Raspberry Lemon Delight

This lemon raspberry cake is perfect for spring and summer and pairs perfectly with some lemon sorbet, and of course, our Pink Lemonade sprinkle mix! Make it for a little girl's birthday, a get together, or just for fun, it's up to you. 

Ingredients:

Lemon Cake:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Raspberry Filling:

• 2 cups fresh raspberries
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Lemon Buttercream:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Yellow food coloring (optional)

• Piping Design:
• Piping bags
• Star tip and round tip
• Additional raspberries for decoration
• Fresh mint leaves for decoration
• 1 bottle of Pink Lemonade sprinkles

Instructions:

Lemon Cake:

• Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

• In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in lemon zest.
• In another bowl, mix the buttermilk and lemon juice.
• Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Raspberry Filling:

• In a saucepan, combine the raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until thickened.
• Cool the filling completely before using it on the cake.

Lemon Buttercream:

• Beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed.
• Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until smooth. If desired, add a few drops of yellow food coloring to achieve a lemonade color.
• Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Assembly:

• Place one layer of the cake on a serving plate. Spread the raspberry filling over the top, then place the second cake layer on top.
• Frost the entire cake with a thin crumb coat of lemon buttercream. Chill for about 15 minutes, then apply a final thick layer of frosting.
• Use a star tip to pipe borders around the top and bottom edges of the cake.
• To create the lemon slice decorations: pipe thick yellow ovals with the star tip. Use a round tip to pipe white lines for the lemon segments and green leaves. You can add small round candies or sprinkles for extra decoration resembling lemon seeds.
• Add additional raspberries and mint leaves between the piped lemon slices.
• Scatter the sprinkles over the cake to complete the look.

Enjoy!