Newton Citizen

This strawberry cake is topped off with a Cool Whip/strawberry mixture.

As far back as I can recall, Patricia Richardson, who is a mother-figure in my life, has made me a chocolate eclair cake my birthday every year.

But this year, she switched things up on me. This year, she surprised me with a strawberry cake, which is this week's featured recipe. What a delightful change it was, too.

This isn't your typical strawberry cake. It's comprised of white cake mix, a homemade one if you so choose, or a boxed cake. You mix up a bowl of Jell-O, poke holes in the baked cake and pour the Jell-O all over the cake. Top it off with strawberries and Cool Whip.

Yummy.

Patricia uses the Lite Cool Whip and a sugar-free Jell-O package. When she doesn't make a cake from scratch, she usually uses a cake mix made with Splenda.

If you aren't into sugar-free ingredients, feel free to use the loaded stuff.

Get ready to sink your teeth into a piece of strawberry cake that tastes like a little piece of heaven -- it's light and fluffy, and it looks pretty, too.

Strawberry cake

One box of white cake mix

One large box of strawberry Jell-O

One large container of Cool Whip

16 ounces of strawberries, washed, cut into small pieces

Bake the cake following the directions on the package.

Allow the cake to cool.

Poke holes throughout the cake.

Make the Jell-O following the directions on the package.

Pour the Jell-O over the cake.

Put the cake in the refrigerator to cool.

Mix the Cool Whip and strawberries together.

Spread Cool Whip mixture over the top of the cake.

Tip: Cut the suggested amount of water by 1 cup when making the Jell-O.