Cheap Eats :: Strawberry Cake Filling

Last Friday, my little girl had her first birthday! We didn't throw any big party because she's one...it's a big deal for us more than her. That's just us, though. Plus, we're in a new city and don't have a bunch of people to invite anyway, or the funds to throw such a shindig.

One thing I have always done for my son is make him a special rainbow cake every year for his birthday and I'd like to find a similar tradition to have with Lucy. Her Dad wanted to be the one to make her cake, but this year, he had to work on her birthday and decided to leave it up to me (which I was FINE with).

I love making things from scratch, but when it comes to cake, I don't mind using a box. I may get squirrelly for Jack's next birthday and try one from scratch, but this year I didn't have the energy or the time to collect special flour and ingredients I didn't already have on hand...picking up a box and frosting seemed easier.(Ok, I was lazy)

I wanted something festive, not just your basic chocolate or vanilla cake. I decided on Strawberry Cake Mix from Pillsbury because it was pink. I chose to get vanilla frosting and make it pink too with food coloring. But, I thought it would be fun to add a layer of real strawberry filling to the center.

I am terrible at frosting cakes. I have the cool offset frosting spatula, but that only improves things marginally. I have also NEVER used filling in a layer cake before...let alone trying to make it. I was up for this minor challenge and set to work.

I found this recipe for a simple filling recipe. Here's how it went...

Strawberry Cake Filling

 

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped hulled strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch 

[1/4 cup water]

 

Directions

[1. Dissolve cornstarch in water]

2. Bring all ingredients to a boil in a heavy small sauce pan, stirring constantly and crushing berries slightly with potato masher back of spoon.
2. Boil 2 minutes to thicken, stirring constantly (mixture will be slightly chunky).
3. Pour into bowl and cool completely.

 

For my 8" layer cake, this was a bit more filling than I needed. I would reduce it to 1 1/2 or 2 cups of strawberries next time. But this would be the perfect amount for a larger cake. It would also work nicely on top of ice cream or in a hand pie. So if you make the whole recipe for a smaller cake, use the leftovers for something fabulous!

 

 

All in all, it was delicious in the cake and Lucy loved her first slice ever! She gobbled the whole thing up! Everyone loved it, in fact! If Daddy doesn't take over her cake tradition, this might be it! (if Lucy keeps loving it, that is!)