Strawberry Cake

O.K. – here it is folks – the QUEEN of my strawberry recipes.  But, first, before we “crown the queen” (i.e., bake and eat it) a little background on this recipe.

I once worked with a lady who was named very appropriately: Lillian Lovelady.  Why do I consider her to be named “appropriately,” you ask? Well, first of all I love name alliterations – they usually just roll off of the tongue, like “Lillian Lovelady” or “Mary Medora” (Medora II’s name!)  Second, I LOVE the name Lillian or any derivation thereof – like Lily, Lillie or Lil.  Finally, her last name – Lovelady – just so aptly described her personality as she was truly a “lovely lady” and a lady who knew how to love folks. And, one way she loved folks was to cook really good food for them.

Anytime there was a company party, she’d bring this cake.  We begged and pleaded for the recipe – and she’d always tell us that she had to find the time to write it down because she made it from memory.  It wasn’t until we decided to publish a company cookbook with contributions from the folks who worked for the company that we were able to get her to write the recipe down and share it. It was worth the wait.  I made it as soon as copies were available and – EUREKA! – it tasted just as good as if Miss Lillian had made it herself.

Lillian Lovelady’s Strawberry Cake 

Cake

1 small box strawberry Jello

1 pint of frozen strawberries, thawed (reserve 2 TBSPS. for icing)

1 cup butter – softened

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

4 eggs

½ cup milk

Preheat oven to 350°.  Spray 2 9” cake pans with baking spray with flour.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add Jello and strawberries and beat until well blended.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.  Add to butter mixture alternately with the milk.  Beat well for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl.

Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, remove and place on wire racks to cool completely before icing.

Icing 

1 cup butter, softened

1 box of confectioners sugar (4 cups)

2 TSPS. of the reserved frozen strawberries

½ tsp. red food coloring

1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients with an electric mixer until completely blended.  Frost cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve then refrigerate any leftover cake.