Lemon Raspberry Cake slices on a white plate

Lemon Raspberry Cake

This bright and sunny Lemon Raspberry Cake is like sunshine on a plate! The tangy raspberry swirl complements the bright lemon swirl in this delicious and easy (no mixer!) recipe for Lemon Raspberry Cake. Enjoy a slice of sunshine for dessert, breakfast, or with a cup of tea!

Lemon Raspberry Cake slices on a white plate
Lemon Raspberry Cake

This bright and sunny Lemon Raspberry Cake is like sunshine on a plate! The tangy raspberry swirl complements the bright lemon swirl in this delicious and easy (no mixer!) recipe for Lemon Raspberry Cake. Enjoy a slice of sunshine for dessert, breakfast, or with a cup of tea!

Lemon Raspberry Cake slices on a white plate

The sun has returned. The hills are a vibrant emerald, the chirping birds have come out of hiding, and there is warmth! After one of the wettest March’s ever – 21 days of rain, in fact – we are basking in beautiful weather.

Spring has finally arrived.

I found myself smiling as I zested lemons for a Lemon Raspberry Cake. I would have been happy with the sun from the lemons, but having it outside my window made it even better.

Sweet and cake-y was my husband’s request, and one of his favorite store-bought treats is a Raspberry Pudding Cake. I thought I would try my hand at making my own version and used a wonderful Ina Garten recipe for Lemon Yogurt Cake as a spring board to create this Lemon Raspberry Cake. I adore her recipe, as it is pure lemon-soaked heaven in a cake, but I wanted to have the elements of a jammy raspberry swirl, instead.

The blender made quick work of producing the tangy raspberry swirl I was looking for, and it was the resulting sauce that really became the star. Serve up a thick slice of warm sunshine in a generous puddle of raspberry sauce, and those cold and wet days will soon become a distant memory.

Looking for more lemon and raspberry dessert recipes?  Be sure to check these out:

Raspberry Meringue Roll
Meyer Lemon and Raspberry Pavlova
Coconut Raspberry Scones
Lemon Curd

Lemon Raspberry Cake

This bright and sunny Lemon Raspberry Cake is like sunshine on a plate! The tangy raspberry swirl complements the bright lemon swirl in this delicious and easy (no mixer!) recipe for Lemon Raspberry Cake. Enjoy a slice of sunshine for dessert, breakfast, or with a cup of tea!
Lemon Raspberry Cake slices on a white plate
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5 from 1 vote
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American, Vegetarian
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 9 slices
Calories 377kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest from 1 large lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • juice of 1 large lemon
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
  • 2 tablespoons framboise liqueur* raspberry liqueur
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/3 cup sugar for sauce

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven 350° F. Butter and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
  • Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk and combine the buttermilk, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Mix the buttermilk mixture with the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the vegetable oil until evenly incorporated. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Allow batter to rest.
  • In a blender, blend the lemon juice, raspberries, framboise liqueur, and sugar. Blend until smooth. Take one ounce of the raspberry mixture, straining if desired, and drizzle lightly on top of the cake batter. Use a toothpick to swirl into the batter.
  • Place the loaf pan into the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Strain the remaining raspberry mixture into a sauce pan. Add 1/3 cup sugar, and cook over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool and set aside.
  • When the cake is done, let it cool on a wire rack. Serve the slices with the ruby raspberry sauce. Enjoy!

Notes

*Optional. If you do not have any raspberry liqueur, substitute with water.
Adapted from Ina Garten’s Lemon Yogurt Cake.

Nutrition

Calories: 377kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 115mg | Potassium: 192mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 4.4mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 1.4mg
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Comments

Recipe Rating




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  1. Colleen

    5 stars
    I’m excited to give this a go! Lemon and raspberry pair so well together and I especially enjoy lemon in cake. I feel like it adds a nice lightness to a sweet treat that can sometimes be a bit heavy.

    Reply
  2. Ellen

    I was looking forward to make this cake and I did but what a disapointment!!
    It was super greasy!! When I looked into the recipe Iwas wondering that there was only one cup of flour to be used,think that was the issued ,soooo disapointment and to throw the cake in the trash.

    Reply
    • Liren Baker

      Hi Ellen, hearing this makes me feel so awful, I am so sorry! I took a look at the recipe and noticed that when my site was redesigned not too long ago, some of the fraction measurements disappeared from the recipe (e.g., 1/2 cup/tsp/tablespoon), which explains why it only showed 1 cup vs 1 1/2 cups flour. I hate that the cake did not turn out for you – please accept my sincerest apologies.

