Strawberry Cake

You guys...this is one of my FAVORITE dessert recipes.  I love it oh so much that I've requested it for every single one of my birthdays for as long as I can remember.  It's called Strawberry Cake, and it's the the simplest and most fabulously delicious cake I can think of.  Infused with sweetened frozen strawberries and topped with a light and fluffy frosting I make out of vanilla pudding and cool whip, this cake DEFINITELY elevates a ho-hum boxed cake mix to new levels.  I'm sure you can muster up an excuse to make this 5 ingredient dessert!

I started by preparing and baking a strawberry-flavored cake according to the package instructions in a 9" x 13" baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray.   Once it finished baking, I set it aside to cool for a couple of hours.

Now for the delicious part!  Use the end of a spoon or spatula to poke little holes about an inch apart throughout the cake.  It really helps if the back is rounded rather than flat!  I set this aside and then pureed the contents of a (thawed) frozen sweetened strawberries package in my food processor so it was 95% smooth.  Next, I poured this delicious strawberry juice all over the top of the cake so it could seep into each and every hole.  YUM.  In case you haven't bought frozen sweetened strawberries before, they're not the frozen kind in a bag; they're actually in a little container because the strawberries are frozen in their juice.  In case you need a visual, this is what I mean when I say they're in a container.  So sweet and so good!

The last step is whisking the milk and vanilla pudding together in a medium bowl until the mixture is slightly thickened.  Gently fold in the cool whip topping until it's well combined, and voila - super light and fluffy frosting.  Scoop it over the center of the cake, and gradually smooth is out with a butter knife or spatula, being careful not to hit the strawberry juice (it'll start turning the frosting pink if they get mixed together!).  Top each slice with fresh strawberries, and enjoy!