Ricotta Strawberry Lemon Cake

Preheat the oven to 375°F.* Line the bottoms of 3 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper and grease with baking spray, unsalted butter, or neutral oil.

In a large bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingertips to rub the two ingredients together until the lemon sugar is very fragrant and starting to clump together a bit, about 60 seconds.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Next, add the unsalted butter to the lemon sugar. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Then, add the vanilla extract, ricotta cheese, and neutral oil and mix until smooth.

Add half of the flour mixture followed by half of the milk. Beat just until combined. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to scrape any leftover ingredients at the bottom of a bowl. Do not over-mix!

Divide the batter evenly between the three cake pans and smooth with a rubber spatula. Place the cake pans on a sheet pan and pop them in the oven. Bake the cakes for 18-21 minutes, just until an inserted toothpick has a few moist crumbs on it.

Let the cakes cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then, flip them onto a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.

Place the freeze dried strawberries in a food processor.** Pulse until you have a fine powder. Sift the strawberry powder through a fine mesh sieve to remove any seeds. Discard the seeds and set the strawberry powder aside.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and half of the powdered sugar. Beat until the mixture is combined, about 2-3 minutes.

Mix in the strawberry powder and the remaining powdered sugar until the mixture is smooth.

Add the vanilla extract, milk, and salt. If the frosting is too thick, add milk 1 Tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Beat the buttercream until it's light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

Use a serrated knife to evenly cut the domes off of the tops of the cakes, if necessary. Spoon about 2 cups of frosting into a piping bag.

Place one cake layer on a plate or cake stand. Spread a thin layer of strawberry buttercream on the top of the cake and then add a layer of strawberry slices. Using the piping bag, pipe a thick layer of frosting around the rim of the cake to create a dam. Top with another cake layer, and gently press down to adhere the cake to the buttercream. Repeat, finishing with the third cake layer.

Place a dollop of frosting on top of the third layer of cake and smooth with an offset spatula. To frost the cake, just place the flat edge of a bench scraper or offset spatula parallel against the cake. Gently press while spinning the cake stand/plate to smooth out the frosting. Fill in any gaps with more frosting using an offset spatula. Repeat as many times as necessary until you're happy with how it looks.

Decorate the cake as desired. Serve and enjoy!