A few months ago I was celebrating blueberry month and featured a week of tempting blueberry recipes. Once of the recipes I featured was my blueberry lemon funny cake. A spin on a dessert I enjoyed regularly when I was a child.
My family called it funny cake, but it’s also know by several other names. Gooey butter cake. Neiman Marcus cake and I’m sure there are several other names that I’m just not aware of. The basic recipe is a classic yellow cake, butter, eggs, powdered sugar and cream cheese and let me tell ya, it’s out of this world. We made it for dessert at least once a week and it didn’t last but 2 days, if it lasted that long.
Funny cake is still a family favorite, and after the response to the blueberry lemon funny cake I truly thing it ranks right up there with the original. My dad thought it was delicious and started questioning why we hadn’t added fruit to the mix a long time ago. Well, better late than never.
Since the blueberry lemon combo was a hit, I started thinking about what other flavors I could add. I love strawberry cake, so I immediately wanted to do something including a strawberry cake mix. Then #pinkweek came into play and I decided to jump on the opportunity to create another funny cake with fruit.
This time I actually used strawberry cake mix in place of the basic yellow cake mix. So this bar has a strawberry crust that resembles a firm but chewy cookie. I then added a raspberry filling, which is sandwiched between the cookie and cream cheese flavors. I tossed the raspberries in sugar and lemon zest. I love the lemon and raspberry flavor combination; sweet and tart. The sugar helps add another level of sweetness but helps to cut the tartness. Then the cream cheese layer has a splash of fresh squeezed lemon juice as well as some lemon zest.
I was exceptionally pleased with how this cake turned out. The strawberry base is amazing, packed full of strawberry flavor but not overpowering at all. The raspberry filling is so good and adds a burst of sweet and tartness but doesn’t take over the overall flavor of the cake. The top layer is slightly tangy from the cream cheese, followed by a tartness from the lemon.
When you bite into this cake it’s amazing. A slight crunch on the very top, followed by a smooth and creamy filling, and then the chewy cookie crust base. It’s a bright and flavorful cake that has bold flavor, but doesn’t weigh you down. It’s refreshing while satisfying that sweet tooth. Like the blueberry lemon funny cake, you could probably pass this off as a breakfast cake…or hold off a little and enjoy it for brunch or with a mid-morning or afternoon cup of coffee.
Think pink and eat pink this week in honor of breast cancer awareness month and to get in the spirit for Race for the Cure.
#letsfindacure
Strawberry Raspberry Funny Cake
Ingredients:
For the crust-
1 Box strawberry cake mix
1 Egg
1 Stick (1/2 Cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
For the rasbperries-
1 Quart fresh raspberries
Zest of one lemon
1 Tsp sugar
For the topping-
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
2 Eggs
Zest of one and half lemons
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Cups powdered sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a small bowl combine cleaned raspberries, sugar and lemon zest and toss to combine. Set aside.
For the base-
In a large bowl combine strawberry cake mix, egg and butter and mix to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Press into an even layer along the bottom of the pan and slightly up the sides.
For the topping-
In a large bowl combine cream cheese and eggs and beat until just incorporated. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix to combine. Add powdered sugar, gradually until combined. Once incorporated increase mixing speed and beat until creamy.
Pour the sugared raspberries over the strawberry base. Next, pour the topping over the raspberries and strawberry base. Carefully spread the mixture, being sure the entire base is covered.
Place in a preheated oven and bake for 45-55 minutes, until topping is set and toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Remove, allow to cool before slicing. Enjoy!
Recipe source: A Lynsey Original
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