Grandmother Mary's Strawberry Cake

Most of us have great memories of our grandparents.  I was fortunate to have two of the coolest people to EVER walk the planet for mine.  My Granddaddy Guy worked in the vending machine industry.  Which meant they had a horse in their living room.  Not a real one, although I'm pretty sure he would have gotten us grandkids a real one if we had asked.  Her name was Sandy, and it costs a dime to go for a ride.  And we NEVER had to put in our own dimes.  Granddaddy Guy had a never ending supply of dimes in his pocket.  And BOXES and BOXES and BOXES of boston baked bean candy and gumballs in the pantry.  Just grab a sack and scoop out as much as you want.  Grandmother Mary was equally as fun and clever in her own way.  She was a kindergarten teacher and I never had a birthday card or valentine that didn't have a clever poem inside in her oh-so-neat handwriting.  Every Sunday we went to their house for pizza.  We called it "Pizza Day".  Well the kids had pizza.  And moon pies.  And popsicles.  And ten thousand different flavors of pop.  And boston baked beans.  (I usually came home from their house with a stomach ache.)  Now that I'm an adult, I sometimes regret eating pizza and moon pies, when I could have sat in the dining room with THE GROWN UPS for one of Grandmother Mary's fabulous home cooked Sunday dinners like pot roast or chicken and dumplings.  And every Sunday there was a beautiful, pink strawberry layered cake.  Because that was Granddaddy Guy's favorite.

If you're looking for a good old-fashioned
Strawberry Cake, this is it.

The line up for the cake.  The frosting
is only three ingredients. 
(not pictured)

Combine the cake ingredients
in a stand mixer.

Stir in the thawed, chopped
strawberries.

Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake.
Grandmother Mary always made a layer cake.
I was taking this to tailgate (surprise) 
so I used a 9x13-inch pan with a lid.

Cool cake completely and 
then frost.

A delicate frosting, and I love the natural
pink color from the strawberries.

The most vibrant pink cake.  This is perfect
anytime of year, but especially nice in the spring,
or for a baby shower.  Also fun for birthdays!

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My whole childhood right on a plate.
Tastes so nostalgic.

GRANDMOTHER MARY'S STRAWBERRY CAKE

1 package white cake mix
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry Jell-O
1/2 cup frozen strawberries, thawed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine first six ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth and well combined.  Stir in chopped strawberries.  Spoon into two greased and floured 9-inch round pans and bake for approximately 25 minutes.

Strawberry Frosting
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons frozen strawberries, thawed and chopped fine.

Beat with mixer until fluffy.  Spread over cake.

Prep Time:  Approximately 15 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 25 minutes

NOTE:  I wanted A LOT of frosting for my cake so I used 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter and kept adding powdered sugar and strawberries until I had a fluffy, butter cream consistency.  Feel free to frost or glaze however you'd like.

This recipe was first published on 9/23/11 and updated on 9/24/26.