A few weeks ago, well before quarantine was in effect and I was still able to get my hands on baking supplies, I felt quite springy and in the mood to bake something quite adventurous. I found this recipe online for a blueberry lemon cake however I swapped out the blueberries for raspberries as that’s what I had on hand. While my cake looked delicious, I found that it definitely needed a few changes from the original recipe. For the original recipe click here. For my version, just keep reading : )
Ingredients for the cake…
- 2 sticks (8 oz) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 TBSP of fresh lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
- Meyers lemons are the best for baking as they are naturally juicier and sweeter
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 cup of buttermilk
- 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
- 2 cups of fresh or frozen raspberries (DO NOT thaw if frozen)
Note: This recipe is for a two layer tier cake so this batter will fill two 9 inch cake tins. You can always halve the recipe for a smaller cake or even a loaf.
Start by preheating the oven to 350°. Take the cake pans and either line it with parchment paper or coat with a bit of unsalted butter. Set them aside.
Next, add the butter, sugar, and lemon zest into a large glass mixing bowl and cream together for 5 minutes until it is light and fluffy. This step is easiest with a kitchen aid or hand mixer. While this can be achieved manually, it will take a lot more time and arm strength. I personally don’t have a kitchen aid, so I opted for a hand blender. Mine is a cuisinart one I picked up from Costco for $20. I 10/10 recommend it, it is so convenient not just for baking but all types of culinary concocting. And the best part is, it comes with two different heads. (You can find a more in depth review on the hand blender here.)
Once the mixture is light and fluffy, add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Blend until completely combined and set this mixture aside.
Now take a different bowl and mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Once they’re evenly mixed, slowly add them into the first mixture (the wet ingredients) and blend it until it’s fully combined.
Now add in the buttermilk and lemon juice. At this point, if you have been using a kitchen aid or other electric mixer, change to a wooden spoon and stir the mixture by hand. Gently fold the batter to keep the air in because otherwise, the cake will be too tough and end up tasting like a bread or dish sponge.
Next, add the raspberries and delicately mix into the batter. It’s really important to be slow and gentle in this step so the raspberries don’t get too mushy.
Then pour the batter into the cake tins and pop in the oven for roughly 35-40 minutes. You can always stick a knife or toothpick in to check if it is cooked all the way through. However, from experience, I can say that opening the oven too often will let the heat out and the cake will not bake properly.
These next steps are the most important. Even if you didn’t follow any of the other steps, make sure to follow this one otherwise the cake will fall apart and you will be sad. Once they’re done baking, take out the tins and let them cool for 20 minutes. If you are baking this as a loaf or one without frosting, at this point, you can slice and enjoy. However, if you want to make the frosting or as a 2 tier cake, keep reading.
Remove the cakes from the pan and let it cool at room temperature for at least 1 hour. 2 hours is ideal.
While it is cooling, we can start the frosting. This is where I really start to freestyle. The original recipe called for cream cheese frosting (can be found here), which frankly, I found to be way too strong and overpowering in general but especially for this style of cake. (I’ve been experimenting with my own recipe for cream cheese frosting which, hopefully, will be perfected soon and I can share it with you all). Instead I decided light whipped lemon frosting would compliment this cake much better.
Ingredients for the whipped frosting…
- 2 cups of heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar (if you prefer something more sweet you can add more powdered sugar)
- 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
- 1 TSP of fresh lemon zest
- A hand blender or mixer
- to whip the heavy cream, an electric blender is almost crucial unless you secretly have Popeye muscles
Start whipping the heavy cream until light and fluffy (similar to the texture of cool whip). Then slowly add add in the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Now the frosting is ready! Decorate as you want and enjoy!
