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STRAWBERRY LEMONADE CAKE
This easy strawberry lemonade cake starts with a lemon cake mix and a can of strawberry pie filling! Add in a few other simple ingredients for a quick & easy dessert that is crazy moist, light & refreshing, and topped with the most amazing fluffy whipped pudding frosting.
I love me a good dessert recipe that starts with a cake mix. They’re simple and no fuss to make, and they always turn out so good!
HOW TO MAKE EASY STRAWBERRY LEMONADE CAKE WITH A CAKE MIX
- Lemon Cake Mix
- Strawberry Pie Filling
- Large Eggs
- Milk
- Lemon & Vanilla Extract
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
- Powdered Sugar
- Cool Whip
First you want to dump the cake mix into a bowl. Stir with a wire whisk to break up any clumps. Add in the remaining cake ingredients (eggs, milk, vanilla extract, lemon extract) and stir until combined well. Bake it and then let cool completely before frosting.
The frosting is a fluffy mixture of heavy whipping cream, instant pudding mix, powdered sugar, and lemon extract. Beat that together until fluffy and thick. Stir in a tub of Cool Whip and mix it all together. Spread it over the cake!
MY TIPS FOR THIS RECIPE
– Use a can of raspberry pie filling for a raspberry lemonade cake. Leave everything else the same but use a can of raspberry pie filling.
– Please stir the cake mix with a whisk (in the bowl as called for in the recipe) to break up any large clumps of the dry cake mix. I did not do this the first time I made it and ended up with dry cake mix pockets in the cake after it had cooked. Still tastes amazing but does not look the most appetizing!
– The frosting may seem like it’s heavy and too much for the light and moist cake but trust me this “frosting” is so fluffy and light tasting. It’s my favorite part of the cake and I don’t even like frosting. I’m one of those people that scrapes the frosting off of anything (cake, cookie, brownie) before I eat it. Not with this cake!
TRY THESE OTHER EASY CAKE MIX DESSERT RECIPES
- funfetti cake batter cookie bars
- orange pineapple cake
- easy chocolate cherry cake
- chocolate chip cookies n’ cream cookies
- cake mix recipe “doctored up cake mix”
- cake mix monster cookies
- peach cobbler dump cake
- strawberries & cream poke cake
- berry crisp dump cake
- skinny chocolate cake
Strawberry Lemonade Cake
Ingredients
Strawberry Lemonade Cake
- 1 box (15.25 oz) lemon cake mix (DO NOT prepare according to package directions)
- 1 can (21 oz) strawberry pie filling
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk I use whole milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
Whipped Pudding Frosting
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 box (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding mix (DO NOT prepare according to package directions)
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip thawed
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°. Prepare a 9x13 baking dish and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, dump in the lemon cake mix and stir it with a whisk to break up any large clumps. *This is important or else there will be dry cake chunks in the baked cake once it's done. It mixes better with the pie filling if it's sifted (stirred with a whisk) to break up any large clumps.
- Add the strawberry pie filling, eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and lemon extract. Use a handheld mixer to beat it together until well combined. *You want to make sure the cake mix is thoroughly mixed in. It may take 1-2 minutes to combine it all together. Alternately, you can use the bowl of a stand mixer too.
- Dump into the prepared baking dish and smooth out. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry. Edges will be browned and center should look puffy. *The cake may sink in the middle just slightly as it's cooling which is normal. If you tested with a toothpick and it came out dry, then the cake will be fine even if it sinks slightly in the middle while cooling.
- Let cake cool completely before frosting. About 2 hours.
- MAKE THE FROSTING - In the bowl of a stand mixer, or use a mixing bowl + handheld mixer, add the heavy whipping cream, dry instant pudding mix, powdered sugar, and lemon extract. Beat on LOW speed for about 1-2 minutes until it's thick and fluffy looking. Stir in the Cool Whip until combined.
- Frost the cake once it's completely cooled. At this point it can be served right away or refrigerated for 3-5 hours before serving. I prefer to refrigerate the cake before serving. You can also serve each slice with some sliced strawberries!
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
I'd love to see it! You can share it with me on @togetherasfamilyblog and follow on Pinterest @together-as-family-blog-recipes or Facebook @togetherasfamilyblog for more!
Made this cake today for mother’s day and omgggg it was a huge hit‼️ everyone loved it. I will be absolutely make this again.
I want to make this as a layer cake. Have you tried doing that? Would it work?
That sounds delicious! I haven’t tried that, my one worry is that it is too ‘wet’ with the mixed in pie filling to hold up well as a layered cake. But I think it is worth a shot! Please let me know how it goes if you end up trying it!
I love this recipe, it’s easy and delicious. It’s been a hit with friends and family. I want to use blueberry pie filling and I’m wondering if everything will be the same?
What a fun idea! I think that would turn out great. Please let me know how you like it!
It was very good, but lacking a bit in flavor. Maybe a little more powdered sugar in the frosting would help.
Thank you for sharing!
I was excited to try this recipe, and it turned out great, however, even though my lemon extract was not out of date, and I only used the 1/2teaspoon in both the cake mixture and icing, I get a metallic sort of flavor. I wish I’d just used lemon juice. Oh, well, it’s not enough that we won’t eat the entire cake this week, lol. LOVE that it’s not too sweet, and serving with sliced strawberries makes it even better.