This easy strawberry Bundt cake with cake mix and pudding is light, moist, and bursting with flavor. Finished with a sweet vanilla glaze, it’s the perfect dessert for Easter, July 4th, or any other warm-weather gathering!
If you love cake mix recipes, don’t miss these 2-ingredient pumpkin muffins with cake mix, Grandma’s rum cake recipe, and this coconut cream poke cake, too!
A Strawberry Bundt Cake with Cake Mix is an Easy Dessert
This strawberry Bundt cake recipe is adapted from my mom’s lemon Bundt cake with cake mix — a treat that she made regularly throughout my childhood. It’s easy to whip up, it looks and tastes impressive, and it’s always a crowd-pleaser! Serve the bright, flavorful cake with a relaxing Sunday supper, offer it on the Easter dessert buffet, or take it to your next church potluck. It’s a simple and delicious cake that you can mix together in minutes for all of your spring and summer picnics!
The Bundt Pan Makes it Special
The unique ring-shaped Bundt pan allows more of the cake to be in contact with the edges of the pan, and therefore heat transfers more evenly. This allows the inside of the cake to cook through without burning the outside, creating a crisp, golden brown crust and a soft, moist interior.
Table of Contents
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- I use a box of Duncan Hines strawberry cake mix, but any similar brand will work.
- You’ll need the small (3.4 ounce) box of instant vanilla pudding mix. The dry mix goes directly into the cake batter. You do not need to prepare the pudding.
- The gelatin component in the pudding mix makes the cake super moist. It’s the secret ingredient to make your cake more fluffy, too! When baking a cake in a Bundt pan, a very moist batter is necessary so that the cake doesn’t dry out. Don’t omit the pudding, which is a key ingredient.
- Crushed freeze-dried strawberries work better than fresh or frozen strawberries. They add intense strawberry flavor without excess moisture, preventing a dense or soggy cake. The crushed strawberry powder also distributes evenly in the batter, ensuring consistent taste in every bite.
- You can find freeze dried strawberries in most grocery stores these days, including Walmart, Target, and Trader Joe’s.
- The cake gets better as it sits, so this is a nice dessert option to prepare the day before you plan to serve it.
How to Make this Strawberry Bundt Cake Recipe
This easy cake strikes a perfect balance with rich, moist flavor and a light, tender crumb. It’s not as dense as a classic pound cake, and it’s not as challenging or time consuming as a multi-layer strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting. You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Mix together the batter ingredients in a large bowl on medium-high speed with a hand held electric mixer or stand mixer for about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically.
- Transfer the batter to a Bundt pan. Grease the Bundt pan really well by coating with butter and then dusting with flour. Alternatively, you can use a nonstick baking spray. These options will ensure that your cake pops right out of the pan when it’s done!
- Bake in a 350°F oven for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Bundt cakes require a longer baking time than most other cakes since the Bundt cake batters are dense and the pans are so large. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then turn the cake out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely before glazing. Don’t leave the cake in the pan for too long after baking. After about 10-15 minutes, condensation will start to form and the moisture will negatively impact the crust.
- Whisk together the confectioners sugar, milk or cream, and vanilla extract to create a thick yet pourable glaze.
- Drizzle the glaze on the cool cake. Give the glaze a little while to set, then slice and serve!
Preparation and Storage Tips
Covered loosely or stored in an airtight container, this cake will keep at room temperature for at least 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
The strawberry Bundt cake freezes really well. Allow it to cool completely, wrap tightly, and freeze for up to 3 months. If possible, wait to glaze the cake until it’s thawed, just before serving.
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Strawberry Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box strawberry cake mix
- 1 (3.4 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 cup (about 0.5-0.6 ounces) freeze dried strawberries, crushed into fine crumbs (about 1/3 cup when crushed)
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
For the Glaze
- 1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a Bundt cake pan or spray with nonstick baking spray. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to beat together the cake mix, dry pudding mix, freeze dried strawberries, milk, oil, and eggs for about 2 minutes.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan; tap on the counter once or twice to release air bubbles.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, and the vanilla extract until a thick, pourable glaze comes together. If the glaze seems too thick, add more milk, one teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. If the glaze is too thin, gradually add more confectioners’ sugar.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake.
- Let the icing set, and then slice and serve.
Notes
- Crushed freeze-dried strawberries work better than fresh or frozen strawberries. They add intense strawberry flavor without excess moisture, preventing a dense or soggy cake. They also distribute evenly throughout the batter, ensuring consistent taste in every bite.
- You can find freeze dried strawberries in most grocery stores these days, including Walmart, Target, and Trader Joe’s.
Nutrition
Recipe Variations
- If you don’t have a Bundt pan, you can bake this cake in two loaf pans. The cooking time will be about the same or slightly shorter, typically 30-40 minutes in a 350°F oven.
- Dust with powdered sugar instead of drizzling with the vanilla icing.
- For even more strawberry flavor, serve the cake with strawberry ice cream. It’s also delicious with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and fresh strawberries on each slice.
- Use a strawberry glaze instead of the vanilla glaze.
- You can make a bundt cake from cake mix in so many other flavors. Try this easy cinnamon coffee cake with cake mix, an apple bundt cake, a maple walnut cake, this chocolate bundt cake, this chocolate chip bundt cake, and this orange juice cake, too.
More Strawberry Desserts to Try
Strawberry Cream Cheese Icebox Cake
4 hours hrs 25 minutes mins
Old-Fashioned Strawberry Pie Recipe
2 hours hrs 42 minutes mins
Hi Blair. Are the freeze dried strawberries in the freezer department? Dumb question probably.
Hi Nancy, Not Blair here but wanted to help you out! No, the freeze-dried are not usually in the freezer section. At Trader Joe’s, I always find them with the nuts and dried fruit.
Hi, Nancy! Rebekah’s correct! I would look near the raisins and other dried fruit. Hope you’ll try it!
Do you have deserts that is sugar free, I am a Diabetic .
Hi, Richard! I’m sorry, I don’t bake or cook much with sugar-free substitutes. You can likely make some swaps in some of the recipes, though. For instance, this strawberry jello salad can use sugar-free jello, and this banana pudding can use sugar-free pudding and sugar-free Cool Whip.
Looks delicious and I have bought all the ingredients. I would rather make cupcakes instead of the Bundt cake. How would I change the recipe? Would it just be the cooking time to about 20 minutes? It looks like it would be a fun dessert to serve but for ease of not having to cut it I would prefer cupcakes.
Hi, Ann! I haven’t tested this recipe in cupcake form, but I think it would probably work. I wouldn’t change the actual recipe, but just bake the batter in the cupcake tins at 350 degrees F for 18-22 minutes. Let me know if you give it a try. I’d love to know how they turn out!