Lemon Raspberry Cake
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Slice and serve up this gorgeous, sweet lemon raspberry cake! It's a moist, lemon cake with seedless raspberry filling and frosted with a zesty lemon buttercream frosting. It's the perfect dessert for any celebration, from a birthday bash or bridal shower to a family gathering.
This lemon cake is full of tangy, sweet lemon flavor that melts in your mouth. The raspberry filling elevates the flavor to a whole new level of yum. Not to mention, it offers stunning presentation value.
Whip out my strawberry lemon cookie cups, blueberry lemon icebox cake, or this lemonade fruit dip. All are fantastic lemon dessert recipes.
Reasons Why You'll Love This Recipe
Layered Cake - This stunning layered cake offers the wow factor when sliced and served.
Light Flavor Pairing - The lemon and raspberry create a unique and delicious light and brightly flavored cake.
Lemon Lovers - If you or someone you know is a lemon lover, this dessert is going to be a success. It's one of our favorite lemon cake recipes.
FREE EMAIL BONUS: Treat yourself with these delicious recipes
Ingredients
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all ingredients and quantities.
Raspberry Filling Ingredients
- Sugar - You will use sugar to balance the tart from the raspberries for the filling. As the sugar breaks down, it helps to make it thicker.
- Cornstarch - Cornstarch is used to thicken the raspberry sauce.
- Fresh Raspberries - The raspberries are the star of the filling. They will add a deep red-ish color and offer a fruity flavor.
- Lemon Juice - I do recommend using fresh lemon juice for that vibrant citrus kick.
- Water - You will use water to help the cornstarch dissolve before pouring it into the pan.
Lemon Cake Ingredients
- Butter - Use room-temperature butter. The butter will cream well with the other ingredients and help add decadence and moisture to the cake.
- Sugar - Granulated sugar is used to help lighten up the cake and sweeten it.
- Lemon - Fresh lemon juice and zest are used to infuse the cake batter.
- Vanilla: Add a splash of vanilla to elevate the cake flavors.
- Egg - I prefer room temperature eggs, as they cream best in the batter.
- Flour - Measure your flour correctly to add structure to the batter.
- Baking Soda and Powder - Both are used to create texture as well as help the cake rise up as it bakes.
- Salt - Salt is always recommended when baking. It balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors of the ingredients.
- Buttermilk - Use buttermilk to add a tangy component to the batter and help lock in tons of moisture.
Lemon Buttercream Frosting Ingredients
- Butter - Real butter is a must since this is a buttercream frosting. Make sure it is room temperature.
- Powdered Sugar - The powdered sugar will sweeten and thicken the frosting.
- Lemon - You will add lemon juice and zest to help create a bright, light flavor in the frosting.
Substitutions and Variations
- Do a mixed berry filling. Add strawberries, blackberries, or even blueberries into the mixture along with the raspberries.
- Add shredded coconut flakes to the cake batter for a chewy tropical flavor.
- Instead of vanilla extract, use almond extract.
- Mix in poppy seeds to the cake batter.
- Stir in some dried lavender into the cake batter for a fragrant pairing
NOTE: This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations
How To Make Lemon Raspberry Cake
The full steps are in the printable recipe card below. This is a quick walkthrough on how to make this cake.
Start by adding the ingredients for the raspberry filling into a saucepan on medium heat.
Allow the mixture to boil and let it boil for 4 minutes. Stirring constantly.
Next, remove the sauce from the heat and strain it, then place it in the fridge to set up.
Then, you will prepare the cake. Start by sitting all of the dry ingredients together.
Grab a separate mixing bowl and beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together until creamed.
Mix in the lemon juice, vanilla extract, and then the eggs one at a time until all of the eggs are incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition of egg.
Now alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the butter mixture starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
Divide the batter into the prepared 8-inch prepared pans.
Bake as directed, and then allow your cakes to cool completely on a cooling tray.
Once the cake is made and cooled, you will mix the frosting. I recommend using a hand mixer or stand mixer. Once velvety and creamy, pour the frosting into a piping bag.
Assemble The Cake
Use a cake leveler and cut the cakes in half for four layers.
Place one layer of cake down, then pipe around the edge of the cake and fill it with some of the raspberry filling.
Repeat this by stacking and filling each layer of cake.
Then, you will begin to fully frost your cake, smoothing it out as you spread it over the cake. Once you are done, you can pipe swirls of frosting on top of the cake and around the edges if you choose and pop a fresh raspberry on every swirl! There you have it, a lemon raspberry cake!
