Strawberry Lemon Cake
Crumbly lemon cake with a light strawberry buttercream frosting and rich lemon curd
Summer is just around the corner, and this cake will complete your patio tablescape for any outdoor gathering. Luscious lemon and strawberry compliments our favorite cocktails under the afternoon sun. See below for some of our favorite patio tablescape picks!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsalted butter, warm but not fully melted
2 cups sugar
2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
1 tbsp vanilla
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup of buttermilk (or 1 tbsp white vinegar, fill to 1 cup with milk, stir)
1 cup diced strawberries + 1-2 tbsp flour (mix together in bowl to coat strawberries)
Lemon Curd
3 Eggs
1 cup sugar
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
1/4 cup butter, cubed
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
1 cup of pureed strawberries
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups Icing sugar
Preheat oven to 350F, prepare 2 round (9”) cake pans with cooking spray, or butter and sprinkle with flour.
In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla and lemon zest & juice, beat until well mixed.
With a spatula, stir in baking soda and powder, and salt, and 1/2 cup of flour.
Add half of the buttermilk, stir, remaining flour, stir, remaining buttermilk, and stir until just combined.
Add the flour coated strawberries gently.
Pour evenly into the two pans and smooth the surface with spatula.
Bake for 30-35 mins, until tops are golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
While the cake is baking, prepare the lemon curd:
Combine eggs, sugar and lemon juice in a pot over medium heat. Stir in cubed butter until melted. Continue stirring, and add the lemon zest. Stir constantly until mixture thickens (coats the back of a metal spoon and doesn’t ‘drip’. You can strain the curd to remove lemon zest, or leave it as is. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to cool in the fridge.
While the cake is cooling, prepare the buttercream:
Puree 2 cups of fresh strawberries, then transfer to a pot over medium heat, stirring until the puree is about 1/2 the volume, then remove from heat and cool. Once the strawberries are cooled, add vanilla and mix with warm but not melted butter. Slowly add icing sugar until the icing is thick enough to hold shape but not too thick it won’t spread. This recipe makes enough for a thin layer of frosting, recommend doubling if you prefer a thicker coating.
To assemble the cake: pipe a ring of frosting around the edge of the top of the take that will be on the bottom to create a ‘dam’ for the lemon curd. The frosting should be about 1 cm high and about 1 inch thick around the edge. Fill the middle with lemon curd. Place top layer cake on, then frost as normal.
Recipe adapted from:
https://thecollegehousewife.com/2018-8-12-strawberry-lemon-cake-with-lemon-curd-and-strawberry-buttercream
Some of our fave patio tablescape picks from our friends at Wayfair:
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