Lemon Strawberry Cake

5 from 1 vote

This amazing Lemon Strawberry Cake is naturally gluten free which makes it a treat for almost anyone and despite its sophisticated look it's really easy to pull off.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Finishing45

Total Time1 45

Course: Cake

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy to make, lemon cake, Lemon Strawberry Cake

Servings:

Calories: 599kcal

Author: Helen S. Fletcher

Ingredients

Lemon Cake

2 large lemons, zested and juiced
2 ½ cups almond flour (250 grams)*
¾ cup yellow cornmeal (115 grams)
1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
¼ teaspoon salt
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (205 grams)
3 large eggs

Lemon Soaking Syrup

⅓ cup fresh lemon juice from above
¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter

Strawberry and Cream Topping

1 quart strawberries
½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
4 teaspoons instant clearjel
Red food coloring, optional
¼ cup cold water
1 ½ cups heavy cream
⅓ cup powdered sugar (45 grams)

Instructions

Lemon Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9x2” round cake pan with parchment. Spray the paper and sides of the pan with a non-stick baking release. Set aside.
If not weighing the almond flour, stir and spoon it before lightly spooning it into the cup. I encourage you to weigh for the best results.
Zest the two lemons and squeeze the juice for the lemon soak.
Combine the almond flour, cornmeal, granulated sugar, baking powder, xanthun gum, salt and lemon zest in the bowl of a processor. Process to combine the ingredients and grind the almond flour and cornmeal smaller.
Add the softened butter and process until it comes together.
Add the eggs and process until the batter circles the steel blade and the batter is completely mixed..
Remove as much of the batter as possible with a hard plastic spatula. Replace the top on the processor and process briefly to sling the batter to the side of the bowl and off the blade. Remove the blade and add the batter to the pan. Smooth the top of the batter.
Place the pan on the center rack of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a tester comes out cleanly. Slightly underbaked is preferable to overbaking.
Cool the baked cake in the pan for about 15 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack leaving it upside down. Place a piece of waxed paper under the cooling rack.

Lemon Soaking Syrup

While the cake cools in the pan, combine the lemon juice, sugar and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and brush or spoon onto the cake, including the sides, using all of it. Allow the sauce to soak in if it pools or puddles on top.
Cool the cake completely.

Strawberries and Whipped Cream Topping

Wash the strawberries and dry them. Cut them into medium size pieces. Set aside.
Whisk the Instant Clearjel and sugar together in a large bowl. Whisk in the water. If using the food coloring, add it now. If the liquid seems overly stiff, add a bit of water to dilute it. Add the strawberries and stir to coat all of them. Set aside.
Combine the whipped cream and powdered sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Beat until stiff peaks just start to form.
Top the cake with half of the whipped cream. Place the strawberries about 1 to 1 ½ inch inside the top edge of the cake.
Place the remainder of the cream in a piping bag fitted with a # 5 open star tip and pipe around the edges of the cake, enclosing the strawberry filling.
Refrigerate until serving. This may be made the day before. Remove from the fridge while having dinner or a bit before serving.

Notes

There is always an abundance of photos to guide you in the post above.

As always, I recommend using a scale for accuracy and consistency. Flour, in particular, is difficult to measure by volume. For my recipes, I use 140 grams per cup of unsifted all-purpose, bread or whole wheat flour and 125 grams of cake flour. Others may use different weights so use whatever they suggest.

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The cake can be made ahead including being soaked and frozen to be finished later. Freeze the cake layer, wrap well in foil and freeze for several months. Thaw to use.

The cake, in its entirety can be made a day ahead.

I use the term "softened butter" where others use room temperature because everyones kitchen is not the same temperature. The ideal temp for creaming butter or mixing in is between 72°F and 74°F. This is where the butter and sugar can beat to their fluffiest.

As unusual as this seems, slightly underbaking this cake is preferable to overbaking.

Make sure to use instant clearjel as the regular will not work here.

It seems like a lot of liquid for one layer of cake but it will absorb it all as there is no flour in this cake.

Make sure to use the measurements for the clearjel thickener on the recipe card as they are different from the ingredients in the photo.

Nutrition