Strawberry Cake from Scratch

I think I know why everyone complained about density. The measurements for the flour are for sifted flour not the amount to be sifted. Sift the cake flour and then measure the amount to be put into the cake. The batter seems to be runny, but bakes up fluffy

A little sweet for me, but Hubs loved it. Pretty pink, lots of strawberry flavor. I creamed the butter, sugar and gelatin well, as directed, adding the eggs one at a time and beating well after each addition. I added the flour in thirds with the milk AND the strawberry puree, beginning and ending with the flour. This differed from the instruction to add the puree at the end. To give the cake a little extra lift I used a full tablespoon of baking powder. Also, salt makes flavor come alive, so I added a teaspoon. The batter was so light, fluffy and voluminous I felt better using three pans rather than two and I'm glad I did. I filled the cake with my own strawberry buttercream: 2 c. powdered sugar, 1/2 c. butter, approximately 2 T. of sweetened strawberry puree and a dribble of strawberry extract. It was awesome good and complemented the cake perfectly. I frosted the cake with "Sturdy Whipped Cream Frosting," also from this site, which Hubs and I both agree was a major disappointment and, in our opinion, ruined what otherwise would have been a perfect cake. The strawberry buttercream I made for the filling would have been perfect to frost the cake as well and in hindsight I wish I would have done that. This cake is fluffy, moist and flavorful - pretty too! If I have any criticism at all, it would be that using the gelatin kind of turned me off. I would much rather find a true "Strawberry Cake from SCRATCH" that didn't use it.

I wanted to make a cake from scratch for my wife's birthday when I came across this recipe. After reading all of the reviews I carefully measured the flour after sifting and I beat the egg-whites separately. I used slightly less flour and butter hoping to make the cake fluffier. It still ended up being a fairly dense cake (but still delicious). I made the strawberry puree from scratch just using strawberries and sugar. For the frosting I used a homemade whip cream with more strawberry puree. I used 3x 9" pans for a triple layer cake. In between the layers I placed thinly sliced strawberries on top of a thin layer of icing. I covered those with splashes of the strawberry puree then added more frosting. To top it off I soaked halved strawberries in more puree and placed them on top. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is because it didn't come out as fluffy as I would have liked. However I'm not much of a baker so it's just as likely my fault as it is the recipe. But my wife loved it so I'm in her good graces until next year!

I was very pleasantly suprised with this cake. There was so many reviewers claiming that the cake was too dense. I think that the problem maybe that they used 2 pans instead of 3. I went with my instinct and used three 9 inch cake pans and did everything else the same and my cake came out wonderful, very light and fluffy. I used the remaining strawberry puree, mixed it with some extra chopped strawberries, sprinkled it with sugar and a little cornstarch. After mixing it and letting it sit, I poured it between the layers and frosted the top and sides with my buttercream frosting. Delish, to say the least!! The cake itself was defenitely better than any boxed version, a keeper!!

I am so glad I read the reviews-this turned out great with some tweaking! Here's what I did different from the original: * sifted cake flour, then measured out * separated yolk/white and beat whites to soft peaks, then folded in at the end * reduced sugar to 1 3/4 c.(will try 1.5 c. next time) * baked in three, 9 in. pans * frosting=two store bought vanillas and 1/3 c. puree (plus a little red food color) Cake was dense, moist and great! I liberally coated/greased/floured the pans, put wax paper on bottom, too. I really want to try this with raspberries as a local baker that is now out of business had the best raspberry cake and frosting. This turned out great! Thanks!

I made this cake today and took it to work. What an AWESOME cake! I had some strawberries that I had to use up and am I ever glad I checked here first! I did make it in a 13x9 inch pan instead of the double layer. Baked it for 45 minutes (glass). Then made a "fluff" topping made of 1/2 cool whip and 1/2 cream cheese. I whipped these together till smooth and then stirred in about a cup of finely chopped strawberries. Did I ever get the rave reviews. Each person actually took a piece of cake and then spooned the "fluff" over that. Thanks for a great recipe!!!

For those of you who complained about the cake being too dense, try cutting back on your flour. A standard cake recipe usually calls for about 2 1/4 cups of flour, not the amount listed. That amount would work well if your 9" pans were at least 2" deep, and most standard ones that we have in our kitchens are not. Also, decrease sugar down to 1 cup. The gelatin is going to add a LOT of sweetness...I found this out the hard way making this recipe with a boxed cake mix. It was way too sweet for me, but everyone else loved it. I also cut back to only 3 eggs and took everyone's suggestion and whipped the eggs whites, folding them in at the end. Also I only used 1/2 cup of butter but also added 1/2 cup of oil. I kept the milk the same and actually blended the strawberries, milk, and oil all together to make a puree, almost milkshake-like in texture and added it to the creamed sugar, butter, and eggs. Then I mixed in the flour just for a minute and continued to stir by hand, so as not to over-beat the batter. My cake came out perfectly, very moist (a little delicate, but the boxed version did, too), and just the right amount of sweetness. My cake is going to get lots of whipped cream and a white-chocolate custard filling between the layers. :-) --You can make your own cake flour by taking out 2 Tbsp. of flour from each cup and adding 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch back in. Sift 4-5 times, THEN scoop out the amount you need.--

Made it for my daughter's party and had a 2, 3 and 4 year old who ate ALL the cake and icing (instead of just the icing) and asked for seconds. It was moist and yummy. I beat the egg whites separately and added them last and used parchment paper on the bottom of the pans. Very sweet and tasty. Used Cream cheese icing recipe from the allrecipes.com's "walnut rasberry torte" which uses sweetened cream cheese and unsweetened whipped cream to make the icing. Not too sweet and perfect for the sweet strawberry cake.

