Strawberry Crunch Cake Recipe
This strawberry crunch cake is a fun twist on your favorite strawberry shortcake ice cream bars. Make this strawberry cake as layered or sheet cake using box cake mix and homemade buttercream frosting and strawberry crumble. With it’s beautiful bakery worthy appearance and easy preparation, this crunch cake is the perfect cake for birthdays and other special gatherings.
Equipment
- 2 8-inch pans see notes for other pan sizes
- 1 parchment paper
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
- 1 ziplock bag
Ingredients
Strawberry Crunch Cake
- 3 large eggs (US), room temperature
- 1 cup (237 ml) water
- ½ cup (118 ml) oil
- 1 15.25 oz. strawberry box cake mix
- 1 3.4 oz. strawberry jello powder mix
Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 cups (360 g) powdered sugar
- 1-4 tbsp (15 - 60 ml) room temperature milk, as needed
Strawberry Crunch
- 12 golden Oreos
- 1 cup freeze dried strawberries
- 3 tbsp (43 g) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Lightly grease and line the bottom of (2) 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- Whisk the eggs, oil and water together until smooth and well combined.
- Whisk or stir in the strawberry cake mix and strawberry jello mix until smooth and well combined.
- Evenly pour the strawberry cake batter into each of the prepared cake pans. Each of the pans will have about 500 g of cake batter. Bake the cakes for about 28-33 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should have a few moist crumbs only.
- Cool the cakes in the pan for 15 minutes then carefully remove the cakes from the pan to cool completely to room temperature. Once cooled, place the cake layers in the fridge for 1-2 hours before frosting. While the cakes cool, make the buttercream frosting.
- Beat the butter on low speed until smooth and creamy. On medium speed, beat in the vanilla extract, powdered sugar, salt and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) milk until smooth and well combined. If needed, add up to 3 tablespoons additional milk to reach your preferred consistency.
- Assemble the cake: Smear a small amount of frosting onto the serving plate or cake stand. Place the first strawberry cake layer on top. Apply a layer of frosting (about ¾ cup) to the first layer of cake. Smooth evenly across and slightly passed the top onto the side. Top the frosting with the second layer of strawberry cake. Apply another layer of frosting (about ¾ cup) to the top, smoothing it out and around the sides. This is the crumb coat. Place the cake in the fridge to set for about 20 - 30 minutes.
- Make the strawberry crunch crumble while the crumb coat sets. Place the golden oreos and freeze dried strawberries into a ziplock bag. Crush the cookies and freeze dried berries until they are about pea sized. Pour 3 tablespoons of melted butter into the bag and mix until well combined. Place the bag into the fridge until you are ready to apply the final layer of frosting and strawberry crunch topping.
- Apply the rest of the frosting to the cake, top with the strawberry crunch, slice and serve.
Notes
Store leftover strawberry crunch cake at room temperature: Keep the shortcake stored at room temperature for up to 2 days under a cake dome or wrapped in plastic wrap. After two days, the cake should be transferred to the fridge for up to another 3-4 days. If using a cream cheese buttercream, the cake will need to be stored in the fridge the entire time.
Make this strawberry crunch cake recipe in a different pan? You can bake this in a 9 x 13 pan for about 25-35 minutes. This recipe can also be baked in (2) 9- inch cake pans for about 25-30 minutes. This recipe also makes about 24 cupcakes. Bake the strawberry crunch cupcakes for about 15-20 minutes.
Cream Cheese Buttercream: Replace ½ of the butter with cream cheese. For this shortcake crunch cake recipe, that would be ½ cup (113 g) room temperature butter and 8 oz. (226 g) room temperature cream cheese. Mix the cream cheese and butter together on low until well combined. Follow the remaining ingredient amounts and mixing directions in the vanilla buttercream recipe listed in this crunch cake recipe.
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