Strawberry Coconut Cake

Both R and Barbara (my daughter in law) have June birthdays just several days apart. So what better way to celebrate a birthday than with a cake made with fresh strawberries. This recipe came to me by way of the blog, Daisy Cottage. If you love the cottage look...this blog is for you.
This cake recipe combines both store bought packaged items and fresh items. The cake is very very moist and holds together well when sliced...even the first slice (always the hardest) came out perfect.

Strawberry Coconut Cake

1 1/2 boxes of white cake mix
5 eggs
2 C water
3/4 C vegetable oil
1/2 box strawberry jello (3 oz size)
1/2 C chopped strawberries (I used 3/4 to 1 C)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Fold in strawberries. Fill three (3) round cake pans that have been sprayed with vegetable oil spray each with 1/3 of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes or until toothpick is dry when poked into cake. Let cool completely before frosting.

Strawberry Coconut Icing

16 oz sour cream
1 1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 box of jello (3 oz size)
7 oz bag shredded coconut
1/2C chopped strawberries
1 8 oz cool whip

Combine all ingredients except cool whip. Mix thoroughly. Use a 1/3 of mixture between layers 1 and 2. Another 1/3 of the mixture between layers 2 and 3. Fold cool whip into remaining mixture. Use this mixture to frost the entire cake. HINT After I folded in cool whip I placed the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set up. I also placed the cake back in the fridge also. After frosting the entire cake I decorated with sliced strawberries. Store cake in fridge until ready to serve (because of the sour cream and cool whip).