This fresh lemon raspberry cake recipe is packed full of lemon flavor and swirled with a fresh raspberry filling throughout the cake. Get a sweet and tangy bite of lemon and raspberry in each mouthful and pair it with homemade raspberry buttercream, cream cheese frosting, or stabilized whipped cream.
The buttermilk in this lemon raspberry layer cake gives it an extra tender crumb. Paired with tart raspberries, it makes the perfect combination for a summer BBQ dessert, Mother's Day cake, or springtime treat!
This cake also works beautifully with my cream cheese frosting without powdered sugar. The tangy frosting complements the bright lemon and raspberry flavors perfectly.
Table of contents
Ingredients
Lemon: In this tender cake, the lemon flavor is added in 3 ways. Lemon peel from a fresh lemon, lemon extract that enhances the natural lemon flavor, and lemon juice to add some acid and a hint of tartness.
Buttermilk: Buttermilk tenderizes the gluten in the cake flour, which is already soft, creating a melt-in-your-mouth feel with this cake crumb. Learn how to make your own with milk and vinegar, sour cream, or Greek yogurt in my buttermilk substitutes blog post.
Raspberries: Juicy raspberries are a perfect match for lemon flavor, they both enhance each other's natural flavors. A little bit of lemon is added to the berries in the filling to brighten the berry flavor. 
How to Make a Lemon Raspberry Cake
To make this lemon raspberry cake, you'll want to start off by making the raspberry filling first. I like to make it the day ahead and strain out the seeds, but you can leave them in if you prefer. Then make the lemon cake and swirl in the filling, bake it, and then make the buttercream while the cakes are cooling.
Making Raspberry Filling
- Add your raspberries and sugar to a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.
- Heat your raspberry puree until it begins to bubble. Increase the heat to medium-high heat if needed.
- In a small bowl, combine the water and the ClearJel (or cornstarch) and mix until smooth. Don't just add the ClearJel (or cornstarch) directly to the hot liquid or you'll end up with lumps of thickener in your filling.
- Add your ClearJel mixture (or cornstarch slurry) to the hot liquid and mix for one more minute to thicken the mixture.
- Add in the lemon juice and lemon zest and continue cooking for one more minute until thickened.
- Transfer the mixture to a heat-proof container and cover it with plastic wrap (so that it's touching the surface) and allow it to cool to room temperature or place it into the refrigerator to cool before using it.
Making Lemon Raspberry Cake
- Preheat the oven to 335º F/168º C or 350º F/177º C and prepare three 6-inch cake pans (or two 8-inch pans) with cake goop or another preferred pan spray or parchment paper. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature or slightly warm (eggs, buttermilk, butter).
- Measure out the buttermilk and place 4 ounces in a separate measuring cup.
- Add oil to the 4 ounces of buttermilk and set aside.
- To the remaining buttermilk, add your eggs (lightly whisked to break them up), lemon extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Measure out the cake flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Attach the paddle to the mixer and mix on low speed (setting 1 on Kitchen Aid mixers) until the dry ingredients are combined. I recommend a stand mixer for this recipe, but you can do this with a large bowl and electric mixer, just mix by texture instead of time.
- Slowly add chunks of softened butter to the flour mixture and mix on medium speed until the batter resembles coarse sand.
- Add the milk/oil mixture all at once to the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed (speed 4 on Kitchenaid) for 2 full minutes until it's white and fluffy.
- Scrape the bowl. This is an important step because if you skip it, you will have hard lumps of flour in your batter. If you do it later, they will not mix in fully.
- Slowly add in the rest of your wet ingredients in 3 parts and mix until combined. Stop to scrape the sides of the bowl one more time halfway through. Your batter should be thick and not too runny.
- Fill the pans ¾ full and give each a tap to level out the batter and get rid of any air bubbles.
- Add 3 to 4 large dollops of your raspberry filling to the cake batter and use a spoon or knife to swirl it through the batter.
- Bake the cakes for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs.
- After the cakes have cooled for 10 minutes, flip them onto cooling racks to cool completely. Or wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them.
How to Make Raspberry Buttercream
- Place the egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip on high speed for 3-5 minutes.
- Add the softened butter in small chunks then vanilla and salt. Whip on high until light and fluffy and white, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Set aside 2 cups of vanilla buttercream if you want to do the ombre design. Add a drop of yellow food color to give it a slight tint.
- Add about ½ cup of the strained raspberry purée to the buttercream and continue to whip until combined.
- Mix in about 1-2 drops of pink food coloring to enhance the raspberry color if you choose.
- Optional: switch to the paddle attachment and mix on low for 15-20 minutes until all air bubbles are gone.
- Stored it in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator or for 3 months in the freezer.
Assembling and Decorating the Cake
- Trim the dome from the top of the cake rounds and the browned edges.
