KiriBear:The Contemplations of an Aspiring Author, Chef, & Single Mom: Strawberry Lemonade Cake: February's Winning Dessert

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Strawberry Lemonade Cake: February's Winning Dessert

Your votes brought the dessert choice down to the wire. Until the very last day I thought for sure it was going to be the White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake, but at the last minute the Strawberry Lemonade Cake pulled through for the win. This was an interesting recipe to make! I have never before attempted a layer cake. I find them to be a bit intimidating and they always seem like a lot of work. Overall this really wasn't a hard recipe, the challenge came in frosting it much too soon, and my frosting began to melt on me causing the cake to slide on the second layer and my frosting to start dripping off of the cake... In the future I would recommend chilling both layers of the cake in the fridge for half an hour before frosting and then continuing to chill it for another half an hour to give the frosting time to set before serving! Otherwise, everything turned out wonderfully!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
2 1/2 cups all-purpose Gold Medal flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup buttermilk
8-10 large strawberries, sliced
*3 lemons should be enough for both the zest and the lemon juice

For the Strawberry Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
5 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
2-4 large strawberries, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray two 9-inch round baking pans with non-stick cooking spray.
In large bowl place the butter, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients and set aside.
With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, combining thoroughly in between. With the mixer still running, add the lemon juice. (batter will look curdled, but it's not).
Add one third of the dry ingredients and 1/2 cup of the buttermilk. Mix, then stop and scrape the sides of the bowl. Repeat, adding another third of the dry ingredients and the remaining 1/2 cup buttermilk. Mix, then stop and scrape. Add the remaining third of the dry ingredients and mix until completely combined and the batter is light and fluffy.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake the cakes for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool for about half an hour in the fridge before removing from the pans.
While the cakes are cooling, make the strawberry buttercream frosting. Combine the butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Mix together on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the milk and strawberries and mix on high speed until the frosting is very fluffy and pale pink in color, with flecks of strawberry.
Invert one of the cake rounds onto a cake plate; generously spread with frosting and top with strawberry slices. Repeat with the remaining layer of cake and frosting. Frost the sides of the cake. Put in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to allow the frosting to set. Serve at room temperature.