Lemon + Strawberry Layer Spring Cake

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This Lemon + Strawberry Layer Spring Cake isn’t your traditional version of a lemon cake. Not only is it completely moist, + fluffy, but it’s also loaded with a nice balance between tart and sweet as the bursting of lemon flavor paired with the strawberry buttercream work amazingly together. A definite crowd-pleasing treat for the Easter season or any special occasion.

It’s the start of a new week and I couldn’t be more excited to share this recipe with you all!

To be honest, I’ve always felt intimidated when baking a cake because I find that cakes requires such precision. Since I’m self-taught, my cakes would always look like something made by a home-baker. Haha. This isn’t a bad thing by the way—I’m just saying.

Anyway, this past weekend, I decided to stretch myself and . conquer my fear of making a cake and wallah!

While the decor was a little bit of a challenge, I’ve come to realize that it takes is practice. A few more tries and I think that I’ll have it down packed.

However, I feel super proud to have done this recipe and I hope that you love it as much as I do. And can we just talk about the floral design? Honestly, I think that this was my favorite part. I definitely wanted this cake to say Spring, therefore, I had to purchase a few flowers (Violet Roses, Hydrangeas, and Lilies) to make my vision all come together.

It was my first time using flowers on any food item, but they turned out to be super easy. Simply cut the stems really low and stick them in place. Wallah!

If you’ve been an avid follower of Orchids + Sweet Tea, then you’ll know that I’ve attempted a few other cakes for my Husband’s Birthday and Little Guy’s Big Day: Vegan Carrot Cake + Orange-infused Frosting, Fluffy, Buttery Vanilla Birthday Cake, and Very Vanilla Cake!

They are all so good!

When it comes to Spring inspired sweets, I’m definitely proud of these Vanilla Cupcakes with Sprinkles, which have been super popular since their debut! I find them perfect for the Easter season, any special occasion, or just because!

Also, the other awesome thing about this recipe is that you can make cupcakes instead of cake if that’s your thing! Just take a look at the notes in the recipe below for details!

Back to this cake—–as you can see from the photos, this cake is truly FLUFFY! That’s exactly how I love making my cakes. I enjoy the melt in your mouth effect! Haha.

So, what’s my secret to such a fluffy Cake?

The buttermilk and mixture of flours—part all-purpose flour and part super fine cake flour. This combo definitely creates a beautiful bite.

When it came the Buttercream, I chose to make my Strawberry flavor out of my Homemade Strawberry Compote. This is my easy compote recipe that I’ve featured in many other strawberry flavored recipe, but I’ve included it below in this recipe as well!

Now, let’s dig right into this recipe, shall we?

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease OR line with parchment paper the following cake pans: THREE 8-inch round cake pans or TWO 9-inch cake pans. **NOTE: You can also use parchment paper in addition to greasing pans for even greater ease.**

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and sea salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer (attached with a paddle), beat together the butter and sugar on high speed, until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl if needed.

Beat in the eggs (one at a time), vanilla, and lemon zest, for about 2 minutes or so. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl if needed, again.

Reduce the mixer to low speed and slowly add in the dry ingredients, until well combined. Now, add in the buttermilk, and lemon juice, until well incorporated. **NOTE: The batter will look a little on the thicker side—that’s fine!**

Pour batter evenly into prepared pans, spreading everything around for a perfect roundness.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the center of the cakes come out clean using a toothpick.

Once done, remove cakes from the oven and let cool completely.

To Make Strawberry Buttercream:

In the bowl of an electric mixer (attached with a paddle), beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the powered sugar (1/2 the amount), lemon juice, vanilla, and strawberry compote, mixing them together until well combined. Add the remaining powered sugar and mix until well combined. **NOTE: If the frosting is too thick, add additional lemon juice (1 Tbsp at a time); if it’s too thin, add additional powered sugar (1 Tbsp at a time). Lastly, add a pinch of sea salt to balance sweetness and Wallah!

Assembly:

Using a large knife (or cake slicer), slice a thin layer of cake off the tops of each cake to create a flat surface. Place first cake layer on your cake stand and evenly cover the top with buttercream. Now, top with 2nd layer and evenly cover the top with buttercream. **NOTE: Repeat another step if using 3-layers.** Once full layered, add remaining buttercream atop cake and spread it over the tops and sides of cake. **NOTE: Adding a thin layer of buttercream around cake and chilling it for 30 minutes before adding remaining buttercream does the trick for an easier frosting of cake!**

Once fully frosted, add bits of cake crumble from any discarded cake, flowers, nuts, etc. as desired. Slice and enjoy!

