Strawberry Lemon Cake
This soft, fluffy, and tender strawberry lemon cake is topped with strawberry cream cheese frosting swirled with strawberry compote.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 ⅓ cups Granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon Lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 3 Eggs
- ½ cup Vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup Buttermilk
- ⅔ cup Strawberry puree
- ½ cup Chopped strawberries
- 3 tablespoon Strawberry jam
- 2 cups Flour
- ⅓ teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking powder
For the frosting
- 8 oz Cream cheese full fat, room temperature
- ½ cup Powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon Lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 cup Heavy cream cold
- ⅓ cup Strawberry compote
Assembly
- ½ cup Strawberry compote
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 9x9 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest, and use your clean hands to rub the zest into the sugar. This releases the essential oils and flavor from the lemon zest.
- Into the mixture, add the eggs, oil, strawberry puree, strawberry jam, buttermilk, chopped strawberries, salt, vanilla extract, and mix with a whisk until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder, and mix until there are no lumps of flour visible.
- Pour the cake batter into a prepared 9 by 9 inch pan with parchment paper and smooth it out using a rubber spatula.
- Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 40-45 minutes (depending on your oven) or until a toothpick comes out clean with a few moist crumbs but not wet batter.
- Allow the cake to reach room temperature for at least 1 hour.
- Meanwhile use my recipe for strawberry compote for the frosting. Allow it to cool completely.
Make the strawberry cream cheese frosting
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and room temperature cream cheese. Use an electric mixer to beat them together until smooth and creamy.
- Add the cold heavy cream and strawberry compote and beat the mixture until stiff peaks form.
- Top the cooled cake with the frosting and dollop the remaining strawberry compote on top of the cake and make swirls using a butterknife or a toothpick.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and buttermilk. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Use ripe, juicy strawberries for the best flavor in your cake. Look for strawberries that are deep red in color and fragrant.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Test for doneness carefully. Use a toothpick or cake tester to check if the cake is done. Insert it into the center of the cake; it should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Zest your lemons carefully. When zesting the lemons, avoid the bitter white pith beneath the skin. Use a microplane or fine grater to get the most aromatic zest possible.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently to ensure that you have a homogeneous mixture that has no lumps.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cake will release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.
Nutrition
Calories: 358kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 4gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.05gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 206mgPotassium: 103mgFiber: 1gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 467IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 63mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!