This cake turned out absolutely delicious but the reason I am giving it 3 stars is because it can be a bit tricky to make. Definitely follow the recipe exactly, otherwise it can turn out a bit dense. I make mine in a 9x13 cake pan. For a yummy light frosting, I blended together 8 oz of cream cheese, with a container of cool whip and 1 tsp of vanilla.

I would give this recipe 5 stars for taste, but it came out so soft that the whole thing fell apart. I followed the directions exactly and it still came out so moist that it fell apart. My family just picked it apart though and everyone loved the taste!

I've made this cake about 5 times & everybody loves it. I always use fresh strawberries & I wondered why 2 T of vanilla; was it supposed to be 2 t? It always rised really nice, but the last 2 times the cake fell to about half the size. I don't know what I did, but I sure would like to correct that. Thanks, Doudell

This is a good recipe. I did use the suggestions made by Trish... cutting the sugar back to 1 cup, cutting the eggs to 3, and cutting the flour to 2 1/4 cups. I also separated the eggs, and whipped to stiff peaks, then folded into the batter to finish it. I made cupcakes so that my client could sample the cake before I make her birthday cake in January. One of the things I may do to tweak the recipe further is to add some freshly grated lemon zest to the recipe, and possibly a lemon simple syrup used once the cake layers are baked. Strawberries and lemon go so well together, and the lemon only enhances the strawberry flavor. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Making the cake exactly as it stated, I would give it 4 stars, but after some modifications, it was a perfect 5 for my taste! I always make the cake with the original recipe, then modify based on my own outcome and others reviews. My modifications were: reduce sugar to 1&3/4 c.; reduce the gelatin to 2oz.; fluff the cake flour with a fork b/f measuring - I do a lot of baking and I'm too pressed for time to sift (or too lazy ;), increase the baking powder to 1 Tbs, add 1/2 tsp salt, reduce vanilla to 2 tsp; defrost strawberries and strain befor pureeing. Do take the time to make sure your ingredients are room tempature and scrape down your bowl

I found this cake delicious. I bake a LOT of cakes and i followed the recipe exactly. It follows the script of a basic scratch recips. One thing you MUST do is cream your butter and sugar well. At least 2 minutes to beat air into the batter. This is essential for not having a heavy cake. I used fresh strawberries, put a little sugar on them and let then juice up over night. I did not get the the weird artificial taste others were talking about with the jello. I asked everybody that tasted it it they could taste a jello taste. I did add a little red food coloring but just enought to brighten not really color. All and all the cake was flavorful, very light and one that I will be making again.

I reeeeeeally wanted to love this cake but I couldn't. The cake was so fracken moist which was terrific but the addition of the flavored gelatin--left that 'Jello-yee', factory, processed, 'distinctive Jello-yee' chemical taste. Whyyyyyy??? Oh whyyyyy? Such a pretty color though and like I said--very, very soft and moist. I am going to attempt it again (followed recipe exact first time) WITHOUT the gelatin. See how that works. That flavored gelatin...just ruins it. At least for my taste.

Reading all the reviews everyone is complaining about density. Someone queried "could it be the gelatin?" Absolutely. The gelatin does add weight to the layers. Think about the "Jello Cakes" you have made, even though that jello is wet, think about that density. The liquids in the recipe add that density to the jello even though it is added to the remaining ingredients. Be certain to use sifted CAKE flour, you may even want to do a double sift. Don't rush and think just because you haven't any cake flour that you can still get by and have this cake come out fluffy as a cloud. I would also follow others' idea of separating the eggs and whipping the whites into a "meringue" and carefully folding it in the the other ingredients by hand and filling the pans immediately. One other thing, please, please do yourselves a favor, whatever you chose to frost this cake with, please make it from scratch as well. Your family and guests will praise your efforts believe me! Happy baking.

Wonderful cake! I made three layers (+ two small cupcakes on the side) from this recipe. I made a couple of changes based on others' reviews: 1) used only 1.5 cups sugar 2) beat egg yolks into batter; whipped egg whites to stiff peaks then folded them into the batter. I topped the layers with extra puree and whipped cream cream cheese (from this site - one recipe was large enough to frost between layers, over the cake, and on top of the two cupcakes). Yum! The cake is soft and moist. It's important that CAKE flour (not all purpose flour) be used and that the flour is sifted BEFORE measuring. I highly recommend this recipe and will be making this cake again next week for a birthday. Update: Made this for the birthday. I used silicone pans (no greasing) and made 2 layers instead of three. I prefer the larger layers and the cake was a huge hit. Served it with strawberry puree on the side. Ran out of cake in 5 minutes and had to turn people away!

