This might be the best dessert idea ever! This nostalgic strawberry cake is so easy and is a total crowd pleaser! It only uses a few simple ingredients but is so flavorful and reminds me of summer! My mom used to make this for us on summer break and it makes my heart smile just thinking about it. I love that I now get to make it for my own kids! 
It’s really more like a dump cake. But it/s no bake which is why it’s perfect for warmer weather. This poor, sad, ugly little cake. This is not the dessert you will make if you are trying to impress guests who are superficial and in to outward appearances. This is the strawberry cake recipe you make for your friends when you want to give them a mouth hug.
This is my go-to dish for a family or neighborhood potluck and it’s always gone immediately. It’s so unfortunate that it’s just not that pretty. But it sure is pretty on the inside. Ingredients are strawberry jello, frozen strawberries, frozen whipped topping, and pre-made angel food cake. Pretty straight forward stuff. 
First you mix the Jello powder with boiling water. And immediately add your frozen strawberries. The hot liquid will help to thaw the berries. Stir, stir, stir. I always seem to screw this step up by waiting too long to add the berries. It makes it really hard to thaw the berries if the water has cooled down too much. 
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Break up the ring of cake and add half to the bottom of a dish. If a few pieces fall up in to your mouth, that’s ok. You CAN make angel food cake. But why? Store-bought A cake is super yummy and keeps this dessert quick to prepare. Take the time you would have used to make the cake and go read a magazine. 
Once your berries and Jello are mixed well, you’ll add in the whipped topping. Mix until well combined. 
To put this strawberry jello cake together(I realize this isn’t really a cake, but it has cake in it so…), you’ll layer the ingredients. Half the cake cubes on the bottom, followed by half of the pink goodness. Followed by the other half of the cake pieces and the rest of the strawberry mixture. You’ll want to take the back of a wooden spoon and push down any cake pieces that are sticking out the top so they are submerged and can soak up all the flavor.
Cover it with foil and put in the fridge until ready to serve. So simple. So tasty.
A reader suggested I try using a trifle bowl so I did. It’s a lot cuter in terms of dish choice but the dessert itself…not so much. 
I must have taken 300 pictures of it trying to get it to look appetizing. Nope. You’re going to have to trust me on this one. And I know my sweets. Try to serve it on a cute plate at least, and definitely use a trifle bowl in stead of the 9 x 13 pan. Everything looks better in a trifle bowl! 
This strawberry cake was always our favorite. It reminds me of big get togethers and hanging out with my sister. I hope you’ll make this for the ones you love too. It’s a great recipe to get the kids to help out with. Aside from the boiling water (parents, YOU do that part please!), it’s a lot of stirring and tearing. Kids excel at tearing.
Ingredients Instructions
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Oh my! My mama used to make this and we always called it “Strawberry Whipped Cream Angel Food Delight” LOL – this recipe is MUCH easier than the one she had! Thank you! I’ve been craving this!!!!!!!!!!
It’s so good! I think I’ll make it this weekend!
could this be made with canned apple pie filling or other flavor? 1 or 2 cans if this would work?
I am not sure if the apple pie filling would work at all. I only know that the Cool Whip sets up a little bit because of the Jello. So apple pie filling might be a little too runny?? Let me know how it turns out if you decide to try it this way!
What size (how many ounces) box of jello?
Hi Angel,
I don’t have a box at home at the moment but I believe it is the 6 oz. box. It’s the larger size box. Enjoy!
Hi umm where do u get the frozen strawberries with the juice ? I’ve never seen any
They are in the freezer section where the rest of the frozen fruit is. This is usually in a plastic package, not a bag. Not every store has them unfortunately!
I used to make Strawberry Pie using just the first two ingredients poured into a prepared pie shell and put in refrigerator to set. Of course, add a dollop of Cool Whip when serving!
GREAT idea!! Even easier! Thank you for sharing! I’ll have to give this a try!
I remember having this exact same cake as a child at a family potluck, so I was so happy to come across it on Pinterest. I went to the store and was unable to find frozen strawberries in the syrup. So, I bought frozen whole strawberries, sliced them while frozen, ( 2 cups worth) and added 2 T of granulated sugar. I mixed the sugared strawberries with the jello and added the cool whip. The cool whip was not quite thawed, but eventually it mixed up fine. I followed the layering instructions, made sure all the cake was soaked and put it in the fridge. It set up perfect and was a huge hit!!!! So glad to have found this recipe and it happens to be WW friendly. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad this cake made you happy! It’s such a great childhood memory for me too. Glad you were able to make it work with the frozen whole strawberries!
