Strawberries and lemons can certainly go together in a number of bold-flavored dishes, including lemonades and cakes. In fact, in the section below, we will be letting you know a couple of ways that you can combine these two fruits and prepare something that both your health and your taste-buds will thank you for.
Dishes that You Can Make Using Lemons and Strawberries:
Strawberry-cake:
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 0.5 cup softened unsalted butter
- 2.25 cup flour (all-purpose)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
- A half teaspoon of baking-soda
- 1.5 tablespoons powdered baking soda
- 1.5 cups of sugar
- 4 big eggs
- A half cup of vegetable-oil
- 0.25 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from approximately 1.5 big lemons)
- 1 tablespoon of lemon-zest (about a single large-sized lemon)
- Sour cream, 2/3 cup
For the filling:
- Frozen strawberries, 16 oz., thawed
- 0.5 cup sugar
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
For the frosting:
- Filling: 1/3-2/3 cup strawberry puree made from frozen strawberries
- 0.5 cup softened unsalted butter
- A half-cup of vegetable shortening
- Powdered sugar (about 4-5 cups)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch salt
- 6–8 big strawberries for garnish
- 1 lemon (to decorate)
Instructions:
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to precisely 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Preheat the oven to precisely 350°F. Line three 8-inch round baking pans using parchment paper. Sides of the pan should be floured and butter.
- Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cornstarch, and the baking powder in a large mixing basin.
- Whisk together the lemon-zest and sugar in the bowl of any stand mixer. Include the softened beat and butter on a medium-high speed for around 90 seconds, or until fluffy and lightened. Then, one after the other, beat in all the eggs, scraping down the sides as required.
- In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and oil. Then, in three additions, alternately mix the oil and flour mixture. Start with a low speed after each addition and keep increasing it until it reaches medium-high, where you should let it stay for some seconds. After you’ve added all of the oil and flour, beat the mixture on medium-high for as long as it takes to blend everything together. Finally, mix in the sour-cream until everything is well incorporated.
- Bake for 27-30 minutes, or as long as it takes to make the tops of the cakes brown and until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs. During the baking process, do not open the oven.
- Allow at least 10 minutes for the cakes to cool in the pans before removing them. Before icing, let the cake cool fully.
For the filling:
- Puree the thawed strawberries in a blender until smooth. This recipe yields approximately 1 3/4 cup strawberry puree. To make the filling, pour 3/4 cup of the puree into a small sauce pan. Set aside the remaining puree until you’re ready to make the frosting.
- In a sauce pan, combine the puree, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch.
- Heat, whisking frequently, over medium heat until sauce thickens, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours after transferring the mixture to a heat-safe container with a lid.
For the frosting:
- 2 minutes on medium-high, whisk butter and shortening together in a large mixing bowl until fluffy and light.
- 1 tablespoon strawberry puree, followed by 1/2 cup powdered sugar. After that, add the salt and vanilla extract. After that, gradually add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon strawberry puree until you achieve the required consistency and strawberry flavor. NOTE: You will most likely not use the entire amount of powdered sugar or puree (I use around 4 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 cup puree). Keep an eye on the consistency; if you add too much puree, your frosting will become too liquid to adhere to the cake well.
For the assembly:
- Place one layer of cakes on a cardboard circular that has been leveled.
- To pipe a border around the outside of the cake, use a frosting bag with a round and large aperture. I use a Wilton #12 tip for this.
- Half of the chilled filling ingredients should be used to fill the inside of the layer.
- Repeat with the second cake round. On top of the second layer, place the third layer.
- Apply a thin layer of frosting on the outside of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for about 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the pan and finish the icing. I piped the bottom of the cake and the icing decorations on top with the #12 tip. As desired, garnish with strawberries and lemon peel.
Lemonade with strawberries:
Ingredients:
- Fresh strawberries, 1/2 pound, stems removed
- 1 1/2 cups sugar, granulated
- 4 1/2-5 cups water (distributed)
- 1 1/2 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Instructions:
- Puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor. If preferred, strain them over a fine mesh screen to remove the seeds.
