Cakes & Cupcakes

Name: Lemon Buttermilk Cake With Strawberry Jam-Cream Cheese Icing
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American / Canadian
Ingredients: 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; 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

Lemon Buttermilk Cake With Strawberry Jam-Cream Cheese Icing

July 21, 2019 By Kelly 20 Comments

This beautiful lemon buttermilk cake with strawberry jam-cream cheese icing is dense, moist, and can be made without a mixer!

A 6-inch lemon buttermilk cake with strawberry jam-cream cheese icing.

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.

Overhead image of a sliced cake and slices on plates.

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.

A slice of lemon buttermilk cake with strawberry jam-cream cheese icing.

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.

A sliced cake with pink frosting on a blue and white plate sitting on a weathered grey table on a lakeside dock.

Looking For More Lemon Recipes? Try:

Microwave Lemon Curd

Classic Lemon Bars

Condensed Milk Lemon Tarts

How About More Strawberry Recipes? Check Out:

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread Pudding

Strawberry Shortcake With Chai-Spiced Biscuits

Vegan Strawberry Streusel Loaf

Yield: 10

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.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

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:

Serving Size:

1
Amount 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.

Diana Henry’s Lemon Lavender Cake

April 8, 2019 By Kelly Leave a Comment

Diana Henry’s recipe for lemon lavender cake calls for dried lavender buds to be whizzed with sugar in the food processor, while yogurt and olive oil add fat and moisture. I’ve got some useful tips on baking substitutions, ideas for using dried lavender, and information about cake soaks if you decide to make her recipe.

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Toffee Apple Upside Down Cake With Chai Spices

September 30, 2018 By Kelly 4 Comments

Toffee Apple Upside Down Cake With Chai Spices is a recipe you need as cooler temperatures set in! SweeTango apples combine with the peppery bite of homemade chai spice, and the nuttiness of spelt flour come to make an apple cake recipe perfect to enjoy with a cup of hot tea.

This post was sponsored by SweeTango Apples, however all views and opinions are my own. I will never endorse anything I don’t use or love! Thank you for supporting brands that help make kellyneil.com possible.

This post was first published on September 30, 2018 and was last updated July 28, 2019.

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Coconut Blood Orange Cake With Blood Orange Glaze

January 15, 2014 By Kelly 1 Comment

Coconut Blood Orange Cake With Blood Orange Glaze is a gluten-free and dairy-free cake made with almond flour, cornmeal, and coconut oil. The coarse, rustic texture of the cake is the perfect backdrop for a simple, marmalade-like glaze made with blood orange pieces.

This post was first published on January 15, 2014 and was last updated August 11, 2019.

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The Best Carrot Cake Ever

December 9, 2013 By Kelly 3 Comments

Ok, ok – I know that’s a bold statement but REALLY, I MEAN IT.

I’ve been looking for the perfect carrot cake recipe for so long.

I’ve tried my mum’s recipe, Sean’s mum’s recipe, my friend Phil’s mum’s recipe and guess what? My versions never taste as good as theirs.

Last month, I was asked to photograph a few cakes, at the Hammonds Plains home of Seahorse Sweets owner Jody Waugh, for the current winter issue of East Coast Living Magazine. I arrived on a Saturday morning to find Jody about to start baking a carrot cake while her business partner-husband Keith sat in the dining room meticulously hand-painting teeny tiny Minnie Mouse decorations for a gorgeous, bright pink, little girl’s birthday cake.

After our shoot, Jody looked at East Coast Living’s editor, Suzanne Rent, and I and asked, ‘Would either of you like a piece of carrot cake?’. Suzanne and I glanced at each other in a ‘what kind of question is that?!?’ kind of way and both offered a resounding ‘YES PLEASE!’.

And that is the exact moment that the best carrot cake I have ever had entered my mouth for the first time.

Light – fluffy – moist (no oil!) – spicy – lots of frosting that’s not too sweet.

Absolutely perfect.

When the winter issue of East Coast Living arrived in my mailbox I was thrilled to see Jody’s recipe for carrot cake inside. I knew exactly when I was going to make it.

Sunday December 8 – Sean’s birthday.

You see, carrot cake is Sean’s FAVOURITE and he always has one, in one form or another, on his birthday.

