Moist Lemon Raspberry Cake (with Lemon Curd)

This lemon raspberry cake is a soft, light, airy, yet deliciously moist lemon layer cake, filled with bright lemon curd and fresh raspberries, and frosted with a fruity raspberry buttercream frosting.

It’s full of refreshing lemon flavor, deceptively easy to make, and perfect for birthdays, spring and summer celebrations, Easter, Mother’s day, or anytime you want a fresh, fruity, showstopping dessert!

When we were invited for a potluck BBQ last week, I knew I wanted to take something bright, summery, and citrusy. The result? This incredible lemon raspberry cake (with lemon curd) that was the highlight of the spread!

This soft, moist, tender, and very springy and summery lemon raspberry cake is actually deceptively easy to make. Simply measure out the wet and dry ingredients and mix ’em all together!

No creaming butter and sugar, or adding flour to wet ingredients a little at a time. This cake works well as a vanilla cake too, but I’ll share that recipe another time.

Why this recipe rocks

• This lemon cake is made with lemon zest, sugar, and lemon juice for a deliciously refreshing and summer-worthy dessert.
• The lemon curd adds a tangy, creamy, buttery, sweet tartness that pairs so well with the tender, moist, airy cake!
• The raspberries balance the flavors with a fresh, fruity sweetness.
• I share ALL my tips on perfecting the lemon cake, the lemon curd, the raspberry buttercream, and even how to perfectly frost the cake too.
• If you love lemon (or citrus flavors) in cake, this is probably the most lemony cake you’ll ever make!

Three components of this cake

• Lemon layer cake – I process lemon peel and sugar together until finely processed to get a robust lemon flavor in the cake. I use the lemon zest of 2 lemons, but I only use the juice of 1 lemon (¼ cup). Mostly because I prefer using zest over lemon juice when baking cakes, because the zest adds a more fragrant flavor in baked goods. However, if you’d like an even stronger lemon flavor in your cake, you can make a lemon syrup and drizzle it over the cake.
• Lemon curd and fresh raspberry filling – My homemade lemon curd has a spoonable consistency that is thick and luscious, yet still soft. If you cook this further, you get a lemon curd that’s even thicker and pipeable. If you’re storing this cake in the fridge, then you can choose either option. However, if the cake is going to be sitting outside and it’s a hot day, then use the thicker, pipeable lemon curd. It’ll be more stable, and will not seep out when you cut the cake into slices. Fresh raspberries in the filling are optional, but they do add even more fresh, fruity flavor to the cake!
• Raspberry buttercream frosting – This frosting is based on my classic American vanilla buttercream. Instead of the cream in that recipe, I add raspberries here. If you add both, the buttercream would be too soft and may split.

How to make lemon raspberry cake (step by step overview)

Lemon curd filling

Step 1 – Make the lemon curd

Make the lemon curd the day before, so it has time to cool down and chill in the fridge.

I like to cook down the lemon curd until it becomes semi-translucent. This lemon curd cools down to a very thick consistency that’s even pipeable. However, it requires a longer and slower cook time to prevent the eggs from curdling.

Alternatively, you can add some gelatin to the lemon curd to make it more stable.

Let the lemon curd chill in the fridge until the cake layers have baked and cooled down, and the frosting is made as well.

Lemon cake

Step 2 – Prep the cake pans

Preheat your oven to 350 F / 180 C. Then take two 8 inch baking pans and line them with parchment paper on the bottom. Grease and dust the sides of the pan with flour, and set aside.

Step 3 – Make the lemon sugar

Wash and pat dry two lemons. Then use a peeler to thinly peel 2 lemons. Make sure the peel doesn’t contain any of the bitter white pith.

Then place the sugar and lemon peel in a food processor and process until the zest is very finely minced and mixed with the sugar. The sugar will be lumpy, but the peel should be finely minced.

Now place this in a large bowl. This is your lemon sugar.

Step 4 – Prepare the dry ingredients

To the lemon sugar, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to mix and set aside.

Usually sugar is a wet ingredient in cakes, but I’m using the sugar to break up flour lumps in the dry ingredients here.

Step 5 – Prepare the wet ingredients

Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and place it in a separate bowl. Make sure the butter cools down slightly before adding the other wet ingredients.

Combine the melted butter, oil, vanilla, eggs, and lemon juice together in a bowl or jug. Whisk well until everything is combined.

Step 6 – Make the lemon cake batter

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. To avoid over-mixing, add the wet ingredients in 2 – 3 batches. Carefully fold it all in.

Finally, add the hot milk and stir it in.

Step 7 – Fill the pans and bake

Evenly divide the batter between the two cake pans. Make sure the batter is spread evenly, and knock each pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles.