- Place the first cake layer on the cake board and spread raspberry buttercream over the top. Using a piping bag and round tip, pipe a dam around the outer edge of the cake.
- Spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of raspberry filling within the dammed area. If you overfill the center it could possibly squeeze out once you start stacking other layers.
- Place a few fresh raspberries on top of the raspberry filling.
- Spread a thin layer of raspberry frosting on the bottom of the next layer to sandwich in the berries.
- Repeat the process with the remaining cake layers.
- Once all 3 layers are placed, cover it in a crumb coat of buttercream. Chill it for 5-10 minutes until the buttercream has set.
- Spread a final coat of buttercream on the cake. I used the yellow buttercream to make an ombré, but you can do all raspberry if you prefer.
- Spread some raspberry buttercream around the bottom half of the cake.
- Then smooth the whole cake using the bench scraper, creating an ombré, watercolor effect between the 2 buttercream colors.
- Using a piping bag fitted with a star tip, pipe 8-10 dollops on top around the cake. (Make sure the dollops and raspberries are touching, to create a dam for the center raspberry filling.)
- Then, fill the center of the top of the cake with 2-3 tablespoons of raspberry filling.
- Make sure to keep the cake chilled, but take it out a few hours before you're going to serve it. This cake is best eaten at room temperature!
Tips for Baking From Scratch
- Weigh your ingredients to avoid cake failure. Using a kitchen scale for baking is super easy and gives you the best results every single time.
- Make sure all your cold ingredients are room temperature or slightly warm (butter, milk, eggs, to create a cohesive batter. Curdled batter causes cakes to collapse.
- No buttermilk? You can make your own buttermilk
- Need more help with making your first cake? Check out my how to decorate your first cake blog post.
- Make your own pan release (cake goop!) The best pan release ever!
- Chill your cakes before frosting and filling. You can cover a frosted and chilled cake in fondant if you wish. This cake is also great for stacking. I always keep my cakes chilled in the refrigerator before delivery for easy transportation.
FAQ
Can I use different berries?
Yes, you can use any frozen or fresh berries you prefer and they all pair well with this lemon cake. You will find other berry-filling recipes on the blog. This cake would also be delicious with the addition of homemade lemon curd.
Can I use frozen raspberries for my lemon raspberry cake?
To make the raspberry filling, I prefer to use frozen because they are already partially broken down through the freezing process, this makes the reduction process quicker. You can also use frozen berries when filling the cake, however, they will be softer as they thaw. I prefer to use fresh raspberries for the inside of the cake and the decor on top, however, both are delicious!
Can I use raspberry jam instead of making my filling?
Yes! If you are pinched on time, you can use store-bought raspberry preserves or jam in place of the filling.
Related Recipes
Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Cake
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8 cups
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Note: measurements are estimated based off the vanilla cake recipe using standard US cake pans and sizes. Measurements used are for 2" tall cake pans only. Your results may vary. Do not overfill cake pans above manufacturer's recommended guidelines.
Recipe
Servings: 8 cups
Calories: 1379kcal
Ingredients
Raspberry Filling
- 16 ounces fresh or frozen raspberries
- 5 ounces sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 ounces cool water
- 1 Tablespoon corn starch
Lemon Raspberry Cake
- 13 ounces cake flour
- 12 ounces granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 8 ounces unsalted butter
- 8 ounces buttermilk
- 3 ounces vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 2 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 2 Tablespoons AP Flour for dusting berries
- 10 ounces raspberries You can use frozen but don't thaw them
Raspberry Buttercream
- 4 ounces pasteurized egg whites room temperature
- 16 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
- 16 ounces powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces raspberry puree strained
Instructions
Making Raspberry Filling
- Add your raspberries and sugar to a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.
- Heat your raspberry puree until it begins to bubble. Increase the heat to medium-high heat if needed.
- In a small bowl, combine the water and the ClearJel (or cornstarch) and mix until smooth. Don't just add the ClearJel (or cornstarch) directly to the hot liquid or you'll end up with lumps of thickener in your filling.
- Add your ClearJel mixture (or cornstarch slurry) to the hot liquid and mix for one more minute to thicken the mixture.
- Add in the lemon juice and lemon zest and continue cooking for one more minute until thickened.
- Transfer the mixture to a heat-proof container and cover it with plastic wrap (so that it's touching the surface) and allow it to cool to room temperature or place it into the refrigerator to cool before using it.
Making Lemon Raspberry Cake
- Preheat the oven to 335º F/168º C or 350º F/177º C and prepare three 6-inch cake pans (or two 8-inch pans) with cake goop or another preferred pan spray or parchment paper. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature or slightly warm (eggs, buttermilk, butter).
- Measure out the buttermilk and place 4 ounces in a separate measuring cup.
- Add oil to the 4 ounces of buttermilk and set aside.
