Strawberry Blossoms

Strawberry has always been the first taste of summer for me and these are strawberry from top to bottom. Soft strawberry cakes dipped in a sweet strawberry glaze. It just don’t get much sweeter than this.

For the cakes:

1- 18-1/2 oz- strawberry cake mix(*see note)

1- 3 oz instant strawberry shake pudding mix (I used Sonic pudding mix)

4 large eggs

3/4- cup vegetable oil 

1 TBSP finely crushed freeze dried strawberries 

1/2 tsp strawberry extract 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

For the glaze:

4- cups powdered sugar 

1/3- cup milk

2 TBSP finely crushed freeze dried strawberries 

1/2 tsp strawberry extract 

3- TBSP vegetable oil 

3-TBSP water

Preheat oven to 350. Spray mini-muffin pan with non-stick spray.  Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, freeze dried strawberries , and strawberry and vanilla extracts in a large bowl and mix well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Using a small scoop or tablespoon, fill each muffin tin about 1/2 full. Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden. Let cool a few minutes in the pan, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.  To make the glaze: in a large bowl, add powdered sugar, milk, freeze dried strawberries, oil, water and strawberry extract.  Whisk together until smooth.  If it seems thick, add a tsp of water or milk at a time, to thin it out.  Dip each cake into the glaze and roll it around to cover all the sides.  Hold the cake over the bowl and let some of glaze drip off, then place onto wire racks to set.  Store in airtight containers. Enjoy!

*The cake mix I used today was 15.25 oz.  The make the recipe accurate, I bought a 2nd mix, and weighed out the 3.25oz needed to make the 18-1/2 oz.