Strawberry Lemonade Cake With Creamy Lemon Buttercream (Printable version)
Fluffy strawberry-lemon layers with tangy buttercream frosting, perfect for summer gatherings
# List of ingredients:
→ Strawberry Lemon Cake
01 - 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
03 - ½ teaspoon baking soda
04 - ½ teaspoon salt
05 - 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
06 - 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
07 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
08 - 1 tablespoon lemon zest
09 - ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
10 - ½ cup milk, room temperature
11 - ½ cup sour cream, room temperature
12 - ⅔ cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
13 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Creamy Lemon Buttercream
14 - 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
15 - 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
16 - 2 tablespoons lemon zest
17 - ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
18 - 2–3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
19 - ¼ teaspoon salt
→ Decoration
20 - Fresh strawberries, halved
21 - Lemon slices or zest curls
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans, lining bottoms with parchment paper.
02 - Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
03 - Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, approximately 3–4 minutes.
04 - Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in lemon zest and vanilla extract.
05 - Blend lemon juice, milk, and sour cream in a separate bowl or measuring cup.
06 - With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour mixture and lemon-milk mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.
07 - Gently fold chopped strawberries into batter.
08 - Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake for 28–32 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
09 - Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
10 - Beat butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and 2 tablespoons cream. Beat until fluffy, 3–5 minutes, adding more cream as needed for consistency.
11 - Level cake tops if needed. Spread buttercream between layers, then frost top and sides of cake.
12 - Garnish with fresh strawberries and lemon slices or zest curls.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The buttercream alone is worth keeping a spoon in the kitchen
- Fresh strawberries inside the batter make every bite feel like discovering a little pocket of summer
02 -
- Cold ingredients into room temperature batter creates curdled disaster zones, plan ahead
- Overmixing once flour hits the bowl is the fastest way to dense, tough cake
03 -
- Room temperature ingredients are the difference between good cake and great cake
- Sifting powdered sugar saves you from those tiny sweet lumps that ruin perfectly smooth frosting