- To the remaining buttermilk, add your eggs (lightly whisked to break them up), lemon extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Measure out the cake flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Attach the paddle to the mixer and mix on low speed (setting 1 on Kitchen Aid mixers) until the dry ingredients are combined. I recommend a stand mixer for this recipe, but you can do this with a large bowl and electric mixer, just mix by texture instead of time.
- Slowly add chunks of softened butter to the flour mixture and mix on medium speed until the batter resembles coarse sand.
- Add the milk/oil mixture all at once to the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed (speed 4 on Kitchenaid) for 2 full minutes until it's white and fluffy.
- Scrape the bowl. This is an important step because if you skip it, you will have hard lumps of flour in your batter. If you do it later, they will not mix in fully.
- Slowly add in the rest of your wet ingredients in 3 parts and mix until combined. Stop to scrape the sides of the bowl one more time halfway through. Your batter should be thick and not too runny.
- Fill the pans ¾ full and give each a tap to level out the batter and get rid of any air bubbles.
- Add 3 to 4 large dollops of your raspberry filling to the cake batter and use a spoon or knife to swirl it through the batter.
- Bake the cakes for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs.
- After the cakes have cooled for 10 minutes, flip them onto cooling racks to cool completely. Or wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them.
How to Make Raspberry Buttercream
- Place the egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip on high speed for 3-5 minutes.
- Add the softened butter in small chunks then vanilla and salt. Whip on high until light and fluffy and white, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Set aside 2 cups of vanilla buttercream if you want to do the ombre design. Add a drop of yellow food color to give it a slight tint.
- Add about ½ cup of the strained raspberry purée to the buttercream and continue to whip until combined.
- Mix in about 1-2 drops of pink food coloring to enhance the raspberry color if you choose.
- Optional: switch to the paddle attachment and mix on low for 15-20 minutes until all air bubbles are gone.
- Stored it in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator or for 3 months in the freezer.
Assembling and Decorating the Cake
- Trim the dome from the top of the cake rounds and the browned edges.
- Place the first cake layer on the cake board and spread raspberry buttercream over the top. Using a piping bag and round tip, pipe a dam around the outer edge of the cake.
- Spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of raspberry filling within the dammed area. If you overfill the center it could possibly squeeze out once you start stacking other layers.
- Place a few fresh raspberries on top of the raspberry filling.
- Spread a thin layer of raspberry frosting on the bottom of the next layer to sandwich in the berries.
- Repeat the process with the remaining cake layers.
- Once all 3 layers are placed, cover it in a crumb coat of buttercream. Chill it for 5-10 minutes until the buttercream has set.
- Spread a final coat of buttercream on the cake. I used the yellow buttercream to make an ombré, but you can do all raspberry if you prefer.
- Spread some raspberry buttercream around the bottom half of the cake.
- Then smooth the whole cake using the bench scraper, creating an ombré, watercolor effect between the 2 buttercream colors.
- Using a piping bag fitted with a star tip, pipe 8-10 dollops on top around the cake. (Make sure the dollops and raspberries are touching, to create a dam for the center raspberry filling.)
- Then, fill the center of the top of the cake with 2-3 tablespoons of raspberry filling.
- Make sure to keep the cake chilled, but take it out a few hours before you're going to serve it. This cake is best eaten at room temperature!
Notes
- Weigh your ingredients to avoid cake failure. Using a kitchen scale for baking is super easy and gives you the best results every single time.
- Make sure all your cold ingredients are room temperature or slightly warm (butter, milk, eggs, to create a cohesive batter. Curdled batter causes cakes to collapse.
- No buttermilk? You can make your own buttermilk
- To prevent blueberries from sinking, I wash them (to get them wet) then roll them in flour. Then I add them to the batter halfway through baking
- Do not fall for the "just add cornstarch to regular flour" trick. It does not work for this recipe. Your cake will look and taste like cornbread. If you can't find cake flour, use pastry flour which isn't quite as soft as cake flour but it's better than all-purpose flour.
- Make your own pan release (cake goop!) The best pan release ever!
- If you're in the UK search for Shipton mills cake and pastry flour. If you're in another part of the country, search for low protein cake flour.
- Need more help with making your first cake? Check out my how to decorate your first cake blog post.
- Make the raspberry filling first, then make the lemon cake and swirl in the filling, bake it, and then make the buttercream while the cakes are cooling.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 1379kcal | Carbohydrates: 176g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 73g | Saturated Fat: 45g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 256mg | Sodium: 461mg | Potassium: 392mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 125g | Vitamin A: 2432IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 143mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
P. Patterson says
Made this but changed the lemon to orange! Boy was it good. Its a keeper. I baked it in 8 inch pans and had to bake it around 45 minutes. I divided my frosting and added raspberry purre to one half and orange water and zest to the other. Loved the texture/crumb of the cake. Thank you for this recipe. Excited to try more.
