Raspberry Cake Filling
Thick, glossy, bright raspberry cake filling made with five ingredients in 10 minutes. Perfect between cake layers, inside cupcakes, or mixed into buttercream for a raspberry frosting. Make it ahead so it has time to chill fully before use.
Servings: 12 oz
Calories: 128kcal
Ingredients
Raspberry Filling Recipe
- 12 ounces fresh or frozen raspberries
- 5 ounces sugar
- 1 whole lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 ounce water
- 2 tablespoon Clear Jel or cornstarch
Instructions
Making the raspberry filling
- Add the raspberries and sugar to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir to combine and heat until the mixture begins to bubble, increasing to medium-high if needed.
- Optional for seedless filling: strain the hot mixture through a fine mesh strainer, pressing the solids with a spatula. Return the strained liquid to the saucepan and bring back to a bubble. Note that straining reduces the yield by up to half; double the recipe if making seedless.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the water and ClearJel or cornstarch until completely smooth. Do not add thickener directly to the hot fruit.
- Pour the slurry into the hot raspberry mixture while stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously. The filling will shift from cloudy and opaque to clear and deeply glossy as the thickener fully cooks. If it still looks milky, cook for another 30 to 60 seconds.
- Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook for 1 more minute.
- Transfer to a heatproof container. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the filling to prevent a skin from forming. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until fully chilled before using.Pro tip - If you pour the raspberry filling onto a sheet pan or cake pan and place it into the fridge, it will cool faster.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Fresh or frozen raspberries both work. Frozen are more cost-efficient and are picked at peak ripeness. Fresh raspberries can release more liquid; add an extra teaspoon of ClearJel or cornstarch if the filling seems thin.
- ClearJel stays clearer and more stable at high heat than regular cornstarch. Cornstarch is a 1:1 substitute and works well; the filling will be slightly less glossy.
- Lemon juice and zest go in at the end to preserve their brightness and because acid can interfere with thickening at high heat.
- Refrigerator: airtight container with plastic wrap on the surface, up to 2 weeks.
- Freezer: airtight container, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and stir before using.
- Assembled cake with this filling: refrigerator, up to 1 week.
- Filling must be fully chilled before use.
- Pipe a buttercream dam around the edge of each cake layer before spreading filling.
- Keep the filling layer no thicker than ¼ inch.
- To make raspberry buttercream, mix a few tablespoons of cooled filling into your frosting.
- Do not add ClearJel or cornstarch directly to the hot liquid; always make a slurry first.
- Do not use warm or room-temperature filling between cake layers; it must be fully chilled.
- Do not microwave a too-firm filling to soften it; stir at room temperature instead.
Nutrition
Calories: 128kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.2mg
