Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Cake

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Cheesecake is awesome,

and strawberries are too!!

OK, so I'm not a great poet. I'll just stick to baking...

When I came up with this recipe, the combination of flavors just seemed so obvious.

Creamy Cheesecake. Sweet Strawberries. Moist Cake.

It's a match made in heaven!

The cheesecake is swirled with strawberry puree and sandwiched between layers of my favorite strawberry cake. It's all covered with strawberry cream cheese frosting...
very possibly the best frosting EVER!

Doesn't it make a pretty Valentine cake?

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Cake

by Bird On A Cake

Ingredients

Strawberry Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 (3 oz.) box of strawberry instant gelatin
1/2 cup pureed strawberries (frozen or fresh)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs

Strawberry Swirled Cheesecake

3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese (room temperature)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup pureed strawberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1/2 cup pureed strawberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar

Instructions

Strawberry Cake

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottoms of two 9 inch round cake pans with wax paper, and spray the sides with cooking oil.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add water and oil; mix on medium speed until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Add strawberries and beat until blended. Pour into pans and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Strawberry Swirled Cheesecake

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan with wax paper; spray the sides with cooking oil.

Use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese and sugar together. Mixing by hand, add the eggs one at time. Blend in vanilla. Pour half of the cheesecake batter into the prepared pan. Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar with the pureed strawberries. Drop puree by spoonfuls on top of the batter. Drag a knife back and forth through the batter to swirl in the puree. Pour the rest of the batter in the pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees and continue baking for 45-50 more minutes. Remove from oven and run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan to release the cheesecake. Cool completely in the pan, then chill in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until creamy. Beat in strawberries and vanilla. Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth.

Assembling Your Cake

Remove the sides only of the springform pan, level the top of your cheesecake and trim off any brown edges. Level and trim your cake layers. Place one cake layer on a cake stand. Cover with a layer of frosting. Invert the cheesecake on top of the cake layer, remove the bottom of the pan and the wax paper. Cover cheesecake with a layer of frosting. Top with the second layer of cake and spread frosting over the entire cake.