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Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake Cake

With the bright flavor of citrus and fresh strawberries, this Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake Cake is the perfect dessert for springtime! It has all the flavors of a “strawberry shortcake” in citrusy cake form.

Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake on plate with remaining cake and lemons in background

Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Cake

When I ended up with a bumper crop of strawberries from my CSA box, it was clear that I needed to bake up something delicious with strawberries. But what?! Brown Butter Strawberry Muffins? Or maybe a classic Strawberry Cobbler? What about Strawberry Cream Cheese Bread?

I made far too big a deal out of trying to choose just the right recipe for my beautiful strawberries, but can you blame me? Farm-fresh strawberries are nothing like the giant, firm berries they sell at the grocery store year-round—they’re fragrant, supremely sweet, and bright red all the way through. (No crunchy white middles here!) They seemed so special that I wanted to make something fabulous.

This Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake Cake ended up winning out and I’m so glad it did. It’s light and fresh and just sweet enough. You get plenty of strawberries, both baked into the cake and on top. Plus, there’s just the hint of lemon to brighten things up. The lemon won’t knock over your taste buds, but you know it’s there. 

While this isn’t a shortcake in the traditional sense, it is reminiscent of strawberry shortcake with its flavors. It’s an utterly gorgeous dessert perfect for that time of year when you start breaking out your short sleeve shirts so you can feel the warm sun on your skin again.

This is the kind of cake you’ll happily come back to every strawberry season.

Overhead view of Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake with one slice removed

Why You’ll Love this Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe

Here are just a few of the reasons this cake will become a favorite:

  • Simple. As opposed to a layer cake, this one-layer beauty is easy to make and assemble.
  • Fresh flavor. There are lots of fresh, sweet strawberries here!
  • Beautiful. This is one eye-catching dessert!

What Is the Difference Between Shortcake and Cake?

Shortcake has a different texture than traditional cake—it’s more biscuit-like, with a slightly crumbly texture and an exterior that’s almost a bit crispy when you bite into it. The cake in this recipe is not a traditional shortcake, which usually involves cutting in the butter like you would with a biscuit dough to get that crumbly texture.

Overhead view of Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake ingredients

What You’ll Need

Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

For the cake:

  • All-purpose flour – Learn more: How to Measure Flour
  • Granulated sugar
  • Baking soda
  • Baking powder
  • Salt
  • Egg – Let this sit on the counter at room temperature while you gather up the rest of your ingredients.
  • Buttermilk – You can also let the buttermilk come to room temperature. If you don’t want to buy it, you can use a homemade buttermilk substitute.
  • Unsalted butter – Melt this in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stovetop.
  • Lemon juice
  • Grated lemon zest – Zest the lemon before you juice it! Learn more: How to Zest and Juice Lemons
  • Vanilla extract
  • Fresh strawberries – Frozen strawberries have more moisture and will have an adverse effect on the texture of the cake.

For the topping:

  • Fresh strawberries
  • Lemon juice
  • Granulated sugar
  • Heavy whipping cream
  • Confectioners’ sugar

How Do You Pick the Best Strawberries?

Unlike many other fruits, strawberries don’t get any sweeter once they’re picked. The best way to choose strawberries at the grocery store is to smell them—if they have a strong, sweet smell, they’re ripe. Look carefully to make sure there are no moldy berries in the package, and avoid strawberries that look wilted or have mushy spots.

Overhead view of Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake on plate with fork

How to Make Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake Cake

This is the kind of easy, no-fuss cake you can make on a weekend afternoon and have ready by the time dinner rolls around. Here’s what you’ll need to do.

Make the cake:

Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan, tapping out any excess.

Overhead view of dry cake ingredients in mixing bowl

Mix the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Overhead view of wet ingredients for cake in glass mixing bowl

Mix the wet ingredients. Stir together the egg, buttermilk, butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla in another bowl. 

Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Gently fold in the strawberries.

Overhead view of cake batter in pan

Bake. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and use a spatula to spread it evenly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake in round baking pan

Cool. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the cake from the pan and put it directly on the wire rack to finish cooling. (Learn more: Why Every Baker Needs Wire Cooling Racks)

Make the topping and assemble:

Overhead view of strawberries in bowl

Macerate the strawberries. Combine the strawberry slices, lemon juice, and sugar in a bowl. Cover and chill.

Make the whipped cream. Combine the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl. Whisk by hand or with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, until soft peaks form.

Assemble. Use an offset spatula to spread the whipped cream on top of the cooled cake. Drain off the liquid from the strawberries and arrange them on top of the cake, then serve.

Side view of Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake on cake stand

Tips for Success

Even though this Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake is easy, these hints and tips will make it even better!

  • Use a light-colored pan. Dark pans have a tendency to get hotter in the oven, over-baking the exterior of your cake before the inside is done.
  • Let the cake cool completely. If it’s still warm when you add the whipped cream, it will melt.
  • Make a strawberry syrup for serving. You can spoon the liquid from the strawberries over the slices of cake when serving it, or even simmer it in a saucepan until it thickens a bit to give it a more syrupy consistency.
Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake closeup, showing whipped cream and strawberry topping

How to Store

Because this cake is made with fresh whipped cream, it won’t last long in the refrigerator. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container for about 2 days.

