Lemon Raspberry Cake

Lemon Raspberry Cake With Lots Of Lemon Zest And Fresh Raspberry Filling Is A Summertime Favorite

Lemon raspberry cake needs to be on your summer baking list! If you love my vanilla cake recipe or my classic lemon cake recipe you’re gonna flip over this one.

This fresh lemon raspberry cake is packed full of lemon flavor but my favorite part is the fresh raspberry filling swirled throughout the cake and the yummy bites of raspberries!

So pretty! The cake is frosted and filled with my go-to easy buttercream frosting, topped with more raspberry filling for the drip. Sliced lemons and more raspberries look so yummy!

One of my best friends Kelsey happens to have about 50 raspberry bushes next to her house (lucky girl) and recently brought me over about three pounds! I was SO excited! But as you know, raspberries spoil very quickly so even though I hadn’t planned on baking that day, I baked THREE raspberry goodies which I’ll be posting over the next two weeks.

Lemon Cake Recipe

Let’s start with the lemon portion of this lemon raspberry cake! This is actually my favorite lemon cake recipe that I have been using for years with an extra bit of lemon extract and lemon juice. I feel like lemon cake that has too much extract tastes like candy so I prefer to get most of my flavor from the zest.

This cake recipe is made with cake flour which is a very delicate white flour. Cake flour gives you the most delicious tender crumb when combined with the reverse mixing method.

When making this cake, make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature so that they properly combine. Cold milk or butter will curdle the mixture and cause your cake to fall flat. Literally.

You’ll also want to use a scale. If you try to google volume measurements (cups) I promise it won’t turn out and do you really want to waste all that precious butter? You can get the scale I use on amazon or you can buy a scale at pretty much any store for under $20.

If you’re like me and you forget to bring your ingredients to room temperature ahead of time, you can use my lazy baker hack. I place my eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes, microwave my milk for 30 seconds (time varies depending on your microwave) and I microwave my butter for 20 seconds. Voila!

Raspberry Filling

One of the most awesome things about raspberries is they make a fantastic filling! This recipe is basically raspberry jam plus a little cornstarch to make it a bit more stable for using as a cake filling. The cornstarch doesn’t make it TOO thick though so you can totally use it like a refrigerator jam and spread it on everything from pound cake to biscuits (which I TOTALLY did).

To make the raspberry filling all you do is combine the raspberries with the sugar and bring to a boil. I choose to use an immersion blender to make the filling more smooth but you can leave it chunky.

Add in your lemon and cornstarch slurry and let it simmer until clear and smooth. let cool before using it inside your cakes. I like to pour mine into a cake pan and spread it thin so it cools faster.

Raspberry Lemon Layer Cake

To make this moist lemon cake into a raspberry lemon cake, I mix up my lemon batter as usual and then before baking, I swirl in some dollops of raspberry filling and sprinkle in some fresh raspberries.

The raspberry tends to sink to the bottom so I leave all the good stuff at the top to keep it as suspended in the batter as possible. I dust my raspberries with some flour to help adhere them to the batter and keep them from sinking.

I baked this lemon raspberry cake in the morning and then chilled them in the freezer until they where firm enough to handle (about an hour).

Then I filled them with easy buttercream and raspberry filling. I topped the cake with some sliced lemon, more raspberries and berry drip. I was in a hurry to get to dinner with my cake so I just used a spoon to drizzle but you could put the filling into a piping bag and make a cleaner drip.

This lemon raspberry cake was SUCH a huge hit! The kids devoured it and I must admit I went in for a second slice. Even as I’m blogging about this I am thinking about the next time I can make this yummy cake!

Make sure you check out the video in the recipe for more details on how to make this luscious lemon raspberry cake with raspberry filling.