I have a very similar recipe & decided to take it up a notch by using an oreo cookie base, just crunched up the new oreo thins to cover the bottom of the pan. Poured the strawberry mix over it, put in fridge. Then mixed up 8oz crm cheese w/ 16oz cool whip, used a decorative star tip & piped little peaks all over the top of the strawberry mix. You could just use a knife & frost the top too.
Sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing!
I’m a sad panda. I think you are supposed to let the strawberries and jello cool before mixing with the whipped cream and I didn’t see that in the instructions :( Now I just have milky jello strawberry mix lol. We’re too poor to not eat it so we’ll stick it in the fridge anyways and see what happens.
Oh no! Not a sad panda! :) I don’t think you ruined it, right? The heat from the jello helps to thaw the frozen strawberries and those will cool it down enough to not curdle the cool whip. When you put it in the fridge to set it should have all come together. I’m hoping it did and was delicious!
can’t you thraw strawberries seperate and take out some juice then put strawberries on jello then mix toghter it may not get soggy the 3rd day
Hi Betty,
You might be able to. I’ve never tried it that way!
I see that the berries stay frozen. What about the Cool Whip? Frozen or thawed? Thanks!
Thaw the cool whip. The berries thaw out when you add them to the warm jello. Enjoy!
I make a 9″ x 13″ white cake. Mix the Cool Whip and frozen strawberries with electric mixer. Spread over cake and let set over night in refrigerator to firm up. A light and tasty dessert.
That sounds like a great idea! It would certainly layer nicer than the way I do it!!
This looks delicious! Would a pound cake be OK to use? Thanks
I think so?? It just might not soak up the juices as well. It wouldn’t hurt to try!
Anyone ever make this healthier by using lite cool whip, sugar free jello and angel food cake? Does it get too watery?
I don’t think anyone I know has tried to make it healthier. I like my desserts extra desserty. :) It gets a little watery after a few days but you can still work around it. It’s delicious!
I have made it with the sugar free Jello, light cool whip and sugar free angel food cake. Turned out fine. I have been making this for about 30 years, called Strawberry Bavarian Sponge Tort. Of course, I prefer it with all the real goodies, but for my diabetic friends, they love it. I also just mix the whole thing together and place it in either dessert dishes or my truffle bowl. I don’t know if it gets too watery, never lasts that long.
Thank you so much for sharing the name!!! It’s been a while since I made this cake. I may need to make it this weekend!
Made it this morning have done it for years I made jello last night put in big bowl this morning and mixed the cool whip thawed then put in the cut up angle cake its always easy and so good I use sugar free jello and sugar free cool whip..
Made this for our son’s graduation party and it was a total hit !!! Thanks so much!
So glad everyone loved it!! And congrats to your son!
Make in 9×13 pan then “ice” with more whipped cream…prettier presentation.
I’ve had this recipe for probably 30+ years. It is delicious!!!
It was definitely a hit!!!
Oh good! I’m so happy you liked it!
Can I make it today for tomorrow night?
I would say so. I don’t think you’ll have a problem!
I am also making this for Easter tomorrow. I just stirred it up, everything in a big bowl topped with more cool whip as some suggested. One question…my chunks of cake seemed to disintegrate…is that supposed to happen? Hopefully it will set up over night.
No, I’ve never seen the cake disintegrate. Hopefully it will set???? I bet you it will still be delicious!
It set up and it was delicious! Do leftovers keep, or does it get watery?
It gets a little watery a few days later. But the cake holds up and you can eat around it.I might not eat it a week later but a few days is fine! :)
Sharon,
What size frozen strawberries ounce wise. My store only had small square boxes of frozen berries. Should I use two?
Oh man! I’m going to guess 16 ounces??? But I am a terrible estimator! So sorry! I tried to see if I could tell from the pictures. Next time I go to the store I’ll go check and then update the recipe! Sorry it wasn’t clear! If you are making it right now, I feel like I remember my mom only using one box when she used to make it for me and that I only bought this size carton because it was all they had at the store. I think the recipe is pretty versatile and it will still taste yummy no matter how you make it! I hope you enjoy it!
My chunks also don’t seem as big. They’re in there but I feel like the mixture is a majority of the pan. Is this ok?
I think that is ok, Eryka. It might be closer to a Jello salad with smaller cake chunks. But I can’t imagine that would be bad! :)
this looks delish. how far ahead can you make this? would love to make tonight – for an Easter brunch.
Hi Sarah, I think for best results I would make it on Saturday for a Sunday brunch. It will probably be fine, but the strawberries give off more juices the longer it sits. The flavor still tastes ok but it seems like they produce a little liquid that isn’t set like the gelatin layer. Enjoy it!
