Strawberry Shortcut Cake

At a flea market in Albany, Ga., I bought a collection of recipes a person that owned a restaurant had put together. Many of the recipes that were included were Pillsbury, Redbook, Better Homes and a few handwritten ones. Many of the clippings were from the 60's and 70's. This particular recipe is a Pillsbury recipe, though I could not find it listed on their web site. The recipe calls for using Pillsbury's All-Purpose Flour or Pillsbury's Self-Rising Flour. It also calls for using solid shortening, though I used margarine. It reminds me very much of a cake like cobbler. I hope you like it.

• Ready In: 1 hr 5 mins
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1  cup miniature marshmallow
• 2  cups strawberries (two 10 oz. pkgs. frozen, sliced berries in syrup)
• 3  ounces strawberry gelatin (one 3 oz. pkg.)
• 2 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 3  teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 cup margarine
• 1  cup milk
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 3  eggs

Directions

1. NOTE: If you use self-rising flour, omit the baking powder and salt. (I use self-rising flour all the time now so I don't have to add the other ingredients in all-purpose flour except when I make bread.) For high altitude adjustment, decrease baking powder to 2 1/2 teaspoons.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Completely thaw strawberries. Generously grease bottom only of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. (I used cooking spray.) Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over bottom of pan. Thoroughly combine thawed berries with dry gelatin. Set aside. (No need to sift flour; measure by lightly spooning into cup and leveling off.) In a large mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed, scraping sides and bottom of bowl occasionally. (It's very important to beat for the 3 minutes.) Pour batter evenly over marshmallows. (I used a large spoon instead of pouring.) Spoon strawberry mixture evenly over batter. During baking, the strawberry mixture sinks to the bottom and the cake is on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm or cool with ice cream or whipped cream.