Strawberry Crunch Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes    

Cook Time: 25 minutes    

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 12-14 slices

This strawberry crunch cake puts a fun spin on your beloved strawberry shortcake ice cream bars. You can whip up this delightful cake as either a layered masterpiece or a simple sheet cake, using a box cake mix paired with homemade buttercream frosting and a tasty strawberry crumble. With its stunning, bakery-worthy look and straightforward preparation, this crunch cake is just the thing for birthdays and other special celebrations!

Ingredients:

Strawberry Crunch Cake

• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup (240 ml) water
• ½ cup (120 ml) oil
• 450 g  strawberry box cake mix
• 1 kg strawberry jello powder mix

Vanilla Buttercream

• 1 cup (225 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 (45 g) unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Lightly grease and line the bottom of (2) 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the eggs, oil and water together until smooth and well combined.
3. Whisk or stir in the strawberry cake mix and strawberry jello mix until smooth and well combined.
4. 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.
5. Bake the cakes for about 28-33 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should have a few moist crumbs only.
6. 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.
7. 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. 
8. 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.
9. Place the cake in the fridge to set for about 20 - 30 minutes.
10. 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.
11. Place the bag into the fridge until you are ready to apply the final layer of frosting and strawberry crunch topping.
12. Apply the rest of the frosting to the cake, top with the strawberry crunch, slice and serve.

Tips & Notes:

• Use a non-stick spray and line the bottom of the cake pans to prevent the cake from sticking. 
• Bring cold ingredients to room temperature: This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly, resulting in a softer cake. 
• Don’t overmix the cake batter: Always use the lowest speed on your electric mixer or mix in the dry ingredients by hand. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until mostly smooth and combined. 
• Use cake strips to help the cakes bake evenly: This crunch cake recipe should bake evenly without doming tops, but I love using cake strips to help ensure even baking and flatter tops. 
• Cool the cake in the pan for no longer than 10 -15 minutes. If you try to remove the cake before 10 minutes, the cake may still be too hot to remove without falling apart. Removing the cake after 15 minutes may cause the cake to stick to the pan more easily. 
• Fully cool the cake before assembling and frosting. The strawberry crunch bar cake takes about 1 hour to cool to room temperature after the cake has been removed from the pan. It’s recommend to chill the cake layers in the fridge for 1-2 hours before frosting them as well. 
• Wait to top the cake with the homemade strawberry crunch. The freeze dried strawberries can taste stale or gummy if left out for too long. For the best tasting crunch topping, wait until you are ready to serve the cake before making and topping with the strawberry crunch.
• 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.

Nutrition:

Per 1 Serving: Calories 944, Fat 38 g, Saturated fat 21 g, Trans fat 0 g, Cholesterol 77 mg, Sodium 601 mg, Carbohydrates 145 g, Fiber 2 g, Sugar 64 g, Protein 6 g, Vitamin D 0 mcg, Calcium 153 mg, Iron2 mg, Potassium 110 mg