizzled on top.

 

The cake is REALLY simple to make.  The recipe is basically one cake mix, one box of instant pudding, four eggs and 2 cups of milk.  That's it and you can do any flavor.  I would only use a chocolate instant pudding if you are doing a chocolate cake.  Vanilla works for the rest unless you can find other flavors.  The cake is really moist and delicious and usually can be made with what you have on hand.  I can see adding lemon, blueberries, chocolate chips, pineapple, coconut, etc. ... whatever you like.  You can also make a round double layer cake, cupcakes or even a bundt cake with this recipe. 

Strawberry Slack Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake:

1 Cake Mix (I used strawberry)

1 small box Instant Pudding Mix (I used vanilla)

4 eggs

2 cups milk

1 cup diced up strawberries, tossed with flour (so they don't sink to the bottom of the cake). You can use frozen here. Just defrost them and drain them.

Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch pan.  Use a wire whisk to mix the cake mix and pudding together, removing any lumps.  Measure out the milk and add the eggs to the milk just to mix them together first before adding to the dry ingredients.  Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and combine well, about 2 minutes.  I did this all by hand, but you could use a mixer up until you add the strawberries.  Bake for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from center.

Glaze for warm cake:

1 cup frozen or fresh strawberries

1 Tbsp.Chambord Raspberry Liqueur (optional)

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Puree all this in a food processor or blender.  When the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes in the top using something that is about a half inch round.  Spread all but 1/4 cup of the puree on the cake and spread it around until most of it is absorbed into the cake.  Let cake cool completely before frosting.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese (room temperature)

1 stick of butter (room temperature)

1/4 cup strawberry puree (I would gradually add this until you have the consistency you want for the frosting. You also can just use a bit of red food coloring if you don't have strawberries)

1 lb. powdered sugar

Using a mixer, blend all ingredients together until smooth.  This makes enough frosting to do the sides of the cake too.