How to Store and Freeze
I recommend storing this cake in a sealed container in the fridge for around 4-5 days. This cake is best served fresh as it will be the freshest.
You can also freeze any cakes you do not plan to eat right away. Freeze them once they're frosting by popping them in a large freezer-safe container. They will last in the freezer up to 2 months.
To freeze the cake layers, let the cakes cool completely first. Wrap both cakes inidividually in two layers of plastic wrap, a layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil, and for extra protection, in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag. Freeze for 2-3 months. Then thaw in the fridge overnight or work with them while they're frozen. They will slice in half perfectly while still frozen!
Tips and Tricks
Recipe FAQs
Add 1 cup of milk and one tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to the milk. Stir and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. This will curdle the milk and transform it into buttermilk.
Yes, you are more than welcome to use frozen raspberries instead of fresh ones. I recommend thawing and straining off excess liquid to ensure it doesn't water down the filling.
You can make the frosting two days in advance. Then, store in the fridge in a piping bag or sealed container. Then, when ready, use it as you wish.
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Lemon Raspberry Cake
Ingredients
Raspberry Filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon water
Lemon Cake
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
Lemon Frosting
- 2 cup butter room temperature
- 8 cups powdered sugar divided
- 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
Raspberry Filling
- In a medium saucepan, add in the sugar and cornstarch. Stir until combined.
- Add in the raspberries, lemon juice, and water. Stir until the raspberries are coated with the sugar.
- Place over medium heat and allow the mixture to come up to a boil. Set the timer for 4 minutes as soon as you see the first bubble and stir constantly as it boils.
- Once it's thickened and the 4 minutes are up, remove from the heat.
- To strain the seeds out once the mixture is finished boiling, pour half of the sauce into a fine-mesh strainer that's sitting on top of a bowl. Gently press the sauce through the strainer with a spatula until all that's left in the strainer are the seeds. Remove the seeds and work on the other half of the sauce.
- Once strained, place a piece of plastic wrap on the sauce so it's just touching the top and place in the fridge until chilled and set up about 4 hours. I allowed mine to set up overnight.
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray two 8 inch cake pans with nonstick baking spray. Place a parchment circle in the bottom of each pan and add about 1 tablespoon of flour to dust the sides of the pan. Gently tap the pan and turning it while it's on its side to coat the sides of the pan. Tap out any excess flour.
- Add the butter, sugar, and lemon zest to a large mixing bowl. Beat with a hand mixer on medium until creamed, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add in the lemon juice, vanilla extract, and each egg one at a time. Beat in the first egg just until combined, before adding the next. Repeat until all of the eggs are incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until combined.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the bowl of wet ingredients, adding the dry ingredients in 3 increments and buttermilk in 2 increments. Beat in each addition before adding the next and scraping down the bowl afterward.
- Divide the batter evenly into the two prepared cake pans. If you have bake even strips available, dampen and line the outsides of the pans with them for a flat top.
- Place in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes come out clean or with moist crumbs.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for about 10 to 15 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely. The tops are slightly sticky so I recommend cooling it bottom side up.
Frosting
- Add the butter, 4 cups of powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice to a large mixing bowl. Beat with the hand mixer on medium until the powdered sugar is worked into the butter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add in the remaining 4 cups of powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, beat in 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until it's the desired consistency.
Assemble the Cake
- Using a cake leveler or cake knife, cut the two cakes in half so there are 4 layers.
- Add one-third of the frosting to a piping bag fitted with the Wilton 1M piping tip.
- Place the first layer of cake on the cake plate cut side down.
- Pipe a ring of frosting around the inside edge of the layer of cake.
- Fill the layer with a little less than ½ cup of raspberry sauce. Spread it out evenly using an angled spatula until it touches the frosting.
- Repeat adding layers of cake, cut side down, piping rings of frosting, and filling with raspberry sauce until you add the last layer of cake on top.
- Add a big scoop of frosting on top of the layered cake. Make sure it's more than you think is needed to frosting the top so it gets pushed over the edges of the cake.
- Using a large angled spatula, begin spreading the frosting out. If you're finding the cake is moving a lot, I use my thumb and index to hold the layer on the opposite side of where my angled spatula is and move the spatula towards my thumb and index finger.
- Once the frosting is smoothed out, add frosting to the sides of the cake and begin smoothing it out evenly.
- For a smoother finish, dip the angled spatula in hot water. Wipe off the water and slowly move it straight up and down along the frosting. Repeat every time you pull the spatula area from the frosting.
- Pipe swirls of frosting on top of the cake with the remaining frosting in the piping bag. You can add more frosting if needed.
Notes
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
