The One With the Strawberry Lemonade Cake

In a desperate attempt to hold on to the fading rays of summer, and at Mallory's request, I made Strawberry Lemonade Cake for Ellie and Mallory's birthday party last weekend.

I was so busy getting everything ready and then it was consumed so quickly that this is literally the only real picture I got:

Yep. Pretty lame. Or pretty awesome if you consider that this was the only piece left after the party. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

Anyway, the recipe was mostly inspired by Mallory's Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting. I just turned it into cake form and dubbed it "Strawberry Lemonade Cake" because 1) strawberry lemonade is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world and 2) it's a little easier to say.

You know I love dressed up cake mixes because they save me time, so I found this recipe for a lemon poppyseed cake and adapted it a little. And I modified Mallory's Strawberry Buttercream recipe per her suggestion. Here's how it goes:

Preheat oven to 350. Prep pans. (Here's how, if you need to know.)

For the Lemonade Cake:

• 1 18 oz Yellow Cake Mix
• 1 3.4 oz Instant Lemon Pudding Mix
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon poppyseed filing

Combine cake mix and dry pudding mix. Add water and vegetable oil and blend. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add poppyseed filling and stir to incorporate. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a fork or toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

While the cake is baking and cooling, prepare the

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar (1 pound)
• 1 cup pureed strawberries
• 1 tsp vanilla

Use a food processor to puree strawberries. Blend butter and powdered sugar. Do not be alarmed if your mixture is not creamy, it doesn't have nearly enough liquid yet. Add your pureed strawberries and blend well. Add vanilla and mix on low for one minute.

If you don't want to have such a strong strawberry flavor you can use less of the pureed strawberries. If you're unsure, mix in a little at a time until you have the flavor you want. If you use less you will probably need to add milk or water by the tablespoon to make your frosting thin enough to spread easily on your cake. If your frosting gets too runny, you can always add more powdered sugar to thicken it up (although you will need a lot more powdered sugar to thicken it then you will need milk or water to thin it out).

Once your cake has cooled completely, spread the frosting in the middle layer and on top. Keep refrigerated until serving time!