Lemon Raspberry Cake Recipe
This Lemon Raspberry Cake recipe is a show-stopping dessert with its bright, tangy lemon flavor, mega moistness (thanks to the reverse creaming method), layers of raspberry filling, and lemon cream cheese frosting. It has readers raving: "Wow. This cake was perfection," "The perfect texture," and my husband claimed it was the best cake he had ever tried!
Servings 10 -12 servings
Ingredients
CAKE
- 9 oz. (approx. 1 1/2 cups) raspberries + 1 tablespoon flour
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup milk (anything but nonfat), room temperature
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups cake flour (see DIY in Notes)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 16 pieces, room temperature
RASPBERRY JAM FILLING
- 16 ounces ripe fresh raspberries or frozen thawed raspberries
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 16 oz. full-fat brick style cream cheese, room temperature (DON'T microwave)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (DON'T microwave)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest (depending on how tangy you like it)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 6 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
RASPBERRY JAM FILLING (SEE NOTES FOR STORE-BOUGHT)
- Make the raspberry filling first if trying to assemble the cake more quickly so it has time to chill. Otherwise, make it while the cake is baking to multitask.
- Puree raspberries: Add 16 ounces of raspberries to a food processor and puree. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium saucepan and add the raspberry puree to strain out the seeds. Press the puree down with the back of a spoon or spatula until only seeds remain in the sieve. Take care to wipe the back of your sieve to get all of the puree.
- Thicken: Whisk the cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice into the puree until the cornstarch is mostly dissolved. Bring to a simmer until thickened. Refrigerate until completely chilled (it will thicken more as it chills).
CAKE
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper (or I love these silicone mats). Spray the pans with nonstick cooking spray WITH flour or butter and flour the pans.
- Coat raspberries: Add 9 oz. raspberries to a medium bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon flour. Set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients: Whisk the eggs, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract together in a 3-cup (or more) liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients: Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on the lowest speed until combined, about 20 seconds.
- Add butter: With the mixer still running on low speed, add 1 piece of butter at a time and beat until all the butter is incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and continue beating until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, with butter bits no larger than small peas.
- Add wet ingredients: With the mixer running on low, add approximately half of the egg mixture to the flour mixture. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, approximately 60 seconds. Reduce the speed to medium-low, then add the remaining egg mixture and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds (batter may look slightly curdled). DO NOT OVERMIX.
- Add raspberries: Stir in the 9 ounces of coated raspberries just until evenly combined.
- Bake: Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans (I use a kitchen scale), smooth with a spatula,and drop a few times on the counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350 degrees F for 27-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out with just a few crumbs.
- Cool: Cool cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove them from the pans and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Freeze (optional): Time permitting, after cooling, freeze the cakes for 30-60 minutes to make them easier to slice in half. (Make ahead: Alternatively, tightly wrap the cooled cakes in plastic wrap at this point and refrigerate until ready to slice and frost.)
FROSTING
- Combine ingredients: Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together at medium speed until very creamy. Beat in lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth.
- Add powdered sugar: Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, then beat at medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy.If the frosting is too runny, refrigerate it until it sets more. Alternatively, add powdered sugar until it reaches the desired consistency, then season with a pinch of salt to taste; otherwise, it will be too sweet. If the frosting is too thick, thin with milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.
ASSEMBLE
- Prepare stand: Place four strips of parchment paper around the edges of a plate or cake stand to create a square with an open space in the middle (to keep cake stand clean).
- Slice cakes: Cut cakes in half horizontally using a long-serrated knife or cake leveler to create 4 even layers. Place 1 cake layer, cut side up, on the prepared serving plate/cake stand.
- First Cake: Transfer some frosting to a piping bag (or Ziploc bag). Pipe a ring of frosting just inside the top edge of the cake. Add 1/3 of the chilled Raspberry Jam and spread it to the edges of the piped frosting. (Note: If raspberry jam is too thick, microwave it for just a few seconds.) Add about 3/4 cup frosting and spread it to the edges of the cake.
- Second Cake: Top with the second leveled cake, top side down. Repeat procedure with piping/raspberry filling/frosting.
- Third and Fourth Cake: Top with the third cake, and repeat the procedure with piping/raspberry filling/frosting. Add the final cake, most even side up (usually you add the top side down, but the raspberries can make it uneven).
- Freeze (optional): Time permitting, place the cake in the freezer for 15-30 minutes to chill and harden the frosting slightly. This step prevents the top layer from sliding around on slick, warm frosting while you apply your crumb coat. (Make Ahead: Alternatively, cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you're ready to continue.)
FROST CAKE
- Crumb coat: Set aside about 3/4 cup of frosting for the “crumb coat.” Frost the cake starting with the top and working down until the cake is evenly, thinly frosted. Freeze the cake for 15-30 minutes or until the crumb layer has set.t.
- Frost cake: Frost the outside of the cake as you desire with the remaining frosting. Remove parchment paper, then pipe a ring of frosting around the bottom of the cake. Garnish with raspberries if desired.
CHILL THEN SLICE
- Chill: Freeze the cake for 20-30 minutes to firm up before slicing, or if not serving immediately, refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before slicing.
- Serve at room temperature: After slicing, let it come to room temperature before serving.
STORE
- The frosted cake should be covered with an inverted bowl or cake cover and refrigerated. Slice while chilled, but bring cake to room temperature before serving.
Video
Notes
Ingredient Notes
- Cake flour substitute: Sift 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour and ¼ cup cornstarch together in a large bowl. Repeat sifting 2-3 times more to aerate the mixture so it’s closer to the consistency of real cake flour.
- Store-bought raspberry jam: You’ll need about 1 ⅓ cups seedless raspberry jam. If your store-bought jam is too difficult to spread, microwave it for 10 seconds
- Raspberry filling consistency: The raspberry filling should be chick and barely spreadable so that it stays in place and doesn’t run over the edges, otherwise, you’ll have cake layers sliding all over the place! If the jam thickens too much, microwave it for 10 seconds.
Prep Ahead
- Raspberry Filling: can be made and refrigerated up to 1 week in advance or frozen for up to three months.
- Frosting: can be made up to 24 hours, covered and refrigerated. Let it come close to room temperature before re-whipping if needed.
- Cakes: make, cool, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate one day in advance or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Crumb Coated Cake: let the crumb coat set completely, then tightly wrap the cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze until ready to finish frosting.
- Frosted Cake: Assemble the entire cake, cover with a cake cover or tent with foil then refrigerate for 24 hours before slicing, then allowing to sit at room temperature before serving.
HOW TO STORE AND FREEZE
- To store: The assembled and frosted cake should be covered with a cake cover or foil and refrigerated. It may be stored for up to 5 days, but is at peak freshness the first two days. Slice the cake, then bring to room temperature before serving.
- To freeze individual cake layers: Tightly wrap the individual cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months.
- To freeze crumb coated cake: Tightly wrap the set cake in a couple layers of plastic wrap followed by a couple layers of foil, freeze for up to two months.
- To freeze frosted cake: Flash freeze the cake until solid, then tightly wrap in a couple layers of plastic wrap followed by a couple layers of foil, freeze for up to two months. Remove the plastic wrap, transfer to a cake container and allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before slicing. After slicing, let come to room temperature before serving.