Cooking with Toti
cookingwithtoti.com/recipes/lemon-raspberry-cake
Lemon Raspberry Cake
Soft lemon layers, fresh raspberries, fluffy mascarpone cream.
Serves
Two 8-inch layers
Time
1 hr 15 min
Soft lemon cake layers with fresh raspberries, fluffy mascarpone cream, and the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. This cake looks fancy, but it’s actually very simple to make.
Instructions
Make the Cake
- 1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 8-inch cake pans.
- 2
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
- 3
In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time.
- 4
Mix in the lemon zest and lemon juice.
- 5
Alternate adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk until combined. Do not overmix.
- 6
Toss the raspberries lightly with a little flour, then gently fold them into the batter so they don’t sink.
- 7
Divide between the two pans and bake 28–35 minutes, until lightly golden and a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Cool completely.
Make the Frosting
- 1
Beat softened butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.
- 2
Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and a little lemon juice to taste.
- 3
Lightly whip the mascarpone in a separate bowl, then fold it into the frosting at the end.
- 4
Fold in whipped heavy cream for an extra fluffy filling and frosting.
Assemble
- 1
Add frosting between the cake layers.
- 2
Frost the outside and top with the same cream mixture.
- 3
Decorate with fresh raspberries and optional white chocolate shavings or lemon zest.
Toti’s Tips
- ✓Bring the butter, eggs, and cream cheese to room temperature before mixing. Cold ingredients don't blend smoothly, and you'll end up with a lumpy frosting or a batter that looks curdled.
- ✓Don't overmix once you add the flour and buttermilk. Extra mixing builds gluten, and gluten is what makes a cake dense and tight instead of soft and tender.
- ✓Toss the raspberries in a little flour before folding them in. The flour coating gives the berries something to grip onto in the batter so they stay suspended instead of sinking to the bottom as they bake.
- ✓Lightly whip the mascarpone before folding it into the frosting rather than beating it hard, since overbeating mascarpone can make it grainy or cause it to separate.
- ✓Fold in whipped heavy cream at the end for extra lightness, since whipped cream adds air that a plain cream cheese frosting doesn't have on its own.
- ✓Chill the assembled cake before slicing. Cold frosting holds its structure, so you get clean layers instead of filling that squishes out the sides when you cut into a warm cake.
More photos
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