Lemon Cake with Strawberry Jam + Lemon Crumble
If there is one type of cake that gets me excited, it’s a lemon cake. Specifically a lemon cake with a fruity filling. That combo is IT for me. The road to a good lemon cake has been a journey this Summer. Finding one that was truly punch-y and packed a solid lemon flavor, but still light + soft + not a total brick to bite into. It’s been my Summer 2023 goal to find a “go-to” lemon + berry cake, and we ended the season with the best variation yet - this Lemon Cake with Strawberry Jam + Lemon Crumble. A cake batter loaded with lemon zest + fresh squeezed lemon juice, layered with a fresh strawberry jam (that’s so good we can’t stop putting it on toast + crackers + everything in between), cream cheese frosting, and a lemon shortbread crumble. The lemon shortbread crumble being my last minute, x-factor ingredient, and I’m pretty proud it. It’s a cake that had a lot of citrus + a very delicious Summer strawberry flair, and overall - she’s a keeper.
Lemon in (almost) every layer
I used Martha Stewart’s lemon cake recipe, and it’s honestly fool proof. I even amped up the lemon by adding the juice of 1 lemon to the batter in addition to the zest her recipe calls for. Again, I wanted to make sure it was undeniably lemon. And it was. It was also light, fluffy, and airy, and a pleasure to eat on it its own. We really enjoyed the “trimmings” the day of the cake bake, and it held us over until we had a fully completed cake to dive into.
The extra hit of lemon comes from the crumble. It’s a super easy shortbread that takes less than 5 minutes to whip together, and, like the cake, it’s loaded with lemon zest + juice. It’s punchy and like little lemon cookie pieces sandwiched between each cake layer. Also, like the cake, very delicious to eat the scaps on their own.
Fresh strawberry jam trumps everything
I have made the mistake of making quick strawberry fillings in the past cake experiments, and in each instance it left a little something to be desired. Just the flavor was not awesome, and my past dabbles with strawberry fillings called for cornstarch, and the texture also wasn’t great. It was too gelatinous + gloopy. But a fresh strawberry jam - heaven!
It was all in the prep. Letting the strawberries cook low + slow for over an hour with nothing but sugar + their own juices is the way to go. The flavor is sweet + pure strawberry, and just such a pleasant fruity component. The perfect fresh, juicy fruit filling with the lemon cake + tangy cream cheese frosting. Just perfection.
My 3 take-aways from this cake.
Do your prep. Having the cake layers already baked, trimmed, and frozen when it was time for assembly was clutch. It just makes the actual put together of the cake fun + enjoyable, and heavily reduces day of dishes, which just makes it a more seamless, fun, and stress free process. I even made the jam a couple days ahead of time, and so my only day of cooking was the shortbread crumble.
The flower design is so cute, and such an easy little detail to add to the cake. It’s sweet + girly + gives a little bit of a Spice Girls - Barbie vibe. I just love it. It just takes a large circular piping tip, pipe five dots in a circular formation, and use a flat spatula to drag each dot of frosting towards the center. Use a different color frosting to pipe another dot in the center of each flower to finish each flower. The smaller the dot the better to make the flowers a little less clunky, and that’s my learning lesson for next time.
Making the frosting should be the only thing on the to-do list for the most enjoyable cake assembly. By using freshly whipped frosting, you have the perfect texture for the cream cheese frosting to easily put the finishing touches on the cake. It’s super fresh, spreads on so easily, and getting that smooth finish is truly a breeze. And to reiterate, this is also the path to take to keep dishes + mess minimal, which just creates a happier cake decorating environment.
This cake was made 80% of the way during the last few sunny days in WA, and assembled + decorated on the first rainy day of September. A little last bite of Summer, and everything from the flavor + girly design is sparking joy and endless Summer vibes here at our house.
For the cake
1 c. butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs + 3 egg yolks, at room temperature
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
the zest + juice from 1 lemon
1 c. buttermiilk
For the jam
4 1/2 c. fresh strawberries, chopped
1/2 c. sugar
juice from 1 lemon
For the crumble
1/4 c. canola oil
1/2 c. sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar
3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon zest + 1 tbsp lemon juice
For the frosting (I made 1.5 batches of the frosting to fill + frost the cake)
3 sticks of butter
8 ounces cream cheese
6 c. powdered sugar (try with only 5 cups)
3 tbsp heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease 3-6 inch baking pan, and line each with parchment paper.
In a mixer, mix the butter + sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add in the eggs, continuing to mix until fully incorporated. Add in 1 cup of the flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low speed until fully combined, add in half of the buttermilk, and mmix for 1 minute. Add in another cup of the flour, mix until fully combined, add in the remainder of the buttermilk + flour, and increase the speed to medium. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Finish by adding in the lemon zest + juice, and mix on medium high for 1 minute. Fill each of the cake pans about 70% full. Bake 30-35 minutes - the cake should be set + slightly browned on top.
For the jam: Place the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a gently simmer, stir, and let it continue to simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. After that cook time, bring the strawberries to a boil, letting the strawberries boil for 5-7 minutes while stirring (to make sure the strawberries do not burn). Turn off the heat + let the mixture cool in the Dutch oven for 30-40 minutes. Transfer to a mason jar, letting it sit uncovered another 15 minutes. Screw on the tops of the jar + refrigerate (at least overnight).
For the crumble: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Combine all ingredients for the crumble in a bowl, and spread on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread in a thin layer - okay for it to be “piecey” laid out on the parchment sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes. It should be lightly toasted + feel crisp on top before removing from the oven. Let the crumble cool completely on the baking sheet, then break into smaller pieces.
For the cream cheese buttercream: Add the butter + cream cheese to an electric mixer on medium, mixing with the paddle attachment for a minute. Add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing on low until incorporated. When all of the powered sugar has been mixed in, increase the speed to medium high, whipping at that speed for 30 seconds. Add in the heavy cream, and mix on medium high speed for 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
To assemble the cake:
Place one of the cake layers on a cardboard cake tray. Top with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting, and pipe a frosting border around the edge of the cake. Top the cream cheese with the strawberry jam, and the a few pieces of the crumble on top.
Top with the 2nd cake layer, and repeat step one.
Top with the 3rd cake layer, and dirty ice the cake. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Place an acrylic disk on top of cake, and frost the sides of the cake. Use a flat edge cake scraper to get a smooth finish to the side of the cake. Place the cake in the fridge for another 15 minutes.
Gently remove the acrylic disk, and spread a smooth layer of frosting on top of the cake. Refrigerate for another 15 minutes, and then proceed to decorate + do some decorative pipework on the cake.
Eat + enjoy.