Strawberry Lemonade Cake (Printable Version)
Moist, tangy cake bursting with fresh strawberry and zesty lemon flavors, finished with creamy fruit frosting.
# What You Need:
→ Cake
01 - 2 1/2 cups (315 g) 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 (170 g) unsalted butter, softened
06 - 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
07 - 1/4 cup (60 ml) 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 (120 ml) buttermilk, room temperature
12 - 1/2 cup (120 ml) mashed fresh strawberries (about 1 cup whole), well-drained
→ Strawberry Lemonade Frosting
13 - 8 oz (225 g) cream cheese, softened
14 - 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter, softened
15 - 1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh strawberry purée, strained to remove seeds
16 - 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
17 - 2 tsp lemon zest
18 - 4 cups (480 g) powdered sugar, sifted
19 - Pinch of salt
→ Garnish (Optional)
20 - Sliced fresh strawberries
21 - Thinly sliced lemon wheels
22 - Edible flowers
# How-To Steps:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed.
03 - In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until pale, light, and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
04 - Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract, fresh lemon juice, and lemon zest until fully incorporated.
05 - Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined — do not overwork the batter.
06 - Gently fold the well-drained mashed strawberries into the batter using a spatula, taking care not to overmix.
07 - Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Smooth the tops and tap the pans gently on the counter to release any trapped air bubbles. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each layer comes out clean.
08 - Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto wire cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.
09 - Beat the softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the strained strawberry purée, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Gradually beat in the sifted powdered sugar and salt until the frosting is fluffy and spreadable.
10 - Once the cake layers are completely cool, spread frosting evenly between the layers and over the top and sides of the cake. Garnish with sliced fresh strawberries, lemon wheels, and edible flowers as desired.
# Helpful Tips:
01 -
- The tang from fresh lemon and the sweetness of real strawberries create a flavor balance that tastes like summer in every single bite.
- That cream cheese frosting swirled with strawberry puree is genuinely good enough to eat straight from the bowl with a spoon.
- It looks stunning enough for a celebration but comes together without any fancy decorating skills or special equipment.
02 -
- Those mashed strawberries must be well drained or your cake layers will sink in the middle and come out gummy instead of fluffy.
- Cold ingredients will cause the batter to curdle when the lemon juice hits the cold butter and eggs, so everything truly needs to be at room temperature.
- The frosted cake needs to be refrigerated if you are not serving it within a couple hours, because cream cheese frosting is perishable and softens quickly in warm weather.
03 -
- Zest your lemons before juicing them, because a whole lemon is nearly impossible to zest once it has been squeezed flat.
- Strain the strawberry puree for the frosting through a fine mesh sieve, since those tiny seeds create an unpleasant grainy texture that no amount of beating can fix.