Meyer Lemon Cake with Strawberry Frosting

I absolutely LOVE when Meyer Lemons are in season & you can find big bags of them at the grocery store! Meyer lemons are tart like lemons, but sweet like oranges. Their zest is thicker and sweeter and their juice is perfectly tart. I love lemon flavored desserts so when I saw these the other day at the store I knew I had to pick up a bag and start lemon-infused baking! Plus, what says "spring" more than lemon? Okay I know it's only January but a girl can dream, right?

The cake part of this recipe is super easy, its the frosting made with fresh strawberry puree that can get a little tricky, but it's worth it. I adapted this recipe by swapping out a few ingredients from the red velvet cake I made last weekend. 

Cake

1/2 cup margarine

1-1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup fresh squeezed Meyer lemon juice 

2 T Meyer lemon zest

*Make a paste with the above, then add:

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2-1/2 cups cake flour

1-2 drops yellow food coloring

*Mix until well combined

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two, 9" round cake  pans.

Bake cakes 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out nearly clean. Cool on wire racks.

 

Strawberry Puree

2 large strawberries

1/2 tsp water

*slice strawberries and puree w/ water in a blender, this should make approx. 1/4 cup*

 

Frosting

1/4 cup strawberry puree

3/4 cup milk

5 Tbsp flour

*whisk above ingredients together in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring continuously until thick, let cool to room temperature*

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1-2 drops red food coloring

*cream together butter, sugar and food coloring, add cooled milk and flour mixture and beat on high until smooth and creamy*

 

Strawberry Topping (optional)

1/4 cup strawberry jam

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp milk

*whisk together until smooth & drizzle over the top of frosted cake*

 

 I cut each 9" round in half horizontally to make a thinner, 4 layer cake. Also, in the middle of the 2nd and 3rd layers on top of the frosting, I added super thin slices of strawberries. These are just my little touches, you can choose to do the same..or not :-)

Due to the fact that I definitely do not need a full sized layer cake in my house for me to eat, I sent this to work with Scott. I did try a slice...in case it sucked I didn't wanna send it as I have a reputation to uphold ;-) however I ate it so quickly I forgot to take a picture, which I am sad/mad about because the yellow cake with the pretty pink frosting and the bits of real strawberries peeking out of the middle was SO pretty! 

 

Enjoy this yummy, moist cake with the perfect amount of tartness from the lemons and sweetness from the strawberries; it's sure to give you spring fever!