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!
Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
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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)
Staci says
Can I use a bundt pan instead?
Liz Marek says
I don't recommend it for a bundt. Bundt recipes are usually a lot different. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Kitty says
Your recipe calls for strawberry purée however it has a link to strawberry reduction. These are two different things so which do you use for your ingredients?
Liz Marek says
Use the reduction. It's just strawberry puree cooked down so it doesn't add too much liquid to the cake. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Carol Hamilton says
It came out great. I changed it a bit to make a coconut strawberry pecan cake. My Mom's recipe from the 60's Southern Living recipe was a luscious, but heavy cake. This is going to be my new recipe. I used strawberry extract. 2 heaping Tablespoons of strawberry jello were added into the melted butter. I used a coconut cake mix and added 1/2 cup of coconut and chopped pecans. It was frosted with a butter/cream cheese frosting (1/2 c. of each) containing 1/2 cup of pureed strawberries, 6 c.10X sugar,1/2 cup of chopped pecans and coconut. It was decorated with fresh strawberries. Recipes are merely suggestions, aren't they? Thanks for the improvement!
Liz Marek says
Coconut strawberry pecan sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your twist.
Bethany J Woods-Norman says
I’m going to make this in a couple days, you mention Duncan Hines as the best but the picture displays pilsbury, just want to make sure I get this right, thank you!
Liz Marek says
I prefer Duncan Hines, but I couldn't find it the day I took the photos, so either works. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Kelly Early says
Hi,
I used this recipe today to make cupcakes. It made about 29 cupcakes. I just made a few changes since I didn't have some of the ingredients you listed on hand.
I didn't have the puree or jam and didn't have time to make so I omitted and added 1 cup of fresh strawberries diced finely. I added 1/3 cup of vegetable oil. I didn't have lemon extract, so I used 1/2 tsp of fresh lemon juice. I left the rest of the recipe the same. I cooked 350 for 17-18 minutes. They turned out awesome and so moist. I love your recipes.
Liz Marek says
So glad your swaps worked out! Thanks for sharing your bake time.
Lisa says
Can I use strawberry yogurt instead of sour cream?
Liz Marek says
Yes, yogurt works in place of the sour cream. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Carly says
I plan to use this as a half sheet cake recipe. Any suggestions on bake time and temp and do you think doubling it would be sufficient or should I triple?
Liz Marek says
Yes! Use the cake batter calculator in the post, pick the sheet pan size, and it will tell you how much batter you need. A sheet cake takes longer to bake, so keep an eye on it and bake until a toothpick comes out clean. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Jessica Sorensen says
I didn’t have strawberry purée or time to make it but I had strawberry jam so I blended it with some fresh lemon juice to thin a bit and make less sweet and came out perfect
Peggy says
I disagree that you used too much yellow food coloring in buttercream. It was beautiful and bright and that’s what caught my attention! I’m going to make for Galentines brunch I’m having. Thanks!
Renee Session says
Made this cake. It was totally delicious. Thank you for sharing
Ann Nessa says
This looks great and I plan on making it for my grandsons birthday. He has asked for strawberry and it is the middle of winter. One question before I start is it really 3 cups of butter for the frosting? Thanks for your help.
Jackie says
Can I use frozen slice strawberry in sugar. Draining the strawberry slices and puree. Also cut the sugar to half a cup. Will that work?
Liz Marek says
Yes, that works. Drain and puree them, and since they're already sweetened, cutting back the sugar makes sense. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Jackie G says
I can't find strawberry puree in my grocery stores and strawberries are not in season right now. Can I use 1. strawberry preserves or 2. strawberry puree drink mix (like for daiquiri)? Also same amount of time for cupcakes? Thanks!
Sugar Geek Show says
Hi, I recommend using my strawberry puree recipe. Preserves or daiquiri mix would add too much sugar. https://sugargeekshow.com/strawberry-puree/ And I'm not sure about cupcakes, I haven't tried it yet. But I would say about 15-20 minutes. Start with about 15 minutes and keep an eye on them after that.
Sara says
Hello! I am so excited to try this cake! The recipe says to use three 8" cake pans, but the notes say three 6" and three 6" boards. Will this recipe fill 8" pans or do I need to make more batter? Best! -Sara
Elizabeth Marek says
It will fill two 8"x2" pans or three 6"x2" pans.
Dany says
Since this filled three 8” pans, can I use this same recipe for two 10” round pans or do I have to increase it?
Elizabeth Marek says
You can use two 10" pans
Joan says
I have used this recipe many times and it never lets me down. Everyone LOVES it!!
can I do the same thing with a chocolate cake mix? Would I add chocolate syrup or melted chocolate to replace the strawberry puree?
Elizabeth Marek says
I have a chocolate WASC recipe! Check it out 😀