Lemon Raspberry Cake
Bright, fresh and bursting with flavor, this one layer Lemon Raspberry Cake is the perfect balance of tangy and sweet. Make it for spring gatherings, summer celebrations or an everyday treat with coffee or tea. If cakes have always intimidated you, this new one layer cake will be a success on the first try!
Why you'll love my recipe
Quality control
You have the ability to use ingredients that are wholesome, organic and high-quality at a fraction of the price of store bought cake.
Easy to make
Easy, make-ahead cake recipe for spring or summer gatherings. No fancy equipment needed – just a bowl and baking dish.
Refreshing and light
Serve chilled with lots of fresh raspberries for even better flavors.
Ingredients and substitutions
All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour works best but cake flour works too.
Eggs: Binds the cake together. This recipe has not been tested without eggs.
Milk: Milk is used in the cake batter for added moisture and texture.
Sugar: For sweetness.
Neutral oil: Adds more moisture to the cake than using butter.
Lemon juice and zest: Fresh lemon juice and zest for the bright flavor.
Cream cheese: For the base of the frosting.
Heavy cream: Adds creaminess to the frosting and balances out the tartness of the cream cheese and lemon cake.
Baking soda: This is our rising agent for the cake.
Vanilla extract: Hint of flavor in the cake.
Salt: A pinch to balance the sweet and tart notes.
For the rest of the ingredients, please see the recipe index card below!
How to make Lemon Raspberry Cake
The section below is a quick overview of how to make this recipe. For the full recipe details, see recipe index card below!
Prepare the pan
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line an 8-inch round pan with butter or oil.
Mix the wet ingredients
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, milk, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined.
Add the dry ingredients
Add flour, baking powder and salt to the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine together.
Bake
Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan. Bake for 30-33 minutes until the top is slightly golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.
Make the fruit filling
Make the cream frosting
Assemble the cake
How to properly frost a single layer cake
The section below is a quick overview of how to make this recipe. For the full recipe details, see recipe index card below!
Create a frosting rim
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip or cut the end of the bag. Pipe a thick border of frosting round the outer edge of the cake. This acts as a barrier to hold the raspberry jam filling inside and prevent from spilling over.
Add the raspberry jam filling
Spoon the raspberry jam filling into the center of the cake inside the frosting border. Reserve a few tablespoons of jam aside for the garnish.
Pipe frosting over the top
Use the piping bag, to pipe the rest of the frosting directly over the jam layer until the top is fully covered. You can pipe swirls or simple lines. Gently smooth the center frosting.
Arrange the raspberries
Expert tips from my test kitchen
Weigh your ingredients
My recipes are tested and written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. I provide standard cup measurements but I cannot guarantee it will turn out as close to the written recipe. Please use a kitchen scale. Shop my exact scale here. (affiliate link)
Chill before serving
This easy cake recipe is best served cold.
Room temperature ingredients
The frosting may curdle if ingredients are not cohesively the same temperature. It needs to be SOFT! Follow the written directions for best results.
What size cake pan works best?
An 8-inch round cake pan gives the best thickness and texture for this single layer cake recipe. Shop my exact pan here. (Affiliate link)
Can I make this cake overnight?
Yes! Bake the cake layer the night before. Once cooled, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature. Make the frosting and jam filling and store in the fridge overnight. Give the frosting a good mix with an electric mixer before using as it will harden in fridge. Assemble and store in fridge up to a few hours before serving. This will maintain the design on top.
How to store leftover cake
This Lemon Raspberry Cake stores well up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Store in airtight container. Bring to room temperature 15-30 minutes before serving.
Lemon Raspberry Cake
Equipment
- 1X 8-inch round cake pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour may use bread flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup neutral oil
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 medium lemon juiced and zested
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- powdered sugar, for dusting
For the fruit filling:
- 1/2 cup mixed fruit jam
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
For the frosting:
- 8 ounces / 1 package cream cheese softened
- 1½ cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, increase for more sweetness
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the topping:
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
Instructions
Prepare the pan
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line an 8-inch round pan with butter or oil. If you use a larger pan, the cake will turn out thinner than my recipe. Shop my exact pan here. (Affiliate link)
Mix the wet ingredients
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, milk, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined.3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup neutral oil, 1/3 cup milk, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 medium lemon
Add the dry ingredients
- Add flour, baking powder and salt to the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine together.1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt
Bake
- Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan. Bake for 30-33 minutes until the top is slightly golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.
