With a scrumptious and eye-catching pink glaze, this raspberry lemon cake is a stunner when berries are in season. Bundt cakes are a big deal here, and this one doesn't disappoint: the crumb is perfectly tight but soft, the flavors come through without overpowering each other and the glaze is, well, beautiful.
A showstopper with fantastic flavors
Lemon and raspberries in a cake never disappoint. And this cake is definite proof.
It's a simple pound cake when it comes to texture, dense but with a wonderful bite. The recipe is old-fashioned and one of my favorites that gets permanently tweaked to create new beauties worth posting.
Take your time to read the recipe, have the ingredients at the right temperature and prepare the pan. It's all in the details—and the oven, of course! Preheat it in advance to get the best result.
Its fresh and punchy flavors are perfect when seasonal berries abound. A close relative of our most popular cake, this raspberry white chocolate bundt.
I'm a fan of bundt cakes and never seem to have enough. This recipe is the latest addition to our bundt cake recipes archive. So expect more, many more.
Ingredient list
- Raspberries: my first choice is always fresh raspberries because they're sweeter and have less water content. But frozen raspberries work just as well, and I use them a lot because I make this cake year-round.
- Fresh lemon juice and zest.
- Milk: use whole, full-fat milk for a richer cake. But reduced-fat milk also works well.
- White, granulated sugar.
- Unsalted butter.
- All-purpose flour, or cake flour, which I use often.
- Baking powder: make sure it's not expired.
- Eggs: large, fresh ones.
- Vanilla extract.
- Powdered sugar: also known as confectioners' sugar or icing sugar.
- Raspberry juice: you can mash fresh or frozen raspberries and strain the juice, or use bottled juice. It's a small amount used to make the glaze pink.
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
Variations & substitutions
- Buttermilk: use it instead of the milk for added tanginess. It also helps with a tender crumb.
- Light brown sugar: use it instead of white. The cake will have a slight caramel hue.
- Other berries: lemon pairs very well with strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.
Preparing the bundt pan
If you love making bundt cakes, you probably know the pain of not being able to remove it from the pan in one piece. It has happened to me many times!
There are several ways of dealing with this:
Shortening and flour: use soft shortening to grease the pan, every angle, every nook and cranny until it's completely covered. Using your fingers is messy but effective. You can also use a brush. Sprinkle flour and rotate the pan to cover it completely. You'll have to do it to one side and then the other. Make sure you flour the center tube. Turn the pan upside down over the kitchen sink and smack lightly it against the edge. The excess flour will fall, leaving a thin layer behind. Your pan is ready to be filled.
Cake goop or cake pan-release paste: it's one of my favorites, along with the shortening method above, because it's very effective. Mix equal parts (volume: cups or tablespoons) of shortening, flour and vegetable oil (sunflower or canola) to make a paste. Use it to coat the pan with a brush. Store it in an airtight container (I use a jar) for a month at room temperature or up to 3 months in the refrigerator.
Baking spray: use a spray labeled as having flour or specifically made for baking (as opposed to cooking). It has to have flour; otherwise, the cake will likely stick when removed. At least, that's my experience. I hardly use it anymore.
Recipe: whenever I find a great bundt cake recipe that can be easily removed from an intricate bundt pan, even though I didn’t follow step 1 above, I cling to it like life itself.
Steps to make this bundt cake
Dry ingredients
It's important to sift the flour mixture to avoid clumps or impurities. And it helps with fluffiness.
You can sift them before or have the ingredients measured and sift them directly over the butter mixture (my choice).
Integrating
The dry and wet ingredients are added in parts, alternating between the two, as it helps to integrate them better.
The berries are folded in at the end. Go easy so you crush the raspberries as little as possible.
Vintage Kitchen Tip
After incorporating flour in a cake batter, we don't want to develop gluten, as it will toughen the baked cake. So mix *just* until it's all well incorporated but don't overbeat. I like to end mixing with a silicon spatula to ensure the ingredients are fully integrated.
