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strawberry crunch cake

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings 12 servings

Ingredients

  • For the Cake
  • 1 box vanilla cake mix plus ingredients called for on box
  • 1 box strawberry cake mix plus ingredients called for on box
  • For the frosting
  • 1 1/2 cups butter softened
  • 6 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 6 Tbsp. heavy cream
  • For the Strawberry Crunch
  • 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries
  • 1/2 box Nilla wafers crushed
  • 3 Tbsp. melted butter
  • fresh strawberries for garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Line four 8” round cake pans with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray.
  • Prepare each cake mix according to package instructions. Divide between prepared pans, making two vanilla cakes and two strawberry cakes. Bake according to package instructions. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.
  • Meanwhile, make the frosting: In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat butter and about half of the powdered sugar until smooth. Add the remaining powdered sugar, vanilla and 4 tablespoons heavy cream and beat until fluffy. If the mixture is too stiff, add more heavy cream.
  • Make the strawberry crunch: In a large Ziploc bag, crush freeze-dried strawberries and Nilla Wafers using a rolling pin. Add butter to bag and toss until the mixture is evenly combined.
  • Place a dab of frosting on a cake plate (to keep cake in place) and place parchment strips on each side of the cake plate. (These will keep the cake plate clean.) Place down first strawberry cake and top with frosting, then top with first vanilla cake and frost. Repeat with the remaining strawberry and vanilla cakes. Frost sides, then cover the cake completely with strawberry crunch, pressing the mixtures all over the sides and top. Remove parchment strips.
  • Garnish the top of the cake with fresh strawberries, if desired, and serve.