Delicious Chocolate Strawberry Birthday Cake on a Budget - Recipe

If you are responsible for a birthday cake and you are on a budget this is a great way to do a special cake during the spring and summer when strawberries are priced well, a Chocolate cake with chocolate chips and strawberries. It's a birthday so you can always splurge for sprinkles if you like.

The cake out of the box and the frosting in the can isn't always the most tasty way to bake a cake, but they are still very good when done right and are a quick alternative to making everything from scratch.

This time we used the Pillsbury devil's food chocolate cake mix and the chocolate frosting with an extra packet of sprinkles for the finishing touch.

This particular recipe called for the cake mix, 1 1/4 cup water, 3 eggs, and 1/2 a cup of oil. I much prefer to use a extra virgin olive oil for making the cakes out of the mix it has a nice flavor and is better for you than other vegetable oils, etc.

Preheat the oven to 350 - Mix the ingredients well. Grab two small cake pans, they sell disposable ones that can actually be repeatedly used at the grocery store in the same section as large roasting pans you may get for a turkey. Spray a little pam or place a little oil in the pan and then lightly coat it with flour so the cakes pop out easily when they are done. This time we tossed in a few chocolate chips on top the cake before setting it to bake, you could also put them in when you mix the ingredients for a little extra chocolate crunch.

Pop in the oven for around 30 minutes, but stick a fork or toothpick in before taking out and make sure the cake does not stick while pulling it out, that is the sign that it is finished baking properly.

While the cake is baking, cut the strawberries so they will lay flat when you place them on the cake. Take the cakes out and let them cool before preparing the cake. Place a small layer of chocolate on the first layer and then lay on the strawberries, or whatever fruit layer you would like, bananas are another nice option as they slice flat. After you have a layer of fruit add the second cake and cover with the chocolate frosting.

At this point you can go two ways for the final touches of making of a very delicious cake.

1. Layer another bunch of strawberries on top and then get some whipping cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream to go along side and enjoy.

2. Another option is to get the sprinkles and get ready to go sing happy birthday :)