Yummy!

Check out our homemade cake! Thanks to Jordan for taking a picture of it! We made two of these for Shelby's class party. It's a Paula Deen recipe, so I'm sure that's why it tastes so good! If you have her latest book(Paula Deen Celebrates!), it's the recipe for white cake with strawberry icing on page 99. We made a few modifications for Valentines Day. We bought a 12-inch heart shaped pan, 16"cardboard circles, and 16"cake boxes at Create-A-Cake. The heart pan calls for 7 cups of batter, so I mixed up two Duncan Hines strawberry cake mixes and filled the pan with it. The pan instructions said to bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. It took exactly 35 for me. Oh, I also bought cake grease at Create-A-Cake. The lady said it is the best thing to use when greasing a cake pan. It worked perfectly for me. I made the icing recipe given below. It made enough icing for one large heart cake. The recipe for white cake with strawberry icing is as follows:

CAKE:

One 18.25-ounce package white cake mix

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

3 large eggs

ICING:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

4 cups confectioners' sugar, about 1 pound

6 ripe strawberries, tops removed and mashed

OPTIONAL:

6 whole strawberries for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 by 13-inch baking pan.

2. Blend the cake mix, 2/3 cup water, the butter, and the eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer until well blended, about 3 minutes.

3. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 28 to 30 minutes, until the center of the cake springs back when pressed. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 15 minutes.

4. Make the icing: Place the butter and 2 cups of the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at low speed until blended. Add the mashed strawberries and mix at medium speed until well combined. Add the remaining 2 cups sugar and beat until creamy and smooth. The icing should be thick enough to stand up on a spoon. If too thin, add more confectioners' sugar. If too thick, add a teaspoon or two of milk.

5. Frost the cooled cake in the pan. For decorative effect, make swirls in the frosting with a clean spatula. Garnish with the whole strawberries. Cut into 12 to 16 pieces, and store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.