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What To Do When Your Angel Food Cake Doesn’t Rise High Enough | Strawberry Snowball Cake

If your angel food cake didn’t rise very high, this Strawberry Snowball Cake is the perfect make-over solution. Must be made in advance, then chilled.

Strawberry Snowball Cake - sliced
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Making an angel food cake from scratch is an exercise in anxiety management for me.  Will it rise to the top of the pan?  Will the volume hold after I pull it out of the oven?

Luckily, I have the perfect solution if it doesn’t.

strawberry snowball cake with no coconut on the outside

This Strawberry Snowball Cake (not to be confused with the pink fluffy concoctions you see next to the Twinkies at the grocery store) is a light and summery dessert full of fresh fruit, angel food cake torn into bite-sized pieces, and whipped cream. I’ve been making it for years, for several good reasons.

6 things you should know before you make this recipe:

  1. This dessert can be, and actually must be made ahead, then chilled before serving.
  2. In addition to pineapple, you can try adding different fresh fruits.  My favorite is strawberries, but I can imagine that blueberries, peaches, or cherries would be tasty and colorful.
  3. Use a store-bought angel food cake, a mix, or make a cake from scratch.
  4. Although delicious with real whipped cream, whipped topping sold in the freezer section holds up better overnight.
  5. Coconut on the outside is not required, but then it won’t look like a snowball.
  6. This recipe is easy to cut in half–and I recommend it. Use a smaller mixing bowl when assembling. The cake you see in the pictures is a half-batch that will easily feed eight people.
angel food cake pieces in a bowl lined with wax paper

If you make this and enjoy the recipe, it would help me and others if you would return to this post and leave a rating (on the recipe card itself underneath the picture). Although always appreciated, no comment is required. Thank you for visiting! Paula

Strawberry Snowball Cake

Strawberry Snowball Cake

Yield: 12 slices
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 45 minutes

A light and summery dessert--the perfect ending for a sumptuous meal

Ingredients

  • 2 packages unflavored gelatin (2 tablespoons total)
  • 4 tablespoons cold water
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 cup pineapple juice drained from 1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple (add water to make 1 cup if necessary)
  • Crushed pineapple from 20-ounce can
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
  • 2 8-ounce containers whipped topping
  • 1 angel food cake, baked
  • Whole strawberries for garnish

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and allow to dissolve.
  2. Add boiling water, pineapple juice, sugar, lemon juice, and strawberries and stir to combine.
  3. Refrigerate until slightly jelled and gently fold in whipped topping.
  4. Tear angel food cake into bite-sized pieces.
  5. Line a 4-quart mixing bowl with plastic wrap or criss-cross 2 long and narrow pieces of wax paper over the bottom of the bowl.
  6. Then start with a handful of angel food cake pieces as your first layer. Now add a layer of the gelatin/fruit mixture, then another layer of angel food cake. Alternate layers until all is used. It's a good idea to push the cake pieces against the side as you build your cake so it will hold together and have a firm base for the whipped topping later on.
  7. Refrigerate overnight.
  8. The next day, turn cake out onto a cake plate with the help of the plastic wrap or wax paper. Remove the wrap and frost with the second container of whipped topping. Decorate with flaked coconut for a "snowball" effect.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 266 Total Fat: 10g Saturated Fat: 8g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 40mg Carbohydrates: 42g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 38g Protein: 5g
© Paula of saladinajar.com
Cuisine: American / Category: Desserts
A light and summery dessert--the perfect ending for a sumptuous meal

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  1. Nancy in NW PA

    I made this for a July 4th family picnic today and it’s wonderful. What a great EASY way to make dessert for a crowd. I can see how you could add other fruits and flavors too. And, drizzle a piece with chocolate or fudge sauce – just to make it even better! Thanks.

    Reply

  2. Connie

    This sound wonderful. Can not wait to make it for Sunday. Do you mix the 20 ounce can of pineapple with the gelatin fruit mixture? Thanks for a scruptions blog and the ideal to cut the recipe in half.

    Reply

  6. Diannia

    I’m wondering if a person doesn’t like coconut (I do but there are “those people” out there that don’t if shaved white choc could give it the snowball look???

    Reply

  10. Connie

    What a wonderful way to salvage a less-than-perfect cake. I’m putting this aside for a future cake mishap. Typically, I’d cut it up in cubes and make a trifle.

    Reply