Breads & Muffins • Cakes & Cupcakes
Lemon Cake with Raspberry Glaze & Fresh Cherries
July 11, 2019
A moist and incredibly delicious lemon cake topped with a pink raspberry glaze and fresh cherries. This seasonal loaf cake […]
A moist and incredibly delicious lemon cake topped with a pink raspberry glaze and fresh cherries. This seasonal loaf cake will be a festive addition to all of your summertime celebrations.
Heeyyyyy there bakers! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted a new recipe here. We’ve had a crazy busy summer so far and I’ve been a little short on time to be face to face with my computer screen.I’ve got a sneaky feeling that you all are too busy with family fun-days and well deserved vacations to even notice. Nevertheless, I’ve got big plans to make it up to you with this show-stopping Lemon Cake with Raspberry Glaze topped with summer’s prettiest produce…cherries!
Before we dive in, I must mention that the styling of this cherry topped cake was 100% inspired by the talented @emmaduckworthbakes. She bakes up the most dreamy, seasonal desserts so definitely give her a follow. I’m sure you’ll find a little something {or maybe even a lot of somethings} that your sweet tooth will love.
This cake is so easy on the eyes I could have snapped photos of it all day long. It’s not only pretty, but it’s perfect for the season and makes the most wonderful dessert for all of your summer celebrations.And since cherries are one of my favorite summertime treats I’ll jump at any chance to use these beauties in a recipe. I love that this cake shows them off in all their ruby red glory.
Aren’t they just the prettiest things ever?!! And just like summer, this dessert feels wonderfully simple and celebratory.
So let’s get right to the deets, shall we? For the cake, I adapted the recipe from my Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Cake which is one of the most popular recipes here on the blog. It was even featured by Food52 as well Taste of Home’s “10 Meyer Lemon Recipes We Love”. So basically it’s good. You can trust me on that!
This lemon loaf is easy to throw together, has the most delicious hint of bright lemon flavor and it bakes up perfectly every.single.time. Make it once and I’m guessing you’ll put this fool-proof recipe on repeat.
To make this cake we start by creaming together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Next we mix in the eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and zest. Then we’ll incorporate the dry ingredients along with the Greek yogurt. Sour cream can be substituted here in a pinch, but I personally prefer the flavor using full fat Greek yogurt.
Bake the cake until it turns a beautiful golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with few crumbs remaining. Allow the cake to cool completely before releasing the loaf from the pan and placing it onto a plate or serving platter.
Next, let’s chat glaze. In my opinion, the raspberry infused glaze isn’t really optional and it totally takes an otherwise simple cake to next-level status. That said, nothing is worse than glazing your cake just to have it all drizzle right off the sides into one giant puddle on the plate. I’m sure I’m not the only one that lets out a heavy sigh when that happens.
I’m happy to report that I’ve finally cracked the code to avoiding the dreaded drizzle drop-off by adding just enough thickness to the glaze to keep it just where we want it. On TOP of the cake!
Oh yeah….I gotchu!!
Here is your pro-tip for the day: add a couple of tablespoons of Greek yogurt {or regular, full fat yogurt} to the glaze, along with a bit of whole milk. It’s just enough to thicken up the glaze without really altering the flavor. Let the glaze sit for a bit to stiffen up, and tempting though it may be, hold off on adding the drizzle until the cake is completely cool to the touch. Patience pays bakers!
Lucky for me, I had a bunch of fresh raspberries in the fridge that we needed to use up before we left town for our summer vacation so I used them to whip up this glaze. But you can absolutely use any berry you choose….blackberries, strawberries, and cherries would all be perfect additions to the drizzle and all would bring a pretty splash of color to adorn an otherwise plain-Jane cake.
You do you!!
Once you’ve glazed the cake, let it sit a teensy bit longer until fully set before slicing. I love that this cake is perfect for a backyard dinner party and is also just as suitable for a weekend breakfast or an afternoon snack with tea. I don’t think there is actually any time of day I haven’t enjoyed a slice of this cake!
This cake gets major bonus points in my baker book too for freezing well. I’ve frozen it with and without the glaze and it keeps beautifully either way really. Just top with fresh cherries once you’ve thawed the cake before serving.
I hate to say it, but cherry season isn’t going to last forever people. I hope you’ll throw your apron on one of these lazy summer days and give this lemon cake with raspberry glaze a try. And do let me know what you think!
If you make this recipe, or any recipe from the blog, be sure to tag @brownedbutterblondie on Instagram so I can see what you’re baking up in your kitchen! Thanks for being here and for reading along…I’ll be back with a brand new recipe real soon.
Happy summer & happy baking!
If you like this lemon cake with raspberry glaze and fresh cherries, you’ll also love:
10 Delicious Loaf Cakes for Mother’s Day
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Lemon Cake with Raspberry Glaze & Fresh Cherries
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cakes
Description
A moist and incredibly delicious lemon cake topped with a pink raspberry glaze and fresh cherries. This seasonal loaf cake will be a festive addition to all of your summertime celebrations.
Ingredients
For Lemon Cake
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup plus 1 TBSP granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 TBSP lemon zest
- 2 TBSP lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups plus 2 TBSP all purposed flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, room temperature
For Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
- 1 TBSP granulated sugar
- 2–3 TBSP plain Greek yogurt
- 3–4 TBSP whole milk
- Fresh cherries for garnish
Instructions
For Lemon Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 9 x 4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray and line with a piece of parchment paper that covers the bottom and extends past the short sides of the pan. You will use these as handles to pull the loaf out of the pan once it has cooled.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
- Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
- Scrap down sides of bowl as needed.
- Add the lemon zest, juice and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and continue alternating with the Greek yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour.
- Mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with few crumbs remaining.
- Remove from oven and cool the pan on a wire rack before removing using the parchment paper handles.
- Cool the cake completely before adding the glaze.
For Glaze
- In a small saucepan, add fresh or frozen berries and 1 TBSP sugar.
- If using fresh berries, add 2 TBSP of water.
- Cook the berries down over medium heat until they begin to form a juice.
- Stir occasionally and use the back of a wooden spoon or spatula to press the berries against the sides and bottom of pan, releasing the juices.
- Once the berries have broken down, remove from heat and drain through a fine mesh sleeve into a small bowl.
- Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, combine confectioner’s sugar, Greek yogurt and whole milk. Whisk together until glaze reaches desired consistency.
- Add 1/2 of the cooled raspberry juice and whisk until fully incorporated. Add more juice 1 TBSP at a time until you reach the color desired.
- If glaze is too thick, add more whole milk 1 TBSP at a time. If too thin, add more confectioner’s sugar.
- Set aside to thicken slightly before pouring over the top of the cooled cake.
- Garnish top of cake with fresh cherries before serving.
Notes
Recipe and cake styling inspired by Emma Duckworth Bakes.
Store cake in a cool, dry place.
May be frozen.
5 TIPS FOR PHOTOGRAPHING COLD TREATS
4 Comments
Keena
December 15, 2022 at 10:04 pmI didn’t make the glaze… next time I will but this cake is perfection by itself!!
Heather Mubarak
December 17, 2022 at 5:46 pmSo happy you loved the cake! Thanks for trying my recipe!!
Sophie
May 17, 2021 at 1:18 amI just made this and it’s amazing! The lemon cake is so good and the glaze is great and combined with the cherries it all works so well together! I didn’t have greek yogurt or whole milk for the glaze so I used a tiny bit of heavy cream and it came out great. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Sarah
May 16, 2020 at 12:35 pmHow do you get the fresh cherries to not fall off the cake?