I knew Jody’s cake would be the one this year.

And guess what? He LOVED it. And so did I.

I am serious when I say this is theBEST CARROT CAKE RECIPE EVER!!!

I contacted Jody and asked if I could post her recipe and she said yes and so I am pleased to share with you:

Seahorse Sweets’ Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting aka The Best Carrot Cake Ever

CARROT CAKE

3 eggs

1 C butter, melted

2 C sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 C flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cardamom

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 C crushed pineapple (include some juice)

2 C grated carrots

preheat oven to 350º – grease three 8-inch round cake tins with butter and line with parchment
beat eggs, melted butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy
sift flour, cinnamon, cardamom, baking soda and salt – add to wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated
fold crushed pineapple and grated carrot into batter (I also added 250g of chopped walnuts)
divide batter between three cake tins and bake 25 minutes – check center with a toothpick – if still sticky, continue to bake checking every couple of minutes
cool in tins

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

2 C unsalted butter, room temp (I used salted and still added the 1 tsp of salt and it was fine)

2 blocks cream cheese, room temp

1 tsp clear vanilla (I used regular brown vanilla)

1 tsp salt

8 C icing sugar (aka powdered sugar – aka confectioner’s sugar), sifted

beat butter, cream cheese, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy
add icing sugar to butter mixture (if using a stand mixer add all at one – if using a hand mixer, add one cup at a time

Please note – this recipe make a three layer 8-inch round cake and a ton of frosting. If you like less frosting, I would consider halving the cream cheese recipe

A huge gigantic super duper thank you to Jody and Keith at Seahorse Sweets for letting me share ‘the best carrot cake recipe ever’ with you!!!

Orange Cardamom Olive Oil Cupcakes with Orange Blossom Water Buttercream

March 5, 2013 By Kelly 2 Comments

After spending the last two weeks developing and cooking savoury dishes, yesterday I heard the call of flour, butter, sugar, eggs and… olive oil?!?

I was going to make these because a) they look amazing and b) my friend Carlo keeps asking me to make them, but, seeing as I had no whipping cream in the house (a highly unusual occurrence) I had to work with what I had.

I used this recipe from the Food Network for the cake and I added one teaspoon of freshly crushed cardamom seeds. I filled mini Martha Stewart cupcake liners 3/4 full with cake batter and baked for 10 minutes at 350.

Now, many of you know I use Nanny Burke’s Buttercream as my go to, but I felt like trying something different yesterday, and besides, who doesn’t love Sweetapolita?!? (If you don’t know Sweetapolita, go there, right now. She is amazing!!!) I used her recipe for Whipped Vanilla Bean Frosting and I added one teaspoon of Orange Blossom Water which I bought at the Mid-East Food Centre on the corner of North and Agricola. Oh my it was good.

My piping skills still need work, but I still thought these were cute, and far too tasty, not to share.

Nanny Burke’s Buttercream Plus A Cupcake Baking Tip

April 5, 2011 By Kelly 41 Comments

I finally found the perfect vanilla frosting recipe for cupcakes and it’s all thanks to my friend’s Cape Breton grandmother. Nanny Burke’s Buttercream is now my go-to, classic American-style vanilla frosting recipe!

Nanny Burke’s Buttercream is the BEST

You may remember my attempt at making pink peppercorn cupcakes with vanilla frosting. They looked ok but the frosting had as much flavour as a of a jar of Vaseline (and the texture to match). Recently, I made bacon and baileys cupcakes – a play on my social media handle @baconandbaileys. I baked coffee-flavoured cupcakes and topped them with Baileys frosting and candied bacon. I used what I thought was a decent buttercream recipe but it turned out to be so sweet I couldn’t eat it!

Nanny Burke’s Vanilla Frosting Recipe To The Rescue

When I told a friend about my frosting fiasco she said, “Oh – you need Nanny Burke’s Buttercream recipe!” She emailed her grandmother in Cape Breton and Nanny Burke graciously shared her recipe with me. Nanny Burke said that, over the last 50 years, she’s tried a TON of vanilla frosting recipes and this one is by far the best and easiest.