Bundt pan
The bundt cake pan should be filled ⅔ to ¾ of its capacity, no more than that. This way, the batter has space to grow and bake well.
Test for doneness
Use a toothpick or cake tester in the middle of the cake to check that it's done. It should come out clean.
Make sure the oven is preheated and at the right temperature.
Pink raspberry glaze
We use the popular powdered sugar glaze that is sweet and perfect for bundt cakes.
To achieve a thick layer of icing, add juice until it has the consistency of very thick honey. It'll feel as though it's too dense, but when you pour a glaze, it takes a minute or more to fully run down the sides.
To get that eye-catching pink color (brighter than the strawberry glaze), we use some raspberry juice together with lemon juice. It's what makes this cake a real stunner.
Place the cake on a wire rack over parchment paper and drizzle the pink glaze.
You can scrape the glaze that dripped with a spatula to reuse it. Pour it over again quickly so the first layer doesn't settle much, or you won't have a smooth finish.
Raspberries in this cake
Raspberries pair fantastically well with lemon and it's a crowd-pleaser.
Using berries in cakes, and bundt cakes in particular can be tricky, as they tend to go to the bottom. The type of batter has a lot to do with it: the denser the batter, the better it holds the berries in place.
- Fresh raspberries: stir them with a few tablespoons of the flour amount in the recipe before adding them to the batter. That way they will move less when the cake is baked and will be better distributed.
- Frozen berries: it's a great way to make this cake year-round, especially around the holidays. Use them directly, without thawing.
Kitchen Notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, utensils and equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as possible, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend keeping track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Raspberries: fresh or frozen berries can be used. You can use a tablespoon or two of the flour in the recipe to coat them before adding to the batter. This will help them to distribute better and not sink to the bottom and sides of the cake.
- Batter: cream the butter and sugar well, but refrain from mixing it too much after adding the berries unless you want the raspberries to stain the whole cake. It might be fun, too.
- Bundt pan: my favorite way of preparing the pan that never failed me is to use soft shortening and patiently grease the pan well, every sharp angle or pattern detail. Then flour it, shaking off excess. Reserve until ready to fill.
- Storing: this cake keeps well for several days covered in plastic wrap, and freezes beautifully for a month. I recommend freezing the plain cake for best results and glazing it when you plan to eat it. The plastic wrap will crush the glaze a little. But if you need to freeze leftovers, just know what will happen. The cake will still be delicious.
- Serving it: You can decorate the serving plate with extra fresh raspberries or fill the middle hole with mint leaves for a touch of green. It's very festive and great for special occasions. I like it at a cool room temperature because the flavors are more vivid.
Related recipes you might like:
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Lemon Raspberry Bundt Cake
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Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 tablespoons shortening, soft
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cup white sugar
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, fresh, packed
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk, at room temperature
- 2 cups raspberries
For the pink glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons raspberry juice, or lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (180°C).
- Grease a 10 to 12-inch bundt cake pan (26cm) with 2 tablespoons shortening, making sure every nook, cranny and angle is covered. Dust with flour, shaking off excess. Reserve.
- Sift 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the 1 cup butter until creamy. You can use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer.
- Slowly add 1 tablespoon lemon zest and beat for 2 minutes.
- Add 4 eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Beginning and ending with sifted dry ingredients, add them in 3 parts alternating with ½ cup milk in 2 parts.
- Fold in 2 cups raspberries with a spatula carefully so as not to crush them.
- Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly.
- Bake for about 50 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Depending on the type of pan and oven you use, it might take more. So always check and take baking times given in a recipe as a reference.
- Let cool for 10-15 minutes and carefully invert onto a wire rack. Cool completely before glazing.
- Pour the raspberry lemon glaze slowly, letting it drip down the sides. Let it dry before slicing and serving.
For the berry lemon glaze:
- Mix 1 cup powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons raspberry juice (or lemon juice) in a medium bowl until integrated.
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