Indulge in the tangy and sweet flavors of summer with our Lemon Strawberry Cake recipe! This delicious cake features a fluffy and tender lemon sponge cake, filled with a layer of roasted strawberries and a creamy chamomile infused frosting.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and substitutions for Lemon Strawberry Cake
- Butter: Butter must be room temperature here to create the nice and fluffy base of the sponge cake which allows more air to be whipped up and help the sugar begin dissolving. Unsalted was used as it is fresher than salted, however, you could absolutely substitute with salted butter.
- Sugar: Superfine or caster sugar gives our cake it’s sweetness without overly flavoring the cake allowing the lemon flavors to really come to the fore. You could substitute with raw sugar or half and half with brown sugar, though your cake would have slightly more caramel flavor. Icing or confectioner’s sugar is best in the glaze because it dissolves into the lemon juice thanks to it’s incredibly fine texture.
- Plain flour: The finer crumb in plain flour gives our sponge cake it's signature texture. However, you can substitute in equal measure with self-raising flour and omit the baking powder, which is most commonly recommended for this recipe.
- Baking powder: This helps our cake rise so to create the nice light crumb and avoid a dense cake. Baking powder can expire, so it's best to check the best before date, particularly if yours has been open for some time.
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs are essential to bind with the butter and sugar as they allow more air to be introduced which gives our sponge that nice and light texture.
- Lemon: Verna lemons were most easy to source for this recipe, but honestly, any lemon you have on hand works. You will want the skin to be as blemish free as possible due to using the zest for the cake batter.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Lemon Strawberry Cake:
Step 1: Roast: The strawberries, sugar and vanilla seeds into a baking dish and bake. Then set aside to cool completely.
Step 2: Rub: Toss the sugar and lemon zest into a bowl and rub together to draw out the oils in the peel.
Step 3: Pale and fluffy: Add the butter and beat until pale and fluffy with an electric beater.
Step 4: Eggs: Add the eggs and beat until well combined and fluffy.
Step 5: Dry ingredients: Add the flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir together.
Step 6: Toss: Into the wet ingredients and beat on low until just combined.
Step 7: Pour: Evenly into the cake tins and spread out evenly bake until a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely.
Step 8: Whip: The egg whites and sugar until soft peaks form. Continue beating on low until it’s reached temperature. Remove and whip at room temperature until stiff.
Step 9: Whip: All the cubed butter until the buttercream is smooth before adding in the vanilla extract, salt and chamomile tea.
Step 10: Assemble your cake: Place your base cake layer onto a plate and evenly spread a portion of the buttercream on top. Pipe out a rim of buttercream and spoon the roasted strawberries in the center.
Step 11:Stack: Add the second layer and cover the entire surface to form your crumb coating. Chilling and finishing with the remaining buttercream, decorating to your preference.
Serve up and slice: Dig in!
FAQ’s for the best Lemon Strawberry Cake
Roasted strawberries can be used in a multitude of dishes, from an accompaniment to your breakfast bowl alongside yogurt and granola to being served here in the center of a cake. In the case of using in the center of a cake; we want most of the moisture to be baked out of it and the flavor to be intensified. Though the longer you roast the more the sweetness will bake out beyond the 1 hour of roasting. Taste the juice in your strawberries every time you take them out to stir beyond the 50 minute mark. This is where you get to decide what suits you and your flavor preferences best. They can be made ahead and kept in the fridge up to 5 days before you make your cake.
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Lemon Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
Roasted Strawberries
- 300 grams / 10.6 ounces strawberries roughly chopped
- 25 grams / 2 tablespoon superfine/caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla seeds
Lemon Sponge Cake
- 200 grams / 1 cup superfine/caster sugar
- 5 grams / 1 tablespoon lemon zest finely chopped
- 200 grams / 7 ounces butter room temperature
- 160 grams / 3 large eggs room temperature and lightly beaten
- 14 grams / 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 200 grams / 1 ¼ cups plain flour sifted
- 6 grams / 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
Chamomile Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 100 grams / 3.5 ounces egg whites
- 200 grams / 1 cup superfine/caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 225 grams / 7.93 ounces butter room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 grams / 2 bags chamomile
- 50 grams / ¼ cup - 1 tablespoon chamomile tea strained
Instructions
Roasted strawberries
- Preheat your oven to 160C/320F and toss the strawberries, sugar and vanilla seeds into a baking dish.
