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Lemon-Raspberry Cake

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #BrunchWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #Brunchweek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

The flavors of this lemon-raspberry cake are perfect for spring! Sweets and Treats "Sunday Best" sprinkles add the perfect touch.

Welcome to Day 4 of BrunchWeek 2019, hosted by Love and Confections and A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures. We have 35 bloggers from around the United States sharing over 140 of their best Brunch recipes.

We have so many delicious recipes for you to enjoy throughout the week including cocktails, appetizers, casseroles, cinnamon rolls, breakfast pizzas, coffee cakes, plenty of desserts, and more! Our BrunchWeek Sponsors are helping us give away some great prizes. You can read about them here. You can enter the giveaway just below the recipe.

I believe that every meal should end with dessert, and that includes brunch. Yes, you're stuffed from that delicious French toast, or decadent eggs benedict, but don't you have room for just a sliver of this beautiful spring cake?

Between the beautiful yellow and pink layers of cake, and the bright spring colors of Sweets & Treats Sunday Best sprinkle mix, you can't get much more spring-time into a dessert than this.

I love Sweets & Treats' sprinkle mixes. I may or may not have a dozen or two (or three) different pouches of their sprinkle mixes (okay, let's be real, I totally do). There's just so many creative combinations, for every occasion you could possibly need, from holidays, to birthdays, and if they somehow DON'T have what you need, you can create your own custom mix.

And that's not even getting into the other fantastic products they have, like paper straws, and their greaseproof cupcake liners are the best at keeping their color nice and bright, even after baking. I've been a big fan for years.

A slice of lemon-raspberry layer cake on a plate in front of the rest of the cake

This cake is so delicious, and it's just plain mood-lifting to look at! Who could be sad looking at those bright colors? It's fun to make, too, drizzling melted candy wafers and scattering sprinkles all over the cake.

This cake is the perfect ending for any spring brunch occasion, whether it's Easter, Mother's Day, a baby shower, or just celebrating that winter is finally over!

Lemon-Raspberry Layer Cake

Lemon-Raspberry Layer Cake

Yield: 20 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Cooling Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

The flavors of this lemon-raspberry cake are perfect for spring! Sweets and Treats "Sunday Best" sprinkles add the perfect touch.

Ingredients

For the lemon layers

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 3 large egg yolks, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ¾ cup sour cream, room temperature
  • ¼ cup whole milk, room temperature
  • 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

For the raspberry layers

  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup freeze-dried raspberries, ground finely
  • 2 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ½ cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cup whole milk, room temperature

For the buttercream

  • 10 egg whites (from large eggs)
  • 2 ½ cup sugar
  • 3 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled
  • 8 oz pink candy wafers, melted
  • 4 oz Sweets & Treats Sunday Best sprinkle mix

Instructions

Make the lemon cake:

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray the sides and bottoms of two 9-inch round baking pans with nonstick baking spray, set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon zest and juice. In a small bowl, mix sour cream and milk. In another bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream mixture.

Transfer to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 24-28 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks. Cool to room temperature.

Make the raspberry cake:

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray the sides and bottoms of two 9-inch round baking pans with nonstick baking spray, set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, freeze dried raspberry powder, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins). Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.

Alternate adding flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition.

Transfer to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 24-28 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks. Cool to room temperature.

Make the buttercream:

Fill a medium saucepan with about an inch of water. Set of medium-high heat and bring the water to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium to maintain the simmer.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg whites and sugar. Set the mixing bowl over the simmering water, and heat the mixture, beating continuously with a whisk, until the sugar has dissolved. Turn off the heat.

Place the mixing bowl on the stand mixer and affix the whip attachment. Turn to high and whip the mixture until the whites form a stiff meringue and the bottom of the bowl is neutral to the touch (not hot). If the meringue reaches stiff peaks before the bowl cools, turn the speed to low and mix until cooled.

Switch to the paddle attachment and turn to low speed, and begin adding the butter, about two tablespoons at a time, waiting until it is fully incorporated before adding more.

Once butter is fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla and melted white chocolate.

Assemble the cake:

Level the cakes by holding a serrated knife horizontally, and cutting off any domed tops of each cake layer. Stack the cakes on a cake serving board, spreading about half a cup of icing between each layer. Frost the tops and sides of the cake. Chill for 15 minutes.

Place the melted candy wafers in a squeeze bottle. Place the chilled cake on a turntable. Hold the bottle upside down at the outer edge of the cake, and slowly let the melted candy wafers drizzle out and down the sides of the cake as you slowly turn the cake turntable.

Chill the cake another 15 minutes to set the candy coating. Transfer about a cup of frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip.

Pipe dollops of frosting around the outside edge of the top of the cake, and around the base. Sprinkle with Sweets and Treats Sunday Best sprinkle mix.

Store in the refrigerator, removing it about 30 minutes before you plan to serve it.

Notes

Lemon cake recipe from Taste of Home; Raspberry cake recipe from Liv for Cake

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 servings Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 861Total Fat: 56gSaturated Fat: 34gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 220mgSodium: 206mgCarbohydrates: 85gFiber: 1gSugar: 69gProtein: 8g

I am not a certified nutritionist. This nutrition information is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only.

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A lemon-raspberry layer cake on a serving board with one slice removed

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Kris

Thursday 3rd of August 2023

How much flour and baking powder and baking soda on lemon layer?

Coleen the Redhead Baker

Sunday 27th of August 2023

@Kris, 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Jane

Friday 17th of February 2023

Lemon layers recipe left out dry ingredients.

Lisa Stover

Friday 26th of April 2019

I love brunch because it is very much the best of both worlds! Also, bloody Mary's or mimosas are a staple, and they are delicious. I tend to lean heavy on savory items for brunch but I also have a tremendous love of french toast so that is my usual sweet item.

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