      Reply
  3. Zen

    Hi your recipe look lovely, however how may cup of oil and teaspoon of vanilla?
    1 cup flour ration to 1 cup sugar look a bit too much. Would you please tell me the exact amount.

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Liren Baker

      Hi Zen, when my site underwent a redesign, some of the measurements disappeared from the recipe – I do apologize. I have update the recipe with the amounts. Thanks for your patience!

      Reply
  4. CathyC

    You’re an excellent writer. I love the figurative language you used in this blog. The cake looks delicious. Will have to try it. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  5. Hadeel

    thank you so much for sharing your delicious recipe , i made this today for my guests and it was a big hit ! The flavor is beyound amazing everyone loved it including kids ! The sweetness is perfect as well we don’t like overly sweet things and this is just right :) i substituted the vegitable oil for coconut oil and it gave it a little coconut taste that we liked ! The only problem  is the sunken rasberrie glaze even though i did let the batter rest for 15 mins ! same problem as most commenters here but i really didnt care since it tasted heavenly ! 

    Reply
  6. Lyndsey

    The liquid to dry ratio in this bread/cake is extremely off—way too much wet. Needs an extreme amount of tweaking. If this were pancake or waffle or even souffle batter, the wetness would be expected, but not for a cake.  I’ve had formal training, so I’m basing this on actual knowledge. 

    Reply
  7. Bonny

    I made this today in 4 mini-loaf pans and did some testing based on the mishaps other’s were using so I thought I’d share.

    Before I go into detail I’d like to suggest letting the batter rest for a few minutes before adding the topping and make sure the topping is as loose as the batter, something that will have a better chance of not sinking into the batter mid-baking.

    First, I made the batter and poured it into the loaf pans. Then I made the raspberry topping (sans alcohol) and drizzled/swirled on top. The batter did sit while I blended the raspberries and whatnot so there was probably 5 or so minutes of resting.

    I put one of the loaf pans in to see if the raspberry topping sunk and it didn’t so I went ahead and baked the other three. The raspberry never sunk – though it did gather in the middle as the bottom of the batter started baking and rising (I will attribute this to the lack of space for the batter to expand in the mini loaf pans). When they came out they were nice looking but I didn’t like all the raspberry in the middle so I added more on top and stuck em back in for another 10 minutes.

    One thing I noticed after the batter rested was all the air bubbles had come up and made a foamy layer on top. I tried to mix the batter as little as possible, too. Maybe if the air isn’t allowed to rise that when it finally does in the oven, it then pushes the raspberry down OR it helps suspend the raspberry on top. Two hypothesis for the sunken raspberry topping.

    Either way, I think this loaf is beautiful with the contrasting purple and that alone made it work baking :) I think a mixture of lemon juice and sugar (not powdered sugar) glaze on top would make this even better – it’s the topping used on my regular lemon bread/cake recipe (2T lemon juice + 3T sugar) .

    Reply
    • liren

      Bonny, thank you so much for your thoughtful testing and sharing the results with us all. I do agree that allowing the batter to rest has something to do with it – and that the raspberry having a similar density to the batter makes a difference as well. That makes complete sense. I really do appreciate the time you put into this so very much! I will have to try it again, and with the delicious glaze :)

      Reply
  8. Lisa @Retr Housewife Goes Green

    This was amazing. I got some organic raspberries on sale and this was a great way to use them. My husband had a lot of this and I think he could have had more. And that’s saying something because he isn’t normally a huge fan of fruit based desserts. This is a great recipe for this time of the year and I may have to see if I can get some more fresh raspberries before the end of the summer.

    Reply
  9. Alyssa

    Hi!
    I’d love it if you’d stop by and link these up to A Themed Bakers Sunday! The theme this week is anything Citrus!
    Hope to see you there!
    Cupcakeapothecary.blogspot.com

    Reply
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    Reply
  11. Natalie

    I made this today for my mother in law who found the recipe. I did not have the tunnel problem! But to be completely honest it was lacking sweetness for me. My hubby (who Isn’t a fan of sweets- so take his response with a grain of salt)said “eh, it’s alright.” I baked it at 350 for about 55 minutes. Looked great. I even made 4 cupcakes with the batter so that I would have a taste before giving it to my mil. I’m wondering if I even want to give her the loaf…

    Reply
  12. Meg

    I just made this cake and had the same problem as the other poster. I probably added 2tbs. since I didn’t know exactly how much 1 ounce was. I wish I would have read the comments before making this. I spread the raspberry mix over the top all the way to the edges of the pan. Halfway through baking almost all of the mix was in a 1 inch tunnel in the center of the pan.