Hi there they don’t sell those frozen strawberries where I live if I use fresh strawberries that I cut up and mix with some sugar and water. Do I have to freeze it. Looking forward to making this for Easter. Thanks
No! I think that would work fine! I wouldn’t add any extra water. Just add sugar to the berries and let them sweeten up and create their own juice. Then add them to your jello mixture once it’s cooled a little bit. If you do it this way, let me know how it turns out!
Thanks
This came out delicious! Hits that sweet spot just right! So I presented mine a little different due to what I had on hand. I had a Duncan Hines angel food cake mix in the pantry so I used that instead of already made store bought. Made the cake in a 13×9 because I didn’t have a tube pan or bundt pan. Then I had an idea to cut the cake into 2 layers instead of ripping it into chunks. I placed one layer down, spread half of jello mixture on top, placed the next layer down and spread remaining jello mixture on top. Fridged for about 8 hours. It cut just like a cake and it looked pretty! So pink and delicious! I could have gone the extra mile and spread more cool whip on top and placed fresh sliced strawberries on top but I didn’t want to make another trip to the store before the potluck. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Thanks for sharing, Lori!!! Using a 13 x 9 sounds like a great idea! I’ll have to give that a shot next time! Glad you enjoyed the cake!
I’ve seen this recipe presented in a bundt pan. Presentation is nice.
Here’s my take, put it in the trifle bowl, top with cool whip, then make a pretty design with fresh strawberries. That is if you want a pretty presentation. I used to make it for my kids in the Summer. We did not fancy it up, just ate it up.
Great ideas! I def don’t worry about making it pretty when it’s just for us. We eat it too fast! I like the idea of more Cool Whip on top!
Do you think you can make the whole recipe then freeze half for another time. It is just my husband and me. Looks great but so much, even though we could probably eat the whole thing.
Hi Georgia, I’m not sure how this will freeze! The wild card is the liquid from the strawberries, I’m not sure how that will change the whipped cream. It’s worth a try! It will probably still taste amazing just the consistency might be different!
To make it pretty, put sliced fresh strawberries on top.
Great idea Linda! I’m definitely going to try that!
My god I’ve made this twice and my son told me this was like the best thing he has ever eaten lol but my hubby hates strawberrys and loves cherries would cherries work with the same receive but changing the jello to cherry? Please leave me know this is now my favorite go to food <3
Hi Shannon! I think cherries might work. Scroll down a few comments and see what I told the gal who wanted to use raspberries. You just want to make sure there is enough juice with the cherries. The reason these frozen strawberries work so well is because they are packed in a sweetened liquid as opposed to just being whole fruit! But it couldn’t hurt to try!!
I prefer raspberries to strawberries. Do you think this would work just as well with frozen raspberries and raspberry jello?
Yum! I think that should work ok, the only issue could be the frozen raspberries. The frozen strawberries that I usually use come in some juice so the raspberries might not provide enough liquid. I would buy two packages of the raspberries and potentially make a quick raspberry sauce (with one of the bags) on the stove with a little sugar and water, then mash them down and strain out the seeds. Then use that and the other bag in place of the strawberries in the recipe.
Here’s an even easier way to make this delicious dessert, after mixing the jello, strawberries and Cool Whip combine it with the angel food cake then pour into the pan and chill. It’s much easier and mixes together better for a smoother look.
That’s a great idea, Debbie!! Def going to try that next time!
I’ve been looking for this recipe for years. I used to make it in the Tupperware Jello mold. I will make it in a tube pan. Thanks so much!
Aw! I’m so glad you found it! It’s so easy! Enjoy!
Sorry what is cool whip?
Hi Marie, Cool Whip is a whipped topping found in the freezer section of most grocery stores.
I’ve made this for decades. I would grease a fancy cake pan or mould, then unmould the ‘cake’ onto a fancy platter once it was set, and decorate with whipped cream. Just make sure the pan you use is greased well so it doesn’t stick. Setting the pan in some warm water for a minute or so, helps to loosen the cake to make flipping easier.
Great idea!! I need to try that out!
I made something similar, we would take the pieces of angel food cake and dip real quick into the strawberries and jello mixture line 9×13 pan with dipped cake then pour remaining liquid over cake pieces. Place in refrigerator to set up, before serving ice with small container of cool whip. Gives a “prettier” appearance
I love the idea of dipping the cake!! Thanks for sharing!
My great grandmother use to make this all the time but instead of mixing the cool whip, jello & strawberries all together, she just added all the ingredients in a large bowl (including the cake chunks) & mixed it all together. Then poured it all into a dish to refrigerate! It was delicious this way because some of the jello would seep into the cake before jelling. :) and she used fresh strawberries! Gonna have to get to making this again sometime soon!
