Strawberry Mousse Shortcake

This light and fluffy cake is super flavourful! Prepared with a boxed strawberry mousse mix and a cream cheese frosting, Strawberry Mousse Shortcake is topped with homemade strawberry shortcake crumbs which help to make it the most deliciously nostalgic flavour combination!

Strawberry Mousse Shortcake reminds me of the boxed cake mixes you buy at the store. Even though this cake is made using real ingredients, the texture reminds me of a baked Duncan Hines boxed cake. It’s super light and fluffy which I think can be attributed to the fact that this cake has four eggs in the batter! This cake is sure to impress everyone lucky enough to get a slice. The cream cheese frosting topped with those homemade strawberry shortcake crumbs easily puts this cake on my top 10 list.

This cake is simple, but I think simple things always look and taste much better than things that are loaded down with elements that are just decorative and don’t really add anything to the overall flavour. Yes, I know we eat with our eyes first and cakes that are layered and delicately frosted might pull our attention, but when it really comes down to it, they all taste the same – just sweet!

The one type of dessert that I can never have too much of is cake. In general, I don’t usually crave sweet snacks or treats at all and usually go for the salty type. (I should have bought stock in Miss Vickie’s years ago!) Putting aside salty treats and snacks for a moment and focusing on only the sugary sweet type, my go-to has got to be cake. And, because there can never really be too much cake, I’m sharing my Strawberry Mousse Shortcake with you today – just in time for Valentine’s Day, which is coming up very soon!

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE CRUMBS

Remember those pink and white ice cream bars with the strawberry-flavoured crumb coating? I do! In fact, they were my favourite ice cream bar when I was growing up. Now that I’m older, I don’t care much for ice cream, because it doesn’t seem to agree with me. I’m not lactose intolerant, but ice cream makes me feel bloated and blah, so I stay away from it as much as possible.

Now, in the instance that the ice cream in question is strawberry, I can’t pass it up. Because of the fact that I’m not a fan of ice cream, it is safe to assume that I am not an ice cream connoisseur. So, go easy on me when I tell you that my favourite ice cream is cheap ice cream, and the more artificial the strawberry flavour, the more I love it! I won’t name the brands that I like, but they package their ice cream in boxes. That’s all I’m going to say!

The number of Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars I ate when I was a kid is too high to count. I can’t tell you what the brand was, but the closest I can find are these by Good Humor. (I had to re-type ‘humor’ about five times before I could get my brain to let go of the O that should be in there – humour – it’s the Canadian in me!) Something tells me that in the 80s, the go-to brand was Nestle. Anyway, I digress!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

You might have guessed by now that you need a batch of Strawberry Shortcake Crumbs. Go ahead, and click on the link. It will open and new page so you won’t lose this one. The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

To Make the Crumbs:

• Vanilla Pudding – Just a plain box of powdered mix is all you need. There’s no need to mix it according to the instructions on the package.
• Strawberry Jello – Again, this is just the powder. You will use the powder as it is – no need to mix it and let it set.
• Flour – Regular all-purpose flour is good.
• Butter – I used salted butter to offset some of the sweetness. Unsalted butter is certainly okay too.
• Golden Oreos – These are vanilla-flavoured Oreos. You’ll use one full package of Golden Oreos.

For the Cake:

• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature!
• Sugar – Sugar will caramelize when baked, which will help to brown cookies and cakes. 
• Strawberry Mousse Boxed Mix – Do not prepare the mousse as per the instructions on the box. This cake requires the use of the dry powder mix only. See the strawberry mousse section below for more information if needed.
• Eggs – Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Milk – I always use whole milk in my recipes.
• Vegetable Oil
• Vanilla Extract – Probably the most common extract and the most common flavouring used in cakes and cookies. 
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Cornstarch
• Baking Powder – This is used to increase the volume of the batter and to add texture as well.
• Salt – This is a common ingredient in baking and cooking. 
• Pink Food Colouring – Optional

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• Cream Cheese – When baking with cream cheese it is always best to use brick style rather than whipped or cream cheese in a tub.  The brick style is firmer and more condensed.  Cream cheese adds texture and flavour to baked items.
• Butter – Make sure the butter is softened at room temperature.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – This superfine sugar is sometimes called powdered sugar. 
• Milk

HOW TO MAKE A STRAWBERRY MOUSSE SHORTCAKE

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with butter and dust with flour. Set aside. Using a stand mixer or a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the strawberry mousse powder and mix into the butter and sugar mixture. Add each egg one at a time, beating well after each addition. If you want a deeper pink cake, add the pink food colouring now. A little goes a long way! Beat until incorporated.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add this mixture to the butter and egg mixture in thirds, beating after each addition. Next, add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Beat until mixed through.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes. Test doneness by inserting a wooden toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. If not, bake for 5 more minutes and test again. Once done, remove from oven and set onto a wire cooling rack. Do not invert the cake. This cake will stay in the baking pan. Allow cake to fully cool.

