My Raspberry Cake recipe with lemon buttercream is made with yogurt, fresh raspberries, and lots of lemon juice for an old fashioned from-scratch layer cake that’s perfect for birthdays and special occasions, or any time you want to pamper yourself!
my raspberry lemon cake is over the top delicious but not at all fussy.
It’s just the thing with a cup of tea or coffee for an afternoon pick me up. Yes, you can definitely serve it as an after dinner dessert, but it seems a shame to waste such a good cake on people who’ve just had a big meal. And anyway, I’m always looking for ways to insert more cake into my day 🙂
This recipe is inspired by European style cakes, it has a moist, dense texture, and it’s not over the top sweet. The berries add just the right fruity element, and the frosting pulls it all together with a burst of tartness.
what you’ll need for this simple raspberry cake
- flour ~ I use all purpose flour, but you could use cake flour as well.
- butter ~ unless otherwise stated I always bake with unsalted butter. Be sure to bring your butter to room temperature before using.
- granulated sugar
- confectioner’s sugar
- eggs ~ unless otherwise stated I always use large eggs for baking. We’re going to separate them.
- yogurt ~ any kind you love, I use full fat vanilla. Yogurt has the surprising ability to make baked goods extra tender.
- raspberries ~ for this cake I like to use frozen berries because they don’t break up when I fold them into the batter. If you’ve got fresh berries you might pop them into the freezer for a bit to firm them up.
- lemon juice and zest ~ the zest is where all the flavor of the lemon hides!
- baking soda, baking powder, and salt
easy method for making a raspberry cake
This cake comes together a little differently than most cakes. The eggs are separated, and the whites are beaten and folded into the batter. It gives the cake a light sponge cake texture which is really nice.
- Separate the eggs, and whip the whites to soft peaks.
- Cream the softened butter, sugar, and lemon zest beating in the egg yolks one at a time. Add the vanilla.
- Alternately fold in the dry ingredients with the yogurt. Fold in the berries.
my best tips for baking with raspberries
The flavors of this cake really sing, partly because whole raspberries are folded into the batter just before baking. But fresh raspberries are incredibly delicate, and will inevitably break apart as you stir them in. I’ve got a solution for that!
- Use frozen berries if you would like them to stay in tact when folded into the cake batter. Do not thaw them before using.
- If you have fresh berries, consider popping them in the freezer for a short while to firm them up before using.
the tart lemon buttercream is everything!
Your reward for the light as air yogurt cake is the thick layer of insanely sweet tart lemon buttercream. It’s like lemon fudge, only better 🙂
I might be in the minority here, but I love the cake cold from the refrigerator. It does wonderful things to the buttercream.
I recommend sturdy nonstick pans for layer cakes
For those times when only a layer cake will do, you need good sturdy reliable cake pans. I like to use thick walled nonstick pans like Chicago pans, or USA brand pans. Both cook evenly and release the cakes every time. I have a set of both 8 inch and 9 inch pans, there really is a big difference in the size of the cakes when you bake in the different pans ~ sometimes the smaller cake pan works better, and vice versa.
How to care for your cake pans so they release your cakes perfectly every time!
- I always hand wash my cake pans in warm water and dish soap, I never put them in the dishwasher. Be sure to dry them thoroughly before putting away.
- Don’t ever let metal utensils touch the surface of your pans.
Raspberry treats on this blog can run the gamut from casual little Raspberry Almond Bars to the more exotic Raspberry Pavlovas…
- Black Raspberry Ice Cream
- Raspberry Champagne Sorbet
- Raspberry Coffee Cake
- Perfect Black Raspberry Muffins
- Easy Raspberry Galette
- Raspberry Eton Mess
- Raspberry Desserts to Make All Summer
Raspberry Lemon Cake
Equipment
- 8 inch cake pans Buy them here.
- parchment paper rounds, optional
Ingredients
cake
- 9 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt (you can use vanilla yogurt as well)
- 1 1/2 cups raspberries (I like to use frozen berries)
lemon buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 5 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
- 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, you may need a bit more.
- optional 1 small drop yellow gel food coloring
Instructions
cake layers
- Preheat your oven to 350F and butter and flour 2 non-stick 8 inch cake pans. I like to put a round of parchment paper on the bottom of the pans just to insure a good release.
- Cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, along with the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Set aside.
- In another separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with the yogurt and mix until well combined. Scrape down the bowl.
- Fold in the whipped egg whites, working gently until no white streaks remain.
- Fold in the berries.
- Spread the batter evenly between the two cake pans and even out the tops with an offset spatula.
- Bake the cakes on the same oven shelf for about 30 minutes, or until the center springs back when touched and the edges are just starting to turn golden. Don't over bake.
- Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes before turning them out and cooling them completely on a rack.
frosting
- To make the frosting cream the butter, sugar, (and the drop of food coloring, if using) adding enough lemon juice to make a creamy spreadable frosting. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add more sugar for a stiffer frosting, and more lemon juice if it’s too stiff.
- Frost the cake when completely cool. Add a generous amount of frosting to the first layer, then top with second layer and finish frosting top and sides.
Video
Notes
- This cake has been wildly popular since its original posting, but a few of you have had issues with it, so I’ve re-tested the recipe and tweaked a few details. The changes are reflected in the above recipe. It’s the same amazing cake, only even better. Hope you love it!
HI this sounds delicious, I want to make it in a 9×13 to take to a funeral reception. Would it work OK in a different pan? Thanks
Yes, a 9×13 should work fine.
What do you think about using 9 inch cake pans?
This particular cake is fairly thin, so using a larger pan will make it thinner, just fyi. Reduce the baking time by about 5-10 minutes.
I have never baked a cake from scratch and I learned a lot of shortcuts that I could have taken. It took me a long time to do. But the end result was absolutely delicious and I shared it with my company. I was quite nervy to share a dessert a that I had never made before! But it was a hit!
My new favorite cake. Made it for my daughters birthday, which she loved and it was so yummy. I am now making it for my birthday and whenever I want something sweet.
I’ve made this cake twice and everyone RAVED about it (and mind you these are people who generally do not like cake at all!) Only modification I made was doing a cream cheese frosting instead — very yummy with the lemon raspberry cake. can’t wait to make it again!
An honor to convert cake-haters! Thanks for the review Tara!
I want to make this for a friend’s birthday. This may be a silly question, but do you thaw the raspberries before adding?
No, you leave them frozen, otherwise they really get mushy.
I made this yesterday and it turned out wonderful. First, I had to modify it for lactose intolerance so I used vegan butter and vegan greek style yogurt. Second, I made this as a birthday cake so I baked it in three 6 inch pans. The vegan substitutions worked beautifully and there was exactly enough batter for the pan conversion. I thought it would shorten the bake time but actually I needed to bake about 15 minutes longer, possibly due to the vegan ingredients. The cake is dense and moist and absolutely delicious. Some people in the comments say it’s too sweet and reduced the sugar but the cake itself is not overly sweet at all, it’s the frosting. I made my frosting with a combination of vegan butter and vegan cream cheese which tasted great but got tricky since vegan butter is more sensitive to heat and easily melts. I also added a white chocolate drip. I wish I could include a photo because it turned out gorgeous but most importantly it tasted fantastic. I’m a novice at both baking and cake decorating so I was really nervous about this one but it was all a delightful success. Thanks for a great recipe!
Sounds really good 👍
I found this cake quite wet – it tasted yummy but I was worried it was too soggy.
I made this cake a couple years for a friend’s birthday it was a big hit
I was wondering if I could bake this cake in a 9 X 13 pan? If so would I need to adjust anything?
Thank you!