Ultimate Spring Baking Treat (Printable)
Tender lemon cake with tangy rhubarb, strawberries, and almond streusel topping.
# What You Need:
→ Cake Base
01 - 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 tsp baking powder
03 - ¼ tsp baking soda
04 - ½ tsp salt
05 - ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
06 - 1 cup granulated sugar
07 - 2 large eggs
08 - 1 tbsp lemon zest
09 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
10 - ½ cup buttermilk
→ Fruit Filling
11 - 1 cup fresh rhubarb, diced
12 - 1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
13 - 2 tbsp granulated sugar
14 - 1 tbsp lemon juice
→ Almond Streusel
15 - ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
16 - ¼ cup granulated sugar
17 - ¼ cup sliced almonds
18 - ¼ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
19 - ¼ tsp salt
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
02 - In a small bowl, toss rhubarb and strawberries with 2 tbsp sugar and lemon juice. Set aside.
03 - Combine flour, sugar, almonds, salt, and cold butter in a bowl. Rub with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Refrigerate until needed.
04 - Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
05 - In a separate large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in lemon zest and vanilla.
06 - Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet, followed by buttermilk, then the remaining dry mixture. Mix until just combined.
07 - Spread cake batter evenly into the prepared pan. Scatter rhubarb and strawberries evenly over the batter. Sprinkle streusel over the top. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden.
08 - Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Slice and serve.
# Expert Hints:
01 -
- The texture alone will win you over, with that crunchy almond streusel giving way to moist fruit and tender cake beneath.
- It strikes that perfect balance between tangy and sweet that makes spring desserts feel special without being cloying.
02 -
- Cold butter is absolutely critical for the streusel, so keep it in the fridge until the moment you need it.
- Overmixing the cake batter once the flour is added will make it tough, so stop as soon as you no longer see dry streaks.
03 -
- Room temperature ingredients blend more easily and create a more uniform crumb, so plan ahead and set everything out about an hour before baking.
- If the streusel starts browning too quickly before the cake is done, tent the top loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.