Strawberry Cake

My sister made this fabulously whimsical cake for a cottage meal a couple of years ago. I love the look of it. The vivid pink of that frosting comes from the addition of cherry juice to  an ordinary icing recipe.

The original recipe was published as a Canada Day recipe by Pat Trew in the EMC news. You’ll notice in the instructions below that she used whipping cream and fresh strawberries instead of icing; a completely acceptable and patriotic alternative, although not quite as riveting as that glowing pink blanket of sugar on my sister's cake. 

Ingredients:

• 1 super-moist white cake mix (enough for 2 layers)

• 1 package of frozen strawberries (or 2 cups)

• 85 gm package strawberry Jello, or other jelly powder

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 4 eggs

• heavy cream for whipping

• as many fresh strawberries as you like

Methods:

Partially thaw the strawberries before you start everything else. Grease and lightly flour a 13"x 8" cake pan and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, Jello powder, oil and eggs. Pour off any juice from the berries and add this to the bowl. With an electric mixer, mix the cake batter for 2 minutes. Turn the bowl occasionally to ensure that the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Fold the partially-thawed berries into the cake batter, then spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Since it's easiest to serve this cake directly from the pan, cool it completely in the pan.

To finish the cake, whip heavy cream in a small bowl until it holds its shape. Spread this over the top of the cake. Arrange some fresh strawberries on top of the whipped cream with the tips pointing up. Keep chilled until serving time. Serves 12-14