Strawberry Lemonade Layer Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
• Grease three 8-inch (20 cm) tins with butter or cooking spray, then sprinkle with flour to cover all sides, shaking off any excess. Cut out three rounds of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of each tin.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugar and use a hand mixer to beat until it has tripled in volume and is thick and pale yellow in color.
• Continue blending and gradually add the olive oil. Add the vanilla extract, lemon zest, lemon juice, and milk, and mix until smooth.
• Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, gently incorporate into the liquid batter until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix.
• Evenly divide the batter into the three baking tins.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cakes are lightly golden and fork comes out clean from the center.
• Allow cakes to cool into the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a baking rack to cool completely.
• Using a hand mixer, whisk the heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add in the strawberry jam whisking together until fully incorporated and peaks are stiff.
• Keep in the fridge until ready to use.
• To assemble, start with a bottom layer of cake. Cover top with a generous amount of icing, followed by an even layer of sliced strawberries. Repeat with the remaining layers.
• Finish the cake by icing the top and sides with icing, and garnishing the top with remaining strawberries.
• Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Place strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice for the reduction into an electric blender and puree until smooth.
• Pour strawberry mixture into a large saucepan and simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until reduced by 1/2, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup plus 5 tablespoons for cake and frosting; remainder will be used as cake filling.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.
• Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Beat sugar and butter using an electric mixer in a large bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Mix in lemon zest and vanilla extract. Stir in 1/3 of the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in 1/2 of the sour cream, and 1/2 of the lemon juice. Repeat alternating additions of flour mixture and sour cream plus lemon juice until just combined, making sure not to overmix.
• Place 1/2 of the batter into a separate bowl. Fold in 1/2 cup strawberry reduction. Place dollops of both lemon and strawberry-lemon batters alternately into the prepared cake pans. Swirl batters together with a butter knife.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pans before removing and transferring cakes to a wire rack to cool completely, 15 to 30 minutes.
• While cakes are cooling, beat butter for frosting with an electric mixer in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until incorporated. Mix in 5 tablespoons strawberry reduction, lemon juice, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and salt until combined. Pour in heavy cream and beat until frosting is smooth and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add additional powdered sugar if too thin, or additional heavy cream if too thick, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
• Place 1 cooled cake layer on a serving platter and cover top with a thin layer of frosting. Pipe a border around the edge of the cake layer using a piping bag filled with frosting, leaving the center open. Pour remaining strawberry reduction into the center of the border, making sure it doesn't overflow over the sides. Place second cake layer on top and continue to frost as desired. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center position. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans (2 inches deep); line with parchment cut to fit. Butter parchment; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt.
• Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat in vanilla.
• Divide batter between pans. Bake, rotating halfway through, until tops spring back when gently touched and a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer to wire racks, and let cool in pans for 20 minutes.
• Run a knife around edge of cakes, and invert onto racks; remove parchment, and let cool completely.
• Make the filling: Combine strawberries with granulated sugar, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let stand, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving syrup.
• Whisk cream with confectioners' sugar until medium peaks form.
• Trim cake tops. Slice cakes in half horizontally. Generously brush 1 cake layer with some reserved syrup, and spread on one-third of the jam. Top with one-third of the filling, then one-third of the whipped cream. Repeat with 2 more cake layers. Top with remaining cake layer, bottom side up. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 hours. Dust cake with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Steps:

• Fill a small saucepan with about 1 inch of water and set over medium heat until the water steams.
• Meanwhile, coarsely chop about a quarter of the strawberries and combine in a medium heatproof bowl with the sugar. Cover the bowl tightly and set it over the saucepan. Reduce the heat if necessary to keep the water just below a simmer and allow the berries to sit, swirling the bowl once or twice to dissolve any stubborn sugar clumps, until they've released all their juices, are mushy, and swim in a translucent red liquid, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat, uncover and strain through a fine-mesh strainer. (You should have 1/2 to 3/4 cup of strawberry syrup.) The mushy berries will have given off their color and flavor, and even though you won't use them in the cake, they're still tasty. Reserve the berries for spooning over pancakes or yogurt.
• In a separate medium bowl, combine the heavy cream, crème fraîche and salt. Whisk the mixture vigorously by hand, or beat with a hand mixer on medium-high, until thick, light and holding a medium peak. Chill the bowl of whipped cream. Thinly slice the remaining raw strawberries lengthwise.
• Invert the sponge cake on a flat serving plate or cake stand. Holding a long serrated knife horizontally and parallel to the work surface, use it to lightly score all around the side of the cake at the midway point. Then, using long, even strokes and still holding the knife parallel to the surface, slice clean through the cake, using the score marks as a guide, to cut it into two even layers. Set the top layer aside.
• Use a pastry brush to dab several tablespoons of the strawberry syrup across the bottom layer, lightly soaking the entire surface. Pull the bowl of cream from the refrigerator and dollop about half of it across the soaked layer, then spread in an even layer all the way to the edges. Arrange half of the sliced strawberries on top of the cream, then place the second cake layer on top of the first, cut side up. Lightly soak the top layer of cake with the strawberry syrup, reserving any remaining syrup for serving. Spread the remaining cream on top of the cake, then pile the remaining sliced strawberries over top. (If not serving immediately, cover loosely and refrigerate until ready to serve.)
• Slice the cake with a serrated knife and serve. Drizzle the slices with any remaining strawberry syrup. The cake is best served the day it's made, but will keep, covered and chilled, for up to 3 days.