Ok, I read many of the reviews before picking this recipe and after reading so many at all ends of the spectrum I felt challenged to try it. I did not add the jello as I didn't want anything artificial in a made from scratch cake. I did add the egg whites at the very end but did not feel confident about how they didn't seem to get fully icorporated into the batter no matter how much I mixed it. I baked it for 45 minutes at 350. I took it out of the oven and it seemed to be done. I cooled it and made the whipped cream cream cheese frosting found on this site. I decorated the top with strawberry's and blueberries in a flag pattern since I was taking it to a 4th of July party. Unfortunately I didn't cut into this cake before going to the party. I was so embarrased when I my husband brought me the first piece at the party and one look at it told me that something had gone terribly horribly wrong!! The whole thing was like one big solid lump of glue. It looked an offish pink color and was just a gelled mass of gunk!! I was so dissappointed and mad!! The frosting however was fabulous and tasted so yummy. I would never try this recipe again. I had put it into a 9X13 pan and I wonder if it was just too much batter for the pan but it also didn't rise despite me sending my husband to the store to buy me fresh baking powder. I don't know what went wrong but it was horrible. Has anyone else experienced this kind of result?????

Superb! I've made this cake twice over the last few days; once in 2 9" rounds, and then a 9x13 (baked for 40 min). It turned out wonderfully both times. The texture is very nice, not too dense. I followed some reviewers suggestions; separated eggs and whipped whites to stiff peaks (folded in at end), used buttermilk instead of milk, used 1/2 of the jello mix, cut sugar down to 1 1/2 cups, and used a reduced-calorie strawberry jam instead of the strawberry puree. Slathered with a cream cheese frosting...awesome! This one's going to live in my recipe box. :)

I used this recipe to make cupcakes today, they are perfect! I accidentaly added a little too much strawberry puree and was worried but then I read the reviews and everyone was talking about them being too dense...I guess my mistake was a good one because they turned out soft and fluffy with plenty of yummy strawberry flavor. I love this recipe! Just add about 1/4 cup extra strawberry and it's perfect. :D (Oh, and p.s. if your making cupcakes bake them for 20 minutes.)

What a delicious cake. Husband can't get enough of it. I didn't have any problems at all with the cake other than having to bake it for quite a bit longer than what the recipe said. Just kept a watchful eye on it. Added 1 tsp of salt to the dry ingredients to "brighten" the flavors of the cake. I used 2 - 9" rounds and trimmed the excess. A moist, not too dense cake with a delicate crumb. Like I said, delicious. The strawberry flavor comes through very nicely. I paired it with White Cake Frosting I from this site and the flavors went well together. I use my 6qt stand mixer to make all my cakes and I think that this helps by creaming the butter, sugar, gelatin mixture better so that the cake comes out right. Using a hand-mixer or trying to beat it by hand may not have your cake come out correctly with this particular recipe. But that is my lowly opinion. Also, like other reviewers have stated - sift then measure. This makes all the difference! A keeper recipe for sure. Look forward to using it again in the future.

I FOLLOWED THE DIRECTIONS STEP BY STEP AND THE CAKE CAME OUT HORRIBLE IT DIDN'T TASTE LIKE ANY KIND OF CAKE IT WAS A RUBBERY GUMMY CAKE NO ONE LIKED IT AT ALL!!!! THIS IS ONE THE WORST CAKE RECIPE'S I'VE EVER USED AND ONE OF THE WORST TASTING CAKES I'VE EVER EATEN MY FAMILY DIDN'T LIKE IT AT AAL NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT IT'S A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY AFTER THE CAKE WAS COOLED DOWN AND EVERY ONE GOT A TASTE OF IT IT WENT STRAIGHT TO THE GARBAGE!!!!!

This recipe is wonderful, everyone has raved about it! It has become my go to strawberry cake. But it is very important to note that this recipe makes 3 8-inch cakes. If you try to put it in 2 pans, even if they are 9-inch pans, there is not an adequate ratio between batter and room for the cake to rise, which is why some of you are not please with the density of the cake.

This is an excellent strawberry cake! After carefully reading reviews, I made the following changes: (1) sift the cake flour before you measure it! to do this, put a measuring cup in a bowl, sift the cake flower over the measuring cup - when you get an overflow of sifted flour, take a knife and run it over the cup to be even (do not pack it!) (2) I used fresh strawberries for the strawberry puree. to do this, I used about 6 large strawberries, put it in the food processor with about 1.5 tsps of sugar and blended it up. Was tasty! (3) As per other reviews, separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. I wisked them for a few mins and mixed them just until incorporated at the very end. -- I also used a cream cheese / buttercream icing, and it was so delicious! The cake was fluffy, definitely strawberry and oh-so-yummy!

I'm giving this recipe 4 stars because it does require some adjustments. However, with the adjustments, this recipe produces an amazing, moist, fluffy, and delicious strawberry cake! 1 - Measure the flour AFTER sifting it! It makes a huge difference! Here's what I did: I measured out 2 & 3/4 cups of cake flour & sifted it twice. I then measured 2 & 3/4 cups of the sifted flour to add to the actual cake. If you're really against sifting, lower the flour amount to 2 & 1/4 cup. 2 - Make the puree from fresh strawberries & a pinch of sugar. It's a must! 3 - Separate egg yolks & whites. Add the yolks into the batter when it tells you to "add the eggs." Beat the whites in a clean bowl until they form stiff peaks. Fold this into the batter just before pouring it into pans. 4 - Use salted butter OR add a pinch of salt to the batter if you are using unsalted butter 5 - Just a note: Make SURE that you flour your pans as the recipe tells you to! This helps the cake to "climb" (rise). I frosted this cake w/ chocolate buttercream per my brother's request. It was amazing! :)

strawberry flavored jello doesn't sound like from scratch to me and only using a 1/2 cup of strawberries? I have 1/2 a FLAT to use up.

