A strawberry cake mix recipe that makes box mix taste almost as good as homemade!
The best strawberry cake mix recipe! I'm obsessed with a good strawberry cake from scratch but sometimes I just don't have a lot of time and need a good strawberry cake recipe FAST! This is my go-to strawberry cake mix recipe with lemon easy buttercream!
What's the best strawberry cake mix?
I personally prefer Duncan Hines box mixes. I think they taste the best and are very moist. Their strawberry box mix is already super tasty but I add in a few ingredients to make it taste even better.
Adding these ingredients to your strawberry box mix will make the cake a little denser and better for stacking. You can even cover this cake in fondant or stack multiple tiers for a birthday or wedding cake. Just make sure you chill your cakes first to harden the butter that's inside the cake before you try to stack the cake layers.
For more information on learning to make your first cake, check out my how to make your first cake tutorial.
Can you add fresh fruit to box mix?
I have experimented a few times with adding fresh fruit to box mix and it generally works really well. Strawberries work best if you use a reduced puree or fruit preserves so that you aren't adding too much liquid into the cake recipe.
I tried adding chopped strawberries one time and it turned out ok but the strawberries got a little soggy inside the cake and turned grey around the edges.
Adding strawberry puree to the box mix results in beautiful pink layers!
How do you make a strawberry layer cake?
After you mix up your cake batter, divide it into three 8" cake pans. If you only have one pan, you can bake one at a time and leave the leftover batter in the fridge until you need it.
Let your cake layers cool for 10 minutes in the pan then turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way. You can speed this process up by putting the rack plus the cakes in the freezer for about an hour. Then they will be ready to frost.
I decided to frost my strawberry cakes with lemon buttercream! But any kind of buttercream would work like cream cheese frosting, stabilized whipped cream or fresh strawberry buttercream.
To make my easy buttercream into lemon buttercream, I just added in some fresh lemon curd, lemon extract and lemon zest, then mixed it all together. You can leave the lemon curd out if you don't have any but it is pretty yummy and easy to make!
Fill your chilled layers of cake with the lemon buttercream. I shoot for about ¼" of buttercream between my cake layers. Repeat with all the cake layers then cover the entire cake with a thin coat of buttercream. This is called the crumb coat and seals in all the cake crumbs.
Put the cake into the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up the crumb coat. Then you can put your final layer of buttercream on the cake and decorate it any way you like! I decorated mine with sweetapolita sprinkles. This is the "Twinkle" sprinkle medley! One of my favorites!
I love how easy this strawberry cake mix recipe is! I hope you love it too! Happy baking!
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Cups of Batter Needed
8 cups
Cups of Frosting Needed
5 cups
Note: measurements are estimated based off the vanilla cake recipe using standard US cake pans and sizes. Measurements used are for 2" tall cake pans only. Your results may vary. Do not overfill cake pans above manufacturer's recommended guidelines.
Recipe
Ingredients
Strawberry Cake Mix Recipe
- 1 box strawberry cake mix or white if you can't find strawberry
- 1 cup AP flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream room temp
- ½ cup melted butter
- ½ cup milk
- ¾ cup strawberry puree
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon strawberry emulsion or extract
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
Lemon Easy Buttercream Frosting
- ¾ cup pasteurized egg whites
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 3 cups unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon lemon extract
- ¼ cup lemon curd optional
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Instructions
Strawberry Box Mix Cake Ingredients
- The instructions for this cake are super easy. Basically, put it all into a bowl and mix it for 2 minutes! Voila! Cake batter is ready.
- Pour batter into three 8" cake pans prepared with cake goop or your preferred pan release. Bake at 350ºF for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean
Easy Buttercream Frosting
- Place pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Mix on low until combined and then bump up to high and whip for 3 minutes. It will look like royal icing, not meringue.
- Add in your salt then your butter in small pieces while mixing on low until combined, then bump up to high. Whip until light, white and fluffy and it doesn't taste like butter anymore. This can take 10-15 minutes.
- Switch to the paddle attachment and mix on low for 15 minutes to smooth buttercream and reduce bubbles (optional)
- Mix in your lemon curd, lemon zest and extract until combined.