Make the fruit filling
- In a small mixing bowl, add fresh raspberries and jam. Use a fork to smash and mix together.1/2 cup mixed fruit jam, 1 cup fresh raspberries
Make the cream frosting
- Add softened cream cheese to mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat for 1-2 minutes. If using cold cream cheese, beat for 2-3 minutes. Gradually add half the heavy cream while mixing. Once fulling combined, add the remainder of the heavy cream and powdered sugar. Do not overmix or the frosting structure will break. Mix until formed and stiff.8 ounces / 1 package cream cheese, 1½ cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, increase for more sweetness, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assemble the cake
- See photos above for easy step by step photos how to assemble!Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip or cut the end of the bag. Pipe a thick border of frosting round the outer edge of the cake, at least 1/2 inch away from the edge so the frosting doesn't fall off. This acts as a barrier to hold the raspberry jam filling inside and prevent from spilling over.
Add the raspberry jam filling
- Spoon the raspberry jam filling into the center of the cake inside the frosting border. Reserve a few tablespoons of jam aside for the top garnish.
Pipe frosting over the top
- Use the piping bag, to pipe the rest of the frosting directly over the jam layer until the top is fully covered. You can pipe swirls or simple lines. Gently smooth the center frosting, leaving the border in place. Pipe on top of the first border to create a crater for the raspberries to sit in.
Arrange the raspberries
- Place the open part of the raspberries on top of the cake. Fill in the empty spots with raspberry jam. Refrigerate for at least an hour for best results. Dust with powdered sugar.powdered sugar, for dusting
Notes
- This cake is made using only 1 cup of flour. Please use an 8-inch round cake pan or else the cake will bake flatter than what you see in photos. Shop my exact pan here. (Affiliate link)
- My recipes are tested and written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. I provide standard cup measurements but I cannot guarantee it will turn out as close to the written recipe. Please use a kitchen scale. Shop my exact scale here. (affiliate link)
- The frosting may curdle if ingredients are not cohesively the same temperature. It needs to be SOFT! Follow the written directions for best results. Use an electric mixer to beat for 1-2 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients. If using cold cream cheese, beat for 2-3 minutes. This helps warm it up and prevent curdling. Gradually add half the heavy cream while mixing. Once fulling combined, add the remainder of the heavy cream and powdered sugar.
- You can make this cake ahead of time. Bake the cake layer the night before. Once cooled, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature. Make the frosting and jam filling and store in the fridge overnight. Give the frosting a good mix with an electric mixer before using as it will harden in fridge. Assemble and store in fridge up to a few hours before serving. This will maintain the design on top.
Nutrition
The provided nutritional value above is an estimate per serving. 100% accuracy is not guarenteed. Please see Nutrition Information Disclaimer in our Privacy Policy.
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
9 Responses
I loved this cake! The texture was perfect and the lemon flavor was delicious! So excited to have it again!
Thank you Esti 🙂
Wow, this cake was summer in a bite. The balance between the sweetness and tartness of the raspberries was so beautifully done and that frosting was so so light and airy!
Thank you! These are the kind of reviews that we remember when we recipe test over and over again to get it right. 🙂
I’ve been making cakes my whole life, and I’ve always loved trying different recipes that aren’t my own. The moment you posted this recipe, I made it — 30 minutes later I was already baking it, and 3 hours later I was tasting it. To this day, it is the best cake I have ever eaten in my life.
Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes with us, and especially thank you for making everything so easy for us by giving both cup and metric measurements, plus explaining everything so clearly.
You deserve more than 5 stars Mrs. Patricia
Wow! Thank you for such a kind and thoughtful review! 🙂 It means a lot to us here at Bake Cook Repeat!
It is absolutely fantastic! The softest cake and most delicious combination. I only found the frosting quantity enormous. Half of the quantity mentioned would be just fine. Thank you!
Thank you for the lovely review Shivani! This recipe does make a great amount of frosting. I will note that for the future 🙂
This cake was so delicious and easy to make. I can’t believe I only needed one cup of flour! I’ll be making this again with blueberries.