This delicious strawberry lemon cake is bursting with flavor from fresh strawberries, strawberry jam, and tons of lemon zest and lemon juice. This stunning cake is perfect for any occasion, like Valentine's Day or just a random spring or summer afternoon!
About this Recipe
This cake is a four-layer cake, so it's definitely an impressive baking feat! Just like a tall glass of strawberry lemonade on a warm summer day, this strawberry lemon cake is sweet yet refreshing.
Each cake layer is filled with fresh strawberries and strawberry jam for a pop of sweet, fruity flavor in each bite. The cake batter is also flavored with tangy lemon zest and fresh lemon juice, to balance the sweetness with citrus.
The buttercream frosting is flavored with strawberry jam and lemon zest, so it's just as tasty as the cake!
This cake is dense and moist, while the fruity and citrus flavors make it feel lighter. For more summer dessert recipes, try homemade strawberry pie or a batch of lemon lavender scones.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- Buttermilk - make your own buttermilk at home by combining 1 tablespoon lemon juice with a scant cup of milk and letting it sit out for 10 minutes to curdle
- Lemon juice - freshly squeezed lemon juice has a much better taste than bottled lemon juice at the store - please use fresh lemon juice if possible!
- Lemon zest - use the smallest holes on a cheese grater or use a micro plane to zest your lemon
- Vegetable oil - hydrates the batter, resulting in a really moist cake
- Greek yogurt - helps create a super moist cake. Use plain Greek yogurt without any sweetener or flavorings.
- Eggs - provide structure to the batter
- Granulated sugar - sweetens the cake
- Brown sugar - sweetens and moistens the cake
- Vanilla extract - for a more intense strawberry flavor, substitute strawberry extract
- All-purpose flour - serves as the base for the batter
- Baking powder and Baking soda - helps the cake layers rise in the oven
- Salt - brings out the flavors of all the other ingredients
- Fresh strawberries - trim the green tops off and dice into small pieces
- Strawberry jam - adds another strawberry flavor and helps loosen the cake batter
For the Frosting
- Unsalted butter - leave the butter out overnight to soften to room temperature
- Powdered sugar - sweetens the frosting and makes it light and airy
- Lemon zest - enough from about one large lemon
- Strawberry jam - adds a hint of strawberry flavor and naturally dyes the frosting a very light pink
- Salt - brings out the flavors of all the other ingredients
How to Make this Strawberry Lemon Cake
Prepare and Bake the Cake Layers
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two or four 8-inch round cake pans.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the buttermilk, vegetable oil, Greek yogurt, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest and fresh lemon juice.
- Add in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix it all together with a large spoon or silicon spatula, just until the batter is combined and you don't see any dry flour.
- In a small bowl, toss the diced strawberries with 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour.
- Gently fold the flour-coated diced strawberries and the strawberry jam into the cake batter.
- Divide the batter evenly into your four round baking tins. Or if you don't have four tins, pour the batter in equal amounts into one or two baking tins, then divide the rest into separate bowls. Cover the bowls with plastic cling wrap and store in the fridge until you're ready to bake that batter.
- Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool for five minutes in the pans, then remove them and set them on a wire cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
Prepare the Frosting
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with a hand whisk, beat the softened unsalted butter for about 5 minutes, until it is soft and fluffy.
- Add one cup of powdered sugar and beat it on a low speed until the sugar is incorporated. Continue beating in one cup of powdered sugar at a time until it's all mixed in and the frosting is smooth, fluffy and pale yellow.
- Beat in the strawberry jam for about 1 minute.
Assemble the Cake
- Trim the caramelized edges off the four cake rounds. Trim the tops off the cakes so they are level.
- Place the first cake layer in the center of a plate or cake stand. Spread out a few large dollops of the buttercream on top of the first layer.
- Place the second cake layer on top of the buttercream, making sure this cake layer is centered on top of the first layer. Spread out a few more large dollops of the buttercream on top of the second layer.
- Repeat for the third and fourth layers of the cake. Spread the remaining buttercream on the sides of the cake. Use a butter knife or a pallet knife to get the buttercream even and smooth on the top and the sides.
- Optional: top with fresh strawberries and sliced lemons. Enjoy!!
Recipe FAQ
If you don't have buttermilk, make your own at home by combining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice with a scant cup of milk. Let it sit for 10 minutes at room temperature to curdle and form buttermilk! This also works with non-dairy milk.
This strawberry lemon cake is best stored in the fridge. Cover any exposed cake slices with plastic cling wrap in the fridge for up to 4 days. If you decorate your cake with fresh strawberries, the red color might bleed onto your buttercream. Remove decorative fruit when storing your cake in the fridge.