5 from 2 votes

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Lemon Raspberry Layer Cake

A delicious lemon raspberry cake that is moist and fluffy and filled with fresh raspberry filling. The perfect summer flavor combination.  This recipe makes three 6"x2" cake rounds or two 8"x2" cake rounds.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cake, lemon, raspberry

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 6 cups

Calories 3075 kcal

Ingredients

Lemon Cake Ingredients

• 15 oz cake flour
• 14 oz granulated sugar
• 12 oz whole milk
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 4 large eggs
• 2 oz vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 whole lemon zest
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp lemon extract
• 8 oz unsalted butter

Raspberry Filling

• 4 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 whole lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp corn starch

Easy Buttercream

• 1 cup pasteurized egg whites room temperature
• 2 lbs unsalted butter room temperature
• 2 lbs powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Cake Instructions

1. Heat oven to 335º F/168º C — 350º F/177º C. I tend to use lower setting to prevent my cakes from getting too dark on the outside before the inside is done baking.

2. Measure out the liquid ingredients and whisk gently to combine and place them into a bowl.

   

3. Measure out dry ingredients and place them into the stand mixer bowl.

   

4. Attach the paddle to the mixer, and turn on the slowest speed (setting 1 on Kitchen Aid mixers). Slowly add chunks of your softened butter until it is all added. Let mix until batter resembles coarse sand.

   

5. Add 1/3 of your liquid ingredients while mixing on low until just moistened. This part is crucial. Don't add too much liquid.

   

6. Increase mixing speed to medium (setting 5 on Kitchen Aid mixer). Let the mixture whip up until it has thickened and lightened in color. It should look like soft-serve ice cream. If you do not let the batter mix fully, you will end up with very short, cumbly cakes. This mixing can take up to 2 minutes. It is important not to undermix or overmix your batter.

   

7. Scrape the bowl. This is an important step. If you skip it, you will have hard lumps of flour and unmixed ingredients in your batter. If you do it later, they will not mix in fully.

8. Slowly add in the rest of your liquid ingredients, stopping to scrape the bowl one more time halfway through. Your batter should be thick and not too runny. I have to spoon mine into pans with a rubber spatula.

   

9. Lightly grease 2 8" cake pans with vegetable shortening and dust with cake flour. Tap out excess flour. Fill pans 3/4 full. Give the pan a little tap on each side to level out the batter and get rid of any air bubbles.

   Add 3-4 large dollops of your raspberry filling to the cake batter and use a spoon or knife to swirl it through the batter. I also add in about 1/4 cup of fresh raspberries dusted with flour sprinkled on top

10. I always start by baking for 20 minutes for 8" and smaller cakes and 30 minutes for 9" and larger cakes and then checking for doneness. If the cakes are still really jiggly, I add another 10 minutes. I check every 5 minutes after that until I'm close and then it's every 2 minutes. Cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs. 
    

    

11. After cakes have cooled for 10 minutes or the pans are cool enough to touch, flip the cakes over and remove from the pans onto the cooling racks to cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.

    

12. Once the cakes are chilled in the refrigerator and feel firm you can trim off the brown edges from the sides (optional) and fill with your buttercream and more of your raspberry filling. It's best to create a dam (see video) to help hold in the raspberry filling and keep it from oozing out. Crumb coat the cake with buttercream, chill then apply your final coat of buttercream. Top with lemon slices, more raspberries and a drizzle of raspberry filling around the outside edge. 

Raspberry Filling Instructions

1. Combine raspberries and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Use an immersion blender to make the filling smooth (or leave chunky if you prefer).  

2. Combine your cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Pour it into the raspberry mixture and let it simmer until mixture is clear and thickened. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and zest and let cool before using. 
   
   Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for 6 months. 

Lemon Buttercream Instructions

1. Place egg whites and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment. Whisk to combine. Add in butter in small chunks then vanilla extract and salt. 

   Whip on high until light and fluffy and white. Optional: switch to the paddle attachment and mix on low for 15-20 minutes until all air bubbles are gone.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

The most delicious lemon raspberry cake recipe ever! Lemon cake full of flavor and filled with fresh raspberry filling

Nutrition Facts

Lemon Raspberry Layer Cake

Amount Per Serving (1 g)

Calories 3075 Calories from Fat 1521

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 169g 260%

Saturated Fat 106g 530%

Cholesterol 521mg 174%

Sodium 766mg 32%

Potassium 520mg 15%

Total Carbohydrates 384g 128%

Dietary Fiber 7g 28%

Sugars 320g

Protein 20g 40%

Vitamin A 106.5%

Vitamin C 30.7%

Calcium 22.9%

Iron 14.6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.