This Easter Medley Cake exudes springtime! Each cake layer is different—one fresh strawberry, one lemon poppy seed, and one carrot. A velvety coconut cream filling and a classic cream cheese frosting pull this variety cake together!
I don’t remember who said this allegory, but I do believe the comparison hits the nail on the head. Easter is just Spring’s version of Autumn’s Halloween.
Copious amounts of candy are expected. Instead of dressing up like monsters, parents repress dysfunction, and wrap the family up into coordinating Sunday’s finest. “Shut up, shut up, shut up” say mothers through gritted teeth. Parents drag their flock of children to the supermarket or mall. At least two children get lost, running laps around the dairy aisle. Sitting their bred flock on the lap of a Easter Bunny, parents will create “memories.” Supposedly.
Unlike Autumn, which is limited to it’s binary flavors of pumpkin and cinnamon, Spring has an ample selection. While people choose carrot cake, or lemon, or strawberry, I decided to not settle—I’ll have them all! You could be more politically correct and religion neutral by calling it a Springtime Medley Cake, but I feel like Easter evokes those soft happy pastels and delicate young flavors of a fresh new year of warm weather!
The Easter Medley Cake may seem like more work, but it’s not. Two of the three cake layers are hand whisked. The oil based strawberry and carrot cake layers use the muffin method, decreasing prep-time. The other lemon poppy layer is butter-based and requires a stand mixer. However this Easter Medley Cake’s components come together quickly. All of the layers bake at the same temperature. This means you can whip out all three layers painlessly.
The filling is a saucier version of a coconut cream egg. To blend all three cake layers together a, thick and classic cream cheese frosting works well without overpowering the cakes or the filling. No other cake can fill the void. Strawberry, lemon poppy seed, carrot, and coconut—this Easter medley Cake has it all, and what’s more springtime than this?
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- For the Strawberry Cake Layer:
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons strawberry puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- red food gel
- For the Lemon Poppy Seed Cake Layer:
- ½ cup whole milk
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and softened
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- yellow food gel
- For the Carrot Cake Layer:
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup grated carrots
- For the Coconut Cream Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup (4 tablespoons, 2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup full-fat sour cream, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups shredded coconut
- For the Cream Cheese Buttercream:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 ½ cups (12 ounces, 3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ pounds powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- violet, burgundy, and ivory food gel
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 8-inch cake pan with baking spray, set aside.
- In a large bowl sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and sugar. Whisk oil, strawberry puree, vanilla extract, lemon extract, eggs, and food gel in another bowl. Combine wet into dry, whisk until incorporated.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes clean with a few moist crumbs. Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 1 8-inch cake pan with baking spray, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg whites, extracts, and zest.
- Combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit mixer with a paddle attachment and stir on low for 20 seconds, this replaces sifting. With the mixer still on low add butter, a few cubes at a time, until mixture looks like coarse crumbs, about 1 minute. Add in ½ of the wet mixture and raise the speed to medium, beating for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl down. Add in remaining wet mixture, beating for a final minute. Beat in poppy seeds and food gel. The batter may look a little broken, this is normal.
- Pour batter into prepared pan baking for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes clean with a few moist crumbs. Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 8-inch cake pan with baking spray, set aside. In a large bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt, set aside. In another bowl combine eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add wet mixture to dry mixture, whisking to combine. Use a rubber spatula to fold in carrots.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes clean with a few moist crumbs. Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter at a medium speed, beating until lump free and smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl and paddle as needed.
- With the mixer speed on low, add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating to combine. Add in sour cream and fold in coconut. Refrigerate until assembly.
- Beat cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beating until smooth and pale in color, about 3 to 4 minutes. Scrap the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low, slowly add the powdered sugar followed by vanilla, salt, and heavy cream. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Raise speed to medium-high and beat to get fluffy, 1 minute. Tint ¾ of the frosting with a mix of violet and burgundy, tint remaining ¼ with ivory. Refrigerate until assembly.
- Spoon frosting onto a cake board. Secure Carrot Cake Layer on, pipe a perimeter of purple colored buttercream onto the outside of the cake. Spoon in the Coconut Cream Filling, using an offset spatula to even it out. Repeat this process with the Lemon Poppy Seed Cake Layer and top with the Strawberry Cake Layer. Apply a thing crumb coat of frosting, chill for 10 minutes, and then apply a final thicker cake layer. Chill for 15 minutes. Decorate with ivory buttercream.