    Oh well, I hope it still bakes all the way through because the batter tasted so delicious and I am dying to try it.

    Reply
    • Liren

      Hi Meg, I feel terribly that you had a similar problem. Please know that I am reworking this recipe so that it produces more consistent results, and I promise to let you know when it is better. I hope the cake was at least salvageable – please accept my sincerest apologies!!

      Reply
  13. Kathy Diaz (foundbaking)

    Can I just tell you that my husband LOVES Ina’s Lemon Yogurt Cake? He is completely obsessed with it. He loves anything lemon. I love how you interpreted her cake. Digging the raspberry swirl. Great pictures too!

    Reply
  14. Jackie

    Liren, this is GORGEOUS. I’ll give it a try and let you know if I have any issues with it =)

    Jax x

    Reply
    • Liren

      Thank you Jackie! I would really appreciate hearing how yours turns out! I’m planning on baking it again today.

      Reply
  15. Roxie

    I made this cake twice, and both times my raspberry swirl sunk to the bottom and made a gooey tunnel. :( The first time it was my fault, as I added too much of it, but I gave it a second go with two tablespoons of the raspberry mixture, and it still sunk. For what it’s worth, I split the difference and baked it at 340 the second time. It’s really too bad, as the results you got were beautiful, and the cake tastes amazing.

    Reply
    • Roxie

      Oh and PS, my cake is really dense, it doesn’t look as fluffy as yours.

      Reply
    • Liren

      Hi Roxie, I’m quite distraught that you (and Krissy, see above) did not have success with the cake. I just wanted to make sure that the raspberry mixture you used was the one that just had the 2 tablespoons of sugar (and not the one that had an additional 1/3 cup cooked in for the sauce)? I did use a light hand in drizzling the raspberry on top, and I also allowed the cake batter to rest a little before drizzling, perhaps that made the difference. I think to be on the safe side, I will adjust the posted baking temperature to 350. And I will have to bake it one more time, just to see if am able see what results I get the third time. Thanks so much for letting me know – I’m sorry it didn’t work out, but I am glad you liked the flavor!

      Reply
      • Roxie

        I used the less-sweetened version of the sauce for the topping like the recipe states. And I don’t think I rested the batter before I added the topping. Maybe that would help. My husband also suggested letting it bake just for a bit and *then* adding the raspberry, but he doesn’t bake so I don’t know, lol. Another thing I’ve noticed is that the cake is really really moist, and I don’t know if that’s a characteristic of this kind of cake or if I did something wrong. But hey it’s still delicious! Nom nom nom!

  16. Krissyp

    I was so excited about this cake and tried to make it today but something went horribly wrong and I’m not sure what. The bottom half of the cake was the texture of bread pudding (very dense and wet). I followed the directions and havn’t had any oven trouble with all of the bread and cupcake baking this week, not sure what happened here. Any tips or suggestions appreciated, such a pretty cake and I love the flavor combination. Really want to give it a second try.

    Reply
    • Liren

      Hi Krissy – Oh no! I am so sorry to hear that things went wrong with the cake today :( I hope it did not ruin things for the BBQ. There are certainly variations in ovens and temperatures, and prior to posting this, I actually did bake it twice, once at 350 and once at 325. With my oven and conditions, I found that I preferred the lower temperature, though it does take a little longer baking time on the timing spectrum. The higher temperature was also fine, but the cake tended to brown too fast, so I posted the recipe with the lower temp. If you do try it again (hope you do), please try it at 350 degrees. I hope it works out!!! Keep me posted.

      Reply
  17. Krissyp

    Anything with that much lemon zest is pure sunshine. The rasberry swirl makes it that much better. What a beautiful cake in celebration of Spring. I am giving this a try tomorrow (first real BBQ of the season and I was assigned dessert). Thanks for sharing. As always, beautiful pics.

    Reply
  18. Lindsey @ Hot Polka Dot

    This cake looks fabulous Liren! I love that first photo with the beautiful swirl detail. I love anything with lemon, especially raspberry!

    Reply
  19. Esther

    This looks like my perfect cake. I’m such a sucker for dense sweetbread/cake loaf anythings and this more than fills the bill. Can’t wait to try.

    Reply
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