This easy Lemon Raspberry Cake is topped with delicious, cookie-like streusel and filled with juicy raspberries! A buttery and moist crumb cake that is perfect for spring and summer and easy to make from scratch. Your guests will be begging you for the recipe!
This Lemon Raspberry Cake is bursting with flavor! A lemon-flavored batter that is so light and fluffy because of the creamed butter is topped with juicy raspberries and a crunchy cookie-like streusel. This raspberry coffee cake is perfect for spring!
I’m a big fan of everything lemon-flavored like this Easy Lemon Sheet Cake Recipe but what’s even better than lemon is lemon combined with sweet, juicy raspberries like in this cake or in my Raspberry Lemon Curd Cupcakes. Lemon and raspberries are a great flavor combination!
And combined with an easy streusel topping this lemon coffee cake is sure to be a crowd-pleaser that not only looks pretty but also tastes SO delicious. You’ll love the cookie-like German streusel on top! This easy coffee cake would make a great dessert for Easter but it’s also perfect for Mother’s Day Brunch or even breakfast.
Tips and Tricks on How to Make the BEST Lemon Raspberry Cake
- If you don’t have a springform pan you could also use a normal pan and these parchment paper rounds with tabs to help you lift your cake easily out.
- For the best flavor use freshly squeezed lemon juice. You need 2 lemons to get 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- It’s easier to use a stand mixer for this cake because the butter and sugar need to be creamed together for several minutes.
- This cake keeps fresh covered at room temperature for about 3 days.
- This recipe works best with fresh preferably room temperature raspberries! Frozen raspberries might work but your cake will take longer in the oven and might not bake through completely. I have tried this recipe with frozen berries and it worked but many readers had problems with using frozen berries so I recommend using fresh raspberries.
- Make your own cake flour at home: Take one level cup of all-purpose flour, remove two tablespoons, and then add two tablespoons of cornstarch back in. Sift the flour to distribute the cornstarch well before adding it.
- Streusels are by far my favorite crumb topping for coffee cake! Especially German Streusel which has a cookie-like texture and is crunchy on the outside but soft where it touches the cake. It’s like combining a cookie and cake. So tasty AND super easy to make! Make sure to follow the instructions because German Streusel has a different texture than American Streusel, you don’t want it to be sandy!
Looking for more Lemon and Raspberry Recipes? Check out these:
- Moist Lemon Cake Recipe
- Copycat Starbucks Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake
- Lemon Mousse Recipe
- Raspberry Muffins with Streusel Topping
Tools/ingredients that I used to make the BEST Lemon cake with raspberry filling
Stand Mixer:
Creaming butter and sugar is so easy with a stand mixer. This model is my favorite!
Hand-held mixer:
A hand-held mixer is perfect for a small kitchen but you get a little bit of a workout when creaming butter and sugar for several minutes.
Springform Pan:
A 9-inch springform pan works best for this recipe!
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Easy Lemon Raspberry Cake with Crumb Topping
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1/4 cup lemon juice, from 2 large lemons
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
For the Streusel:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F (180°C). Grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
- In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to the batter and whisk until just combined.
- Add lemon juice and freshly grated lemon zest.
- Pour batter into prepared springform pan and spread evenly. Top with raspberries and spread evenly. The raspberries should be distributed in a single layer so that they are not too crowded.
- To make the streusel, combine flour, sugar, lemon zest, and butter in a bowl. Mix for 2-3 minutes until all the flour is incorporated and the mixture is no longer like sand and more like crumbly dough. Distribute the streusel evenly over the raspberries.
- Bake for about 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake rest for about 15 minutes then remove springform ring and let cool completely.
Nutrition Information
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Jenna says
Made this cake with a little bit of canned raspberry filling and a couple frozen raspberries because I didn’t have fresh strawberries. :) i baked it for 70min until toothpick came out clean. But after cooling a little when I cut into it, it looks very moist. Is that normal for this cake to look that moist?
Thank you!
Kate says
This recipe is amazing, luvv the lemon and raspberry combination! My first cake baking experience and it came out well, my family and relatives loved it and requested for more. I am planning to bake the cake in smaller pans (4 or 5 inches) so that it will be easier to share with my relatives. Am wondering if i should adjust the baking time or temperature?
Thanks in advance :)
Julia Foerster says
Adjust the baking time, smaller pans need less time in the oven.
Sarah says
I made this cake last night so that it would be ready for our breakfast. I followed the directions and made only one substitute. I only had frozen raspberries! I thawed them in the microwave and then drained them. The cake turned out perfectly! The whole family loved it!
Victoria Won says
This is my go-to recipe for welcoming new neighbors! I follow the recipe as written, except I add 1-tablespoon of sugar to the raspberries. It’s absolutely delicious!
Carols says
Was exploring Pinterest and came across this recipe and had to make it for one of my desserts for Easter! Super easy and delicious! My guests absolutely LOVED it and took some home. Such a super simple recipe to make. I actually added more raspberries to the recipe because I loveee raspberries. I added a whole bag of frozen raspberries into the batter once I placed it in the oven. I covered the whole top with the frozen raspberries. Once it was all baked and done, I added this frosting on the top: https://theunlikelybaker.com/vanilla-cake-raspberry-frosting/
I added raspberry jam AND half a cup of frozen raspberries into the frosting and frosted the cake once the cake has cooled off!
