This Strawberry Lemon Layer Cake is bright, fresh and totally springy! Lemon and strawberry shortcakes are alternately layered with buttercream and crushed Sconza Lemoncello Chocolate almonds.
With Mother’s Day on the horizon, my friends at Sconza Chocolates asked if I would make a treat worthy of the occasion. The holiday coincides with Sconza Lemoncello Chocolate Almonds hitting Costco stores in April and May. I was happy to say yes! Everything Sconza makes is great, but the creamy lemon bombs with crunchy almond centers are my all-time favorites.
I filled this cake inside and out with bright flavors and colors. Buttercream roses bloom on top with Lemoncello Chocolate Almond centers. (You can never go wrong with mother flowers!)
Prepare the dough
Start this cake with my favorite White Coat Sour Cream Cake. It is split and flavored with lemon and strawberry jelly dissolved in hot water. It not only gives the cakes a bold taste, but also a vibrant color! It’s also nice that flavored gelatins are available everywhere in grocery stores and you don’t have to order or track down special spices. (I noticed that no one carries my favorite strawberry extract!) Bake the batters in 6-inch cake pans, which will make a small but tall, pretty cake. However, you can use two 9-inch cake pans for a two-layer cake.
Build the cake
Assembling the layers starts with the strawberry cake. Then spread an even layer of American buttercream (aka confectioners’ sugar buttercream). Then, top with Sconza Lemoncello crushed chocolate almonds. Finely crush the sweets in a food processor – it makes short work of it.
Vary the flavors of the cake, repeat the icing and fill the Sconza with candies. Finish with a layer of lemon cake.
Refrigerate the cake
This cake has a useful crumb layer. Small cake crumbs and candy pieces on the outside of the cake need a base layer of frosting to keep them in place. So cover the top and sides with a thin layer of buttercream and then put it in the fridge to set. Then cover it with another thicker layer of buttercream and smooth it out with a bench scraper or cake leveler.
To decorate, whip another portion of American buttercream, this time stiff. This set needs to be thicker so that the pipe pieces keep their shape. Just add a little more confectioner’s sugar to the basic recipe. Swags are very simple piping using a #3 tip. As for the flowers, check out this link for a video tutorial on installing rose piping.
Pick the roses
Sconza candies are a food stylist’s dream because each one looks perfect right out of the bag. I just knew they would make a beautiful centerpiece for the flowers. And they are, of course, like buds! Thus they fall from beginning to end.
- First put some pink frosting on the parchment covered flower nails.
- Place the round end of the Lemoncello chocolate almond on top of the frosting (pointed end toward the sky).
- Then, with the tip of the petal decoration, break out the pink petals that overlap the candies.
- Spray more layers of petals until you get the fullness you want. (I kept them small, but you can make them bigger!)
- Slide the flower off the nail and transfer them to the baking sheet. Repeat the process until the baking sheet is full of flowers. Then put them in the fridge to harden.
Once the roses are set, remove them from the parchment squares and place on the cake to one side. Then place some leaves between the roses to fill the holes. (See recipe card for all decorating tips and sizes used.)
More bling!
Always gold lilies (or roses in this case!) I couldn’t resist adding some glitter. Brush the shoes with edible gold paint. Then add three gold sugar beads to the line where the swishes meet.
The white almond sour cream cake layers take the color so well and the flavors really shine. Both the lemon and strawberry flavors are more creamy than tart. Overall, this cake is soft and moist, but still has a surprising lemon caramel glaze.
Be sure to pick up a bag of Lemoncello Chocolate Almonds at your local Costco while supplies last! They are great on their own and perfect for this cake.
Strawberry lemon layer cake
Layers of strawberry and lemon sour cream cake
- 1 small box of strawberry gelatin 3 oz.
- 1 small box lemon gelatin 3 oz.
- 1 cup boiling water, divided
- 1 box white cake mix 16.25 oz.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon finely divided salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil I like sunflower oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
American buttercream and filling
- 2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
- 8 cups of confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Milk or cream if needed
- 2/3 cup Sconza Lemoncello
- Chocolate Almonds Stiff
Stiff American buttercream and toppings
Cake layers
- Place strawberry gelatin and lemon gelatin in two separate bowls. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water into each bowl and stir well to dissolve. Let cool until warm, about 10 minutes. Do not let the gelatin harden. If it starts to gel, reheat it in the microwave until liquid.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line four 6-inch round cake pans with parchment paper (or grease and flour).