I was afraid to make this cake because of the inconsistencies in the reviews. In fact, I was set on using a recipe that called for a box cake, but I somehow forgot to get the box cake while grocery shopping. I'm glad I did. The cake came out moist, fluffy, not nearly as dense as reviews suggested. I did take suggestions of seperating the eggs and whipping and folding the whites in at the very end. I made my puree from 6 large chopped fresh strawberries and a tablespoon of sugar. I also added an extra 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder to the flour before sifting. I sifted then measured the flour. I was careful not to over-mix. I was paranoid about it deflating so I think I left it in a little longer than necessary. I used 3 9' round cake pans and just greased them with Crisco and floured them like I do all my layer cakes. They came out perfectly. I frosted the cake with a cream cheese frosting recipe from this site, except I subbed strawberry cream cheese for the original and added more powdered sugar. Everyone loved it! I gave the recipe 4 stars instead of 5 because of all the alterations I made to the original recipe.

After reading many of the reviews, I took the advice plus used an old trick: let your eggs sit to reach room temperature, then separate and whip the whites until they are frothy before adding....this willl fluff up your batter but I wonder, those who thought it was too dense or did not rise much, are you using cake flour or substituting all purpose??

If you want the cake to be less dense the only thing you have to do is add a half cup butter instead of 1 cup. Simple. I didn't use the gelatin as I don't eat it and I didn't see the point really unless you want more color and maybe a stronger flavor, but the stronger flavor would be artificial in my eyes and I didn't want that in a homemade cake. I simply used more of the strawberry puree and it gave enough of a flavor so if I wanted to make a strawberry frosting it wouldn't be over powering; I didn't this time, but I will the next time I make it.

I cannot believe how disappointing this was. I just re-read the ingredients to make sure that I had not gotten them wrong. While the cake looked lovely, and the consistency was actually very moist and relatively light, the taste was not good! The cake smelled and tasted like overly sugared kids cereal...like the milk that is left in the bowl after you're done eating Trix. Perhaps if you cut the sugar in half, and only used a tablespoon of the gelatin for color it would come out better, but as it stands, it was inedible.

First things first: this recipe is a pain in the butt to make. However, in the end, in did turn out a delicious cake. I followed the recipe, BUT: I sifted the cake flour BEFORE measuring the amount required (per some reviews). I tried to separate the eggs and beat the white separately (again, per some reviews), but that didn't go so well. So, instead I just beat the eggs (whites and yolks together) until a bit frothy, then added them bit by bit to the batter. After adding the eggs, I turned off the hand mixer and stirred in remaining ingredients by hand. I made a three-layer cake. I frosted with cream cheese frosting. Note: when I first tasted the cake after baking, the texture was a bit grainy--like the gelatin hadn't mixed in well enough. However, after refrigerating overnight (because of the cream cheese frosting), the cake texture was PERFECT. Overall, the cake is moist, not too dense (despite some reader reviews), flavorful, and FUN because of the color. If you have enough time to devote to taking your time while making the cake, go for it. You won't be disappointed.

I'm always in search of good recipes and I must say that this recipe is a very good one. I made only a few additions to the cake, in addition to the fact that I made my own cake flour, I added 1 tsp. strawberry extract along with the vanilla and only partially pureed the strawberries leaving some larger pieces. Also I added 1 - 8 oz. container of strawberry yogurt to the batter. I made cupcakes with my homemade, strawberry buttercream icing, and I received so many compliments on this cake!! It was moist, full of strawberry flavor and I will definitely be making it again.

The strawberry gelatin gives this cake an artifical taste. I could have gotten the same from a cake mix without all the extra effort.

I am sorry to say that this was aweful. I made it in two circular cake pans and was pretty mad. The geletan flavor was very dominant and the entire cake had a griney taste. I'm still looking for a good strawberry cake; i suggest you do the same.

I used .30 oz of jello and that was sweet enough. I took the advice of reviewer naples34102 and added 1T baking powder and 1t salt as well as her filling recipe for the cake- that tasted amazing. I sifted the flour before measuring and also used three 9" pans, like a lot of users did- I 100% agree, the cake came out more fluffy and after it was iced, the cake was big and beautiful. Instead of frozen strawberries, I used fresh strawberries and put them into a pan with a cup of sugar and a splash of vanilla extract over low heat for a little over an hour for a delicious "puree". Don't put the strawberries it a blender to puree after you are done cooking it, your mixer will take care of it. It was for my mom's birthday and my whole family absolutely loved it and said it tasted like a bakery cake.

I did not like this cake. I followed all the directions to the T and it just didn't turn out right. I would not recommend this cake.

one of the best Strawberry cakes I have tried.

This was the recipe I used for my FIRST homemade strawberry cake. I a few reviews before I made it but I just went with what the recipe said. (and like said many times before, sift and then measure your flour, you really have to pay attention to word placement in cases like that.) I didn't separate the eggs whites from the yolks and the cake came out fine. The only thing I did differently is use fresh strawberries with a little sugar as appose to frozen strawberries. The cake tastes great, I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good strawberry cake recipe.

