This beautiful lemon buttermilk cake with strawberry jam-cream cheese icing is dense, moist, and can be made without a mixer!
This post was first published on July 21, 2019 and was last updated February 6, 2020.
Testing This Recipe For Lemon Buttermilk Cake With Strawberry Jam-Cream Cheese Icing
When I developed this lemon buttermilk cake recipe I started with a healthy-ish version including spelt flour, coconut sugar, and coconut oil. In the end I decided classic all-purpose flour, white sugar, and butter, look and taste the best. Also, I’ve tested this cake recipe multiple times. For consistent results, I highly recommend baking this cake using a scale if you have one!
The simple cream cheese icing with strawberry jam is nice, however, feel free to substitute in any other jam you like. Also, this cake is great topped with a glaze made with powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
A Note On Baking By Weight
I recently switched to baking by weight, that is weighing ingredients to the gram using a scale.
I learned to bake by scooping and levelling ingredients into 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and 1 cup measures. The problem with this method is that amounts will vary wildly from one baker to the next. The level of consistency you can achieve when using a scale is quite remarkable!
How To Reduce Sugar In Baking
I recently visited a dietitian and I have been doing my best to eat mindfully since. Weekly meal plans are based on a balance of whole grains and protein, with fruit and vegetables, however sometimes I just want a slice of cake!
I’m a firm believer that you can reduce the amount of sugar in pretty much any baking recipe by up to half. Once upon a time, I probably would have started with 1 cup of sugar in this lemon buttermilk cake recipe, however, upon testing this recipe I found 1/2 cup to be fine. Also, because the strawberry jam-cream cheese icing is sweet you won’t notice the reduced sweetness in the cake.
Lemon Buttermilk Cake Ingredients
All-Purpose Flour
I tested this lemon cake recipe with stone ground spelt flour and it worked great, however I prefer the softer texture, and lighter colour, of all-purpose flour.
Sugar
For health and weight-management reasons, I’m on a mission to reduce my sugar intake. I would normally use a full cup of sugar in a cake recipe like this, however, I reduced the sugar by half and it still tastes great.
Baking Powder
I often use baking powder in cake recipes and hardly ever think to use baking soda. The rise and flavour of baking powder is familiar to me meaning I tend to reach for it by default.
Buttermilk
Buttermilk is my new favourite ingredient! I’ve used it in my lime yogurt dressing in place of the yogurt, and as a substitute for the milk in my prosciutto fontina quiche. My rule of thumb is to try buttermilk anywhere you’d use yogurt, milk, or sour cream.
Melted Butter
You could try beating the butter and sugar until light and fluffy if you want, however, because this lemon buttermilk cake recipe is moist and dense, I haven’t found a noticeable difference. Melted butter is so fast and easy!
Eggs
The recipe as written is baked in two 6-inch cake tins, which equals one egg per tin. Eggs help create a smooth batter, and add lift, texture, and a hint of colour to the cake crumb.
Vanilla
I love to double and sometimes triple the amount of vanilla in my recipes, however I held back here because I wanted the lemon to shine. I use clear vanilla extract for all recipes made with white all-purpose flour because it keeps the colour light and pristine.
Lemon Zest And Juice
Because lemons come in different sizes I recommend weighing out 50g of lemon juice, however, use the zest of one full lemon regardless of size.
Strawberry Jam-Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients
Butter And Cream Cheese
You could make a simple buttercream for this cake, but I the added tang of cream cheese is beautiful with lemon! A half and half ratio of butter to cream cheese works well.
Icing Sugar
Also called powdered sugar or confectioners sugar.
Strawberry Jam
Fresh strawberries may be too liquidy for cream cheese icing, though I haven’t tried it. Strawberry jam adds a nice hit of concentrated flavour. If your jam doesn’t make your icing pink enough, you could add one drop of red food colouring.
Aimée Bourque The Picnic Queen
Meeting and working with like-minded food creatives fuels my soul! Aimée Bourque from Simple Bites moved to my home province of Nova Scotia last winter, and we’ve since become food friends.
Aimee’s blog focuses on whole, seasonal foods with family and friends. She also shares fantastic picnic and camping-inspired food posts. We recently collaborated on a romantic lakeside picnic for two, including my newly tested recipe for lemon buttermilk cake with strawberry jam-cream cheese icing.
Looking For More Lemon Recipes? Try:
How About More Strawberry Recipes? Check Out:
Strawberry Rhubarb Bread Pudding
Strawberry Shortcake With Chai-Spiced Biscuits
Vegan Strawberry Streusel Loaf
Lemon Buttermilk Cake With Strawberry Jam-Cream Cheese Icing
A dense, moist lemon cake you can make without a mixer! Fluffy cream cheese icing, with an added dollop of strawberry jam, takes it to the next level. A tasty and pretty little lemon dessert.
Ingredients
Lemon Buttermilk Cake
- 1 1/2 cup (225g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (170g) buttermilk
- 1/4 cup (56g) butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- zest of one lemon
- 1/4 cup (50g) lemon juice
Strawberry Jam-Cream Cheese Icing
- 1/4 cup (56g) butter, soft
- 1/4 cup (56g) cream cheese, soft
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar, sifted
- pinch of salt
- 1 to 2 tablespoons strawberry jam, or other jam of your choice
Instructions
- Make The Lemon Buttermilk Cake - Preheat the oven to 350ºF / 177ºC. Grease two 6-inch cake tins and line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together to combine. Set aside.
