Strawberry cake with lemon cream cheese frosting
It's that time of year again! My husband is another year older. We just celebrated the big 30, and his request was my strawberry cake. He always likes me to make him a cake for his birthday and it's usually one of three options: Strawberry, Tres Leches, or Cookie Cake. This year he came up with a delicious combination of Strawberry cake and lemon cream cheese frosting. It was SO so good yall. Like.. I think I need to enter this cake into a contest. If you love strawberry flavored desserts, this one is for you!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prep your cake pan(s) with cooking spray. I used three 8" cake rounds but you could also use a sheet pan or a 9x13 pan and watch for doneness. Definitely make use of parchment rounds in the bottom of your pan if creating a layered cake. This is a very moist and delicate cake and it can get stuck to the pan if you're not careful.
Beat your room temperature butter until light and creamy. It should change to a pale yellow color. Add in your sugar and mix well until it is fluffy and light.
Add your eggs in one at a time until mixed well. Add lemon juice, buttermilk and
red food coloring if desired. I did add red food coloring but I forget to get a picture of it. I added 1/8 tsp liquid food coloring to achieve a pretty pinky-red color cake. Your wet ingredients may look a little curdled but this is normal and everything will come together nicely in the end.
In a separate bowl mix all of your dry ingredients together. Sift your flour and cornstarch, add the dry strawberry jell-o mix, baking soda and salt. Whisk together until well mixed.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the standing mixer. Beat until just combined. A few dry crumbs is okay, because we will mix again when folding in the strawberry chunks. Grab a fresh pint of strawberries, wash and chop to your desired size. I like to do small bite size chunks, but you could quickly blend them to get more of a shredded, fine texture.
I used 1 cup of chopped strawberries.
Gently fold the strawberries into the cake batter in an infinity or figure 8 motion until well combined. The batter should be thick and creamy but not too dense.
Transfer your batter to the cake pan(s) and bake for about 35 minutes (adjust the time up or down for smaller or larger pans; such as cupcakes or 6" rounds.)
Allow the cakes to cool for about 10 minutes in the pans on a cooling rack before turning out of the pan. If needed, use a knife to gentle remove the sides from the pan. Allow the cake to cool completely before stacking or frosting.
For the cream cheese frosting, use softened room temperature butter, sifted confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, cold sour cream, and a cold cream cheese block. Whip well in a standing mixer until smooth and creamy. I like to start with my butter, whipping for a few minutes before adding in the confectioners sugar. Add the juice, zest, salt and sour cream and then finish with beating in the cold cream cheese. Add 1" cubes of cream cheese at a time to ensure an even and smooth consistency.
Stack your cake (or frost your sheet cake) after whipping the frosting
and chill until serving. If creating a layer cake, use a large mound in between each layer
and then a thin crumb coat on the outside. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and put another,
thicker layer of frosting on top of the crumb coat; decorate as desired.
Apparently I forgot to take a "finished" picture... But this is the in between that I got of the strawberry birthday cake. I also did a scalloped border around the bottom and swirled mounds at the top with strawberry slices wedged into them. We also decorated with 30 golden candle sticks. It really looks so much better with the finishing touches and in natural sunlight... but non-the-less, this cake is absolutely delicious! Such a perfectly moist, flavorful and pretty cake! Decorate however you like and enjoy! Check out the recipe below and don't forget to subscribe!
Like the Just A Struggle Bus Mom blog? Make sure you click the button below to subscribe to my email newsletters! Stay in the know of recipes, things to do & see, local finds, kid activities, holiday inspiration, and beauty tips, tricks, tutorials and techniques!
The Best Strawberry Cake Recipe:
1 cup unsalted butter (softened) 2 cups white granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 cups & 3 tablespoons white flour sifted
5 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons strawberry jell-o mix dry (not solid jell-o)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/8 teaspoon liquid red food coloring (optional)
1 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:
10 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
3 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
Juice of 1 medium lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sour cream (cold)
1lb cold cream cheese (brick style)
Cake Preparation:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prep your cake pan(s) with cooking spray.
2. Beat butter until light and creamy. Add in sugar and beat well until fluffy and light.
3. Beat eggs in, one at a time until mixed well.
4. Add lemon juice, buttermilk and red food coloring (if desired).
5. In a separate bowl, sift flour and cornstarch. Add the dry strawberry jell-o mix, baking soda and salt. Whisk together until well mixed.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the standing mixer. Beat until just combined.
7. Chop strawberries and gently fold into the mixture. Be careful not to over mix.
8. Pour batter into prepared cake pan(s) and bake for about 35 minutes, checking for doneness.
9. Allow the cakes to cool for about 10 minutes, in the pans, on a cooling rack before turning out of the pan. Allow the cake to cool completely before stacking or frosting.
Frosting Preparation:
1. Beat butter in standing mixture until smooth and creamy.
2. Add one cup of confectioners sugar in at a time, beating until smooth and light.
3. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and sour cream.
4. Cut the cream cheese block into small 1" pieces and add them in a few at a time. Allow for time in between additions to ensure an even consistency of the frosting.
5. Frost your cakes or refrigerate frosting until ready to use. If chilled, whip again in mixer before decorating your cake. This will get the air bubbles out and will make it easier to spread.
If the frosting is too thin, add more confectioner's sugar and/or cut the lemon juice prior to mixing if using for piping. If the frosting is too thick, add more lemon juice or cut the confectioners sugar prior to mixing if intended for drizzle or glazing.