This cake is inspired by your favorite childhood ice cream bar! It's got a dense, tender vanilla cake with a strawberry core, covered in strawberry icing and crunchy cookie pieces.
2 cups (4 sticks) butter, room temperature
2 packages (16 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups sugar
8 large eggs, room temperature
4 ½ cups cake flour or White Lily All Purpose Flour
1 box (3 oz) strawberry gelatin
1 tablespoon strawberry extract (optional, if you can find it)
Preheat oven to 300°F. Prepare Old Country Kitchenware square tube pan by fitting a parchment paper square between the two pieces and brushing with pan coat or baking spray. Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until pale, light and fluffy (about 6 minutes at medium speed). Add ½ cup flour, cream cheese, salt, and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl. With the mixer running at low speed, add 1 egg and beat until fully incorporated. Repeat with each egg, beating well after each addition. Add the rest of the flour in 2 additions, beating on low until it just disappears. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and beat for another 15 seconds. Separate about 1/3 of the batter into a bowl and mix in strawberry gelatin and strawberry extract. Add about half the vanilla batter into prepared tube pan, then layer in strawberry batter. Top with remaining vanilla batter and gently shake to settle. Place on middle rack of oven with a baking sheet on the rack below it to catch any drips. Bake 2 ½ hours or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool until the pan is cool enough to handle. To unmold, place it over a metal can and push down to remove the outer piece. Once the tube is cool enough to touch for 4 seconds, lift or turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Strawberry Crunch
30 Golden OREO Cookies
1 box (3 oz) strawberry gelatin
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Add cookies to a zip top bag and crush with a rolling pin. Remove about 1/3 from the bag and set aside. Add gelatin and melted butter and massage to combine. Add strawberry cookies to parchment lined sheet and add the crushed golden cookies. Bake for 10 minutes at 350F.
Strawberry Icing
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup plus more milk
1 tablespoon strawberry extract
Fresh strawberries
Beat powdered sugar and 1/4 cup milk together in a bowl with an electric mixer. Continue adding milk in small amounts until it becomes thick and slowly drizzles off the beaters. Cover cake with icing, and if needed, wait 20-30 minutes for the icing to settle and harden a little, then cover with Strawberry Crunch. Decorate with fresh strawberries.
