Summer Strawberry Coconut Cake

In order to use up the remaining strawberries (from the icebox cake on my last Pinterest post) I searched for a cake that had them specifically.  I love fruity things and I am cuckoo for coconut!  Fruity candle scents.  Fruity salads.  Fruity and coconutty cake? Yes, Please!

Here is the original post if you'd like to check it out:


Summer Strawberry Coconut Cake

Here is the link to the actual recipe (it is not on the original post):

Summer Strawberry Coconut Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 (18.5 ounce) box white cake mix
4 T. strawberry gelatin powder
2 T. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
2 T. granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. pureed strawberries
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. coconut extract
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, finely diced
1 c. coconut, finely shredded in food processor
several strawberries to fill cake and garnish


Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
2 16-oz. boxes powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl and stir together. Beat in oil, eggs, water, strawberry puree, vanilla, and coconut extract. Mix well. Stir in diced strawberries and coconut. Pour into two 8- or 9-inch round pans, greased and floured. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean and the cakes are pulling away from the sides of the pans.

Put pans on wire racks and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and leave on racks to cool completely. While cooling, make icing.


Icing: Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until desired consistency. Add a tablespoon or so of milk if icing is too thick.

Spread some icing on first layer, then top with sliced strawberries. Place second layer on top and ice the rest of the cake. Cover entire cake in shredded coconut and garnish with fresh strawberries.

Cost for ingredients we did not have on hand:
Box of white cake mix: $1.98
Strawberry J-ello: $.68
Coconut Extract: $3.56
Shredded Coconut: $1.28
Total: $7.50

Total prep, mixing, and  baking, cooling and decorating time: 1 hour 45 minutes

As you will see in the pictures I cut the recipe in half.  I didn't see the need for Hubby and I to eat another entire double layer cake ourselves!  It worked out perfectly (though for some recipes this is not possible).  Our cake was sort of short, but super cute!

I diced the strawberries in the food processor, so they were a little more wet than they would have been if done by hand.  However, they worked out perfect.


Since I cut the recipe in half I had some leftover J-ello.  I added in the rest of the leftover strawberries, a little water and refrigerated.  We had some good fruity J-ello to enjoy as well!  (Now, if I could just figure out what to do with that extra cake mix...)

Here are photos documenting the process:
 

 

Taste and evaluation:

This is one of the most refreshing cakes I have ever tasted!  It is so light and full of flavor.  We kept the cake in the refrigerator so it was quite chilled when we ate it.  I think it added to the enjoyment to have our cake cold.  It is a perfect summer cake - very refreshing!  I was pleasantly surprised that the strawberries did not overpower the coconut.  I was worried since there were so many berries.  The coconut added a soft tone to the strawberries and really complimented them well.  

Overall:

This is going to be in my permanent collection of cakes to make!  This recipe was very simple to follow and the ingredients were easy to find.  I am very pleased at how beautiful the cake turned out!  The pink is so vibrant!  This would be a perfect 4th of July cake as well as a little girl's birthday party.  I would be willing to guess that you could change the strawberries for raspberries, but don't hold me to it (I'll try later and let you know).   I give this recipe and it's creator kudos for a job well done!