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
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Raspberry Lemon Cake
Video
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.
Notes
9-inch pans: the cake will be wider and the layers thinner. The bake time will be shorter. 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!
The first time I made this it turned out amazing! I followed the recipe to the T. The next 2 times I’ve made this with all fresh ingredients I go to cut into it right after it’s baked and it’s MOLDY!! What could I be doing wrong? Please I need help. I love this cake and hate to waste ingredients.
You might be referring to the way raspberries can sometimes turn batter a little blue or green, that’s natural, and no problem. It has to do with the ph of the ingredients.
I would like to make this but substitute regular flour for gluten free. My husband has to eat gluten free. Just wondering if switching the flour will work out okay. Thoughts?
I haven’t made this with gf flour Angela, but I suspect it would work fine.
I am an amateur baker at best and this cake was delicious! My entire family loved it and I followed the recipe to the T and it was amazing. I was worried that the batter was too thick but it all came out perfectly in the end. Thank you so much! Definitely making it again.
Hello,
What is the weight measurement for 9 tablespoons of butter?
Thanks for this wonderful recipe! Yes, the batter did come out a little thick…I thought the save as since others…”did I miss something? But no. I re-read the recipe and thought “ok, I followed it exactly. Let’s see how it comes out”. I used a mini bundt pan and got 9 cakes, baked for about 18 minutes, from this recipe.
I subbed sour cream for the yogurt but I like the idea of using lemon yogurt, since this is called “raspberry LEMON cake, rather than raspberry cake with lemon icing. The cake was a little dense and tasted like pancakes with raspberries. Very yummy but I’ll definitely add lemon- something to the batter next time.
All in all, it was very tasty. Thank you Sue!
This was a fun cake to make, I really enjoyed the flavor. I read the comments first and made a few changes.
I used lemon yogurt instead of plain.
I added some of the lemon juice to the cake batter for more of a lemon flavor.
I only used 1 1/2 stick butter instead of two and added a little milk to make it easier to spread.
My husband is my guinea pig for all new recipes and he totally loved it.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. Sounds delicious. One question please. Could you tell me how to make it with a cream cheese frosting? I would appreciate it. Thank you ahead of time.
Hi jennifer, if you search cream cheese frosting in my search bar you’ll come up with many recipes for cream cheese frosting. You can add lemon zest to any of them to make it a lemon cream cheese recipe.
I want to make this for my partners birthday but he has an egg allergy. There are lots of egg replacers out therebut im not sure theyll be effective as this recipe calls for seperating tbe eggs. Any advice on what i should do?
I wish I could be of more help but I’m really not sure. You might try aquafaba for the egg white portion (whipped chickpea water)
I have previously used chia seeds as an egg replacement and it really gives cakes a “poppy seed” feeling too. Maybe try it out?
I found this on pinterest for egg substitutes https://www.thekitchn.com/best-egg-substitutes-baking-23003895
I’ve tried several myself and the carbonated water does work extremely well! Hope this helps!
Applesauce. Use applesauce to add moisture. Replace one egg with 1/4 cup of applesauce in sweet desserts. If you want a lighter texture, add an extra 1/2 teaspoonful of baking powder, as fruit purées tend to make the final product denser than the original recipe.
I was super excited to make this cake and ended up being a bit confused and changed some things to make it work for me. First of all you’re going to finish making this batter and look at it and say to yourself “where did I go wrong” It’s a very thick, airy, but dense batter. Realizing this was going to create a very dense cake my partner and I opted to turn it into cupcakes. WE DID NOT ADD RASPBERRIES TO THE BATTER. Instead we filled the cupcake tin a little less then half full and then placed the berries in the batter and covered the berries with more batter. This was perfect and the cupcakes came out with raspberries perfectly placed and evenly distributed. We also wanted more of a lemon punch so we made a curd and instead made a vanilla buttercream since the cake lacked vanilla. The whole thing came together so nicely. 3 stars because we ended up changing a lot to get a better flavor.
Made this cake today and added some lemon to the cake recipe as well. The icing came out very thick and sugary looking, not smooth, almost like it did curdled. It tasted good so I didn’t on the cake like a glaze instead. Trying it tonight with friends so I’ll let everyone know how it tasted.