• Preheat oven to 325℉. Grease a 9x13 pan or line with parchment.

Strawberry Swirl

• In a small sauce pan, combine strawberries and sugar. Cook over medium heat for about 6 minutes, stirring and smashing frequently. Mixture should release liquid from berries and then simmer. After about 6-ish minutes it should appear thickened and glossy and when you drag a spoon across the pan, it should leave a visible trail. It's important that you cook your berries enough for them to thicken, it should look a little loser than jam. Set it aside.

Cake Batter

• In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine cake mix and crushed freeze-dried strawberries (I just crush the whole package with my hands- its okay to have some small bits mixed with a more powder-y consistency.)

  Add melted butter, oil, milk, eggs vanilla, and almond extract. Beat on low speed until combined. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl and then beat on medium-high for 1-2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan.

Cream Cheese Swirl

• Microwave cream cheese briefly (10-15 seconds at a time, you do not want it hot, just softened so you can easily stir.)

  Stir in melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, almond extract, and sour cream until smooth.

Assemble

• Drop cream cheese mixture in heaping spoonfuls over the cake batter. Do not spread it into a full layer. See photos for example!

  Then drop dollops of the cooled strawberry mixture over the cake.
• Using a knife gently swirl JUST the top portion of the batter. Try to swirl just the top ½" maximium. Leave visible ribbons and mounds and don't over swirl.

Bake

• Place cake in oven. I've found baking times can sometimes vary depending on the type of pan you use and your swirling pattern, so I recommend setting a timer for 30 minutes and keeping an eye on it! The berry and cream cheese swirl will get eaten up by the cake batter and appear to sink. This is normal!

  Mine usually takes about 35-40 minutes. It will be done when you poke with a skewer and loose crumbs are attached. It can be tricky because you will poke through the cream cheese swirl, which can appear wet, so use other cues as well. The top should not look wet and you should take the cake out of the oven before you get any browning on top. You'll probably have to test with a skewer in multiple places.
• Allow to cool and then if desired, top with a little sweetened whipped cream. I like adding some sliced berries or a sprinkle of extra freeze dried berries on top, too!