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Refreshing Strawberry Crunch Cake

If you loved the Good Humor Col. Crunch Bars when you were a kid this cake is going to take you straight back to getting ice cream in summer 1986!

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This fabulous Strawberry Crunch Cake is going to be your new summer favorite cake! Cool and refreshing it’s perfect for birthdays or picnics or family reunions, everyone loves it so much.

Strawberry crunch cake on plates and in the pan.

If you LOVE the old Good Humor Col. Crunch Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars now a Strawberry Shortcake Bar then this is the cake you want to make! This cake features a white cake with a strawberry swirl, frosted with cool whip and topped with tasty strawberry crunch topping.

If you want to make homemade Strawberry Crunch Ice Cream Bars I’ve just posted the recipe. Just be aware it uses freeze-dried strawberries in the crunch instead of jello! Or you could make these Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes, so delish!!

Fresh strawberry crunch cake.

Crunchy Strawberry Cake

I saw the strawberry crunch topping recipe floating around on Facebook and I KNEW I needed to make a cake with it. I couldn’t decide on making a strawberry cake or a white cake so I made both! A white cake with a strawberry swirl was the clear winner in my opinion.

Strawberry swirl cake with crunchy topping.

If you like a yellow cake or a white cake instead of a swirl by all means feel free to JUST make one of those. The cool whip and crunch topping will be enough to make a tasty cake!

Strawberry crunch topping.

Hack Your Box Cake Mix

This cake starts with a Cake Mix. But whenever I make a box mix I LOVE to make it better. I’ve been doing these cake mix hacks for a long time, it just makes a box mix taste more like a bakery cake.

To Hack a Cake Mix

  • add one more egg
  • double the amount of oil BUT make it butter
  • and replace the water with milk

Mix it and bake it as normal and watch everyone try to figure out what makes YOUR cake taste so amazing!

Cake frosted with cool whip.

What do I need to make this Crunch Cake?

  • white cake mix, or yellow if you prefer
  • strawberry jam or my strawberry puree recipe
  • eggs
  • melted butter
  • milk
  • cool whip
  • strawberry jello
  • golden Oreos
  • 9×13 pan

Making A Strawberry Swirl Cake

In this case, the swirl is made WITH cake batter. I have another Strawberry Pound Cake with a strawberry swirl made from strawberry gel. But this cake is an actual cake batter so it’s like a marble cake except for vanilla and strawberry cake instead of the classic yellow and chocolate cake.

A bite of Strawberry Crunch Cake.

You can make ANY cake a swirl or marble cake by saving back a portion of the cake batter and adding food color OR cocoa powder or in this case strawberry jam to the reserved cake batter. Then you just dot the colored cake batter on top of the regular cake batter and use a butter knife to swirl them together.

Unbaked strawberry swirl cake.

When the cake is unbaked and unfrosted it won’t look AMAZING because you’ll see a lot of the color portion. But once you bake, frost it, and cut it the swirls will show up!

For this strawberry crunch cake, I used strawberry jam for the strawberry swirl. It was an easy way to make a strawberry-flavored marble cake. You can ALSO use my Strawberry Puree recipe, I just didn’t have any fresh or frozen strawberries on hand so jam it was!

Summer Desserts you need to make!

Strawberry Crunch Cake

5 from 62 votes
If you loved the Good Humor Col. Crunch Bars when you were a kid this cake is going to take you straight back to getting ice cream in summer 1986!
Course: Dessert Recipes
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Additional Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 417kcal
Author: Laura
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Strawberry Crunch Topping

  • 2 dozen gold Oreos
  • 1 3- ounce box of Strawberry Jello
  • 1/3 cup of butter

Strawberry Swirl Cake

  • 1 box white cake mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup melted butter
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup strawberry jam
  • 1 12- ounce tub of Cool Whip

Instructions

  • Make the Strawberry Crunch: preheat the oven to 325°
  • pulse the Oreos in the food processor until chopped but don't completely powder them, you want pieces left

    Golden Oreos in the food processor.
  • Perfect crumbs not too big not to small.
  • mix the strawberry jello into the chopped oreos
  • drizzle the butter over and toss to coat
  • pour on a baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven
  • once baked set aside to cool
  • increase the oven temp to 350°
  • butter a 9×13 baking pan
  • put the cake mix, eggs, butter, and milk in the bowl of stand mixer
  • stir to combine for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides, and then mix on medium-low (speed 2-3) for another 1 1/2 minutes
  • pour 2/3 of the cake mix in the baking pan
  • add the jam to the reserved cake mix and stir to combine
  • drop the strawberry cake mix in blobs on top of the white cake mix, use a knife to marbleize it
  • bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
  • cool completely
  • frost with cool whip
  • add the strawberry crunch right before serving

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 417kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 263mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 22g

laura sampson

About Laura

Laura is on a mission to teach modern family oriented women how to make old-fashioned foods new again. A wife and mom of 3 boys, Laura understands the struggles of trying to serve a home-cooked meal each night. She provides recipes and cooking hacks for busy moms to create dishes they may think take more time or skill than they have to make. Read more...

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