Strawberry Lemonade Cake
Updated July 05, 2019
There is nothing better than a cold glass of strawberry lemonade on a hot summer day. Well, I thought there wasn’t anything better until I had a slice of Strawberry Lemonade Cake. All of the same refreshing flavors, but in cake form. Count me in!
This cake recipe comes from my good friend Heather’s new cookbook, Generous Table. Heather’s book is filled with easy and elegant recipes that make entertaining simple throughout the seasons. We took the Strawberry Lemonade Cake to a dinner party and our friends loved it. It was the perfect ending to our dinner on the patio.
I am not going to lie, layered cakes kind of intimidate me. I am always worried they will get stuck in the pan and my cake decorating skills are a little scary. The Strawberry Lemonade Cake sounded so good, I put my fears aside and got baking. I was determined to make this cake!
The recipe was surprisingly simple. We had all of the ingredients on hand and the steps were easy to follow. And guess what? The cakes came out of the pan with no trouble at all! Yahoo!
Now let’s talk about this lovely cake-two layers of tart lemon cake sandwiched between sweet strawberry buttercream frosting an freshly slice strawberries. Now you know why I HAD to make this cake.
If you are looking for an easy cake to serve your family and friends this summer, make this Strawberry Lemonade Cake. It’s a dreamy dessert for summer…or anytime!
And make sure you check out the Generous Table. It is filled with fabulous recipes that will help you celebrate every occasion! And just so you know, you don’t need a special occasion to enjoy a slice of Strawberry Lemonade Cake. Every day is the perfect day for cake:)
Strawberry Lemonade Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1/3 cup cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 8-10 large strawberries hulled and sliced
For the Strawberry Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 cup butter softened
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 2-4 large strawberries chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray two 9-inch round baking pans with baking spray.
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, place the butter, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until light and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients and set aside.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, combining thoroughly in between. With the mixer still running, add the lemon juice. (batter will look curdled, but it's not). Add one third of the dry ingredients and ½ cup of the buttermilk. Mix, then stop and scrape the sides of the bowl. Repeat, adding another third of the dry ingredients and the remaining ½ cup buttermilk. Mix, then stop and scrape. Add the remaining third of the dry ingredients and mix until completely combined and the batter is light and fluffy.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake the cakes for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool before removing from the pans.
- While the cakes are cooling, make the strawberry buttercream frosting. Combine the butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl or standing mixer. Mix together on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the milk and strawberries and mix on high speed until the frosting is very fluffy and pale pink in color, with flecks of strawberry.
- Invert one of the cake rounds onto a cake plate; generously spread with frosting and top with strawberry slices. Repeat with the remaining layer of cake and frosting. Frost the sides of the cake. Put in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to allow the frosting to set. Serve at room temperature.
Have you tried this recipe?
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If you like this Strawberry Lemonade Cake, you might also like:
- Strawberry Cake from Two Peas and Their Pod
- White Chocolate Rose Cake with Strawberries from Joy the Baker
- Strawberry Shortcake Cake from The Pioneer Woman
Made this cake for my son’s birthday yesterday and modified it by adding vanilla to the cake batter And frosting, it was a great cake and recipe. He loved it. Thanks for the recipe
Thanks for this recipe! I’m considering it for my 22nd birthday. Do you happen to know how many calories would go into a single serving?
Thanks!
This was my first cake I’ve made from scratch and the directions were very clear and it turned out amazing! My husband’s birthday was a hit.
Thank you for sharing.
Just wondering what egg substitute if any I could use for this cake.
You can substitute 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce per egg!
This cake was very good but too heavy/dense for our taste. If not for the frosting it wouldnt have been good. If your looking for a light fluffy cake, this is not for you. The icing is also very heavy. No offense, just not for us.
I’ve made this a few times. Never as a cake, always as cupcakes. Same temp, cups filled 1/2 for 15 minutes. Very light and moist. I just made them yesterday and going to frost them today for our daughter’s birthday.
It was “eh” at best. The cake is super dense (not a bad thing, just be prepared for it), the icing is way too sweet (and that was with already cutting down on the powdered sugar), and the lemon flavor barely comes through. Not bad my any means, but not something I’d make again.
We made this cake for our eldest daughter’s 18th birthday per her request. We followed the directions exactly except for the frosting. We only had four cups of powered sugar in the house. Geez, our we glad we only had four cups and not five cups of powered sugar. The frosting was super sweeeeet! I would recommend starting with two cups, taste test, then add another, test again, and so on. The cake was delicious-frosting too sweet. We will tweak the recipe next time but thank you for sharing your cake recipe.
This was the worst recipe I have ever tried making in my entire life. Please do not waste your time. The measurements are not clear, no direction on size of mixing bowls, no instruction to cool, way too much powdered sugar. Just terrible. The frosting wasn’t even pink.
Super easy to make and my friends are still raving about it.
*I also added approx. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to both the batter and frosting.
Along with adding some nutmeg to the batter
and lemon zest to the frosting.
I made this for our son-in-laws birthday dinner. It turned out beautifully and the frosting was so good with the strawberries beaten in giving it its pink color. The cake was delicate and tasty. Many compliments. A keeper!
I’m just curious as to if you really use a whisk for the whole thing?
I love strawberry lemonade cake
I love this cake and have made it many times for my mom’s summer birthday. I never leave comments but I feel like I should just because I keep coming back! I like to use extra lemon and rub the zest into the sugar for extra flavor. Also, be careful about the cake as it can be delicate.
Not sure why but my buttercream was very runny even after adding more powdered sugar. Also a 8inch cake pan would probably have worked better my layers were very thin.
This cake has a lovely lemon flavor…
I added strawberry reduction in the center with a layer of berries. It went to a summer BBQ and was enjoyed by all.