Lemon Raspberry Cake
A light and fluffy lemon cake with fresh raspberries and a fresh lemon cream cheese frosting. A sweet and tangy lemon berry cake!
It's my husband's birthday and we make a big deal about birthdays in our home. It all starts with the cake. They get to choose any flavor of cake they can dream up in their head. I have shared some of the unique requests in my days! Dean loves this lemon raspberry cake but also goes crazy for my Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake. You can't get much different than lemon and chocolate though so he is quite conflicted.
I can vouch for this cake and tell you with 100% surety that you will fall in love with it. This lemon berry cake is always a slam dunk and gets rave reviews! It is made with fresh lemon juice and fresh raspberries which I think makes a big difference. You can tell a difference when using freshly squeezed lemon juice and zest and when you get it from the bottle.
I have shared before how my sister-in-law owns a cake business and we share the same philosophy. The number one priority when making a homemade cake is that it needs to taste good. Sometimes cakes can look so pretty and be perfectly polished but no one wants to eat the frosting and the cake is barely edible. I am all about the balance! This Lemon Raspberry Cake is a beautiful homemade cake that also tastes amazing!
I have made a few cakes in my days and after much experimentation, I have found that oil works like a charm for creating a tender, moist cake. I also love to use buttermilk to create the perfect texture. You can also use whole milk with a touch of vinegar in a pinch. Fresh lemon juice and zest is a must in this cake! It is what brightens it and gives it the punch of fresh flavor.
How to make the Best Lemon Raspberry Cake:
- In a large mixing bowl, add canola oil, eggs, buttermilk, fresh lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix for 2 minutes. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can make homemade buttermilk by mixing whole milk and 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar. Let stand for at least 10-15 minutes to let it curdle before adding it to the mixture.
- Add sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Don't overmix the cake batter. Once you add the flour, if you overmix, it will result in a tougher cake. In a small bowl, toss fresh raspberries with a touch of flour to make sure the raspberries don't sink to the bottom of the cake. Carefully fold in the raspberries to the batter.
- Prepare baking pans. I prefer to use three 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans. This way you get more filling and the cakes bake faster since they are thinner. You can use parchment paper rounds and also spray with a non-stick cooking spray.
- Bake until toothpick comes out clean in the center. Always set the timer for the lowest suggested baking time and check your cake layers. You can always add more time but there's no really salvaging an over baked cake.
- To make the frosting, make sure the butter and cream cheese is softened and at room temperature. This will help to ensure the frosting is completely smooth.
- Garnish with fresh raspberries and lemon slices.
More favorite Modern Honey cake recipes:
- Key Lime Cake
Vanilla Cake
- LEMON Olive Oil Cake
- VANILLA Cupcakes
- YELLOW Cake with Chocolate Frosting
- Love at First Sight CHOCOLATE Cake
- Chocolate RASPBERRY Cake
- COCONUT Cake
- RED VELVET Cake
- Jeff's Best BANANA Cake
- Southern CARAMEL Cake
- BERRY Chantilly Cream Cake
My favorite cake baking essentials:
USA 8-inch cake pans
USA 9-inch cake pans
Icing Angled Spatula
Lemon Raspberry Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Canola Oil (or vegetable or olive oil)
- 3 large Eggs
- 1 ⅓ cup Buttermilk
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Zest
- 2 cups Sugar
- 2 cups Flour (plus 2 Tablespoons more for the raspberries)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ cups Fresh Raspberries (plus more for garnish)
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- ½ cup Butter (softened)
- (1) 8-ounce pkg. Cream Cheese (softened)
- 4 ½ cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- ½ teaspoon Lemon Zest
Garnish:
- 1 cup Fresh Raspberries
- Lemon Slices
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, add oil, eggs, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Cream for 2 minutes.
- In large bowl, add sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into egg mixture and fold.
- In a small bowl, carefully toss raspberries with 2 Tablespoons of flour to coat them. This helps to keep the raspberries from sinking to the bottom. Fold into the batter.
- Spray three 8-inch or three 9-inch cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. You can also use two 9-inch pans but the baking time will be longer. Place batter into baking pans. If using three 8-inch pans, bake for 20-26 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. If using three 9-inch pans, bake for 19-23 minutes. If using two 9-inch pans, bake for 30-36 minutes. Cool.
To make Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl often. Add powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest and cream together. Chill.
To assemble cake:
- Remove cakes from pan. Spread frosting on top of one cooled cake layer. Place other cooled cake layer on top and spread frosting all over. Garnish with fresh raspberries and lemon slices.Optional: Let chill for 20-30 minutes to let the frosting set up.
Robyn
I made this cake again for my father in laws birthday because it was such a hit last time I made it.
I decided to make one lemon raspberry and one lemon blueberry. Both turned out amazing. This recipe is THE BEST!
Stacey
How do you store leftovers? Also, do you recommend making it day of event or can it be made before?
Lucy
Do you think I could reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe?
Robyn
I made this cake for my husbands birthday and it was absolutely amazing. I shared some with our neighbours and brought the remaining pieces to a family lunch and the reviews were great!
I did make a simple light whipped cream frosting instead and it was amazing. Very light and just sweet enough.
10/10 highly recommend.
Melissa Stadler
Robyn I bet that frosting was incredible! I think whipped cream is good on most anything sweet, and this cake is no exception! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and for sharing it with others.
Tanya
Hello, this recipe looks amazing. Can I use a cake mix base (gluten-free) and add the lemon, lemon zest and raspberry according to your directions and follow the box recipe for the rest? Or should I just use the 1 for 1 gluten-free flour?
Thanks, Tanya
MD
I made this cake as soon as I saw the recipe and it was delicious! I definitely will make this again. But I’m standing in my kitchen now and I need to make cupcakes out of this recipe. I’m hoping you can tell me how many cupcakes does this recipe make and what temperature should I bake them at and how many minutes for regular sized cupcakes?
Leah
Incredible lemon flavor. This was the perfect amount of lemon, loved the hint of raspberry. Frosting might have been my favorite part though! I could eat that with a spoon!
Rhonalynn
I made this today for mothers day and it was delicious. However I did miss more of the raspberry flavor so I think I'll add a raspberry compote between layers the next time I make it. It was a refreshing citrus summer treat though.
Melissa Stadler
Sounds great Rhonalynn! I love the idea of a berry compote in between layers. That would be delicious. Thanks for trying out my recipe, I am so glad that you liked it!
Kelly
I just made this a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing! I followed the recipe as it and it was much easier than I thought it would be. The cake is not only pretty but it was so delicious. Everyone loved it and every last bite was gone.
Lupe
did you use unsalted or salted butter, that makes a difference, I want to make it. Thank you