- Frost and decorate your cake as desired
Video
Notes
- Three 6" cakes - baked and cooled
- Easy Buttercream (one batch)
- Food coloring
- Sprinkles
- Strawberry filling (optional)
Jocelyn says
Is there a reason why every time I take my cake out from the oven it deflats to half it’s size? This has also happened to your chocolate, yellow and white box recipe mix. It still taste excellent, but would just like it to remain the same size. Any idea?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Do you live at a high elevation?
Sana Cheema says
Can I use canned strawberry puree?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you sure can 🙂 I might have more sugar in it than homemade though so if it does, reduce the amount of sugar you add to the cake mix
Rachel says
Hey thanks for the recipe but is there a different extract or emulsion I can try on Amazon or in store that you like I need it asap.. Amoretti shipping is way too long.. Tia!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Sure can! Any type of strawberry extract or emulsion will work great. I just got some from whole foods
Carmen says
Can this be used for 24 cupcakes ?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes it can, it will make about 36 cupcakes
Kelsey says
Easy, delicious and perfectly pink!
john says
Can this be turned into a bundt cake using the recipe? 10-12 cup bundt pan?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I don't think so, bundt cake recipes are usually a lot different in my experience
Brandy says
Just a quick question. The recipe says 3- 8 inch pans and the links below says 3- 6 inch pans. I have both sizes which ones do I use?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Three 6" pans or two 8" pans. Depending on the size of cake you want to make
Melissa vining says
If I'm making this recipe into cupcakes instead of a stacked cake, would you reccomend using oil, or still use melted butter? Thank you!! Also, I'll be using a lemon box mix... should I use 1C milk if not using puree or curd??
The Sugar Geek Show says
If you're using lemon box mix and not adding anything else then use the WASC cake instructions but lemon extract instead of almond. I don't change anything for cupcakes. Just make sure you only fill the cups 2/3 of the way or they could overflow
Melissa D vining says
Thank you Liz!!!
Patricia says
What if you want to do a strawberry cupcake?
The Sugar Geek Show says
You can use this recipe for strawberry cupcakes too
April Migliaccio says
In the blog post you said Duncan Hines was the best strawberry cake mix, but it the picture of ingredients you have a Pillsbury cake mix. Which is better in your opinion?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I couldn't find any duncan hines 🙂
Tracy flowers says
Recipes please
The Sugar Geek Show says
The recipe is at the bottom of the blog post, just above this comment
Ebony says
Is the yellow color of the buttercream a direct effect of the lemon curd and zest or did you use food coloring as well?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I used food coloring but I wouldn't recommend it, I thought it was a little too yellow
Bernice says
If I want to half the recipe, should I half everything or certain ingredients?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Well, you can't really half this recipe unless you halved the actual box ingredients as well. Then yes you would half everything else.
Sandy says
I tried this in three 8 inch pans. The cake turned out amazing. Now I want to make a two layer half sheet cake. I’m a beginner and I have no idea how much I should put in the pan. I’m planning on baking the two layers separately.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Try making a 1 1/2 batch of batter and dividing evenly between two pans 🙂 Trim the dome off before stacking them on top of each other.
Melissa D vining says
Would this recipe work with a lemon box mix and switch the strawberry puree to.... maybe lemon curd?? Thanks for your help
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes, it sure would 🙂
Freeha says
I am your big fan and I already tried your strawberry cake that was amazing .
For this recipe can i use 1/2 cup strawberry puree?
If yes then how ?
Thanks in advance.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes, I explain how to add the strawberry puree to the cake mix in the directions in the recipe 🙂
Lesa Woods says
Someone asked about using cake flour instead of AP. Your response was it jad ro be cakr flour, but recipe states AP. Just thought I would see if that was an error.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Sorry, I meant AP flour, I think I am used to people asking me if they can use AP flour lol
Nilda says
Can I use cake flour or does it have to be AP flour ?
The Sugar Geek Show says
It has to be cake flour for this recipe because it's so moist
Shonda says
Hello. I’m a little confused about your answer to the question regarding which flour to use. The recipe says AP Flour but you also said to use cake flour because the cake is moist. Can you please clarify which flour is best. Thank you. Can’t wait to try this recipe.
The Sugar Geek Show says
My apologies, I meant AP flour. I am used to people asking me if they can use AP flour instead of cake flour and not the other way around.
Shonda says
No worries. Thank you!! I love your recipes. Can’t wait to try this.