You can freeze the baked cake layers and then thaw them and decorate the cake at a later date. Wrap each layer individually in plastic cling wrap then aluminum foil. Freeze for up to three months, then thaw at room temperature overnight.
Or store the whole decorated cake in the freezer wrapped tightly in plastic cling wrap then wrapped in aluminum foil. The cake will last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If your cake isn't baked all the way through, the middle won't be firm so it will fall and sink in on itself. Make sure a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake when you remove it from the oven. It's okay if the edges are a bit crunchy, we'll trim those off before decorating the cake with frosting.
More Layer Cakes
Layer cakes are so much fun to create and decorate! They are a crowd-pleasing favorite for any occasion, from birthdays to Mother's Day, to a random Wednesday. Here are some more layer cake recipes to try!
- Chocolate Cake with Lavender Infused Buttercream
- Carrot Cake with Buttercream Frosting
- Valentine's Day Fault Line Cake
- Hidden Surprise American Flag Cake
- Miniature Gingerbread House Cake
- Beach-Themed Layer Cake
- How to Make Your Own Wedding Cake
Strawberry Lemon Cake
Ingredients
Strawberry Lemon Cake
- 1 cup buttermilk (see below on how to make buttermilk at home)
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (use unsweetened, unflavored Greek yogurt)
- 3 eggs
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar (press it down into the measuring cup as you measure it)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 1 whole lemon)
- ½ cup lemon juice (from about 2 large lemons)
- 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (plus one extra tablespoon flour to toss with the strawberries)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, with the green tops trimmed off and diced
- 1 cup strawberry jam
Strawberry Lemon Frosting
- 2 cups unsalted butter softened overnight to room temperature (4 sticks)
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup lemon zest (from about 1 whole lemon)
- ¼ cup strawberry jam
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Prepare and Bake the Cake Layers
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease your 8-inch round cake pans. This recipe can make either a 4 layer cake. Grease as many cake pans as you have/need. I made a four layer cake and I have two pans, so I baked the first two layers, popped them out and let the pans cool for about 10 minutes, then I re-greased the pans and baked the second two layers.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the buttermilk, vegetable oil, Greek yogurt, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest and fresh lemon juice.
- Add in the 3¾ cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix it all together with a large spoon or silicon spatula just until the batter is combined and you don't see any dry flour.
- In a small bowl, toss the diced strawberries with 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour. This helps coat the strawberries so they don't all sink to the bottom of the cake while it's baking.
- Gently fold the flour-coated diced strawberries and the strawberry jam into the cake batter.
- Divide the batter evenly into your four round baking tins. Or if you don't have four tins, pour the batter in equal amounts into one or two baking tins, then divide the rest into separate bowls. Cover the bowls with plastic cling wrap and store in the fridge until you're ready to bake that batter.
- Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool for five minutes in the pans, then remove them and set them on a wire cooling rack to cool to room temperature for at least 2 hours.
Prepare the Frosting
- In a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl with a hand whisk, beat the softened butter for about 5 minutes, until it is soft and fluffy.
- Add one cup of powdered sugar and beat it on a low speed until the sugar is incorporated. Continue beating in one cup of powdered sugar at a time until it's all mixed in and the frosting is smooth, fluffy and pale yellow.
- Beat in the strawberry jam for about 1 minute.
- If you feel like your buttercream is still too stiff, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time and beat that in to help loosen your buttercream. The frosting should be stiff enough to stick on the sides of your cake without sliding down.
Assemble the Cake
- Trim the caramelized edges off the four cake rounds. Trim the tops off the cakes so they are level.
- Place the first cake layer in the center of a plate or cake stand. Spread out a few large dollops of the buttercream on top of the first layer.
- Place the second cake layer on top of the buttercream, making sure this cake layer is centered on top of the first layer. Spread out a few more large dollops of the buttercream on top of the second layer.
- Repeat for the third and fourth layers of the cake. Spread the remaining buttercream on the sides of the cake. Use a butter knife or a pallet knife to get the buttercream even and smooth on the top and the sides.
- Optional: if you plan to transport this cake somewhere, refrigerate the cake for at least one hour, so the buttercream has time to set and harden a bit.
- Optional: top with fresh strawberries and sliced lemons. Enjoy!!
Notes
- Buttermilk - To make your own buttermilk at home, combine 1 tablespoon lemon juice with a scant cup of milk. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to curdle into buttermilk.
- Lemons - frozen lemons are easier to zest. And frozen then thawed lemons are easier to juice.
- Lemon juice - freshly squeezed lemon juice by far has a much better taste than bottled lemon juice at the store.
- Lemon zest - use the smallest holes on a cheese grater or use a micro plane to zest the lemons.
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