This Lemon Cake Recipe is lightly sweet, has a hint of lemon flavor, and is topped with raspberries. A confirmation that summer is here!!!
In honor of my husband coming home, I made a Lemon Cake topped with fresh raspberries. He would have preferred chocolate, but I had a few lemons in the fridge and the raspberry bushes were dying to be picked! Fresh raspberries off the vine are incredible and one of my favorite things about summer so I made a cake to showcase them.
Lemon Cake Recipe
This cake has a hint of lemon flavor. YUM. Sprinkled with lemon zest and topped with those sweet fresh raspberries, cream cheese frosting helps tie in all the wonderful flavors. Here’s everything you’ll need:
Lemon Cake
- Coconut Oil – for moisture and flavor. You can also use butter.
- Granulated Sugar – the sweet combats the sour!
- Eggs – for structure.
- Vanilla Extract – for flavor.
- Lemon Zest – to subtly flavor the cake.
- Self Rising Flour and All-Purpose Flour – to fill out and to help the cake rise. If you don’t have Self Rising Flour (SRF) you can make it yourself. For each cup of SRF replace with 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
- Milk – for moisture.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream Cheese – tangy creamy goodness.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – to loosen the frosting and to help it whip up.
- Powdered Sugar – to sweeten.
- Lemon Zest – more of that lemon flavor!
- Vanilla Extract – adds flavor.
Other Lemon Raspberry Recipes I have made and loved: Lemon Raspberry Angel Cake, Raspberry Lemon Cream Tarts, Lemon Recipes for Summer & Raspberry Peach Cobbler Recipe.
How to Make Lemon Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut a circle out of parchment paper to line the bottom of an 8 or 9-inch round cake pan. Lightly grease the pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whip butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Scrape sides and whip again. Alternate mixing in flours with milk. Scrape sides and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Spoon into prepared pan, smooth the top and bake 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Cool 15 minutes and then remove the cake from pan. Cool completely before frosting.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Whip cream cheese in a stand mixer to soften. Slowly stream in cream to incorporate evenly. If lumps start to form, stop mixing, scrape sides, and continue to mix. Once all cream is incorporated, the mixture should seem thick and smooth.
- Stir in remaining ingredients and stir to incorporate. Once frosting seems smooth, turn the mixer on high and whip 2-3 minutes or until fluffy and light, similar to whipped cream but a little heavier.
- Spread all frosting over cooled cake and top with lots of fresh raspberries. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Leftovers
Any leftover lemon cake can be stored in the fridge, covered, for up to 5 days. Be sure to keep your eye on those raspberries though!
More Lemon Recipes to Try!
- Lemon Cranberry Coffee Cake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Lemon Pistachio Swiss Roll Cake
- Lemon Butter Cake
- Lemon Buttermilk Crumb Cake
- Perfect Lemon Bar Recipe
After I sliced this baby up, I ended up picking all the raspberries off the top with my sister in law. {Since when do I ignore cake and eat fruit? That is so unlike me.} At the end of the day, we were left with half a cake, hardly any frosting, and no raspberries. Lucky for me I can just go pick some more!
Hooray for Summer! 🙂
The printable recipe card is below.
Lemon Cake Recipe with Raspberries
Ingredients
for the cake-
- 1/2 cup coconut oil or regular butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 lemon zested
- 3/4 cup self rising flour
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour + 2 tablespoons more
- 1/2 cup milk
for the frosting-
- 3 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 lemon zested
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- lots of fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut a circle out of parchment paper to line the bottom of an 8 or 9-inch round cake pan. Lightly grease the pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whip butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Scrape sides and whip again. Alternate mixing in flours with milk. Scrape sides and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Spoon into prepared pan, smooth the top and bake 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Cool 15 minutes and then remove the cake from pan. Cool completely before frosting.
For the Frosting:
- Whip cream cheese in a stand mixer to soften. Slowly stream in cream to incorporate evenly. If lumps start to form, stop mixing, scrape sides, and continue to mix. Once all cream is incorporated, the mixture should seem thick and smooth.
- Stir in remaining ingredients and stir to incorporate. Once frosting seems smooth, turn the mixer on high and whip 2-3 minutes or until fluffy and light, similar to whipped cream but a little heavier.
