Delicious Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

This cake recipe is to DIE for. I made a Blueberry version of the same cake for my mother-in-law’s birthday earlier this month and everyone was raving about how delicious it was.

The cake was gone in no time and the kids even loved it so much that they requested it for their first day of school treat!

I adapted this recipe from a Blackberry Buttermilk Cake recipe I found on Bon Appetit. Pretty much every recipe I’ve ever tried from there is delicious and this one was too!

What makes my recipe different is the lemon curd and frosting I added to it in the end. Oh, man! The combination is a tart, sweet, dense, and delicious cake that no one will be able to resist!

Let’s get started with the basic cake recipe today. Which, by the way, does not need the lemon curd or frosting I added. Believe me when I say you’ll have to try it both ways!

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

Basic Buttermilk Cake Recipe

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
2 1/3 cups flour (Bon Appetit calls for cake flour, but I never have it so I used All-Purpose)
2 1/2 cups fresh berries (you can use any type you like. We really enjoyed blueberry and raspberry the best)
1/4 cup plus 1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 cup of well-shaken buttermilk
Powdered sugar (for dusting, if you don’t add frosting and lemon curd)

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

Directions:

• Put a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 325°. Use shortening and flour in your pans to prevent sticking, as I showed you here in my Cake Decorating Basics Post. Then line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Grease parchment paper. Dust with flour; tap out excess. Divide berries in the bottom of two 8” pans. Arrange berries in a single layer in the bottom of pans; sprinkle evenly with 1/8 cup sugar in each pan.
• Use a medium mixing bowl to combine 2  1/3 cups flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. I don’t have a sifter, so I simply combine ingredients with a wire whisk. Using an electric mixer, beat 3/4 cup butter and remaining 1 1/3 cups sugar in a large bowl at medium-high speed, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed, until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and lemon zest. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour and buttermilk alternately in 3 sections. Pour batter over berries in pan; smooth the top of your cake with a large spoon or small flat spatula.
• Bake until cake is golden brown or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes in 2 8″ pans or an hour in 1 10” pan. Let cool in pan set on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then run a thin, sharp knife around the edge of the pan to loosen. Invert cake onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper; peel off parchment. Let cake cool before dusting with powdered sugar.
• If you decide to fill the cake with lemon curd (highly recommended), you don’t need to dust with powdered sugar. At this point, I would cover the cakes and FREEZE them overnight. That right! I said FREEZE your cake! I’m telling you, they get moister if you freeze them. Trust me! I’ve been making wedding cakes for a few years and when I don’t have time to freeze the cake overnight, the cake never has the same moisture.

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

Okay, so now your cake is in the freezer, or being enjoyed, whatever floats your boat, stay tuned because tomorrow I will be sharing the lemon curd and frosting recipe I used to finish this cake! Once you’ve had it with the lemon curd, you won’t want to make it without it!

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake