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Strawberry Lemon Cake

Carissa Erzen
This impressive strawberry lemon cake is a four layer cake packed with flavor from fresh strawberries, lemon juice & lemon zest. It's the perfect dessert for spring or summer!
5 from 3 votes
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Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Cool Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16 slices
Calories 711 kcal

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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 711kcalCarbohydrates: 96gProtein: 6gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 347mgPotassium: 144mgFiber: 2gSugar: 67gVitamin A: 782IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 84mgIron: 2mg
Keyword buttercream frosting, layer cake, strawberry lemon cake
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