Strawberry Cake

With Summer upon us and strawberries being the going thing I wanted to try a strawberry cake. Not too many don't love the yummy taste of strawberries. I did one for my dad's birthday which is not this recipe but it was from scratch and it just seemed very dense and dry to me although some said they loved it. I wanted to try a boxed version and this one turned out really soft and light -I'm trying to avoid saying moist but it's hard to describe it any other way...because that's just what it is..moist (sorry anti moist people)

You could do a lemon cream cheese frosting on this too which would be super good!

This recipe comes from www.callmepmc.com.

Ingredients

1 pkg white cake mix

1 (3oz) pkg strawberry jello gelatin 

1 cup mashed or finely chopped strawberries (I used thawed out frozen with some fresh added and blended in my food processor for a bit but not too much. you want some small chunks. 

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil - the original recipe called for 1 cup but I found it too much.

4 large eggs. 

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese

1/2 cup butter, room temp

3 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar or more to taste and thickness

3/4 cup fresh strawberries, mashed or chopped fine (I just used more strawberry gelatin to taste and garnished with strawberries)

Instructions

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray pans with non-stick spray. Line the pans with parchment paper on the bottom and spray again. 

2. Place the cake mix, jello, oil, milk and eggs in a large bowl and mix 3 mins stopping to scrap down sides of bowl often. Fold in strawberries. 

3. Divide batter evenly among layer pans or  pour into a 9x13 pan. Cook according to chart below. Cool on rack until almost completely cool.  Remove cake onto the racks and cool completely. 

4. For Cream Cheese Frosting: Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth. Sift sugar and add one cup full at a time to cream mixture. Add strawberries or jello powder and incorporate completely. Cover cake. 

Note: 

Cooking times for pan size

2- 9 inch round 28-31mins

2 - 8 inch round 30-33 mins

3 - 8 inch rounds 28-30 mins

9x13 28-30 mins

Rhubarb Custard Bars

Rhubarb season! I grew up eating it every Summer and love it. I usually did the same cake or crumble so I wanted to branch out this year and try a new recipe. This was so good! 

It got rave reviews from family and friends. I definitely will be making this one again and again. This recipe came from Taste of Home.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup cold butter

Filling:

2 cups sugar

7 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 eggs, beaten

5 cups finely chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed and drained

Topping: 

Cream cheese 6 oz - 3/4 of a brick, softened 

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the flour and sugar; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I use my food processor for this with the blade). It will look somewhat dry. Press into a greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 for 10 mins. 

2. Meanwhile, for filling, combine sugar and flour in a bowl. Whisk in cream and beaten eggs. Stir in the rhubarb. Pour over crust. Bake at 350 for 45-60 mins or until the custard is set in the middle. Cool.

3. For topping, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth; fold in whipped cream. Spread over top. Cover and chill. Cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator.