Chocolate Castles as wel

If you are a strawberry shortcake lover, this cake is for you. While trying to think of a cake that would taste great for a friend of my Jodi’s (my daughter) last week in Phoenix, I thought about this cake. Rochelle, Jodi’s friend had told me she wanted a cake that did not have buttercream frosting, but one that had fresh fruit. Jodi and I thought it would be so nice to bake her a cake for her birthday so this is one that we thought would hit the spot. Last week, when I was at Jodi’s house, I made a Pistachio cake when I first arrived for the week. It was Caleb’s birthday (our 11 yr old grandson) so when your grandson tells you that “anything you bake Nana will be better than anything we could buy” well…..after signing over every dollar I had to him in my will, I proceeded to bake his cake. After we devoured the Pistachio cake in 2 days, it was time to think about baking another cake for Rochelle. Because we loved the cake texture of the Pistachio cake, I wanted to use the same recipe, but with a different flavor of cake mix. So that’s exactly what I did. This is the cake.

Cake
1 box of Duncan Hines White cake Mix
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup veggie oil
1 cup club soda
1 small box of French Vanilla Instant Pudding mix

Beat all ingredients together and divide into prepared and greased 2 or 3 (9″) baking pans. (or you could actually bake in aa 9×13 baking pan, if you are just wanting a one layer cake.)
Bake in preheated 350 oven until cake tests done and cool completely.

Whipping Cream
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup of powdered sugar

Whip cream until it begins to thicken. Gradually add the sugar until the sweetness is to your liking. You might not need the whole 1/2 cup. When whipping cream is thick, cover and place in fridge until you are ready to frost the sides and top of cake.

Glaze and filling for between the layers (or if you bake in 9×13, use half of this filling for pouring over the top of the cake before placing the whipped cream on top of cake)

2 cups water
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
5 tables cornstarch
1 small box of Jello Strawberry flavored jello

Combine the water, sugar and cornstarch, stirring until cornstarch is dissolved. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When mixture is thick and clear, add the box of the jello, stirring until jello is dissolved and mixture is combined. Mixture will thicken more as it cools. Cool completely.

Spoon some of the jello mixture between layers of the cake, reserving some of the filling/glaze to pour over the top of strawberries.

Since about 2 cups of fresh strawberries and slice in half. Allow to dry on paper towel. When cakes are assembled and you have frosted the cake with the whipping cream, place the fresh berries over the top. Spoon the glaze over the berries allowing it to drip over the sides of cake.