I made this cake for my daughter's 25th birthday. Not only did everyone say "This cake is really good", but second and third helpings were sliced! This cake is unique, delectable, and pretty. I frosted it with Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting, found on this site. I folded the remaining strawberry purée into approzimately one cup of the frosting, and used that as filling between the cake layers. Aftr reading many of the reviews for the cake, I compiled advice and prepared it with these revisions: 1. make 3 layers, and line pan bottoms with parchment paper; 2. use unsalted butter & add 1/8 teaspoon salt to batter; 3. separate eggs, and beat egg whites until stiff peaks form--fold in as last batter ingredient; 4. measure cake flour after sifting; 5. use 2 teaspoons vanilla. The layers did not rise much, and the cake was of a more dense nature...but it was so moist and tender and tasty!

This recipe is definitely a keeper. A couple things though: without icing, this cake is already pretty sweet, many seem to agree (I'll reduce sugar next time, not sure how much). I also added 1/4 tsp salt to add complexity. Made sure everything was room temperature. My cake did not fall in the middle. Make sure the sugar and butter are creamed well! Lastly, Whole Foods sells a strawberry gelatin that has no artificial colors or preservatives, so your entire cake can be natural.

Looks beautiful. Followed given suggestions for sifting flour, separating eggs and made a buttercream frosting with strawberry puree. Delish!

This is a great cake. Again, I made some changes and it tasted even better. I used 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 tsp of almond flavorings added to the puree. I used unbleached flour and cut it to 2 1/2 cups. It made the cake lighter. The crust on this cake is unbelieveable. Used almond flavoring for the icing. Try it you'll like it.

This is delicious. Especially frosted with a home made strawberry buttercream:) Just threw butter, strawberries and powdered sugar together (oh yeah, and a bit of strawberry preserves). This cake really tasted best chilled for some reason. I do think the frosting is a big part of what made this so amazing though, so this rating is based on the combined end product.

Love this cake and the wonderful strawberry flavor it brings. I followed the recipe, but baked mine in a 9X13 pan instead of 2 layers. I also used AP flour and adjusted the measurements instead of using cake flour. This cake was moist and delicious. I made a strawberry cream cheese frosting that was just perfect for this cake. Will definitely be making this one again!

Made this cake for my husband's birthday. The cake tasted wonderful, but it didn't rise as I thought it should've. In reading the reviews(which I should've done first), perhaps beating the egg whites seperately would've been key. I topped cake with icing made of cream cheese, coolwhip, powdered sugar, vanilla & left over strawberry puree. Garnished with chocolate covered strawberries. Cake was good enough to give another shot. Thanks for sharing!

I tried to find a scratch recipe and finally found this one. The density of the cake was so heavy and not light at all. I did beat the egg white separately and measured the flour after sifting but it was still to "heavy" tasting and not light and fluffy at all. I will not use it again. I think the recipe needs correcting on some of the measurements. I was very disappointed. I knew everyone else was also since I ended up with over 1/2 of the cake to bring back home. That's never happened to me before!

Awesome!!! I get asked to make this cake all the time by family and friends. It is very moist and flavorful, a big hit everywhere I have taken it. I recommend using FRESH strawberries, smash them with a little Imperial sugar instead of the frozen it calls for. (BIG DIFFERENCE IN TASTE) I do recommend using cream cheese icing II by Janni and refrigerate it until your ready to serve. I hope you love it as mush as my family and friends do!

Just made this cake and it came out awesome. I was somewhat hesitant about using the jello mix fearing it would give the cake an artificial taste but to my surprise the batter tasted great and had a beautiful pink color. I have important suggestions for preparing this cake. For a less dense and more airy light texture, you must sift the flour first (I used all purpose) then measure out the 2 2/3 cups. Most importantly, you must cream the butter and sugar for at least 5 minutes, longer is better this enables more air bubbles to form aiding in a much more light cake. Good luck and enjoy! Thank you for the person who submitted this recipe...love it!

Absolutely don't see the fetish. This was my first attempt at a strawberry cake and I did not care for it...couldn't even imagine how to make it better. So I decided to make a cake using a regular recipe and adding pureed strawberries (definitely folded the beaten egg whites)...and that second attempt was awesome!!!

I would give a 4 and 1/2 the cake is heavy verses light anf fluffy, very yummy though

LOVED this recipe! I made a castle cake for my daughters 3rd birthday and she wanted a strawberry cake. I didn't want to use a box mix and didn't know a recipe for strawberry cake. This worked great for the stacked construction of the cake (held up very well) and was moist and everyone loved the flavor! Will use again, thanks!

I made this cake for our Easter dinner. It turned out terrific. I made the batter exactly as the recipe directs. It looked like a lot of batter for two cake pans, so I put it in three pans, and made a tall, beautiful 3-layer cake. I did my own take on frosting, making a little more than I normally would to accommodate the three layers. I used 1 1/2 sticks butter, 1 package of cream cheese, enough sweetened strawberry puree to give it a pretty pink color and slight strawberry flavor, and enough powdered sugar to give a stiff frosting (probably 5-6 cups). The cake is bright pink, and the light pink frosting is perfect for it. My 86-year old mom wanted a strawberry cake for Easter, and most of them start with white or "strawberry" cake mix, and I try to avoid that for special occasions. So this recipe was a blessing. I like to cook naturally, and wish there was some way to avoid the artificially flavored Jello, but I guess you can't get the intense strawberry flavor without that. Everyone loved the cake. FYI - use cake flour as directed. I made this cake once before (years ago) with all purpose flour and it was too dense. Also, to start, sift the cake flour in a big bowl. Then carefully spoon it in measuring cups to measure 2 3/4 cups. If you measure 2 3/4 cups out of the bag, then follow these sifting/measuring directions, you will find that you originally had a lot more than 2 3/4 cups flour. Again, if you don't do it right, the cake will be too dense.