- Stir sugar and 2 cups water together in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool to room temperature after removing from the heat.
- Pour the lemon juice into a 2-quart pitcher through a fine-mesh strainer. Stir together the simple syrup and pureed strawberries. Refrigerate until completely chilled.
- When ready to serve, stir in 2 12 cup cool water. Taste, and if it’s too sweet, add additional water.
- Ice should be included in the serving.
Cherries vs. Lemons – Nutritional Value:
Using USDA and NIH data from 2020, we examined the nutritional values of lemons and strawberries (100g each).
For a brief rundown of key nutrients and distinctions between lemon and strawberries, consider the following:
- Vitamin C is abundant in both lemons and strawberries.
- Dietary fiber is abundant in lemon.
- Strawberry has a higher niacin content.
Below is a detailed nutritional comparison between lemon and strawberries:
Calories
Lemon and strawberries have similar calorie counts: 29 calories per 100 grams for lemon and 32 calories for strawberries.
In terms of protein, carbohydrates, and fat, lemon is similar to strawberries in terms of macronutrient ratios.
For protein, carbs, and fat from calories, lemon has a 9:84:7 macronutrient ratio, while strawberries have an 8:86:7 ratio.
Fiber
Lemon is high in dietary fiber, with 2.8g per 100g versus 2g in strawberry.
Sugar
Lemon and strawberries both have about the same amount of sugar in them: 2.5 grams per 100 grams for the lemon and 4.9 grams for the strawberry.
Protein
Lemon and strawberries are both high in protein, with 1.1 grams per 100 grams of lemon and 0.67 grams per 100 grams of strawberry.
Saturated Fat
Lemon and strawberries are both low in saturated fat, with 0.04g of saturated fat per 100 grams for lemon and 0.02g of saturated fat for strawberries.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is abundant in both lemons and strawberries. Strawberry provides 11 percent more Vitamin C than lemon, with 58.8 mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams compared to 53 mg in lemon.
Vitamin A
Lemon and strawberries both have 1 ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams, while strawberries have 1 ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams.
Vitamin E
Lemon and strawberries both have about the same amount of Vitamin E in them: 0.15mg per 100 grams for lemon and 0.29mg for strawberries.
Vitamin K
Strawberry and lemon have equal levels of Vitamin K – strawberry has 2.2ug per 100 grams, whereas lemon has none.
The B-Vitamins
Strawberry has a higher niacin content. Thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6, and folate are abundant in both lemon and strawberries.
- Thiamin: 0.04 milligrams for lemons; 0.024 milligrams for strawberries.
- Riboflavin: 0.02 milligrams for lemons; 0.022 milligrams for strawberries.
- Niacin: 0.1 milligrams for lemons; 0.386 grams for strawberries.
- Pantothenic Acid: 0.19 milligrams for lemons; 0.125 milligrams for strawberries.
- B6: 0.08 milligrams for lemons; 0.047 milligrams for strawberries.
- Folate: 11ug for lemons; 24ug for strawberries.
Calcium
Lemon provides 63 percent more calcium than strawberry, with 26 milligrams per 100 grams versus 16 milligrams per 100 grams.
Iron
Lemon and strawberries both have about the same amount of iron in them: 0.6mg per 100 grams for the lemon and 0.41mg for the strawberry.
Potassium
Lemon and strawberries both have about the same amount of potassium in them: 138mg per 100 grams for lemon and 153mg for strawberries.
Omega 3 fatty acids
Strawberry has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) per 100 grams than lemon in terms of omega-3 fatty acids.
Alpha Linoleic Acid (ALA): 0.026 grams for lemons; 0.065 grams for strawberries.
Omega 6 fatty acids
When it comes to omega-6 fatty acids, both lemon and strawberries have a lot of linoleic acid.
Linoleic Acid (Linoleic Acid): 0.063 grams for lemons; 0.09 grams for strawberries.
Final Word:
To sum up, there are quite a few ways that you strawberries and lemons can go together, of which, a couple were detailed in this blog, alongside the nutritional values of the two fruits.
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