Cupcake Baking Tip

On a side note, here’s a weird and interesting cupcake baking tip that I discovered when I was making my cupcakes for Nanny Burke’s Buttercream. I used Ina Garten’s recipe for Coconut Cupcakes and baked the first dozen at 350ºF until golden, about 22 minutes. While they were in the oven I had another look at the recipe and realized that I was supposed to bake them at 325ºF. I reduced the temperature in a panic for the second batch and here’s what happened:

Does The Cupcake Baking Tip Work?

This cupcake baking tip was just a random fluke that happened to me, however, hundreds of people on Pinterest swear it works! Did it work for you? Let me know in the comments below!

A single vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting on flowered fabric.

Print Recipe

Nanny Burke's Buttercream

A Cape Breton grandmother's simple vanilla frosting recipe.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Baking

Keyword: vanilla frosting, vanilla buttercream, American-style frosting recipe

Ingredients

2 cups butter
4 cups icing sugar sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Place everything in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low until sugar and butter are combined. Increase speed of mixer and mix 2-3 minutes.

Notes

For firmer texture use 1 1/2 cups butter and 1/2 cup shortening.
Halving the recipe also works and frosting freezes well.
Icing sugar is also called confectioner's sugar or powdered sugar.

This post was originally published on April 5, 2011 and was updated on June 19, 2019.

Pink Peppercorn Cupcakes

February 26, 2011 By Kelly Leave a Comment

Yesterday was one of those days when it seemed like it was never going to stop raining, so I knew I wanted to make something that would be the exact opposite of a gloomy grey February day. Now, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but over the last year or so, I’ve developed a love for pink – and pink is DEFINITELY the opposite of grey and gloomy.

I searched through my pantry to see what I had on hand that could be turned into something special – and here’s what I came up with.

Pink Peppercorn Cupcakes topped with Pink Vanilla Bean Buttercream

I thought Pink Peppercorns would add a really interesting flavour to a basic vanilla cupcake recipe. You see, Pink Peppercorns aren’t peppercorns at all – they’re actually the dried berries of a bush called Baies Rose. They have a light peppery taste that borders on sweet with a hint of rose (sometimes, Sean will roll the edges of beef tenderloins in crushed Pink Peppercorns before grilling – this is a fantastic addition of flavour to a steak that you should try if you haven’t). I thought, ‘Why not try them with something sweet?’.

I’ve never actually baked cupcakes before (which a few of my friends found surprising) so of course I turned to the Queen of Baking, Ms. Martha Stewart for a basic Vanilla Cupcake Recipe:

Whisk 3 Cups Flour, 1.5 tsp Baking Powder and 3/4 tsp Salt together in a large bowl
Cream 12 Tbsp (1.5 sticks) room temp Butter with 1.5 Cups Sugar 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy
Add 4 eggs – one at a time until well mixed
Add 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Need 1.25 Cup Milk
To Butter, Sugar, Egg mixture – Add flour, milk, flour, milk, slowly until both are gone – beginning and ending with flour
Add 2 Tbsp Pink Peppercorns (I smashed mine in a Ziploc Baggie with a rolling pin)
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until tops spring back

The cupcakes were super easy and VERY tasty. I also used Martha’s Vanilla Bean Buttercream Recipe – I added 2 drops of red food colouring to give a warm pink glow:

Beat 2 Cups room temp Unsalted Butter until creamy
Slowly add 3.5 Cups Icing Sugar
Add pinch of Salt, 1 Vanilla Bean, scraped and 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Slowly add 0.25 Cups Milk then food colouring – continue on med/low speed until smooth and creamy

Ok so here’s the thing. Decorating cupcakes is harder than I thought it would be!! Here’s a pic of the rest of the batch so you can see more of my attempts. The Buttercream was light and subtle and tasted like it was fresh from a professional bakery however, I decided next time I bake cupcakes, I’m going to make Frosting a la Ms. Betty Crocker instead. I LOVE frosting!!

If you love cupcakes then DEFINITELY use the recipe I’ve posted – you could swap out the Pink Peppercorns – lemon, lime or orange zest would be wonderful – or, you could leave the recipe as is, straight-up Vanilla and then go for flavour with your icing.

Thank goodness for pretty pink cupcakes in the middle of February.