I was really hopeful of this recipe. I read all reviews and decided to make this cake without any changes. I was looking for a good tasting strawberry cake for cupcakes that a client wanted. I tested it on my family first and glad that I did. It was nothing that I expected. It smelled wonderful in the oven and even began to rise nicely then it just went flat. After they cooled I tasted them and it was very rubbery and fake tasting. I am HOPING that I can turn them into cakepops :(

I have been searching for a srwaberry cake recipe for a long time, so when i finally found this (with its high rating and numerous reviews) I just had to try it out. So I followed the instructions step by step, read the reviews and modified some things. I was so excited that this we be a very good cake. But i was actually dissapointed when I cut into the cake and it was so soft that it basically fell apart! I have decided this is because i put too little flour in it. I also tasted the cake and it was a little too sweet for my taste. I am very health concious and Im used to healthy food, so maybe it was just me, but this cake was WAY too sweet.

I made the cake exactly as written. It fell. I was going to use this for my son-in-laws birthday tomorrow but I will have to trash it. I consider myself an excellent baker so I know it is not anything I did wrong. I believe there is too much liquid, and way too much sugar. The milk and pureed strawberries makes cake very sticky. The sugar and jello is just too much sugar. I should have realized this and made adjustments. I was going by all the rave reviews. Live and learn.

Tasted more artificial than the boxed stuff

I wish I could give it 10 stars! THIS WAS AMAZING. It was incredibly moist! It has a nice color. I froze it as soon as it cooled; thawed it the next day and frosted it semi frozen. It presented well; it didn't crumble apart as I tried to frost it and my co-workers complimented me over and over! Definitely a 'keeper'!

Fantastic made-from-scratch strawberry cake! I made cupcakes, but had some leftover batter, so I made a small cake. Sounds weird but my cake was dense, while my cupcakes were light and fluffy. Both were delish, though! I also sifted the flour and then measured again (you'd be surprised at the difference!) and whipped my egg whites and folded them in at the end. I used fresh strawberries and think it made all the difference in the world with the flavoring. This is a keeper! Thanks for sharing. :)

This cake turned out very bland, too moist and did not taste very strawber-ry.

I made it in a 13x9 pan and made a cool whip icing. It tasted just like strawberry shortcake. The cake had a different texture but it was good!

It may just be my baking skills, but I made this cake for my cousin's birthday. The cake was thick and had no flavor. I was very dissapointed.

YUM YUM. The cake is a heavy cake but came out great and tasted good. I did cut back the sugar and whipped the egg whites. I have added this recipe as a faqvorite of ours. Thank you

Excellent recipe! Made it for my daughters birthday party. Offered it with frosting and then without and it was a hit both ways!

I found this cake to be fairly mediocre in presentation and taste. Rather than frosting it, I sliced fresh strawberries over it and served with whipped cream as you would a shortcake. The odd pink color was camouflaged in a cloud of whipped cream and berries. The flavor was really enhanced by serving it this way. Thanks.

I cut the sugar down and increased the strawberries but it was still way too sweet and artificial tasting. I wanted to like it because it was beautifully colored and smelled good and the crumbs were good. But normal bites were overpoweringly artificial sugary fake non strawberry.

I made this cake for a birthday party. I would not recommend using it if you plan on decorating. It is a super moist cake and is hard to get out of the pan. Definitely line your pans with wax paper. The batter seemed too runny and was breaking. I think more dry ingredients are needed. I was always taught that a good cake recipe has an equal amount of wet and dry ingredients. Also add a pinch of salt, the recipe does not include it, and the first batch I made tasted flat.

I absolutely LOVE this cake. I did tweak it however and added 1 TBSP oil (for moistness). I also tried it with raspberry jello and raspberries, and I ALWAYS use fresh fruit. It was FANTASTIC!!!!!

Awesome!!! I tried this recipe for the 1st time and it came out perfect. I read the other reviews and used some of the recommendations. I used the whipped egg whites (no yokes). Sifted flour before measuring. spread some of the strawberry puree along w/cream cheese frosting between the layers. Pinch of salt to the flour & baking powder mix. It was very very moist. More moist than dense. 100% better than a box cake. The only small problem is that I had a slight indention in the center of the cakes. I don't know why, because the cake was done. If anyone can give me advice on how to fix this I will appreciate it. This cake is worth baking. simply delicious!!!!

So Yummy! Not sure why people found this cake to be a little heavy - the one we made was light and had a wonderful texture, and I didn't do anything special - just follwed the recipe as written. VERY tasty!

I made this cake and found that it tasted wonderful, but I had textural problems, although I followed the recipe carefully (including sifting the flour). My cake came out very dense, but very moist, with an almost chewy texture to it. It wasn't necessarily bad, but different, and certainly not what I hoped for. I will try again, as I have to assume something I did, or didn't do, caused the cake to have that texture, but I can't imagine what I did wrong.

this recipe caught my eye because it looked just like the betty crocker strawberry cake mix.so i went on ahead and made it.i made cupcakes out of this cake recipe.i am here to tell you betty crocker aint got nothing on me.these cakes were so good.i read reviews about them being dense.o no!these are just right.i will defiently hold on to this recipe!

