Nena's Strawberry Fridge Cake

Last month my brother in law, The History Teacher, had a birthday. I automatically assumed (and you know what happens when you assume...) that I would make the cake. Well, he loves Transformers (yes he's above the age of 12) so I ran out and bought this cake pan so I could make him a special cake for his birthday. Well...(here comes that assumption problem) when I was asking him his favorite cake flavor he told me his ultimate favorite cake is the one his mom would make for him every year. So to my surprise (and hers) my mother in law was charged with making his cake. When I inquired about this cake I was told my mom in law got the recipe from a friend a million years ago. When I found out the cake was strawberry flavored I was intrigued since strawberry is my most favoritest flavor of any flavor ever in the world. When I tasted the cake I was amazed! I had several pieces of this myself. I decided for a nice treat, I would make this cake for myself for Mother's Day. And now I will share the recipe with you. However, and this is a big however...I screwed it up! I didn't listen to the directions and I ruined the fabulousness of this amazing cake. So I'm going to most likely remind you of your childhood and tell you to do as I say, not as I do. Here...I'll explain:

Things start off innocently enough. You gather your ingredients. It is actually an EXTREMELY simple recipe.I know, I know...cake mix. But this cake is super easy and WAY worth it (if you do it right).

Make the cake mix per the box instructions.

Pour it into a 13x9 inch cake pan.

See? So far so good right??

Bake the cake, again per the box directions, until the tester (aka the toothpick) comes out clean.

Place on a cooling rack to cool. Awesome. Up to this point we are doing great and getting super excited. Then things go down hill from here.

This is where you need to start listening and not watching! These are pictures of what NOT to do to make this cake. Do not, for the love of God, DO NOT take the cake out of the pan to cool on the rack. LEAVE THE CAKE IN THE PAN (I'll explain this in a bit).

Do NOT then move the cooled cake to your brand new tray just so you can take pictures and show it off. It is a pretty tray though is it not?? At this point, the cake should still be in the pan.

At this point we want to poke holes in the cake (that should still be in the pan). But do NOT use a fork like I did. This just makes a crumbled mess on top of the cake...

Instead, use the handle of a wooden spoon, like this one, to poke big holes in the top of the cake that is still in the pan.

You want the big holes so when you pour the milk over the top of it, all the milk will flow into the holes. And if the cake was still in the pan the milk would reach all the edges instead of rolling over the side.

Do you see the milk on the tray in the bottom right corner?? Yeah. That was because the cake is on a tray and I had only little bitty fork holes poked in. Anyway. After you pour the milk over the cake, pour the strawberries and strawberry sauce over the cake.

Yum! Even though it's done wrong, it still looks good!

At this point you want to cover the cake and put it in the fridge for a few hours (overnight is even better) so all the milk and strawberry juices are soaked into the cake.

Then dump the whipped topping on the cake and spread it over the top. See the poor little milk mess??

We can also see here that the whipped topping only covers the top of the cake, so if it was still in the pan, it wouldn't be so noticeable.

The cake should be super moist, almost like a Tres Leches...but not quite. The sides didn't get the milk and juice...

But it was still really good. I guess I just have to make it again to get it right. Darn! I do highly recommend this cake. It is delicious if done right. Just make sure to leave the cake in the pan throughout the entire process and it will thrill you! Good luck!

Nena’s Strawberry Fridge Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box strawberry cake mix
• 1 package frozen strawberry with sauce, thawed
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 package frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1. Make strawberry cake mix as per instructions on the box, bake in 13x9 inch cake pan.
2. Cool cake completely; do not remove from pan.
3. Poke holes in top of cake with handle of wooden spoon.
4. Slowly pour sweetened condensed milk over the top of the cake.
5. Pour strawberries with sauce over the top of the cake.
6. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours (overnight is best) until milk and strawberry juice is absorbed by cake.
7. Cover with whipped topping.
8. Serve and enjoy.