Olita says
Hi Liz ?
Can I use strawberries instead of raspberries?
Thank you.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Totally! Yay strawberry lemonade cake 😀
Alexandra Yuzkiv says
Hello, I was wondering for the frosting can I use 2 sticks of butter and 2 sticks of margarine? Will it still taste good?thank you
The Sugar Geek Show says
I haven't tested this recipe with margarine but I think half and half would probably be ok. I would leave out the added oil
Norma says
Hi Liz, thank you for an amazing recipe. I just tried your recipe for Easter dinner and it was amazing. I was a little worried that the swirled raspberry purée would make the cake a little mushy but it was perfection. The only thing was my cake took longer than 35 minutes to get done, it took about 50 minutes and I bake it in an 8 inch pan. I love your recipes and I am so happy that you are willing to share your knowledge with the rest of us. Thank you.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Every oven is different. If you ever feel so inclined, get an oven thermometer and check the temp of your oven to see if it's off a few degrees
Miz says
Hi Liz
Can I use this cake under the fondant without refrigerated?
Thanks
The Sugar Geek Show says
If you don't refrigerate your cake before attempting to put fondant on you will have a hard time because the cake and the buttercream will be very soft. Even refrigeration for 20 minutes will be enough
Kate says
Hi Liz!
I have tried this recipe but sadly my sponges sucked badly in the middle. What have I done wrong?
Thanks
The Sugar Geek Show says
They could have been improperly mixed (not enough time) or ingredients could have been too cold or the cake could have been under-baked
Judith says
Hi Liz!
I have another question ? For buttercream in US customary it says 16oz of powdered sugar when in metrics it says 113g, but the reading some comments they mentioned they decrease that amount to 14oz so I understand is 16oz and of course not 113g but would like to get your confirmation before going ahead ? Thanks again!
The Sugar Geek Show says
I'm not sure why the powdered sugar was at that amount for grams but I fixed it 🙂 16 ounces is the correct amount
Judith says
Hi Liz! And thanks for sharing your knowledge! Could this cake be covered with fondant or will it melt? Thanks again!!!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you can cover this cake in buttercream then a layer of fondant if you prefer
Anna Brodsky says
Hi! I have been waiting all year for my birthday to make this cake, but with a twist- custard and passionfruit curd filling and Italian buttercream frosting. I am mainly looking for a raspberry swirl cake and am wondering if you've ever made it without the lemon? I love lemon, but don't want it to overpower the passionfruit. I would love to get your opinion on whether I should just cut back the lemon a bit or omit it all together? Your sponges are AMAZING and I am so grateful that you share your knowledge with all of us on the web- thank you so much!
The Sugar Geek Show says
You can definitely just leave out the lemon. If you want, I have a vanilla cake version of this recipe 🙂
Rosie says
Hi! I’d love to make this cake for my birthday party this weekend. I wonder if you happen to have a cream cheese frosting recipe that I could use to substitute for the buttercream? I’m a sucker for cream cheese! Thank you!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Sure do, I have two in the frosting and filling section of my recipes
Lizzey says
I cannot wait to make this cake! Just a question on the buttercream ingredients. It says raspberry puree. Is that completely different than the raspberries in the other ingredients? Is it made separate or can it be bought already made?
The Sugar Geek Show says
It's a separate recipe, It's optional if you don't want to make it 🙂 I just had some leftover so I used them for the inside and the drip
Michelle says
Does this cake freeze well? I want to make it for my daughter’s birthday next weekend but my schedule is crazy at the end of the week. I was thinking I’d bake the cake this weekend, wrap it and freeze, then do the frosting Friday night or Saturday morning after the cake is defrosted. Thanks!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you can freeze it.
LG says
Can't wait to make this for my friend this week! I noticed that "lemon extract" is listed in both the cake and the icing, but I also see vanilla extract listed in the directions for the Buttercream and then just "extract" for the cake. Which one should be used, vanilla extract or lemon extract? Thanks!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Lemon, not vanilla 🙂 I'll fix that typo. Thanks!
LGrubb says
So so helpful!!! It looks delicious, cannot wait to devour!!
jacqueline s lopez says
What do you mean by 13 oz of cake flour? I always use cups.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Hi there, all my recipes are by weight. I don't use cups because they are not accurate and are often the reason a recipe fails. You can use a food scale to weigh your ingredients.
jacqueline s lopez says
What type do you prefer? digital or analog scale? I have a scale but it looks like the clock(lbs, g) not digital.
Mildred says
This cake is so soft! I completely forgot the raspberries and I threw it in 20 minutes into baking . It still came out perfect!I wish I could post a picture!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yay! Join our facebook group sugar geeks and post in there! I'd love to see!