Pink Strawberry Lemonade Cake (Printable)

Moist layer cake with fresh strawberries, zesty lemon, and pink frosting for festive occasions.

# Components:

→ For the Cake

01 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 teaspoons baking powder
03 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
05 - 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
06 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
07 - 1/2 cup vegetable oil
08 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
09 - 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
10 - 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
11 - 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
12 - 1/2 cup strawberry purée
13 - Pink or red food coloring, optional

→ For the Strawberry Lemonade Frosting

14 - 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
15 - 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
16 - 1/3 cup strawberry purée
17 - 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
18 - 1 teaspoon lemon zest
19 - Pinch of salt
20 - Pink food coloring, optional

→ Decoration

21 - Fresh strawberries, sliced
22 - Lemon slices or zest
23 - Edible flowers or sprinkles, optional

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
03 - In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together sugar, butter, and oil until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
04 - Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
05 - Mix in buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest until combined.
06 - Gently fold in strawberry purée. Add food coloring if desired for enhanced color vibrancy.
07 - Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in two batches, mixing just until combined. Avoid overmixing.
08 - Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and smooth the tops.
09 - Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
10 - Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
11 - Beat softened butter until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, strawberry purée, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Beat until fluffy. Tint with pink food coloring if desired.
12 - Once cakes are fully cooled, place one layer on a serving plate. Spread a generous layer of frosting on top. Add the second cake layer and frost the top and sides.
13 - Arrange fresh strawberry slices, lemon slices, and sprinkles as desired for presentation.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The strawberry and lemon combination tastes bright and sophisticated, nothing like the one-note sweetness you'd expect.
  • It's actually not as intimidating as it looks, which means you can pull off something that feels genuinely impressive.
  • The frosting is silky enough to pipe but forgiving enough to just spread if you're not feeling fancy.
02 -
  • Room temperature eggs and buttermilk are not just suggestions; cold ingredients create lumps and an uneven crumb, which I discovered the hard way on my first attempt.
  • Don't skip the full 3 minutes of creaming butter and sugar, because that's when you're actually building the structure that makes this cake light and fluffy.
03 -
  • Sift your powdered sugar for the frosting, because lumpy frosting looks homemade in the worst way, and this five-second step changes everything.
  • If your frosting tastes a little too tangy from the lemon juice, add an extra tablespoon of powdered sugar to balance it out.
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