Strawberry Lemonade Cake (Printable)
Moist, tangy cake bursting with fresh strawberry and bright lemon flavor for summer celebrations.
# What You’ll Need:
→ Cake Batter
01 - 2½ cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2½ teaspoons baking powder
03 - ½ teaspoon baking soda
04 - ½ teaspoon salt
05 - ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
06 - 1½ cups granulated sugar
07 - ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
08 - 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
09 - 3 large eggs, room temperature
10 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 - ½ cup buttermilk, room temperature
12 - ½ cup mashed fresh strawberries (about 1 cup whole), well-drained
→ Strawberry Lemonade Frosting
13 - 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
14 - ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
15 - ⅓ cup fresh strawberry purée, strained to remove seeds
16 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
17 - 2 teaspoons lemon zest
18 - 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
19 - Pinch of salt
→ Garnish
20 - Sliced fresh strawberries
21 - Thinly sliced lemon wheels
22 - Edible flowers
# How To Make It:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed.
03 - In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
04 - Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
05 - Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined.
06 - Gently fold the mashed strawberries into the batter using a spatula, being careful not to overmix.
07 - Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Smooth the tops and tap the pans gently on the counter to release air bubbles. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
08 - Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire cooling racks to cool completely.
09 - Beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy and smooth. Add the strawberry purée, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar and salt until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
10 - Once the cake layers are completely cool, spread frosting evenly between the layers and over the top and sides. Garnish with sliced strawberries, lemon wheels, and edible flowers as desired.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The strawberry lemonade flavor combo is the kind of thing people request by name once they have tried it once.
- That cream cheese frosting alone is worth making the entire cake, and it looks stunning without any fancy decorating skills.
02 -
- Warm cakes will melt your frosting into a puddle, so patience during the cooling step is the single most important thing you can do for this recipe.
- Draining the mashed strawberries thoroughly on paper towels before folding them in prevents a dense, gummy center that I learned about the hard way on attempt number two.
03 -
- Everything tastes better when your butter, eggs, and buttermilk are truly at room temperature before you start mixing, so plan ahead by about an hour.
- Sifting the powdered sugar for the frosting seems like an unnecessary step until you bite into a chunk of sugar mid bite, and then you will never skip it again.