Today's Case

Home Economics Strawberry Cake Recipe Subject: recipe search From: Brenda Date: 12/9/2022, 7:21 PM To: "phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com" Greetings, I am looking for a strawberry cake recipe that my grandmother used to make for the holidays.  It was in an Alabama Home Economics cookbook. I had a copy of the cookbook for the longest, it came up missing a few Christmases ago. And I  continue to suffer with a broken heart as baking this cake every year for my husband's birthday,  It was always a special time I got to spend with my grandmother in the kitchen and now I am missing the recipe and her. It had a white cake mix as the base, with strawberry Jello for added strawberry flavor.   I have looked at several online and not found the exact one. Therefore I am turning to you for help, please. I found your information while online tonight searching once again for the recipe. I have been checking every thrift store I come across for a copy of the book for more than five years. I am reaching out to you for assistance.   Thank you in advance, Brenda Hi Brenda, The information that you are giving me is rather vague, Brenda, and I think you can probably give me more particular information about this recipe: What was the actual name of the recipe? Was it just "Strawberry Cake", or something else? Fresh strawberry cake What was the exact name of that cookbook? Was it this one - "Favorite Recipes of Alabama Vocational Home Economic Teachers / 3rd Edition (1960)"? If that wasn't it, was it the same cookbook but a different year? What color was the cover? it was this cookbook name but I do not know the year or cover because the cover was missing. I think the cover was green. Can you tell me more about the ingredients? Did the recipe call for actual Strawberries? fresh or frozen? It listed both options cream cheese? No nuts? pecans? No coconut? no If I sent you a dozen strawberry cake recipes, all made with white cake mix and strawberry Jello, how would you know which one might be the right one if it didn't say it was from an Alabama home economics cookbook? The ones I have found online when searching have always had an extra ingredient such as a cake flour, the order of the ingredients and directions were not the familiar. And the frosting has always been different. The frosting was very simple butter, confectioner sugar, milk, some strawberries, and came out more like a glaze. 3 cake pans, distributed evenly in each. Those that I tried to replicate were of different texture, not as moist just kept missing the mark. Please give me more information. If you've had the cookbook for years, you must remember more details about it? Recipe was on the bottom half of the right page. page ended in a number four if I can recall correctly, but don’t hold me to that ingredients included the strawberry Jell-O and a white cake mix base. Eggs milk cooking oil. unfortunately, the cookbook was stored in a drawer and was only used once a year for about six years for this recipe and no bake chocolate oatmeal, cookies. It has been more than five years since the book came missing. Phaed Hello Brenda, I have not been able to find a "Strawberry Cake" or a "Fresh Strawberry Cake" recipe that is made with white cake mix and strawberry Jello that says that it is from a home economics cookbook - from Alabama or not. That's not surprising. When someone copies a recipe and posts it online, they usually do not tell the source of the recipe. There are quite a few cookbooks that have been scanned or digitized and are on the Internet in their entirety. However, the eight editions of "Favorite Recipes of Alabama Vocational Home Economic Teachers" are not among them. There are a few used copies of various editions "Favorite Recipes of Alabama Vocational Home Economic Teachers" for sale online, but I'd have to know which edition you had to point you to one. There are a lot of Strawberry Cake recipes online, and many of them are very similar to your description, but do not match exactly. The one below is the closest that I could find. However, the frosting/filling does not call for milk. This is the best that I can do except for posting this request on my site. Perhaps my readers who have copies of "Favorite Recipes of Alabama Vocational Home Economic Teachers" will check them for your recipe and will send it to me. Phaed Strawberry Cake 1 box white cake mix 1 c. salad oil 1/2 c. strawberries 1 box strawberry Jello 4 eggs 1/2 c. water Pour cake mix in large bowl, add Jello and salad oil. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add water, then strawberries. Bake at 350 degrees in 3 (8 inch) layer pans. Filling And Frosting: 1 box powdered sugar 1/2 stick butter 1/2 c. strawberries Mix until smooth and creamy. Put between layers and on top and sides of cake.