If you want to make your Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake Cake in advance, I recommend making the whipped cream the day you plan on serving it. Without the whipped cream topping, the cake can be stored at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake on cake stand with one slice removed

Can This Recipe Be Frozen?

Once assembled, this Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake Cake won’t freeze well. When you thaw it, the strawberries will release liquid into the whipped cream, resulting in a soggy cake.

You can freeze the cake without the whipped cream and strawberry topping, though. Wrap it well and store it for up to 3 months in the freezer. Let it thaw at room temperature before serving.

Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake on cake stand

Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake Cake

Yield 8 to 10 servings
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake Cake is a simple, delicious cake with plenty of fresh strawberries and a splash of lemon.

Closeup of Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake on plate

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 1 & 1/3 cups (160g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 2/3 cup (158ml) buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries

For the topping:

  • 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (236ml) heavy whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Instructions

To make the cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. Mix together the egg, buttermilk, butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly add to the flour mixture, mixing just until moistened. Gently fold in the strawberries.
  4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  5. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then, remove the cake from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the topping:

  1. Combine the strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar. Cover and refrigerate.
  2. Place the cream and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl. Whisk by hand or with an electric mixer with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form.
  3. Spread the whipped cream on top of the cake.
  4. Drain the strawberries and garnish the top of the cake.
  5. Keep the cake refrigerated.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.

How to store: Leftovers will keep in an airtight container for about 2 days.

If you want to make this cake in advance, I recommend making the whipped cream the day you plan on serving it. Without the whipped cream topping, the cake can be stored at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

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    26 Comments on “Lemon-Strawberry Shortcake Cake”

  1. I love strawberry shortcake, and lemon can only make it better. The cake looks just delicious!

  2. It’s funny how I do the same thing when I get a coveted ingredient, trying to find the “best” way to use them. I think you chose well.

  3. Sounds wonderful!!! So fresh and summery!

  4. Strawberry shortcake is my husband’s favorite. This has summer written all over it!

  5. What a great idea to add the berries to the cake as well as topping it off! I also have never thought of adding lemon juice to a s’berry mix. The Taste of Home hinted this could take on a patriotic flare with some blueberries added into to the mix. A 4th of July dessert for sure!

  6. The layer of whipped cream is so nice and thick. This cake look luscious. I love the simplicity of a single layer shortcake, perfect for summer gatherings!

  7. I do the same thing, searching for recipes ‘worthy’ of my ingredients. And I’m always looking for a play on strawberries and cream around Wimbledon. This sounds like a delicious contender…

  8. Mmmmm, I could take a big O’ fat slice of that right now! Delish!

  9. This is what summer looks like to me too. Pour me a coffee and cut me a slice.

  10. This year would have been a great year for me to do a CSA because it got so warm so early! It’s definitely fun to hear about your haul though…this cake sounds like the perfect use for those strawberries!

    • At the risk of showing my lack of knowledge…..what’s a CSA?

      • It’s Community Supported Agriculture. A local farm sells shares of their vegetables, fruits, dairy, etc. to local residents. The community supports the farm and gets to enjoy farm fresh ingredients throughout the harvest season.

  11. Looks yum! Did you mix the cake batter by hand or use stand mixer?

  12. Love this, and it’s so pretty. Looks like summer!

  13. I like one layer cakes because I don’t usually have a big crowd to feed and you have less to frost and decorate 😀 I’ve always thought about getting a CSA, but seeing as I live by myself, that sure is a lot of produce to eat myself…

  14. Oh, yummy. And it is strawberry season!

  15. Thanks for sharing this! Never would’ve thought to mix lemon with strawberry, but it really brightened the flavor of an already delicious, sweet and savory strawberry shortcake. Btw thanks also for the deeeeelish lemon chess tartlets. Ermahgerd!! Sooo good!

  16. Looks delicious! This is the best time of year for strawberry recipes. They’re even better if you use fresh strawberries from a local farm.

  17. I baked this cake last weekend and everyone raved on how delicious it was. I will be saving this recipe!

  18. I MADE THIS CAKE TONIGHT AND IT WAS MOIST AND DELICIOUS!!!! I PUT IN MY RECEIPE BOOK…

  19. Jennifer, how long would you say this would last in the fridge after topping with the cream? Thanks!

    • NRS, I would guess it would last about 3 days. If you’re going to be serving it to anyone you’re trying to impress, I’d leave off the garnish of strawberries until you’re ready to serve.

  20. Because I like my cakes light, I made this cake the traditional way … Creamed butter and sugar, beat in egg, then mixed in the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. I spread half the batter in the pan, layered some sliced strawberries, spread the remaining batter and layered some more slices strawberries, spreading the batter over that top layer as much as I could. The cake came out great. Would like the batter just a tad sweeter. Will definitely make again adding maybe just an 1/8 cup more sugar.

    Thanks so much for the recipe!!

  21. This looks great! I think the addition of lemon with brighten the whole flavor of the cake. I think I will add a little instant vanilla pudding to the whipped cream to stabilize.

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