Soft, tender, and bursting with fresh raspberries, scented with lemon and vanilla, this raspberry cake is the perfect balance of sweet and slightly tart. Every bite is light, fruity, and beautifully vibrant, making it just as perfect for special occasions as it is for an everyday treat.
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Why Make This Recipe
When the weather warms up, all I want are berries. I have a handful of raspberry recipes on my blog that I adore. My Raspberry Muffins, Raspberry Brownies, Lemon Raspberry Cookies and White Chocolate Raspberry Scones are just a few of my favorite raspberry recipes from the blog. I am so excited to add this simple raspberry cake recipe to the blog.
- Layers of flavors and textures. From the soft and fluffy vanilla and lemon scented cake, to the tart, sweet and jammy raspberries this raspberry vanilla cake will delight your senses.
- Easy to make, bake and eat. This easy cake with raspberries tastes like a wonderfully rustic cake from your favorite bakery, but it is actually incredibly quick and easy to make at home. Just mix up the simple vanilla cake batter, top with fresh tart raspberries, bake, slice and enjoy.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This raspberry cake recipe requires just a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you’ll need.
- All Purpose Flour: To make this raspberry dessert cake gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill. Make sure to measure the flour by weight (240 g) rather than cups to ensure the best outcome for the cake.
- Baking Powder This acts as a leavener in this fluffy cake with raspberries. This cake has not been tested with baking soda.
- Butter: Vegan butter or plant based can also be used in place of regular unsalted butter.
- Granulated Sugar: This cake calls for granulated sugar, but maple sugar would also work well to make this recipe refined sugar free.
- Eggs: This recipe has not been tested without eggs.
- Vanilla Extract and Lemon Zest: The scent of vanilla gives a warm cozy background flavor to this cake. While the lemon brings a fresh tartness that beautifully complements the raspberries. Use vanilla bean paste or any other citrus as alternatives.
- Raspberries: Fresh raspberries work best for this cake recipe. If you use frozen berries, there is no need to thaw them prior to baking the cake.
Variation
To make this raspberry cake as a layered raspberry cake, I suggest making my Lemon Raspberry Cake.
How To Make
Learn how to make raspberry cake in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Grease and line the bottom of a 9 inch (23 cm) springform with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt together until well combined.
- In a large mixing bowl fitted with paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3 -4 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. With the mixer on low, cream in the eggs and vanilla extract until well combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl. Finally, with the mixer on low, alternate mixing the dry ingredients and buttermilk into the wet ingredients in this order: dry, buttermilk, dry, buttermilk, dry. When all the ingredients have been mixed together until almost all the flour has been mixed in, mix in 1 cup of raspberries. It’s best to do this by hand using a silicone spatula or spoon.
3. Evenly spread the buttery raspberry cake batter into the prepared pan. Top with the cake with reserved raspberries and 1 - 2 tablespoons of sugar if you like. Bake the raspberry filled cake for 45 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake pan in the pan for 10 - 15 minutes. Gently remove the cake from the pan and allow it to cool for 10 - 15 additional minutes. Transfer the sweet raspberry cake to a serving plate, top with powdered sugar, slice and enjoy.
How To Store, Freeze, Thaw and Serve
- Store: Place the raspberry vanilla cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day. Then the cake should be transferred to the fridge for up to another 2 - 3 days.
- Freeze: Make sure the raspberry lemon cake is completely cooled to room temperature. Wrap the cake or cake slices in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 2 - 3 months.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw the cake with raspberries is to let it sit out at room temperature until fully thawed. Enjoy at room temperature or microwave until it’s your preferred temperature.
- Serve: This from scratch raspberry cake is best served as is or with a dusting of powdered sugar. This cake is also delicious topped with freshly whipped cream or strawberry whipped cream.
M’s Expert Tips
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in soft, fluffy, moist and tender vanilla cake with raspberries.
- Measure the flour properly. I highly recommend using a food scale to get perfectly measured ingredients every time.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
- Use the baking times as a guide. All ovens vary and baking times should be used as a guide. As a general rule, when the cake becomes very fragrant, it’s a good idea to start checking. Begin checking on the cake at the minimum baking time. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. The top of the cake should be golden brown and the raspberries should look jammy.
FAQs
Yes, frozen berries work well in this cake recipe. There is no need to thaw the berries before starting the recipe.
Berries, even ones baked in a cake still contain a lot of moisture. For this reason, it is best to store the raspberry cake in the fridge if you plan on storing it longer than a day.
A cake recipe made for a 9 inch (23 cm) spring form pan can also be made in a 9 inch square pan or 9 inch cake pan with little to no adjustments in batter volume or baking time.
Other Simple Cake Recipes to Try
If you try this Raspberry Cake recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! - M
Raspberry Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
- 1 sheet parchment paper
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 zest from a large lemon
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 - 3 cups fresh raspberries cleaned and pat dry
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Grease and line the bottom of a 9 inch (23 cm) springform with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt together until well combined.2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large mixing bowl fitted with paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3 -4 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. With the mixer on low, cream in the eggs and vanilla extract until well combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl. Finally, with the mixer on low, alternate mixing the dry ingredients and buttermilk into the wet ingredients in this order: dry, buttermilk, dry, buttermilk, dry.1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 1 zest from a large lemon, ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened , 2 large eggs, room temperature, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract , 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, room temperature
- When all the ingredients have been mixed together until almost all the flour has been mixed in, mix in 1 cup of raspberries. It’s best to do this by hand using a silicone spatula or spoon.Evenly spread the buttery raspberry cake batter into the prepared pan. Top with the cake with reserved (2 cups) raspberries and 1 - 2 tablespoons of sugar if you like.2 - 3 cups fresh raspberries
- Bake the raspberry filled cake for 45 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake pan in the pan for 10 - 15 minutes. Gently remove the cake from the pan and allow it to cool for 10 - 15 additional minutes. Transfer the raspberry cake to a serving plate, top with powdered sugar, slice and enjoy.
Notes
- If you prefer to have only raspberries on the top of the cake, skip folding the (1 cup) raspberries into the cake batter and use 2 cups on the top as written in the recipe. Alternatively, fold 2 cups of raspberries (tossed in 1 tablespoon flour) into the cake batter
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