When I’m entertaining a larger group, I turn to dessert recipes like red velvet brownies, chocolate coconut cake, earthquake cake and this vibrantly colored and flavored strawberry lemonade cake. When I think summer, I think strawberry lemonade. This strawberry lemon cake has all the same great flavors, but in the form of a decadent dessert!
Strawberry Lemon Cake Ingredients
To make this cake, you will need butter, granulated sugar, large eggs, milk, buttermilk, salt, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, lemon zest, lemon juice, strawberry jam, freeze dried strawberries, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. You can decorate the cake with fresh berries and lemon slices.
How Do You Make Strawberry Lemon Cake?
Preheat the oven, then coat a 9″x13″ baking pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream it with a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat to combine. Mix in the lemon zest. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a separate bowl. In another bowl, mix together the buttermilk, lemon juice and vanilla. Pour 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, and mix to combine. Next add 1/2 of the wet ingredients to batter and mix. Repeat the process, alternating between the dry and wet ingredients. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean when inserted into the cake. Let the cake cool, then invert the pan onto a wire rack. Blend the freeze dried strawberries to form a powder. To make the frosting, beat the butter until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, then mix to combine. Sift in the freeze dried strawberry powder, then mix until you have a light and fluffy frosting. Spread the strawberry jam over the cake. Add a layer of frosting on top of the jam, then cut into squares. Decorate with strawberries and lemon slices, then serve.
Tips For The Perfect Cake
This cake should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container and is best enjoyed within 4 days. Let the slices stand at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes before serving. Freeze dried strawberries add a ton of flavor and color to the frosting. They are available in most grocery stores near the dried fruit. Use a microplane to easily zest your lemons. Wipe the knife with a paper towel between cuts to get clean slices of cake. You can add a few drops of yellow food coloring to the cake batter if you like for a bright and cheerful color.
Flavor Variations
While this cake is delicious as-is, you can easily customize some of the flavors to suit your tastes.
Cake: You can add extra flavor to the cake with a spoonful of vanilla extract or a dash of lemon extract. It’s also great to use orange juice and orange zest instead of lemon. Frosting: Try using freeze dried raspberries or blueberries instead of strawberries, along with raspberry jam or blueberry jam.
You simply can’t go wrong with strawberry lemon cake. It’s one of my all time favorite desserts!