I am actually currently baking this cake. I have been doing a trial run for my boyfriend's birthday tuesday. My first cake came out with very little rise. I followed others recommendations of cutting the sugar back to 1.5 cups and seperating the egg white and yolks. I'm not sure seperating the two made much difference as the cake did not rise, but after testing my baking powder to make sure it was still active I added about 1/2 teaspoon more to it. The 2nd cake has DEFINETLY risen much better, so I would say that if you want your cake to rise just add a bit more baking powder. I'm sure you can follow the rest of the recipe as is, with just cutting down the sugar to 1.5 cups. Next time I make this cake I will add more strawberry puree. As for icing, I plan to do a cream cheese/cool whip hybrid of some sort. Thanks for the recipe! If you could let us know what fabulous icing you use on it, that would be great!

The best strawberry cake I've tried... although I did some doctoring of my own, and will probably be posting that recipe in a short while. I didn't change the batter one bit, with the exception of making my own sugared strawberries and pureeing those. I also followed the suggestion from another review and separated my eggs, and folded in the stiff whites at the end. I must note that the author apparently has some deep cake pans, because it took three 9" pans to do the job. What I did change though was the icing... I have my own strawberry butter cream icing that I prefer, and make just as you would any standard butter cream icing except I use the strawberry cream cheese instead of plain, and add and 1 TBSP strawberry preserves. For the bottom and middle layers, I used 1/2 a container of the strawberry cream cheese and a small jar of Harry & David wild strawberry preserves - beat those together until they were smooth, and spread a thin layer atop the bottom and middle layer... iced the top and sides with the butter cream icing. This recipe definitely isn't diabetic-friendly but it's been requested at the office and family gatherings since I tried it the first time for a co-worker's birthday. Hope this review helps.

Perfect and easy. I cannot wait to try it with other flavors of jello and fruit combinations!

This was super delicious!!! My daughter wanted a strawberry cake for her birthday, but being a pastry chef-in-training, I didn't want to make a boxed cake. This recipe was so simple and turned out fluffy, moist, and delicious. I have filed it away to make again!

I had a hard time rating this because I made cupcakes with it and they didn't rise correctly! That has never happened to me before so I reall have no idea why. My oven is awful so that could be it (but I make cupcakes/muffins fairly often so why would it happen to these?). Anyway- the taste was fabulous!! I filled the sunken middles with half a strawberry and covered with homemade vanilla frosting. Yummy! And I think people thought I did the strawberry-middle thing on purpose ;)

I made this exactly as written except for using all-purpose flour instead of cake flour and I used a bundt pan. Totally delicious! My husband is out of town until tomorrow. He'll be lucky if there's any left when he gets home. lol

I followed all of the suggestions others made but no one bothered to comment on the baking time. I forgot that by splitting the batter into 3 pans meant less cooking time. I overcooked mine which is so frustrating after all that time I put into the preparation. Rookie mistake I guess. I will wake up early and try again tomorrow.

I noticed that a lot of people blamed themselves for messing up the recipe, even though they weren't sure what they did wrong. I do make a lot of cakes, and was excited to try this recipe. I took some advice and separated the whites, whipping and folding them in at the end. I used almond extract instead of vanilla. I sifted, then measured the flour. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly as written. What I ended up with was a mess. I set the timer, then left. 25 minutes later, I had a disaster. The batter in both pans had fallen, and around the edges it had bubbled and even overflowed over the edge of one of the pans. I went over and over this recipe. My husband went over it too, asking me questions, etc. (he is a great cook, leaves the baking to me because I am usually good at it). We couldn't figure out where it went wrong. I found a similar recipe, and these were the differences: 1. It called for strawberry preserves, not puree. Preserves are much thicker. 2. Too much baking powder (2.5t)? The other recipe was 1.25t powder and 1/2t soda. 3. 3/4c. instead of 1c. butter and 1/2 c. buttermilk instead of 1 c. milk. I don't know if this is it, but I'm reluctant to try again. It's a big waste of time and ingredients if it doesn't work out.

Wow, this was a big hit with the family! So moist, light and delicious! The only thing I did slightly different, was I used unsweetened frozen strawberries. Did not add sugar to them, and the cake was perfectly sweet and flavourful. For those who thought it was heavy, I think either they did not sift the flour, or they measured the flour before sifting. It is REALLY IMPORTANT to sift the flour and then measure. Makes a huge difference in the amount of flour you add! I frosted it with vanilla buttercream icing between layers, and a thin layer chocolate buttercream (just added cocoa to the vanilla buttercream) to the top, and cover the whole thing with marshmallow fondant. Fabulous cake!! thaks soo much for sharing!

I did what the others suggest by separating the eggs and folding the soft peak white eggs at the end. I forgot to cut down the sugar, but it turned out good. It is not as sweet as I thought I would be with the original sugar in the recipe. I used cream cheese icing with slices of strawberries all over the edge and between the layers.

2011 - Came out too dense. I followed the directions.. and yes, I measured sifted cake flour. Not sure. 2015 - Update: My husband made me this cake for my birthday! (he didn't know I had used this recipe before) It was so sweet. His cake came out exactly like I remembered mine. I still thought it was just too dense, It wasn't very pleasing... of course I didn't let him know that!