- Spread all frosting over cooled cake and top with lots of fresh raspberries. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Rachel @ The Avid Appetite says
You have me tearing up 🙂 So happy that your family is back together again.
Oh and this cake? Absolutely stunning! I would happily eat this. Everyday 🙂
Lauren says
I didn’t mean to make so many people cry from this post! Thanks for being happy for us! We are pretty happy to all be back together!
Cookin' Canuck says
Lauren, I’m so glad to hear that your husband is home safely. Have a wonderful time together! This is a beautiful cake for summertime and seems like the perfect way to kick off his homecoming.
Lauren says
Thanks, Dara!
Lacey Wilcox says
You’re officially making me jealous that nothing is growing where I live right now (it feels like we’re in the middle of the desert). This is beautiful, and looks DELICIOUS!
Lauren says
I don’t think I could live in a desert! Living in Oregon where the weather is always mild has ruined me!
Barbara Bakes says
I love raspberries right off the vine too. Lucky you! So glad you and your hubs are back together again. The cake looks scrumptious.
Kristin W. says
Yay for you and your hubby! Lemon & raspberry? Yum! It looks so delicious and perfect for summer.
Marjory Betchkal says
So wonderful that your husband is home. Enjoy your time together now and I am sure he is going to be wanting something chocolate now. Your cake looks awesome, I am still waiting for my berries to come but when they do, this is what I will make with them. Thanks for sharing.
Natalie says
I got a knot in my throat as well! So glad your family is complete again!!
P.S. I really wish I had berry bushes!!
Lauren says
Thanks, Natalie! We’re happy to be a complete family again! 🙂
Katrina says
This cake is beautiful! I love the combination of lemon and raspberry. Yum!
Elaine says
This looks so refreshing and delicious!! Hope I have enough fresh raspberries in the garden to make this cake. 🙂
Lindsay @ Pinch of Yum says
I have about 15 lemons leftover from my sister’s wedding decorations that I’ve been trying to think of what to do with… now I know! And it looks like I’ll be making 30 of these cakes, then, since they each use half a lemon. 🙂
Lauren says
Technically, it’s 1 lemon per cake {1/2 zest for the cake, 1/2 zest for the frosting} so you just need to make 15 cakes! Haha! 🙂
sophistimom says
What a perfect cake for summer, and how huge those raspberries are!!
Beautiful.
Lauren says
I was shocked at how huge the raspberries were when I was picking them off the vine! So juicy and sweet! My two year old asks to go picking them because she’s just as addicted as we are!
Adrian Munk Parkinson says
Lauren, I found a delicious looking recipe someone posted on pinterest and stumbled upon your blog. I vaguely remember looking her when you were starting out, but that was ages ago. This is fantastic! It looks like you have been having a lot of fun and success. I can’t wait to try out your recipes. I hope all is going well for you!
natalie (the sweets life) says
yay! so glad he’s back!
love how simple this cake looks–simple and delicious!
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
I’m so happy for you! What a delicious and pretty cake!
Honey @ Honey, What's Cooking says
First time comer here. THis cake looks beautiful, I’m so into summer cakes like that. And I’m happy your husband is home, but I’m going to have read around to know what is your story. So far, you have me hooked. 🙂
Sasha @ The Procrastobaker says
I loved this post! Such a smiley one indeed, and what a perfectly summery cake too 🙂 Gorgeous recipe and im so glad to have come by your blog, its lovely!
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
What a beautiful cake! I love the cream cheese frosting and of course the berries on top 😀 Plus lemon and berries always go so good together. Looks so yummy!
Miriam says
This looks delicious. Do you think instead of the cake I could make cupcakes instead?
Lauren says
sure!
plasterer bristol says
Never tried this version of lemon cake before, sounds delicious though. Will have to give this ago. Thanks simon
Bonnie says
Hello! Do you think I can just use regular vegetable oil instead of coconut oil?
Lauren says
yes!
Courtney says
In the ingredients you have listed “1/2 cup coconut oil” as the first ingredient. However, I did not see where it was used in the recipe. Is the oil a mistake or was it accidentally left out of the instructions?
The cake looks delicious, though. I love the lemon and raspberry combination.
Lila says
Yes. Where does the coconut oil come in?
Jennifer says
How much butter is used for this recipe?