Strawberry Lemonade Layer Cake (Print Version)
Moist citrusy cake layered with fresh strawberries and tangy cream cheese frosting.
# What You Need:
→ Cake
01 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
03 - 1/2 tsp baking soda
04 - 1/2 tsp salt
05 - 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
06 - 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
07 - 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
08 - 2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
09 - 3 large eggs, room temperature
10 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
11 - 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
12 - 1/2 cup mashed fresh strawberries (about 1 cup whole), well-drained
→ Strawberry Lemonade Frosting
13 - 8 oz cream cheese, softened
14 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
15 - 1/3 cup fresh strawberry puree, strained to remove seeds
16 - 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
17 - 2 tsp lemon zest
18 - 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
19 - Pinch of salt
→ Garnish
20 - Sliced fresh strawberries
21 - Thinly sliced lemon wheels
22 - Edible flowers
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed.
03 - In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
04 - Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract, fresh lemon juice, and lemon zest.
05 - Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined.
06 - Gently fold in the mashed, well-drained strawberries. Avoid overmixing to prevent the batter from turning tough.
07 - Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Smooth the tops and tap the pans gently on the counter to release air bubbles. Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
08 - Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.
09 - Beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy and smooth. Add the strawberry puree, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar and salt until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
10 - Once the cake layers are completely cool, spread frosting between the layers and over the top and sides. Garnish with sliced strawberries, lemon wheels, and edible flowers as desired.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The tang from fresh lemon juice cuts through the sweetness in a way that makes people close their eyes when they take a bite.
- Those little pockets of mashed strawberry scattered through the crumb keep every slice unexpectedly moist for days.
- The cream cheese frosting gets a blush pink color from real strawberry puree that no food coloring can replicate.
02 -
- If the cakes are even slightly warm when you frost them, the cream cheese will melt and slide right off in a heartbreaking puddle.
- Overmixing the batter after adding the flour is the fastest way to turn a tender cake into something dense and heavy.
03 -
- A few drops of natural strawberry extract in the batter deepens the berry flavor without adding extra moisture that could destabilize the crumb.
- Chilling the frosted cake for twenty minutes before serving firms up the layers and makes cutting clean, beautiful slices much easier.