My daughter wanted strawberry cake for her birthday, she is not a big cake eater and leaves the cake at parties. She ate two pieces of this cake though, that says more than any food critic can ;-)

I loved this recipe but with the modifications as suggested by other reviewers: (1) only used 2 oz of the gelatin powder instead of three (2) DEFINITELY used cake flour and DO NOT substitute all purpose (3) separated egg yolks from whites, beat the whites and added them at the end (4) used real strawberries with some sugar to juice them up (5)used 2 teaspoons of vanilla. I made this on a Thursday night and served it the following Saturday. It was still so moist and delicious. It was for a child's birthday party and everyone loved it - kids and adults alike. I will definitely make this again but with the mentioned modifications.

Good and moist but only (as stated) measure the flour after you sift, and separate the eggs, whip the whites until fluffy and then gently cut into the batter at the end. Also, cream cheese or vanilla frosting, I add 1 tablespoon of strawberry jello, 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, and 1/2 cup coconut to the frosting to make it more fun.

I probably should have listened to some of the reviewers before I made this. Though the flavor turned out just right, the cake was very dense. I presifted the flower, and preblended the egg whites to standing fluffiness, and folded the eggwhite/milk/flour mixture alternatively. Maybe its the gelatin? I rarely see gelatin being used in recipes...

Whoever said this cake was dense is crazy. Apparently, they think that a homemade cake is supposed to have the texture of a "box" mix. I used the full amount of sugar, but I didn't use frozen sweetened strawberries (I used fresh) and it was perfect. I also whipped the egg whites and folded them in after everything else was mixed together. It made the best strawberry cake my husband and I have ever had.

LOVED this cake. I made it for my birthday as I'm a strawberry fanatic. Only complaint was that it turned out dense, more like a pound cake than a fluffy birthday cake. It was still amazing. I chopped a bunch of fresh strawberries and layered them in between two nine inch rounds along with cream cheese frosting. after the whole thing was frosted with cream cheesy-goodness, I covered it all with sweetened shredded coconut, and decorated the top with fresh strawberries. It looked AMAZING and tasted even better. Next time I'll take into consideration some of the comments and see if it turns out fluffier.

Wow. This was one of the best cakes I've ever made and eaten! I followed the recipe to a T and I followed what other reviews said to do: I sifted the flour and I separated the eggs. I also used real strawberries and smashed them with a fork (instead of the frozen). I made homemade cream cheese frosting and I cut strawberries up and placed them on top of the cake for decoration. Very very delicious and I got rave reviews on it with everyone that ate it! Thank you so much!!

I made this cake today for Easter Sunday. It looks absolutely delicious! I added about 2/3 C of the puree instead, oh and I also seperated the eggs and beat the whites until they formed stiff peaks. I used 3 nine inch round pans. I made vanilla frosting and added about 1/3 C strawberry puree. :D Okay so here's my update. I just got back from my family's house...my cake was a hit! It was absolutly delicious! This is a keeper :D

I have a six yr old boy and he is allergic to soy. He had been asking for a strawberry cake and I have searched HIGH and LOW for one. You can NOT begin to imagine how GLAD I was when I saw THIS recipe! IT WAS GREAT!!!!! Wish there were more stars available to give you!! THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH FOR SUBMITTING IT!!! By the way, I made cupcakes too. BOTH turned out WONDERFUL! VERY TASTY, MOIST, AND FULL OF FLAVOR!! Again, THANK you so very much for submitting it!

i was searching for a recipe that didn't use cake mix, but the cake was too dense and FLAVORLESS. it barely tasted like strawberry. i think it is strange that gelatin was used, it was a big hint not to use this recipe. it has been the worst outcome i have ever gotten.

This was a good cake, but it wasn't as great as I was expecting. That said, I will make it again but I will try some modifications next time.

This was an amazing cake. Everyone loved it.

Simply the BEST strawberry cake I've ever had. I've never been a huge fan of strawberry cake, but I made this for a special occassion, and it was right on the mark!! It had a wonderful strawberry flavor and I used cream cheese frosting from scratch too. Absolutely nothing compared to boring box mixes. Well worth the extra effort. Can't wait to make it again!!

Tried this recipe out without making any changes. It tasted sooo good, but was a little sweet. Next time I think I'll omit a bit of the sugar. I used a homemade buttercream icing with it and look forward to making it in the summertime. I think it would be lovely served plain, with fresh strawberries and whipped cream as a new twist on strawberry shortcake!

Excellent cake, easy directions! People that complain about density should just add extra baking powder. I think it was the perfect amount. thank you for sharing!

ohhhhhh this cake is to die for! i made it into cupcakes for my daughter's 2nd birthday and they were so good i could have eaten them all myself! :) i frosted them with a mixture of fresh strawberries, butter, and powdered sugar that i whipped into frosting consistency. thank you so much for this recipe - in the middle of winter this tasted so fresh and delicious!

The cake was a bit too sweet. 2 cups of sugar, Jell-o and sweetened strawberries is a lot of sugar. I would cut down on the sugar, probably up to 1 cup. Definitly use a chocolate glaze. (1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, 2 tbsp. butter & 1 tbsp. corn syrup, melt and pour the glaze over the still warm cake.