Bake the cake pans in the middle of the oven for about 25 – 30 minutes, until the cake is done. If your oven bakes unevenly, make sure to rotate the cake pans halfway through the baking time.

Step 8 – Allow to cool down

Remove the cake pans from the oven and let them cool down for a few minutes. While the cakes are still warm, flip the cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Raspberry buttercream

Step 9 – Prepare the raspberries

You can use fresh raspberries, as they are. However, frozen raspberries tend to release more moisture as they thaw out, so I recommend thawing them over a paper towel to absorb excess moisture, and then whisking them with a little cornstarch.

You can also add some freeze-dried raspberry powder to enhance the raspberry flavor!

Step 10 – Whip the butter

To prep the butter for the buttercream, it’s important to whip the butter until it’s light and fluffy before adding other ingredients.

This step takes patience, but makes a big difference in the texture of the buttercream! Whisk the butter for about 5 minutes until the butter is paler in color and is fluffy.

Then add the salt and vanilla, and whisk it further to combine everything.

Step 11 – Making the buttercream

Lower the speed of the mixer and start adding the sugar to the butter mixture. I add sugar in small increments to prevent the confectioner’s sugar from flying off everywhere.

After you add all the confectioner’s sugar and it’s mostly mixed in, increase the speed to whip the sugar and butter together until it’s fluffy and soft.

Then you can add the raspberry puree and whip the mixture into the buttercream.

You can see how I created a yellow-pink ombre frosting on the cake in these pictures. To do this, remove some of the frosting BEFORE adding the raspberry puree and color it with some yellow gel food coloring.

Scrape some of the raspberry buttercream into a large piping bag, with a round tip attached. The tip should be about ½ inch or 1 cm wide. This is to pipe a “dam” when sandwiching the cake layers.

The buttercream is now ready.

Step 13 – Filling the cake layers

Place one cake layer on a serving tray, with the top of the cake facing up. Pipe a ring of the raspberry frosting all along the edge of the cake layer to create a frosting dam.

Use a small spatula to flare out the inside edge of the buttercream border to make sure the buttercream is stuck to the cake well. Then spread the lemon curd in the middle to fill the dam. This should be an even layer.

You can also add some fresh strawberries to the filling by adding them along the outer edge of the lemon curd.

Then place the second cake layer on top, with the top of the cake facing down. This way, the flat, even bottom of the cake is facing up.

The cake should be stable enough to frost, but if it’s very hot, you can chill the cake for a bit to let the filling become firm.

Step 15 – Frost and decorate

Now you can use the remaining buttercream frosting to frost the whole cake however you like! Make sure the coating is even.

To create an ombre look, smear the yellow frosting in a few places, and then use an offset spatula to create smooth, ombre streaks.

The buttercream frosting can be smooth or rustic, depending on your preference. Decorate the cake with buttercream swirls or fresh raspberries and leftover lemon curd on top.

Chill until you’re ready to serve the cake.

Easy ways to switch up the flavor

• You can substitute the lemon curd with passion fruit curd for a passion fruit flavored cake, or pineapple curd for another tropical flavor twist.
• You can also leave out the lemon curd, and just make the lemon cake with raspberry buttercream only.
• To increase the raspberry flavor, mix in raspberry preserves in the filling!
• By leaving out the lemon in the cake and making a vanilla cake, you can even make a vanilla raspberry cake, or just a vanilla lemon cake with lemon curd.
• Substitute all the lemon with lime! From lime juice and lime zest to lime curd.

Storage and make-ahead tips

You can make the cake layers up to 1 month in advance. Wrap the cooled down cake layers well with plastic wrap and freeze until you need it. Make sure to trim the tops of the cakes to make the surface level before you freeze them.

The cake layers can be filled and frosted while still frozen.

You can also make the lemon curd 2 – 3 days ahead of time.

I prefer not to make the raspberry buttercream ahead of time because of the fresh fruits in the frosting.

You can make the vanilla buttercream ahead of time and freeze it for up to a month. But the buttercream must be thawed out and re-whipped until light and fluffy, before adding the raspberry puree.

Equipment I use for this recipe

• Two 8 inch round cake pans – These Wilton pans are great! I also love these non stick pans too (but I always line any cake pan I use)
• Stand Mixer  – I use my trusty Kitchen Aid Mixer. In the past I have also used a KMix Kenwood mixer that I loved (when living in Australia)
• Frosting smoother or bench scraper – To create a smooth frosted cake. A bench scraper will have a dual purpose, so I really like it.
• Round frosting tip – Wilton tip or Ateco tips work fine. A snipped ziploc bag will work in a pinch too.
• Piping bags – I like buying disposable piping bags, but reusable piping bags will work great too.