Would totally make this again and it’s delicious!! Definitely a 5-star recipe :)
Carols
Dee says
Hi. This sounds great but since it is winter…have you ever substituted the raspberries for cranberries? And maybe orange instead of lemon? Would the cranberries be juicy enough?
Julia says
I haven’t tried this so I can’t really tell you if it will work. But you could try my Cranberry Orange Bread instead.
Robin Brookes says
Sept 4, 2018. Followed the recipe, well except I had no sour cream so I used Greek yogurt, full fat. The cake came out fantastic! I did add a lemon icing, like you I loooove lemon….. The streusel was perfect, covered the cake completely. The raspberries sat right on top so when I cut the cake it looked beautiful. Will make this cake again. I am so glad I found your site. Thanks so much
Bella says
Has anyone tried freezing this cake
[email protected] says
I make this all the time! I love it, my family loves it & it’s easy to make.
Cindy H. says
I made this with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Super tasty and very delicious! I finished it off with a cream cheese icing. 😋 Yummmm!
Cindy H. says
Also in a cast iron… nice crispy crust.
Lina says
How much baking soda?
Julia says
You need 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.
Steph says
Today, I made the cake again. I used the same pan, etc. The only two things that were different was that i used a layer of fresh raspberries instead of the frozen ones. In addition, one important factor (I think), is that the temperature stated on your recipe is 380 degrees. I think this is a misprint. I was checking your blog and saw a similar cake you have using blueberries, and the temperature listed on the recipe was 350 degrees. Therefore, today, I preheated my oven at 350 degrees and the cake came out perfectly!! Thanks.
Steph says
I saw this recipe and thought it looked great and decided to make it today for Easter. I was so disappointed in how this turned out and after cutting into it, we ended up throwing it out. I had some doubts about the :”frozen raspberries” as i feel, there is added condensation and also brings the temperature down of the actual cake while baking because of the coldness of the raspberries, however, I followed this recipe exactly as stated and the cake was just so wet (and it just never cooked up). It was in the oven over one and half hours and yet, it was still wet inside when we cut into it. I felt this would have been a great cake, and it smelled great in the oven, but i knew something was wrong, when a toothpick would not come up clean (and that wasn’t from wet berries), but actual wet cake batter. Has someone had this issue? I am an experienced baker and I have an oven thermometer, etc. My baking powder and baking soda are fresh, as I bake several times per week, and therefore, always have fresh baking powder when baking. I am tempted to try this again with fresh berries, however, after having to throw away a cake that used expensive ingredients, (organic eggs and butter) and Bob Red Mill Cake Flour, etc., I feel doubtful. If anyone has any insight as to the frozen berries, etc, I would appreciate some feedback, as I really thought this would be a great cake! Thank you.
Julia says
I’m sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you, Steph! I totally understand your frustration but I’ve made this cake many times and never had this problem. The only time my cake was a little bit wet in the middle was when I added too many raspberries, that time I baked it 15 minutes longer because my skewer didn’t come out clean after the normal baking time and it was cooked through after the added time. Did you use a 9-inch baking pan? If you use a smaller pan the raspberries would no longer be in a single layer and the cake might take a lot longer to bake through. Another thing that could influence the baking time is the streusel on top. German streusel is clumpy and leaves room for the condensation of the raspberries to evaporate because it doesn’t cover the raspberries completely but if you don’t mix the streusel dough long enough you end up with sandy American streusel which would cover all the raspberries. It’s so strange that your cake wasn’t cooked through after 1.5 hours but you said you have an oven thermometer so I don’t think your oven temperature was the problem because that’s often the culprit. Mmh I’m really not sure what happened but I’m sorry you had to throw away the cake.
Elena says
I had the same problem! I coated my raspberries in flour.. gooey cake..
When I used fresh it came out perfect.
Barb says
I had the same problem. It wasn’t the berries. I used all purpose flour hoping it wouldn’t be an issue. Which is all I can attribute the dense cake to.. The outside is perfect and the top is perfect. The middle is quite dense. So disappointed.
Julia Foerster says
Sorry this happened, Barb. The cake should definitely not be super dense. Did you cream the butter and sugar until the mixture was fluffy and pale? Did you whisk too long after adding all the ingredients? Is you baking powder and baking soda fresh?
F says
Any chance this could be adapted for a large sheet cake?
Thanks
Annette Herbst says
I wonder if you could switch the raspberries with huckleberries?
Julia says
I haven’t tried it but I think huckleberries would work too. – Julia
Annette Herbst says
Thanks for the reply
Lindsay | With Salt and Pepper says
This looks off the hook packed with flavor Julia!! Two of my favorites combined ?
Kerry says
Where does the baking soda come in?
Julia says
Oh I’m sorry, I forgot to add that to the instructions! When you combine the flour, baking powder, and salt you also add the baking soda. Thank you for catching my mistake, Kerry!
Kristen Chidsey says
Julia, I totally agree with you–struesels are the BEST on cakes or muffins, or breads…..LOL!!
Izzy says
This looks amazing!
Izzy | Pinch of delight
[email protected] says
This looks so delicious. I am going to have to try this! Beautiful pictures!
Julia says
Thank you, Heather! It’s so easy to make and perfect for spring and summer. – Julia