Fresh Strawberry Lemonade Cake

Fresh Strawberry Lemonade Cake with creamy lemon cream cheese frosting. Our favorite cake for summer!

Say hello to my birthday cake.

Fresh, zingy, berry-packed and oh so moist and tender. My birthday is just a few weeks away, and I’m so excited to make this cake… Again.

Some might say it’s a travesty to bake your own birthday cake. There are years I agree. Those years Lt. Dan picks up a chocolate fudge cake I love from a local bakery.

However some years, I feel like there is no one in the world that understands my cakey desires better than I do. So I set off to bake exactly what I’m craving.

This is that year. This is that cake.

Introducing Fresh Strawberry Lemonade Cake. A blend of light buttery cake, fresh lemon zest, bright strawberry essence, and blushing berries hiding between the layers.

The entire cake is slathered with silky smooth lemon cream cheese frosting. Then I spread on a fun hombre frosting effect with a little pink frosting.

Viola! The perfect cake for a summer birthday.

My Fresh Strawberry Lemonade Cake recipe offers the appeal of an ultra moist southern strawberry cake, with a little extra punch from the lemon. The fresh strawberries between the cake layers are a sweet surprise when you cut it open.

I like to make the cake the day before my birthday, then wrap and freeze the cake layers. The next day, I frost the cake in the morning and let it sit out all day to thaw and soften.

This technique helps ward off broken cake layers, slanted cakes, and crumbs in the frosting. Frozen cake layers are extremely easy to work with.

The cake looks prefect every time and no one can tell it’s been frozen.

If you’ve got a special summer birthday to celebrate, give my Fresh Strawberry Lemonade Cake a try!

Or you may just want to make one for yourself. *wink*

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Fresh Strawberry Lemonade Cake

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Fresh Strawberry Lemonade Cake Recipe - A moist tender layer cake with fresh summer strawberries hiding in the middle, topped with lemon cream cheese frosting!

Servings: 16 slices

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

For the Fresh Strawberry Lemonade Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter softened
• 2 3/4 cups cake flour or 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon strawberry extract
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Zest of two lemons
• 3-9 drops red food coloring, optional
• 40 small fresh ripe strawberries, trimmed

For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 5-7 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles then spray with nonstick cooking spray.

For the Cake:

• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream the sugar and butter on high until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Scrape the bowl with a spatula. Turn the mixer on low and add in the baking powder, salt, eggs, strawberry and vanilla extracts, and lemon zest. Scrape the bowl again and slowly beat in the flour and milk. Mix in food coloring if desired.
• Once smooth, pour the batter into the two cake pans. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pans. Then flip the cakes out onto a cooling rack, remove the parchment paper, and cool completely.

For the Frosting:

• In a clean mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl and beat in the butter. (Do this separately to avoid clumps.) Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the lemon juice. One cup at a time, beat in the powdered sugar, until you reach your desired consistency. Scrape the bowl and beat again until very smooth.

To Assemble:

• Place one cake layer on a cake stand. Spread frosting over the cake in a thin layer. Press the strawberries, trimmed side down, over the surface of the cake Then slather more frosting over the berries, filling the spaces in between. Set the top cake layer over the strawberries and press to level. Dollop frosting over the top and spread in out and down over the sides.

For the Ombré Frosting Effect:

• Leave 1/2+ cup frosting in the mixing bowl. Add 1-3 drop red food coloring into the frosting and beat until the color is consistent. Starting at the bottom, spread the frosting around the edges. Then move upward in sweeping motions. Spread a little pink over the top if desired.

Notes

Bakers Tip: The easiest way to level and frost a cake is to take the time to freeze the cake layers first. Wrap each layer in plastic and freeze fore at least 2 hours. Then stack, level, and frost the cake as directed. Set the cake out on the counter for another 2-3 hours to thaw and soften. This helps ward off broken cake layers, slanted cakes, and crumbs in the frosting. This cake can sit out at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 159kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 57mg, Potassium: 64mg, Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 275IU, Vitamin C: 4.8mg, Calcium: 29mg, Iron: 0.1mg

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Sommer Collier

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