Here’s a bright, tangy recipe for a Strawberry Lemonade Buttermilk Cake — soft vanilla-lemon cake layers with fresh strawberries and a lemonade-style glaze.
Strawberry Lemonade Buttermilk Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1¾ cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1½ cups diced fresh strawberries
For the lemonade glaze
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 2–3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp strawberry puree (optional, for color/flavor)
Optional topping
- Whipped cream
- Sliced strawberries
- Lemon slices or zest
Instructions
1. Prep
- Heat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan or bundt pan.
2. Mix dry ingredients
In a bowl, whisk together:
- flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
3. Cream butter and sugar
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time.
Mix in:
- lemon zest
- lemon juice
- vanilla
4. Alternate dry ingredients and buttermilk
Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk.
Do not overmix.
Fold in strawberries gently.
5. Bake
- Pour batter into pan.
- Bake 40–50 minutes (bundt) or 30–35 minutes (round pans).
- Toothpick should come out clean.
Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan.
6. Make glaze
Whisk powdered sugar with lemon juice until smooth.
Drizzle over cooled cake.
Tips
- Toss strawberries in 1 tbsp flour before folding in to prevent sinking.
- For stronger lemonade flavor, add extra zest to the glaze.
- This cake tastes even better chilled for a few hours.
For a layer-cake version, you can add lemon cream cheese frosting between layers instead of glaze.