Happy Birthday Ben!!!

Ben is celebrating the last year of his 20’s! Friday he turned 29 and we started off the day with cake and presents. He always requests such unique cake ideas for his birthdays and this year was no different. He wanted a strawberry cake, but not the homemade strawberry cream cheese icing that came with it. His reason was the pink colored icing is too girly. Instead he decided on chocolate! I thought it’d be a little weird, but it ended up like a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake…delicious! We enjoyed the cake for breakfast after he opened his gifts from me. I got home a 3 month subscription to a Beer of the Month Club, a quick beer chiller and new running clothes.

Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake (Paula Deen)

• 1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix
• 1 (3-ounce) box strawberry-flavored instant gelatin
• 1 (15-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water
• Strawberry cream cheese frosting, recipe follows
• Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
• 1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
• 7 cups confectioners' sugar
• Freshly sliced strawberries, for garnish, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

For the frosting:

In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in 1/4 cup of the strawberry puree and the vanilla extract. (The rest of the puree is leftover but can be used in smoothies or on ice cream for a delicious treat.) Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until smooth.

Spread frosting in between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with sliced fresh strawberries, if desired.

For the rest of the night we went to the Hurricane’s game and enjoyed hotdogs, nachos and beer. It was an exciting game with a win! The ‘canes always lose every time we’ve been to see them until last year on Ben’s birthday, so it’s sort of a Birthday tradition that we only go on Ben’s birthday…and they’ve always won since!