Well done Brad.

~Ann

Looks lovely....but how does it taste? Can't be patient forever.

Good Job Brad. But I gained 5 pounds just looking at the pictures.

Brad - that cake looks like something my great nephews and one great niece would love.

It looks like you are off to a great start in your cooking adventures!

Teresa in Minnesota

P.S. My Mom is from Pennsylvania also!

Thank you, everyone!

Just had a slice of it tonight and it was delicious! Very moist and flavorful. I'm usually not a huge fan of cake, but this is really good! :) Very easy recipe too!

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Hmmm, powdered sugar first followed by topping, how could too much of a good thing be bad? (grin)

I really like the name of that cake too, it's also the name of one of my favorite apples. "Pink Lady". It just sounds fancy!

I know how you love strawberries, so I'm betting you had another piece?

Annie

I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to stop at one piece, Brad. Its beautiful and I bet it was super, super good.

Madonna

Looks as good as it sounds!

Save me a piece. . ..

Rusty

Thank you again, everyone!

Annie, lol I like your philosophy. I have not had another slice yet, but I'll be taking the neighbors over their pieces this afternoon sometime. I love the name of the cake too! I've seen Pink Lady apples for sale in the stores. Never ate one but they look gorgeous!

Madonna, it's become my favorite cake now! Usually a piece of cake for me is too sweet, but this hits the spot for me!

Rusty, I'll be sure to save you a piece ;). It smells good too! The whole house had the scent of strawberries when it was baking.

Here is the recipe again! I should know the protocol by now: once you mention a recipe or post pictures of something delicious, you better post the recipe! LOL

Pink Lady Cake

1 18 ounce box strawberry cake mix (I used Pillsbury Moist Supreme)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 20 ounce can strawberry pie filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cake mix, eggs, and lemon extract in a bowl. Fold in pie filling. Pour in sprayed, floured 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cake is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Frost with vanilla icing or whipped topping, thawed. Serves 12-16.

Teresa, now you can make it for your great nephews and great niece! That's cool about your mom living in PA too! :)

Enjoy everyone! I think this cake would be the perfect dessert to any meal! I think sometime when I make this again, I'll put whole or sliced strawberries on top.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

I see you've left the cake (which does look yummy :-) ) in the pan. Normally I would expect to see an instruction to turn the cake out onto a rack to cool, otherwise you can get too much moisture collecting underneath and the cake can shrink a bit. Is it a very fragile cake?

Colleenoz, mom always leaves her cakes in the pan she bakes them in. I can't remember her taking one out of the pan. The cake is not very fragile. It holds it's shape very well when you slice and eat it. I never knew that leaving a cake in the pan could make it shrink. I'll keep that in mind when we make a cake again.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Like your Mom, Brad,
I always leave the cake in the pan.
(Layer and bundt cakes are an exception)
I've never had a problem with it.

In fact, I don't remember ever seeing instructions
To turn out one baked in that size pan.
What types of cakes are you speaking of, Colleenoz?
Now I'm curious!
Have I been doing it wrong for 60 years? ?

Rusty

moonwolf, your cake looks so delicious and I must say you have the most pleasant writing skills. Maybe you should write a cookbook!!!

Yum....strawberry. I bet it's nice and moist. I've made similar cakes with chocolate cake mix and cherry pie filling (or white w/ huckleberry, or spice w/apple). A sturdy cake and easy to make for the bazillions of bake sales I get tapped for (auctions get homemade...bake sales get what's easy). I use a bundt pan or two 8" disposable pans for the sales, but if it's in a 13 x 9, I do leave it in the pan.

Rusty, the only cake I remember taking out of the pan was the Sundrop cake we made last year (like you said, in a bundt pan). No problems with the baking pan cakes yet! :)

Caminnc, lol I copied the recipe right out of the cookbook I found it in. I do know how to write out recipes from memory though, like my gram's lemonade, chicken fried steak and the crock-pot pot roast. I do love to write though.