To prepare the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and uniform. Add the confectioner’s sugar one cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Next, add the milk one tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. You may need more or less milk, so it’s important to add a little at a time. Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake. Top with a sprinkling of strawberry shortcake crumbs. Serve and enjoy!

STRAWBERRY MOUSSE

Everyone knows what a strawberry is, but what is a strawberry mousse? Well, a mousse is a dessert that is most often prepared with heavy/whipping cream, eggs, and sugar. The mixture is beaten vigorously so that air is added which gives the desert a light and foamy appearance and texture. Flavours are often added to such as strawberry or chocolate. Mousse is often topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

For the purpose of this Strawberry Mousse Shortcake, we are using store-bought dry mousse powder. I used the Dr. Oetker brand, which you can see by clicking here. There are other brands out there and they will all work the same way in this recipe. As you can see from the image, the box I used was 69 grams in weight. If you can’t find this one, you can use any brand or size but try to keep the weight as close as possible to 69 grams.

I cannot stress enough that we are only using the powder in this recipe. Do not prepare the mousse as per the instructions on the back of the box. The box contains a packet of powder. In this instance, we will mix that powder into our butter and sugar mixture.

HOW TO GREASE AND FLOUR A CAKE PAN

The experienced baker knows all too well that it is important to have a well-greased cake pan. Too many of us home cooks have had the unfortunate experience of a cake sticking to the pan. It happens to all of us at some point, but the more experienced we become, the lesser the chance of ruining a perfectly good cake.

Sometimes all you need to do is grease the pan. You can do this with butter, shortening, or with a non-stick cooking spray. Other times, you need to grease and flour the pan. In this instance, you grease the pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle in a coating of flour. I like to add a tablespoon of flour to the pan and maneuver the pan so that the flour moves around the inside of the pan, sticking to the grease to create a wall of protection between the pan and the batter.

Ensure the pan is fully coated, then turn the pan upside down and gently tap out any excess flour. This will prevent those ugly white spots once the cake is fully baked. Here’s a quick video that will show you just how to do it!

BAKING A PERFECT CAKE

Whenever I bake a cake, I have to fight the desire to open the oven door and take a peak. It’s because I’m a control freak and I tend to worry and obsess about just about everything. If you open that oven door, you will put all of your cake-making effort at risk.

When I was a kid, I remember my mother giving us all a very stern warning whenever she baked. “Don’t walk too hard on the floor!” she would shout. The vibrations in the floor from a heavy walker would flatten her cake or her bread. I’m not sure it ever happened, or if it would! We were too afraid to test it.

That same warning should be applied to the oven door. Opening the door can release heat, depending on how long you leave the door open. And, maybe my mother was on to something about vibrations. Maybe the oven door causes a little shift or jolt, resulting in a deflated cake. Don’t risk it folks!

BAKING THE CAKE IN DIFFERENT PANS

As you can see from the photos and the recipe card below, I used a 9×13 inch baking pan. You can use a bundt pan if you prefer. Just like all bundt pan baking, never fill your bundt pan more than 3/4 full. There are lots of different bundt pan designs and sizes. So, apply that general rule and you’ll never go wrong.

You can also use regular baking pans. If you use a 9-inch round, you’ll get two cakes. It will make for a beautiful layer cake; especially with that cream cheese frosting layered between the two!

A bundt pan will take the full time and maybe a bit more. The batter is piled higher in a bundt pan, so you might need more baking time. If you make something smaller, like a cupcake, you’ll need much less time.

Because I have not tested this recipe using other options, it’s best to stick to the baking pan. With that said, most cupcakes take about 20 minutes. There’s a lot of cake batter in this recipe, so you could always test just one to see how long it takes.