That sounds even easier and I’m all about easy!! Thanks for sharing!
hello
i just love your recipe!! Can I try another cake? Because here in Brazil it’s hard to find angel cakes.
Thanks!
I don’t see why not! I’m just not sure if a different cake would absorb the strawberry mixture differently. But it would probably taste good still! I say go for it! :)
I think you can use a simple “pao de ló”. Im sure it will work
My grandmother made this dessert, and it’s a favorite in our family. I’ve pinned it so I can remember. :) She would just let it set in a bowl and serve it by the spoonful. Nobody cares about pretty when it’s this good. ;)
I like her style. :)
Bombness!
My mother used to make this for my birthday. She would first mix the strawberries, whip cream, and jello and put them in the refrigerator until it was thick but not solid. Then she would slice a thin top off of the top of the angel food cake and tear out a trench all the way around the cake. After that she would pour the very thick jello strawberry whip cream mixture inside, put the top back on and frost with the remaining whip cream. Then she would return the cake to the refrigerator. It was so pretty when cut because of the jello strawberry whip cream center.
Such a great idea!!!!!! What a delicious surprise to find!
I first had this cake back in the late ’70’s. As I recall, my MIL would make it in an Angel food cake or Bundt pan, then when ready to serve, unmold it onto a serving plate. It’s also possible to garnish it with fresh berries to dress it up a bit. However you make it, it really is a good dessert. Thanks for sharing it.
That sounds so fun! This doesn’t gel up enough to form in a bundt pan, but maybe if you up the amount of jello that would work. I may have to give that a try. I love fun, 70’s ideas! Thanks for sharing!
I got the large Cool Whip and fresh strawberries and I did a real thin layer of Cool Whip on top and sliced strawberries to make it a little more presentable for those that want to take this dish to potluck or whatever, doesn’t change the flavor up but dresses it up a little. Thanks for the recipe it is delicious!
That is a fantastic idea! Forehead slap! That would make it a little more pretty for sure! Thanks for sharing that idea!
This is exactly what I do…just made one with a cool whip heart for Valentine’s Day!
Sounds cute!!!
A friend of the family brought a similar dessert to a potluck, but instead of jello it was vanilla pudding and sour cream with the cool whip. And the strawberries are drained and on the top as the final layer arranged like jewel slices. So just cake, pudding, cake, pudding, and drop some fresh or frozen sliced strawberries on top. I love our “white” recipe, can’t wait to try your “pink” recipe! :) It looks amazing!
Oh yum!!! That sounds delightful! I’ll have to give that a try! Thanks for sharing the idea!
I made this exact cake years ago but you submerged the whole cake into a Tupperware gelatin mold filled with the strawberries and jello. It was more work and then I could no longer buy Mrs. Baird’s pound cakes. This looks so much easier.
I’m in to really easy. :) I even make it in a disposable pan for family gatherings because I hate trying to have to get my dish back. :)
My mom made this for me for my birthday for years and now I make it for summer get together’s. The difference in our recipe is we put in a large can of pineapple chunks drained and we mix the Angel food cake in with the jello mixture, then we pour it into a greased bunt pan and chill several hours or overnight. It looks like a cake when it comes out of the pan.
Mmmmmm, pineapple! That sounds like a delicious addition! This doesn’t mold very well, but maybe if you chilled it really well it would? I may have to give it a try. It’s always fun to tweak a recipe and try it a new way! Thanks for commenting!
I just pulled up my recipe, it has 1 sm strawberry, 1 sm lemon jello 2c boiling water, 1/4 c sugar, juice of 1 lemon, 2 oranges and juice from a 10oz pineapple can. mix those together. Cool until it starts to set. Fold in 8oz cool whip, add pineapple and strawberries. It calls for the small size frozen strawberries or fresh sliced. Your recipe sounds very yummy and easier then mine. I will have to try it.
I have put this in a glass bowl and a truffle dish before. It makes it look “prettier”. I love this dessert. Thanks for sharing.
Duh, putting it in a cute footed bowl would be perfect! That is totally how I’m doing it next time! Thanks for sharing that fantastic tip!
Do you mean a trifle dish? This is basically an English trifle without the formal construction.
I guess it is!! I don’t think I’ve ever made a legit trifle before!
tgis looks amazing and soooo easy!!! Thanks for sharing. I do t cook in my family or bake my husband does! But this looks like something I could handle!
This looks DELISH! And I love how simple it is to make. Win Win!