Lemon and Raspberry Cake!

A three-layer lemon and raspberry cake with a lemon and raspberry sponge, lemon buttercream frosting and more! 

Lemon and Raspberry Cake: Quick Overview

Here is the quick version for you guys before we get properly stuck in, everything you need to know at a glance!

• Layers: Three light, fruity 8″/20cm sponges, and yes, there is an easy two-layer version in the notes if you want something smaller!
• Tins: Three 8 inch / 20cm round tins.
• Frosting: Silky lemon buttercream, pipe it or slather it, totally your call.
• Filling: Raspberry jam in the middle, or swap in lemon curd, or honestly a little of both.
• Decoration: Fresh raspberries and freeze dried raspberries, my absolute favourite.
• Total time: About 1 hour 30 minutes start to finish.

The best bit? This is a proper three-layer showstopper, but it converts straight down to two layers with the notes below. One recipe, however fancy you are feeling that day!

Lemon and raspberry bakes

Can we start this blog post off by appreciating how light and delicious a flavour this cake sounds. Lemon and Raspberry together is sweet, tangy and fruity – and it’s hard to beat. I love a lemon cake, I love a raspberry bake.. combine them? Heaven. 

White chocolate and raspberry together is also an epic combination. But I know that not all of you like to bake using chocolate, and lemon and raspberry together is just as good. Honestly, I can never get over how light and fruity it is! 

My Lemon & Raspberry Cheesecake was my main inspiration for this bake – as I just adore it. It almost feels healthier as it’s got two types of fruit in – but don’t kid yourself.. it’s still a cake full of all the sugary goodness. 

Lemon and raspberry cake

I decided originally for this one to do a two layer cake as some of you have requested some more two layers, but genuinely completely forgot until I had baked my first three layer version. I fell in love with the three layer version and it stuck… It’s a sponge that you can easily adapt into more layers if you wanted, or create only two layers – it’s definitely adaptable and that’s the good bit. You can find the notes below on a two layer version!

My lemon & raspberry cupcakes are so moist and light, that this cake version is such a showstopping cake version of the cupcakes you will adore it, but you can obviously have a go at the cupcakes if you wish instead.   

Sponge

Quick pantry check before you start. Have a glance and make sure you have got:

• 400g butter, 400g caster sugar, 400g self raising flour
• 8 medium eggs (weighed in their shells to about 400g, more on that below)
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 300g raspberries (fresh is best, but frozen works too)

This sponge is light, it’s easy to mix together and I utterly adore it. It’s a standard cake mixture of butter and sugar beaten together until light and fluffy, and then you mix in the eggs and flour. I mix in the lemon zest, and then fold through the raspberries and split that between the cake tins. 

• Butter – I use either a room temperature block butter or baking spread for a cake sponge
• Sugar – I use caster sugar in this cake, but golden caster sugar would work well as well 
• Flour – self raising flour as always. However, if you don’t have it, you can make your own with 2 level tsps per 150g of plain flour, mixed in before using and removing any other raising agent in the recipe. 
• Eggs – 7-8 medium eggs, but weigh in the shells and try and get as close to 400g as possible and match the butter, sugar and flour to this weight
• Lemon – I use the zest of lemons, but as mentioned above you can use lemon extract 
• Raspberries – I use fresh raspberries because they’re the best

Fresh or frozen raspberries?

I use fresh because they hold their shape and taste SO good, but frozen work absolutely fine, do not worry. Fold them in straight from the freezer without defrosting so they bleed less into the sponge, and just know the bake may want a few extra minutes in the oven because of that little bit of extra moisture.

And a word on those eggs, because it is my favourite reliability trick: weighing them in their shells and matching the butter, sugar and flour to that weight is exactly why this sponge comes out perfect every single time. No guesswork, no sunken middles, honestly it is the one thing I would never skip!

Buttercream

First things first, this is a proper lemon buttercream, light, zingy and so easy to whip up!

For the buttercream I was originally just got to do a lemon and raspberry frosting to make it easier, but I decided to make a lemon one because adding in the raspberries just wasn’t my vibe that day. However, you can easily add some in and slather the buttercream on

If you mix it too much, you will just get a pink frosting – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing! I find if I make the frosting mostly by the mixer, and then swirl the raspberries in by hand it works the best. However, just lemon is easy

I piped my buttercream on as you can see, but it really doesn’t matter – you can slather, you can pipe, you can dollop, you can whatever you actually fancy. I find the freeze dried raspberries give a beautiful colour on the top anyway and would easily cover any mistakes

If it plays up on you, do not panic, here is how to sort it:

• Too soft or runny? Add more icing sugar a spoonful at a time until it holds its shape.
• Gone a bit stiff? A tiny splash of milk or lemon juice loosens it right back up.
• Want that pretty pale look rather than full pink? Beat the butter really pale first, and if you are adding raspberries, swirl them through by hand at the very end for a lovely marbled effect instead of mixing them fully in.

The filling & decoration

I did decided to add a little raspberry jam into the middle, but the good thing about this bake is that you can easily use lemon curd in the middle instead if you wished. I would have used a little of both, but I didn’t have any lemon curd in at the time of baking; both work really well. 

For the decoration I just went down the usual route of fresh raspberries, and freeze dried raspberries. I know, I know… I am obsessed with them. I can’t help it – they just look so beautiful on a bake, and when you ‘bulk’ buy them like I do, they’re much cheaper in the long run! 

I used these large piping bags as I find them strong, easy to control when piping, and I used this beautiful 2d closed star piping tip for the decoration as I adore it’s look. 

Think of the filling as a choose-your-own moment, not a backup plan. Take your pick:

• Raspberry jam for a classic, fruity middle.
• Lemon curd for extra zesty zing.
• A little of both if you are feeling fancy, they are lovely together.

One little assembly trick to save your sides: pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of each sponge first to make a dam, then spoon your jam or curd inside that ring. It stops the filling squeezing out when you stack the layers, and keeps everything looking neat!

Tips & Tricks

Here is everything grouped together so nothing gets lost, sorted into what you need, what you can do ahead, and how to keep it. 

Equipment

• I use these cake tins for this bake
• I use this piping tip for the decoration
• I use these piping bags for buttercream
• I use these freeze dried raspberries in my baking  

Make ahead:

• You can bake the sponges a day ahead, just wrap them well once fully cool so they stay lovely and moist.
• The buttercream can be made ahead too, give it a good re-beat before you use it to bring it back to smooth.

Storage

• This cake will last for 3+ days at room temperature, and it will freeze for 3+ months, so you are covered either way! (Full storage and serving detail is just below.)

How to Store and Serve

Good news, this is a properly low-fuss cake to keep! It sits happily for 3+ days at room temperature in a cake box, no need to overthink it, that simplicity is exactly why I love baking it. If your kitchen runs warm you can keep it in the fridge instead, just remember to bring it back to room temp before serving so the sponge stays soft and the buttercream turns lovely and creamy again.

To freeze, wrap the sponges (iced or un-iced) well and they will keep for 3+ months. Defrost fully at room temperature before serving. Whichever way you store it, a slice at room temperature is always the dreamiest, ENJOY!

Variations

This bake is so adaptable, here are a few easy ways to make it your own using everything already in the recipe:

• Two-layer cake: Scale down to two sponges using the quantities in the recipe notes, perfect for a smaller crowd.
• Swap the filling: Lemon curd instead of raspberry jam for extra zing, or a little of both.
• Raspberry buttercream: Swirl a few raspberries into the lemon buttercream by hand for a pretty marbled, pink finish.
• Extra berries on top: Pile on more fresh and freeze dried raspberries for a real showstopper.