Katiec, that sounds like a good plan you have! Stick with what works best for you! :) Never made anything for a bake sale or auction, but that sounds like lots of fun! :)

Brad AKA Moonwolf

The only type of cake I have a recipe for which states to leave it in the pan to cool is a fruit cake. All my other recipes for whatever size state to turn it out after resting in the pan for about 10 minutes. I often (well, usually :-) ) make large cakes but they always get turned out onto a rack to cool. The lighter cakes like sponge cake shrink more if left in the pan than the denser ones but if I get sidetracked and don't turn the cake out soon enough I find it's all damp underneath.
Clearly its a cultural difference :-)

Colleen - The difference is probably those non-salmonella eggs you folks use!

???? about the provenance of the eggs
Anyway...I'd be afraid of really screwing up the cake trying to turn one that size out of the pan to cool on a rack and would never attempt to do it.
Brad AKA - copied and pasted your recipe. Like the powdered sugar and THEN whipped topping!!

seagrass

There's no difficulty turning out a large cake- you put the rack on top of the pan, hold securely and flip it over. Put the whole thing down on the counter then lift off the pan. If you want to turn the cake over, put another rack on the bottom of the now out-of-the-pan cake and flip again. Remove the first rack. Voila!
The egg reference was to a previous thread about salmonella in eggs- Australia doesn't have this issue.

I agree with Colleen, that it is easy to remove a cake from a pan regardless of size. My understanding is that cakes shrink when they are overbaked. Cakes will continue to bake from the heat of the pan and this is what will cause shrinking. Some of the heavier style cake pans retain more heat so there is more chance of the cake shrinking. But once a cake is completely cool, it won't continue to shrink if left in the cake pan.

I rarely bake a cake in a 9x13 but if I did I would likely leave it in the pan and frost it there. It would be for family and very casual eating. I prefer to bake a bundt or layer cake for the presentation factor. I tend to bake bundt cakes (quick breads, really) and either lightly glaze them or dust with powdered sugar if at all. No one at my house NEEDS frosting! ;) Whipped topping is a lighter alternative I don't usually think of. Alice is the whipped topping lover.

I think the addition of sliced strawberries sounds perfect.

Eileen

Seagrass, I hope you and your friends and family enjoy the cake! I just took some to the neighbors yesterday and next time I see them, I'll get feedback on how it tasted. The powdered sugar was my idea :). Just a light coating, since the cake is sweet enough lol.

Ann, thank you for that explanation! :) Mom always lets the cake cool completely before she or I frost it.

Eileen, whipped topping has now become my favorite form of icing. Traditional frostings are usually too sweet for me but I think I finally found the perfect cake for me. :).

I wanted to include that when I took the neighbors their slices of cake, I wrote out a recipe card for them for it. Just thought it would be something a little extra for them to enjoy.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

I leave cakes in the pan sometimes, and turn them out sometimes, mostly depending on how fussy I am about how they look.

If I'm taking a cake somewhere I nearly always turn it out and then frost it on a cake board, because I don't have to worry about retrieving the pan to take it back home and I can just leave the leftovers there.

I do agree, though, leaving a cake in the pan can make it a little "soggy" on the bottom. Funnily enough, that's the part that Ashley likes best, she'll scrape the sticky part off the bottom of the pan and eat that first. My "soggy" is her "moist and delicious", LOL.

A cake like Brad's I'd probably leave right in the pan, then cut into squares and use it for strawberry shortcake, topped with fresh berries and whipped cream. The juice from the berries will make the cake moist anyway.

No, no, I have a better idea! Slice the cake into squares, split the square, add a layer of strawberry cheesecake ice cream, then top with berries. Yeah...

Annie

When I was making wedding and special occasion cakes for people, I would always take the cakes out of the pans and its not that difficult. But, if its for just us, I leave them in the pans unless they are layer or bundt pans.

Madonna

Oh Brad, I just want to say I would so love to be your neighbor!!!