That Raspberry Cake

I really had to hunt for this one. While most people know that I'm not a cake mix person- I was completely willing to go with a cake mix cake- if I could find the flavor that my son wanted. It was his birthday after all, and that meant that he got whatever kind of cake he wanted. And raspberry cake it was. Unfortunately for me, there was no raspberry cake mixes, and the only actual raspberry flavored cake recipe I could find was a vanilla pound cake with raspberries floating in it.

So I turned to a recipe source that can be scary... a church cookbook. I have several of them that have been given to me over the years, and what I can say is that there are interesting finds in each and every one. There is some scary stuff at times, but most often, what is in this type of cookbook is comfort food. What I thought I would end up making for Zander would be a poke cake of sorts. A white cake with raspberry jello poured over the top after baking. But while looking through one of the books, I found a doctored cake mix recipe that actually called for a white cake mix and a box of jello. This one happened to be strawberry flavored, but I decided right away that it could be adapted to be raspberry. So I forged ahead. I mixed the jello, cake mix, oil, and water together, and the batter actually got a little gummy- obviously from the gelatin. Next, I mixed together the eggs and some crushed raspberries before adding them to the batter. After all was mixed together, I tasted, and was disappointed, because I expected a lot of raspberry flavor from the Jello. So I ended up adding 1/4 teaspoon of raspberry extract as well.

The end result was a good cake, and I am positive it could be adapted for other Jello flavors, I'm just not sure what adding the crushed fruit is doing. It's only half a cup of fruit for a 9x13 cake (or 2 9-inch layers). In this case, it added seeds- which my father was very quick to point out. So I might try leaving the fruit out sometime- it was already a very moist cake, and I doubt half a cup would affect it much. I think if I do this again I want to try peach- I think that would be a very pretty cake with some white frosting, and perfect for a spring festivity. So here is the recipe for Raspberry Cake- and let me know if you try it!

Raspberry Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 3 oz. box raspberry flavored Jello
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup raspberries, crushed
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon raspberry extract

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 baking pan or 2 9-inch circle pans with cooking spray, set aside. Combine cake mix, Jello, water, and oil in a mixing bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium speed until well combined. In a small bowl, mix together eggs, crushed berries, and extract. Add to mixture and beat well until all combined. Pour into cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 20-25 minutes for layer cakes, or 25-30 minutes for 9x13 cake. Allow to cool completely before icing with butter cream.