Easy Strawberry Bundt Cake

We're willing spring into existence

I love some roasted root veggies, but respectfully, it’s time for them to go. Make way for asparagus and lemony arugula salads, and allllll of the strawberry recipes! We need color and brightness, signs of life stubbornly poking through the thawing ground. We need herbs and greens and the sharp bite of a radish. We need food that reminds us that winter will end. It will. It will.

I don’t think you can “name and claim” seasons, but I’m doing my best to claim spring with this cheery Strawberry Bundt Cake.

Do not fear, this is not the bundt cake that gave me hell in last week’s post. This is a tried and true, comes-out-perfect-every-time bundt cake, AND *whispers* it starts with a boxed cake mix (I won’t tell if you don’t tell).

We’re going to doctor up that boxed cake mix with three different kinds of strawberry flavor (fresh strawberries, jello mix, and freeze dried strawberries). It’s the perfect cake to make when fresh strawberries are maybe not quuuuuite in season, but we’re pushing it for our mental health.

This cake is moist and tangy sweet, and you’re going to love the bright pop of color in the glaze. You can have this beauty in the oven in about 20 minutes, and you won’t need to do any fussy decorating to make it look great.

Make this one for a gathering, make it for Easter, or make it all for yourself. It might just be the little bit of sunshine you need to get through the week.

Strawberry Bundt Cake

For full step by step photos, you can visit the original strawberry bundt cake recipe here.

Serves: 15
Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 box white cake mix (the kind that doesn’t have pudding added)

• 1 3 oz. package strawberry Jello

• 1 Tablespoon scant flour

• Pinch baking powder

• 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil

• 4 eggs

• ½ cup pureed fresh strawberries

• ½ cup diced fresh strawberries

For the glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• .5 ounce freeze dried strawberries (1/2 a package of the crisp dried ones, not the gummy dried ones)

• 2 Tablespoons melted butter

• 2 – 4 Tablespoons milk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large (12 cup) bundt pan generously with Baker’s Joy. («This is the easiest and my personal favorite way to grease a bundt pan, but you can also grease it with melted shortening and a dusting of flour).

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together cake mix, jello, flour, baking powder, and sugar.

3. Add the vegetable oil and beat on medium speed until well combined.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the bowl as needed.

5. Add the pureed and diced strawberries, and beat a final time, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl, until batter is well combined.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 40-50 minutes or until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then place a large cooling rack on the top of the bundt pan and flip it over onto the plate. Cool completely.

7. To make the glaze, place the dried strawberries in a blender or food processor and pulse until it's a fine powder. In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, strawberry powder, melted butter, and milk, adding enough milk to make it thick, but pourable.

8. Drizzle glaze over the cooled cake. Leftover glaze can be served on the side or used as a dip for fresh fruit or pretzels.

Tips and Storage:

• The cake keeps well stored at room temperature, covered in saran wrap, for about 5 days.

• Try not to be intimidated by the cake flipping! Take some deep breaths. You’ve got this! Place a wire cooling rack or large plate on the top of the bundt pan. Place the palm of one hand flat against the plate, while your other hand slides under the bottom of the bundt pan (you may need a hot pad if it’s still warm!) Flip the pan over and gently pull it up off of the cake, shimmying slightly side to side if necessary.

• Don’t overfill your pan. If you’re using a smaller sized bundt pan, be sure not to fill it more than 3/4 of the way full. If you have more batter leftover, make a few cupcakes!

• The type of jello you use will impact the color of the final cake. I used one without dyes, but if you use one with red dye, it will be bright pink!