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4.88 from 16 ratings

Lemon Strawberry Jam Layer Cake

Yield: 8 slices
Prep: 1 hour
Cook: 30 minutes
Decorating Time: 1 hour
Moist lemon cake filled with homemade strawberry jam, frosted with lemon cream cheese frosting and topped with more strawberry jam.
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Ingredients

For the Strawberry Jam

  • 16 oz. fresh strawberries
  • 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice

For the Lemon Cake

  • 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, (10 tbsp)
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
  • 4 egg whites, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp lemon zest
  • 2 tsp lemon extract
  • 1 cup lemon kefir, room temperature
  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, cold
  • 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions
 

For the Strawberry Jam

  • Add 16 oz. of strawberries with stems removed to a food processor. Pulse until the strawberries are puréed.
  • Add the strawberry purée, 3/4 cup of granulated white sugar and 2 tbsp of lemon juice to a large sauce pan.
  • Simmer the mixture on medium low heat for 20-25 minutes until very thick. You should have around 1 cup of jam.
  • Remove from the heat and allow the jam to completely cool.

For the Lemon Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Cream 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp of softened, unsalted butter and 1 1/2 cups of granulated white sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer.
  • Add in four egg whites, 2 tbsp of lemon zest and 2 tsp of lemon extract and mix for 2-5 minutes until the mixture is noticeably "fluffy".
  • Then add in 1 cup of lemon kefir and mix just until combined.
  • In a small bowl sift together 2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1/4 tsp of baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of salt.
  • Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until all is combined.
  • Evenly distribute the batter between 3 greased 6" cake pans.
  • Bake the cakes for 29-32 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean from the centers and the centers "spring" back when pressed upon.
  • Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to completely cool.

For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Add 1 1/4 cups of softened, unsalted butter to a large bowl. Mix with an electric mixer until the butter is pale in color and fluffy. It should about double in size. (This takes around 5 to 10 minutes).
  • Then add in 8 oz. of cold cream cheese and mix until it is thoroughly combined.
  • Sift in 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar a little at a time, making sure each addition is fully combined before adding the next.
  • Then add in 1 1/2 tsp of lemon zest and mix until the frosting is light and fluffy, about another minute or so.

Assembling the Cake

  • See the above blog post for step by step pictures.
  • Once the cakes are completely cooled, begin to make each layer as similar in size as possible. Usually you will only have to cut the tops off of each cake layer. With a sharp knife, remove the tops from each cake layer until each are flat and can be stacked and the cake is even. So, each layer should sit flat on each other without the cake leaning.
  • Add some of the lemon cream cheese frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large circular tip. Then place a dollop of lemon cream cheese frosting in the center of your cake turntable. Place the first cake layer over it. Then add a thin layer of lemon cream cheese frosting on top of the cake layer and even it out with your frosting spatula, turning the cake table as you go. With the piping bag of lemon cream cheese frosting, pipe a “boarder” layer of frosting just on the edges of the cake layer. Make sure the boarder of frosting is about ½ inch thick and 1 inch high. Then add about 1/4 cup of strawberry jam onto the cake layer. Place the next cake layer over top and repeat the step.
  • At this point consider inserting 4-5 plastic straws through the top of the cake to reinforce it so that it won't lean.
  • Then place the final layer over the top and place small dollops of frosting on the outsides and top of the cake. Even out the frosting as much as possible with your frosting spatula. Then with your cake scraper, scrape the icing across the cake, turning the cake table as you go to make this as easy as possible. This layer of frosting should be very thin. This is called the ‘crumb layer’ and will ensure that the cake’s final coating of frosting is smooth and free of crumbs. Once the crumb layer of frosting has been applied, place the cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow the frosting to harden.
  • Once the cake has chilled in the fridge, remove it and apply the final coating of frosting. Apply generous dollops of frosting on the sides and top of the cake and smooth them out with your cake frosting spatula. Then with your cake scraper even out the frosting, turning the cake table as you go, to give you an even coating of lemon cream cheese frosting. Then take a clean frosting spatula and drag small portions of the strawberry jam across the cake. Use the cake scrapper to even out and swirl the jam into the cake. Don't over think this step, just apply and scrape! It doesn't have to be perfect.
  • I chose to decorate this cake simply with strawberry jam, halved strawberries and a lemon slice, but you could also easily pipe any remaining frosting onto the top edges of the cake or along the bottom. Whatever you think would look the best! Then serve the cake!
Course: Dessert
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