- Stir together and ensure the strawberries are in a nice evenly layer in your baking dish (we don’t them to be too piled together).
- Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, removing and stirring every 20 minutes. (See FAQ’s for more details).
- Remove and set aside to cool completely.
Lemon sponge cakes
- Preheat your oven to 180C/350F and line the bases of two cake tins with greaseproof paper.
- Place the sugar and lemon zest into a bowl and rub together to coat the zest thoroughly with sugar and draw out the oils in the peel.
- Add the butter and beat until pale and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes with an electric beater.
- Add the eggs and beat until well combined, approximately 2 minutes with an electric beater.
- Add the flour and baking powder to your mixture and beat on low until just combined.
- Pour evenly into the cake tins and spread out evenly.
- Place in the oven until golden, approximately 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Remove and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack.
Chamomile Swiss meringue buttercream
- For the buttercream, place a small saucepan on low heat with enough water not to touch the base of a heatproof bowl.
- Place the egg whites and sugar into the bowl and put over the simmering water.
- Beat on low until your egg whites reach 73C/165F (if you don’t have a thermometer, the best test is to put a clean finger into the egg whites and you feel no sugar granules between your finger or can’t keep your finger in the mixture for more than 3 seconds).
- Remove the egg whites from the heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
- Beat on medium speed with a whisk attachment until stiff and the bowl is tepid to the touch.
- Toss in all the cubed butter and whisk on the lowest setting to incorporate, approximately 3 minutes.
- Increase the speed to medium and beat until your buttercream is smooth, approximately 10 minutes.
- Add in the vanilla extract, salt and chamomile tea and beat for a further 2 minutes until smooth.
Assembly
- To assemble your cake, place your base cake layer onto a plate and evenly spread a portion of the buttercream on top and smooth out to a ¼ inch thickness with a rim of buttercream.
- Spoon the roasted strawberries evenly into the center of the cake.
- Lay the second layer on top and press down lightly to ensure the layers are evenly stacked.
- Place approximately 6 tablespoons of the buttercream on the cake and smooth out over the entire surface to form your crumb coating.
- Smooth out and ensure you do not mix the crumb coating portion into the remaining buttercream.
- Place the cake into the fridge to set for 30 minutes or set at a cool room temperature for 1 hour.
- Finish with the remaining Swiss meringue buttercream, decorating how you prefer.
- Serve up and slice.
- Dig in!
Notes
- Roasted strawberries: Ultimately the length of time you roast your strawberries depends on your use for it. In the case of using in the center of a cake; we want most of the moisture to be baked out of it and the flavor to be intensified. Though the longer you roast the more the sweetness will bake out beyond the 1 hour of roasting. Taste the juice in your strawberries every time you take them out to stir beyond the 50 minute mark. This is where you get to decide what suits you and your flavor preferences best. They can be made ahead and kept in the fridge up to 5 days before you make your cake.
- Lemon: Verna lemons were most easy to source for this recipe, but honestly, any lemon you have on hand works. You will want the skin to be as blemish free as possible due to using the zest for the cake batter.
- Sugar: Superfine or caster sugar gives our cake it’s sweetness without overly flavoring the cake allowing the lemon flavors to really come to the fore. You could substitute with raw sugar or half and half with brown sugar, though your cake would have slightly more caramel flavor. Icing or confectioner’s sugar is best in the glaze because it dissolves into the lemon juice thanks to it’s incredibly fine texture.
- Cake tin: Two 18 centimeter or 7 inch cake tins were used here for a higher cake due to the batter not being a large recipe; the smaller your tin the higher the cakes will be. If your cake tin is any larger then 23 centimeters or 9 inches, your cakes will be much flatter than they appear here.
Nutrition
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