Skinny Strawberry Upside Down Cake

On Sunday I was attending an omelet bar brunch at a friends house. The main course of brunch was healthy, and I didn’t want to ruin it by bringing over a super unhealthy dessert. Given that Michigan strawberries are in season I decided to create a skinnier version of my Mum’s strawberry upside down cake, and it was the hit of brunch (no one could believe that it was the skinny version of my mum’s dessert!)  I have also included how to make my mum’s original version as well.

Skinny Strawberry Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

1 quart of strawberries

9 ounces(1 large + one small box or three small boxes) sugar free strawberry JELL-O powder
1 -1.5 cups miniature marshmallows
1 box yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
12 ounce can of diet 7-UP (or other clear diet pop i.e. Sprite or Fresca)

Directions

1.  Hull and chop one quart of strawberries. Spread berries and juice in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 glass baking dish.
2.  Sprinkle JELL-O powder over the berries.
3.  Disperse the miniature marshmallows evenly onto the berries.  Note: the marshmallows will disappear and you won’t even know that they are once it is cooked.
4. Mix yellow cake mix with 12 ounces (1 can) of diet 7-Up. Pour cake batter over the marshmallows and bake at 325 for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. 
5. Allow to cool for 30 minutes. Place a platter on top of the cake and flip it over.

 Note: if batter starts to bubble up simply poke it with a tooth pick. If it is bumpy it's perfectly fine you will not see it anyway. 

The original version: 
• Instead of sugar free JELL-O you can use 6 ounces (1 large box or two small boxes) of regular strawberry JELL-O. 
• Instead of mixing diet pop in with your cake you can prepare the cake as directed on the box.