This strawberry lemon cake is a light and fluffy lemonade flavored cake topped with strawberry jam and homemade strawberry buttercream. An easy and delicious dessert that’s perfect for a crowd!
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!
Enjoy this cake with some of my favorite drinks like watermelon agua fresca, raspberry lemonade or for the adults, a raspberry mojito or a passion fruit margarita.
Table of Contents
Strawberry Lemon Cake Ingredients
To make this cake recipe, 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. See the recipe card below for amounts and details.
- Freeze dried strawberries: The reason I use freeze dried strawberries is that they have an intense strawberry flavor that you just can’t get with fresh strawberries. You can find them in most grocery stores near the dried fruit.
- Lemon zest: Lemon zest gives the cake that tangy citrus flavor that all the best lemon desserts have. You can zest a lemon and then cut it in half to squeeze the juice out of it.
- Buttermilk: The buttermilk gives the cake an excellent rich flavor. Simply pick up a small container of buttermilk in your grocery store’s dairy section.
- Strawberries: Look for medium sized, bright red strawberries for your decoration.
How Do You Make Strawberry Lemon Cake?
To make this strawberry lemon cake, first make the cake. Preheat the oven and coat a 9″x13″ baking pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Make the batter by placing the butter and sugar in a large bowl and creaming them at high speed 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.
To make the frosting, first blend the freeze dried strawberries to form a powder. Next, 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
- Use a microplane to easily zest your lemons.
- You can add a few drops of yellow food coloring to the cake batter if you like for a bright and cheerful color.
- Frost the cake when it is cool so the frosting doesn’t melt off your cake.
- Feel free to decorate your cake with sliced fresh strawberries and lemon slices.
- Wipe the knife with a paper towel between cuts to get clean slices of 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.
Quick Tip
I recommend using an offset spatula to get a smooth top layer of frosting.
Recipe FAQs
The best way to increase the flavor of lemon in a cake is to add more lemon zest, or up to 1/2 teaspoon of pure lemon extract. I do not recommend adding more lemon juice, as it can change the texture of the cake due to adding more liquid to the batter as well as extra acidity.
It is possible to add fresh fruit to buttercream. I prefer to use freeze dried fruit because the flavor is more intense. In addition, fresh fruit will release liquid as it sits and could make the frosting watery, but you will not have this issue with freeze dried fruit.
FOLLOW ME
Flavor Variations
While this strawberry lemon cake is delicious as-is, you can easily customize some of the flavors to suit your taste.
- Cake: You can add extra flavor to the cake with an extra 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.
- Lemon Curd: Instead of strawberry jam you could use lemon curd for more lemon flavor.
You simply can’t go wrong with strawberry lemon cake. It’s one of my all time favorite desserts!
More Great Dessert Recipes
Black Forest Cupcakes
53 mins
Heart Cake Recipe
3 hrs 15 mins
Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
35 mins
Berry Chantilly Cake
2 hrs 30 mins
Brownie Pizza
50 mins
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Strawberry Lemon Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- ⅓ cup grated lemon zest
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- cooking spray
For the toppings
- 1 cup freeze dried strawberries
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ¾ cup strawberry jam
- fresh strawberries and lemon slices for garnish
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Coat a 9×13” cake pan with cooking spray then line it with parchment paper.
- Add the butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for a 3-4 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
- Add the eggs one by one, beating to combine after each addition. Add the lemon zest and beat until combined.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl.
- Add the lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla to another bowl, and stir to combine.
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture in the mixer. Mix until just combined, then add 1/2 of the wet ingredients. Mix again, and repeat the process with 1/3 of the dry ingredients, and the other 1/2 of the wet ingredients. Add the final 1/3 of the dry ingredients, and mix just until you have a smooth batter.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer poked into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Leave the cake in the pan for about 15 minutes before releasing the cake from the pan onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the toppings
- Add the freeze dried strawberries to the bowl of a small food processor or spice blender and blend into a powder.
- Add the butter to the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment fitted until smooth and creamy.
- Sift in the powdered sugar, then add the vanilla extract and milk. Beat until combined.
- Sift in the strawberry powder and mix on a medium speed for another 5 minutes until super fluffy. The consistency of the frosting should be thick enough to hold its shape, but smooth enough to spread easily. If it’s too thick, add a little more milk. If it’s too runny, add some more powdered sugar.
- Spread the strawberry jam all over the top of the cake.
- Dollop the frosting on top and spread out into a smooth, even layer with an offset spatula.
- Slice into 15 squares. Top with some extra sliced strawberry and lemon if desired, then serve.
Notes
- This cake should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container and is best enjoyed within 4 days. Individual slices can be taken out of the fridge and left to come to room temp for 30 minutes or so before eating if preferred.
- Freeze dried strawberries are available in most grocery stores near the dried fruit. They add a ton of flavor and color to the frosting.
- Feel free to add a few drops of yellow food coloring to the cake batter for extra color.
This looks so incredibly fresh and delicious. I can’t wait to make it to impress my sister this weekend!
What a fantastic cake. Tastes like sunshine!
I want to do this right now, thanks for sharing this delicious recipe
This cake was so delish! Everyone loved it. The frosting was so pretty and the sweet tart flavors just popped!