I found a recipe on Pinterest for Strawberry Brownies and even though they had very mixed reviews (half said they were awesome, half said total flop), I decided to give them a try. I made some modifications. I know, big shock. And what resulted was possibly one of the best strawberry cakes I’ve ever had. And get this–I used a box mix. The horror! I was totally skeptical and slightly disgusted with myself for not making it totally from scratch but once I tasted this dreamy strawberry concoction, I forgave myself immediately.
No, these did not turn out thick and dense like brownies. And I admit, it was most likely because of my changes. But I was totally ok with that after tasting this stuff. I took the recipe and added in strawberry pie filling to give it a bit more strawberry flavor and added white chocolate chips. Topped off with vanilla buttercream and what resulted was a cake that reminded me of my childhood. It was slightly nostalgic of strawberry shortcake, minus the fresh berries and whipped cream. It was super simple to make and would be such a fun Valentine’s Day treat for your kids or co-workers. Don’t be put off by the use of cake mix, it totally works in this recipe. Even a from-scratch-cake-snob (such as myself ) will LOVE this recipe.
Enjoy!
- 1, 18.5 oz. Strawberry Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines)
- 2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ c. Vegetable Oil
- 21 oz. Strawberry Pie Filling (about 1¼ c.)
- 1 c. White Chocolate Chips
- ½ Stick Unsalted Butter
- 2 T. Shortening
- 4 t. Pure Vanilla Extract
- 4 c. Powdered Sugar
- ½ c. Heavy Whipping Cream (or whole milk)
- ¼ c. Red Chocolate Candy Coating Discs (such as Wilton), melted
- Valentine Heart Decor (I got mine at Target in the $1 section-yay!)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl stir cake mix, eggs and oil. Gently fold in strawberry pie filling and white chocolate chips. Spread evenly into pan and bake for 25 minutes, until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and shortening until smooth. Beat in vanilla. On low speed, gradually beat in half of the powdered sugar. Beat in half of the heavy whipping cream. Beat in the remaining powdered sugar and then the rest of the heavy whipping cream. Beat until smooth and then spread evenly onto cooled cake. Drizzle with red chocolate candy coating and sprinkle with Valentine's decor.
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