- In another bowl whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice until well incorporated.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared 6-inch cake tins and bake 30-35 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the cakes is 200º to 205ºF. Cool the cakes on a rack for 10 minutes and remove from tins. Cool completely on rack.
- Make The Strawberry Jam-Cream Cheese Icing - Combine the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and strawberry jam together in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix by hand or with a whisk attachment until smooth.
- Assemble The Lemon Buttermilk Cake - If you need, trim the tops of the two cakes to make them level. Place one cake on a platter or plate. Dollop half of the strawberry jam-cream cheese icing on top of one of the cake and spread the icing to the edges of the cake.
- Place the second cake, upside down, on top of the first cake. Spread the remaining frosting on top and around the sides of cake. Keep the layer of icing on top of the cake thicker, and spread thinly and smoothly along the sides of the cake leaving the cake layers somewhat exposed. Decorate the top with fresh flowers or anything else you like. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
To ensure consistent results I HIGHLY recommend making this cake recipe by weight using a scale.
This cake recipe also works well as two small one layer cakes. A simple glaze made with powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest is also fabulous on top!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 111Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 241mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 3g
Did you make this recipe? I would love to see how you made out! Let me know on Instagram by tagging me @baconandbaileys and hashtag it #baconandbaileys so I can take a peek and re-share it in my Instagram stories! You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
All images created in partnership with Aimée Bourque of Simple Bites. Lemon buttermilk cake recipe, cake, and photography by Kelly Neil; Food styling by Aimée Bourque.
Looking forward to making this very soon! It looks so delicious! I always take the sugar down by at least a half cup in recipes. I want to taste the lemon, or the berries, or whatever is in there, not the sweet sugar.
Yes exactly! It’s only recently that I discovered you could do this without really affecting the flavour or the texture at all. I tried making the recipe with coconut sugar, but nothing really compares to white sugar in baking. I also made the recipe as a 6-inch cake to fool myself into it being smaller! Ha! Thanks so much for reading Julia. 🙂
This sounds like a beautiful summer cake Kelly. Lemon and strawberry are a great combo, and I lime that you’ve sought to reduce sugar. I used to bake a lot more until I realised my sugar intake was way too high! Beautiful photos as per usual!
Thank you so much Matt! I love the petite-ness of a 6-inch cake (is that even a word? lol), and with the frosting you don’t even notice the reduced sugar. After a 40+ºC heatwave we’re finally on the verge of more seasonal temperatures here in Nova Scotia. I hate not being able to bake! Thanks for stopping in. 🙂
Absolutely stunning cake! I love all the ingredients not to mention it’s beautiful. Such beautiful photography as well. A perfect cake for summer entertaining!
Aw, thanks so much Julia! To be honest it’s SUCH a simple cake to make. Even the frosting is so easy because most of the cake is exposed! A few wild roses on top and that’s it. Easy and delicious. Thanks for stopping by!
I am just loving this collaboration! Aimee is one of my favourite bloggers (and a pretty awesome person in general), and this photo shoot feels like such a perfect intersection of your styles.
I am all about the strawberries right now and I happen to have a half-finished carton of buttermilk in the fridge, so I think this cake and I have a date this weekend. 🙂
Thanks so much Isabelle! I first met Aimée in person last year when she was touring her book. I did her food styling for a morning TV segment, and when she said she was moving here we knew we wanted to collaborate! This was our most fun shoot so far, and hopefully there are many more to come. 🙂 I hope you love the cake if you have time to make it (and the sweltering heat doesn’t deter you). Ha!
Absolutely gorgeous setting and the cake is just to die for. All my favourite flavours in there. Recipe saved! My daughter have seen it as well and she can’t wait for us to bake this at the weekend.
Thank you so much for sharing and for the inspo.
Thank you so much Ramona! Even though it’s hard to turn on the oven this time of year, this cake would be a great fit for any season. I hope you love making the recipe! I bake with my daughter all the time too. xo!
The cake looks so good with outside pictures. I love to use buttermilk in cakes, they give nice and fluffy texture. Totally awesome strawberry jam cake
Thank you so much for stopping by Uma! To be honest, I’m kind of new to buttermilk, but I LOVE the smell and the flavour. It’s become a basic fridge staple for me this summer!
I agree with you this is beautiful summer cake, lemon and strawberries are stars of summer. lovely setting to enjoy that beautiful cake. I wish I could taste a slice.
You really can’t go wrong with lemon and strawberries, and the lake setting doesn’t hurt either. Thank you for looking Swathi! xo!
Let me start by saying that this cake (and the setting) is gorgeous! I’m also from the east coast and there’s really nothing like it! I’m a sucker for anything berry-like paired with lemon. I find that lemon is to fruit what salt is to vegetables. It just brings out the flavour. I make a lot of jams and I always use lemon. That’s what pulled me into this recipe. I make a lemon buttermilk cake quite often, but I’ve never added that gorgeous icing. Looks so good!
Aw, thanks so much Byron! Eating cake on a lakeside dock is definitely a highlight of summer for me. Sometimes I wonder – is it possible to post too many lemon recipes? lol Thanks for dropping by. 🙂
Gorgeous cake and stunning photography too
What a lovely cake in an equally lovely setting on the lake. I am a huge fan of using a scale in baking for accuracy and consistent results. Thanks so much for sharing your tips and pretty cake recipe, Kelly!
Buttermilk cake! Yes, that is a gorgeous cake and it really reminds me of Spring. I’m so ready for cake and Spring!