Strawberry lemonade layer cake
Preppy Kitchen · ♥ 26.9K likes · 1.6M views · 24 min video
Read about layer cakes in the BrightCulinary Book
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Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 360 g all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Heat the oven to 350F and whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.
- 226 g butter
Cream the room temperature butter on medium about 30 seconds.
- 400 g granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
Add the granulated sugar and the lemon zest.
Sugar and lemon zest
Mix on medium to medium high about five minutes, until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl down once.
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 4 whole eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
Juice two to three lemons to get a quarter cup of lemon juice.
Add the four room temperature eggs one at a time, letting each incorporate before the next, and add the vanilla.
Adding vanilla and eggs one at a time
Add about a third of the flour mixture on low, then half the milk, another third of the flour, the rest of the milk and the remaining flour, without overmixing.
Why ingredients are at room temperature
Add the lemon juice last -- it reacts with the baking soda and foams.
Alternating flour and milk; the lemon juice reaction
Divide between three buttered eight-inch pans lined with parchment paper, weighing them to be even, and smooth the tops with a spatula while keeping the bubbles.
Filling the cake pans
Bake at 350F for 30 to 35 minutes, until the centers are springy and the edges pull away from the pan.
- strawberries
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
Hull the strawberries and put them in a pan with half a cup of granulated sugar and a quarter cup of lemon juice.
Cook over medium high heat 20 to 30 minutes to a jammy consistency, stirring frequently, especially at the edges so they do not singe.
- food coloring
Mash the strawberries with a potato ricer or the back of a fork to help them break down.
It is ready when a spatula leaves a streak that takes a while to come back together; spread it in a pie dish and chill it to room temperature before use.
Testing and cooling the reduction
- 454 g unsalted butter
Beat 454 g of room temperature unsalted butter on high five minutes, until almost pure white and fluffy.
- 80 ml strawberry reduction
- salt
Once half the sugar is in, add a third of a cup of the strawberry reduction, then the rest of the sugar.
Strawberry reduction into the buttercream
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2–3 tbsp cream
Add two tablespoons of lemon juice and two to three tablespoons of cream, and taste; adjust with more lemon juice, reduction or salt.
Balancing with lemon juice and cream
Run a knife or small spatula around each cooled layer and tap the pan to release it, then peel off the paper.
Unmoulding the layers
Load about two cups of frosting into a piping bag with a 4B star tip.
Spread about half a cup of frosting level on the first layer and pipe a border around the edge to hold the reduction in.
Add the next layer, another half cup of frosting, a thicker border and another three tablespoons of reduction, checking the cake is not askew.
Add the last layer, smooth frosting over the top and onto the sides, and clean the sides up with a bench scraper on a turntable, keeping the top level.
If the buttercream has gone bubbly from sitting, whip it briefly and work it up the sides to press the bubbles out.
Frosting the sides with a bench scraper
Pipe a rope border of circles around the top and an optional skirt of small puffs at the edge.
- strawberries
Crown the top with hulled, sliced and quartered strawberries, scattered or covering it completely.
Chill half an hour if it looks wobbly, and add the strawberries at the very end if the cake is made in advance, since they dry out in the fridge.