This is a partnered post with Aldi, but all opinions are my own.
Is there anything that says spring or summer like fresh strawberries? I didn’t think so. They’re also one of Bryan’s favorite fruits. Because his birthday was Sunday, which was also Mother’s Day, his birthday was pushed aside in the limelight of all the Mom celebrations we attended. Instead, we celebrated on Monday and I offered to make him a true Southern dessert; Strawberries and Cream Cake. I had planned to make the cake from scratch, but my daughter asked, “Can this cake be gluten free so I can have some too?” I agreed, and picked up a box of Live GFree Cake Mix at Aldi, along with the rest of my supplies. Although I could make a gluten free cake from scratch, with all the ingredients needed, it’s easier to buy a boxed mix and jazz it up.
I started with my Live GFree mixed together as directed, and added vanilla pudding mix, strawberry gelatin a dash of vanilla and sour cream. The gelatin gives the cake a pretty pink color and adds a hint of strawberry taste.
Once the cake was mixed, I poured the batter into two 8 inch cake pans and baked until done. While the cake was baking, I made the strawberry cream filling. I have to say, this stuff is amazing! It’s very rich and decadent, making this the perfect special occasion dessert, especially if you forget to buy a present. Substitute the cake and yell, “I made your favorite dessert!”
I whipped together heavy cream, a dash of cream of tartar and sugar until soft peaks formed, then added in a swirl of strawberry jam. This would also be awesome served as a dip for strawberries or used in a shortcake.
Once the cake is done, allow to cool and split each layer in half. It’s important to place this in the fridge and allow the cake to cool completely before adding the filling. Otherwise, you’ll have a melted, runny mess on your hands. Place one third of the filling onto three of the cake layers and add sliced strawberries on top of each.
Place layers of cake onto a cake plate, topping with the layer without frosting. Smooth any filling that might be drizzling out of the sides with a spatula.
I made the frosting for the sides and top with the same recipe as the cream filling. You can’t have enough cream!
I had a lot of leftover filling and icing so I added a few drops of red food coloring to it. I placed it into a homemade icing bag, made from a freezer bag with a frosting tip, and piped circles of cream onto the top of the cake and added fresh strawberries on top. It looked almost too pretty to eat, but we made the effort anyway.
- Cake Ingredients
- 1 box gluten free cake mix, prepared as directed on package
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 (3 ounce) package gelatin
- 1 (3 ounce) package vanilla pudding mix
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Filling & Icing Ingredients
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup strawberry jam
- 1 (16 ounce) package strawberries
- Mix cake as directed on package. Add in sour cream, vanilla, pudding mix and gelatin. Mix until well blended. Pour into 2 greased 8″ cake pans and cook as directed on package. Allow cake to cool completely before adding filling or icing.
- Filling:
- Whip cream, sugar, vanilla & cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Beat into strawberry jam. Place cream into fridge until ready to use.
- Slice each cake layer in half. Divide the filling into two bowls. Spread 1/3 of the filling in one bowl onto 3 layers of the cake. Top each layer with sliced strawberries. Stack the layers on a cake plate and top with fourth layer. Carefully spread reserved filling over sides and top of the cake. Store in the fridge.
What is your favorite summer dessert?
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That looks and sounds delicious! I love sweet recipes that are complimented with strawberries. Thanks for sharing.
That looks amazing. Such a light looking dessert!
I have never made a strawberry cake before. I love this recipe. It definitely looks delicious.
Strawberries go so well with cake. This looks delicious.
This looks so amazing, I’d love to try this yummy dessert out!
This strawberries and cream cake looks absolutely amazing! I may have to make it for a party I’m going to this weekend!
Cheesecake is the best. So glad that there is an awesome gluten free option. My mouth is watering.
It looks delicious! My girls love strawberries in the summertime!
Wow, what a delicious cake and with awesome gluten free option! I just went to Aldi for the 1st time this month, loved it
This looks amazing. I love strawberry and I am on a gluten free diet so it is a win win situation for me
I need to make this! My husband would really enjoy it for Father’s day. I love how it’s gluten free, perfect. Going to pin!
Yum, yum, and more yum! I don’t have a gluten free diet, but I appreciate cutting out anything I can so I can have more!
My grandmother makes a great from-scratch strawberry cake. I’d like to try this version too now!
Great day in the morning, this looks amazing!!! I will certainly save for strawberry season (January-March here!)
I love this recipe – it tastes amazing and looks pretty. This is definitely a show-stopper recipe that everyone will love.
That looks yummy! I am not even a gluten free person like that but I want a piece!!
I love strawberry cake! Sometime I spread a thin layer of nutella between the layers too!
I have been wanting to make a strawberry cake for weeks. It was my father’s favorite cake but my mom’s recipe is not GF – this is great. I have everything I need to make this tomorrow.
I love strawberries with a passion! I would love to make this cake for a friend who can’t have gluten. 🙂
Strawberries are my favorite, too! In fact, my favorite summer dessert is probably Strawberry Freeze! Now that I’ve been reminded of it I can’t wait to have it soon!! 🙂
This looks so good! Even though I’m not gluten-free I might just make this anyway!
I love strawberry desserts and that this one is gluten free. I have a friend who is on a gluten free diet and I can’t wait to share this recipe with her.
Wow that cake looks delicious. Will be passing this on to a friend that is on a gluten free diet.
Yum! This looks really incredible. I haven’t had a strawberry cake in so long. I could so go for a piece or two of that right now!
Tis the season for strawberries and you definitely won’t hear me complain about that. This cake looks both mouthwatering and fresh!
What a good cake. I could go with that strawberries right now.
This cake looks really good. I love that it is Gluten Free. Thanks for the recipe.
Ooh fresh strawberries have been a craving of mine and this cake looks so good. We do have some birthdays coming up.
This looks divine and I love that it’s gluten free. I’m a fan of anything with strawberries. My favorite fruit!
Oh my goodness I bet that took the hardest effort to eat that beautiful cake! What a fabulous recipe Pam! I’ll be trying it out very soon!
I imagine that it wouldn’t take any effort at all to eat this delicious cake. I love how the colors contrast with one another.
That’s a fun way to use strawberries. I love all the layers too, this cake looks delicious!
What a yummy looking cake! I absolutely love strawberry cake, so I can’t wait to give this a try. Gluten-free has never looked so good!
That looks so yummy! I love that you went heavy on that frosting. Mmm… Frosting…
The frosting is my favorite part, too! NOM! I could eat just the frosting actually 😉
I could literally sit down and eat that entire thing myself. It sounds awesome.
I was thinking the same thing. It looks like a dessert I could devour in one sitting.