Wallah!

Bon Appetite!

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If you choose to make this Lemon + Strawberry Layer Spring Cakerecipe or any other recipe from us, be sure to tag us on Instagram at #Orchidsandsweettea so that we can share the love!

5 from 7 votes

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Lemon + Strawberry Layer Spring Cake

This Lemon + Strawberry Layer Spring Cake isn’t your traditional version of a lemon cake. Not only is it completely moist, + fluffy, but it’s also loaded with a nice balance between tart and sweet as the bursting of lemon flavor paired with the strawberry buttercream work amazingly together. A definite crowd-pleasing treat for the Easter season or any special occasion.

Course: Dessert

Keyword cake, dessert, homemade, lemon, spring, strawberry, sweets

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 1 Cake

Creator Shanika | Orchids + Sweet Tea

Must-Haves:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 1 cup Super fine cake flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
• 1 3/4 cups pure cane sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temp.
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk (See Notes!)
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 1/3 cup juice of a lemon (About 2 lemons)

Strawberry Buttercream:

• 5 cups organic powered sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 Tbsps juice of a lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 Tbsps Strawberry compote (See Notes!)
• pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

1. Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease OR line with parchment paper the following cake pans: THREE 8-inch round cake pans or TWO 9-inch cake pans. **NOTE: You can also use parchment paper in addition to greasing pans for even greater ease.**

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and sea salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer (attached with a paddle), beat together the butter and sugar on high speed, until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl if needed.

4. Beat in the eggs (one at a time), vanilla, and lemon zest, for about 2 minutes or so. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl if needed, again.

5. Reduce the mixer to low speed and slowly add in the dry ingredients, until well combined. Now, add in the buttermilk, and lemon juice, until well incorporated. **NOTE: The batter will look a little on the thicker side—that’s fine!**

6. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans, spreading everything around for a perfect roundness.

7. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the center of the cakes come out clean using a toothpick.

8. Once done, remove cakes from the oven and let cool completely. 

To Make Strawberry Buttercream:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer (attached with a paddle), beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the powered sugar (1/2 the amount), lemon juice, vanilla, and strawberry compote, mixing them together until well combined. Add the remaining powered sugar and mix until well combined. **NOTE: If the frosting is too thick, add additional lemon juice (1 Tbsp at a time); if it’s too thin, add additional powered sugar (1 Tbsp at a time). Lastly, add a pinch of sea salt to balance sweetness and Wallah!

Assembly:

1. Using a large knife (or cake slicer), slice a thin layer of cake off the tops of each cake to create a flat surface. Place first cake layer on your cake stand and evenly cover the top with buttercream. Now, top with 2nd layer and evenly cover the top with buttercream. **NOTE: Repeat another step if using 3-layers.** Once full layered, add remaining buttercream atop cake and spread it over the tops and sides of cake. **NOTE: Adding a thin layer of buttercream around cake and chilling it for 30 minutes before adding remaining buttercream does the trick for an easier frosting of cake!**
   

2. Once fully frosted, add bits of cake crumble from any discarded cake, flowers, nuts, etc. as desired. Slice and enjoy!

3. Wallah!

4. Bon Appetite!

Tips | Notes:

STORAGE: Keep cake tightly wrapped using plastic wrap and refrigerated for about 1 week.

LEMON CUPCAKES: This recipe yields about 30 cupcakes. Simply bake for 18-20 minutes instead, until centers come out clean.

BUTTERMILK: Add 1 cup of organic heavy cream + 1 Tbsp lemon juice and let sit for 10 minutes, until it thickens.

STRAWBERRY COMPOTE: Combine 3 cups diced strawberries, 1 cup pure cane sugar, 2 Tbsps lemon juice, 1/4 cup water, and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer until the strawberries are soft. Now mix 1 Tbsp corn starch in a small bowl with 2 Tbsps warm water until well combined and lump-free. Add mixture to saucepan with strawberries and stir until syrup thickens and reduced slightly, approximately 8-10 minutes, Continue to stir occasionally.

Lemon + Strawberry Layer Spring Cake.

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