Strawberry Lemonade Cake

Voted best cake I've ever made by my husband. And he's kind of a big deal in my kitchen.

Strawberry Lemonade Jam Recipe

​2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh strawberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons cornstarch

​Process strawberries in a blender until smooth; press through a wire-mesh strainer into a 3-qt. saucepan, using back of a spoon to squeeze out juice; discard pulp. Set aside 2 Tablespoons of strawberry puree for the frosting. Stir in sugar.
Whisk together lemon juice and cornstarch; gradually whisk into strawberry mixture. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat. Place plastic wrap directly on warm jam; chill 2 hours or until cold.  Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Lemon Cake Recipe

​2 C. flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½  C. butter
1 ¼  cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 C. milk
2 tablespoon grated lemon zest
¼  C. fresh lemon juice
¼ C. fresh lemon juice (set aside to brush on each layer when assembling)
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three - 8 inch round pans and line with parchment paper. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.

Brush each layer with 1-2 Tablespoon of lemon juice before spreading the Strawberry Lemonade Jam on to make your cake even more moist.

Strawberry Lemonade Frosting

3-oz. of cream cheese, softened
¾ C. butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup chopped fresh strawberries
2 Tablespoons strawberry puree (from jam recipe above)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon zest
Beat cream cheese, butter and 1/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer until smooth; add strawberries and strawberry puree; beat until blended.
Beat cream, juice and zest at medium speed until foamy; increase speed to medium-high, and slowly add remaining 1/3 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold half of cream mixture into cheese mixture; fold in remaining cream mixture. 
Frost the cake after you brush each layer with lemon juice and have spread on the strawberry jam. Garnish with more lemon zest, whole and cut up strawberries for more wow factor. Enjoy!

Store leftover cake in the fridge...not that there will be any leftover if your family likes it as much as mine does!