IMG_4722Last minute party!!  Need a quick, yet delicious cake??  Use what you have on hand.  Always have a box of yellow or white cake mix in your pantry, along with chocolate chips and nuts in your freezer.  Keep 8 ounces of cream cheese and butter in the refrigerator.  You can put together this cake in an hour, including baking time!!  Use an aluminum -throw away pan for baking and you can take it to any party and not worry about getting the pan back!  I always keep some on hand.

Ingredients:

  • 1 box Duncan Hines Yellow or White Cake Mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 C water
  • 1/3 C vegetable oil
  • 16 oz. Fresh Strawberries container
  • 1 C Semi-sweet chocolate chips (divided)
  • 1/3 C chopped pecans or walnuts (whatever you have, even sliced almonds)

Optional:  Throw away aluminum 11 by 14 cake pan and powder sugar for dusting

Spray 11″ by 14″ pan with Pam for baking, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Follow the directions on the box of cake mix.  It usually calls for 3 eggs, 1 C water, and 1/3 C vegetable oil.  Place the cake mix in a large bowl, add the eggs, water, and oil and beat ingredients together at med.-high speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until well blended.   Add 1/2 C chocolate chips into the batter, stir around gently with a spoon.   Pour the cake mix into the pan, spread around, and bake for approximately 30 minutes.  Stick a toothpick into the cake and make sure it comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 1 -8 oz. package cream cheese (room temperature)
  • 1 stick of butter (room temperature)
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 C powder sugar

Place the cream cheese and butter in a bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer about 3 minutes until well blended.  Add vanilla, blend.  Slowly add the powder sugar while beating slowly until fully incorporated.  Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

When the cake is baked, place it on a cooling rack and let it completely cool.

When it’s cooled, top the entire cake with the cream cheese frosting.  Spreading it evenly around the entire cake.

Decorate:  Rinse and pat dry the strawberries.  Pull out 6 nice strawberries from the pack, leave the stem on and make side by side cuts along the length of the strawberry, but not cutting through at the top.  Then spread the strawberry open and set aside.  Do this to all 6 strawberries.  Cut the tops off the rest of the strawberries and discard the stems.  Then cut each strawberry all the way through in thin strips.  Place 4 of the flared strawberries around the corners and two back to back in the middle.  Then place each piece of the cut strawberry around the outside of the cake.  See the picture and follow the design!  Sprinkle 1/2 C chocolate chips and 1/3 C chopped walnuts, pecans, or sliced almonds.  Optional:  dust with powder sugar.  Refrigerate.  Serves 10-12.20140209_200325