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake batter, flour, sugar and salt. Mix sour cream, oil, eggs and extract in another bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix on low speed until just combined. The dough will be thick. Divide the dough equally into two large bowls. Add strawberry gelatin to one bowl; beat with an electric mixer to blend. Add the lemon gelatin to another bowl. Mix well until combined.
- Divide each batter between two 6-inch cake pans. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the cakes have risen well. They should go back to the center when pressed. Leave to cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely. After the cakes have cooled, use a serrated knife or leveler to flatten the cakes.
American buttercream and filling
- Mix the butter and confectioners’ sugar together in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Process on low speed until crumbly, then increase to high and beat for 3 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and beat for another minute. If you think the buttercream is too stiff, you can add milk or cream 1-2 tablespoons at a time until the mixture spreads. Beat until light and fluffy. The composition should be fluffy and easy to spread. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth to prevent drying.
- Finely grind Sconza Lemoncello Chocolate Almonds in a food processor or mini chopper. To set aside.
- Begin building the cake with a layer of strawberry shortcake placed on a cake board or serving plate. Top with a generous 1/2 cup of buttercream. Spoon 1/3 of the chopped Sconza on top. Top with the lemon cake layer. Repeat with frosting and sweets. Pour a layer of strawberry shortcake on top. Repeat the frosting and candy one more time. Top with the lemon cake layer. Cover the cake with a thin layer of buttercream (shortened cream) and place in the fridge to set, about 5 minutes. Cover the entire cake with a generous layer of buttercream and smooth with a bench scraper or cake leveler. Refrigerate until the buttercream is set, 20 minutes.
Stiff American buttercream and toppings
- Mix the butter and confectioners’ sugar together in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Process on low speed until crumbly, then increase to high and beat for 3 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and beat for another minute. If you think the buttercream is too stiff, you can add milk or cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is stiff (it should hold with an inverted spatula). Beat until well combined. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth to prevent the buttercream from curdling.
- Remove 1/3 cup of white frosting to a small bowl and cover with a damp cloth; set aside
- Pour half a cup of white frosting into a Wilton #3 round-tip cake stand.
- Divide the remaining frosting between three bowls and tint one bowl with 1/4 teaspoon of neon pink gel food coloring and 1 drop of red food coloring (this combination works for the strawberry shortcake layers). Food coloring brands come in different strengths, so add more as needed, but remember that the colors will intensify as you cream the buttercream. Mix until evenly colored and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton #104 petal decorating tip.
- Tint the second bowl with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon neon yellow food coloring. Mix well and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton #104 piping tip.
- Shade the last bowl with green gel food coloring and move to a piping bag with a Wilton.
Decorating tip
- Measure the circumference of the cake and divide it by 8. Lightly mark with a toothpick where the buttercream meets. Using a white piping tip with a regular Wilton #3 piping tip, pipe eight pieces around the top of the cake. Chill in the refrigerator, about 5 minutes.
- For the roses and using a pink piping bag, with the icing fitted with a #104 petal tip, place a dot of pink icing on the flower nail and then place a parchment square on the flower nail. Press a piece of pink buttercream into the center of the parchment. Place the Sconza Lemoncello Chocolate Almond in the center of the pile with the pointy end standing up. Then, fold the thin end of the petal up, wrap the four petals around the candy so that it overlaps slightly. Roll more frosted petals around the center of the caramel until you have a complete rose shape. Carefully slide the rose-coated parchment off the icing needle and place on a baking sheet (9×13 works well). Repeat this process to make the roses, also using the yellow buttercream. Change the sizes so you have big and small flowers. Transfer all the flowers to a baking sheet and chill until set, about 15 minutes.
- Using the reserved white buttercream in the bowl, spoon a crescent shape onto one side of the cake. Take the frozen buttercream flowers out of the fridge. Carefully peel them from the parchment squares and place them on the half moon on top of the cake. Place more Sconza Lemoncello Chocolate Almonds around the flowers to fill in the holes. Use #352 green frosted foil bag with foil tips for blanks or decorate with flowers. Chill until set, about 10 minutes.
- Apply edible gold paint to the shoes with a fine-tipped art brush. Carefully add three golden sugar beads in the vertical line where the squiggles meet. Do this by gently pressing them into the buttercream.
- Store the cake in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Enjoy Strawberry Lemon Layer Cake and comment below for more recipe.
