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Celebrate the sunshine with this summer raspberry cake! This light and fluffy cake can be made with fresh or frozen raspberries, uses simple ingredients, and takes just 15 minutes to prepare! It’s bursting with fresh raspberry flavor, has a soft crumb, and is absolutely heavenly
I love using berries in my summer baking! This cake is a perfect way to use up those fresh berries, but I love that it can also be made using frozen raspberries, so you can make it year round.
The base of this heavenly summer raspberry cake is based off of my raspberry cupcake recipe.
Some of the raspberries are folded into the cake batter, while the rest cover the top of the cake. Add a dusting of powdered sugar, and voila - the perfect summer dessert!
Why You'll Love This Summer Raspberry Cake
- It only takes 15 minutes to prepare the cake and 30 minutes to bake, meaning you can make this cake in under an hour from start to finish!
- The cake is made with the traditional creaming method, with sugar and butter being beaten together before adding the rest of the ingredients, giving it a light, fluffy, and super soft crumb.
- Despite the name, you can use fresh or frozen raspberries, so you can make it all year long, not just in the summer!
- You can easily make this cake dairy free by using dairy free butter and vegan milk, or you can make the cake using regular ingredients - it has been tested both ways!
- This summer raspberry cake can easily be frozen if you have leftovers too!
- I like to dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar before serving, but you can also serve it with vanilla ice cream (vegan or regular), or even whipping cream. You can use store-bought whipped cream or homemade (like this coconut whipped cream)
Ingredients Needed
- Butter: you can use regular butter or dairy free butter in this cake. You could also use a neutral oil (like canola or grapeseed), in place of the butter if necessary, but I like the flavor that butter adds.
- Milk: feel free to use regular milk or dairy free milk - I like using unsweetened almond or soy milk.
- Flour: I developed this recipe with all purpose flour and I haven’t tested it with gluten free flour, but if you want to try it I believe it would work fine with gluten free 1-1 all purpose flour.
- Raspberries: you can use frozen or fresh raspberries. If you’re using frozen raspberries then use them straight away and don’t let them thaw beforehand. If using fresh raspberries, after washing them make sure you dry them well (you can pat them dry with a paper towel). This prevents any excess moisture.
- Vanilla Extract: because the main flavors of this cake are raspberry and vanilla, I recommend using a high quality vanilla extract!
- Powdered Sugar: use some powdered sugar (also known as confectioners’ sugar) to dust over the cooled cake!
- Egg: I haven’t tested this recipe without egg, so I can’t say how it will turn out. I think adding ¼ cup of milk or even unsweetened applesauce could work well.
Step By Step Instructions
Note: Full ingredient measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°Fahrenheit/175°Celsius. Spray a 9 inch springform pan or a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray and line the bottom with a parchment paper circle cut in the shape of the pan.
It’s really important to line the pan correctly or you won’t be able to easily remove the cake!
Step 2: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Step 3: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
Step 4: Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk slowly, making sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl every so often so all of the batter gets mixed.
Step 5: Roughly chop ½ cup of raspberries and gently fold them into the cake batter.
Step 6: Pour the cake batter into the springform pan, then layer the remaining 1½ cup of whole raspberries evenly on top. Try to avoid any raspberries touching the edges of the pan (they will likely overcook and overbrown if you don’t).
Step 7: Bake for 25-30 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 20-30 minutes.
Step 8: Sprinkle powdered sugar over top just before serving. Serve a slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
FAQs and Expert Tips
Can I make this cake gluten-free?
I haven’t tested this cake with gluten free flour. If you want to give it a try I recommend using all purpose gluten free 1 -1 flour.
You can use a 9 inch springform pan, or even an 8 inch springform pan. For an 8 inch pan, the cake will take longer to bake, probably closer to around 40-50 minutes.
If you’d like to serve this cake right out of the dish it has been baked in, you can actually bake it in a 9 inch pie plate as well.
The key is to make sure you prep your pan properly! Spray your baking pan with cooking spray, then line the bottom with parchment paper. If you don’t do this it’ll be very difficult to get out!
I suggest sprinkling over powdered sugar on top of the raspberries and serving with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired!
Can I add other berries to this cake?
Yes! If you’d like to add blueberries or strawberries to the cake, you can definitely do that! Just be sure that in total, you still only add 2 cups of berries to the cake (rather than adding more berries in addition to the 2 cups of raspberries). Any more than two cups of berries will make the cake a bit wet.
Expert Tips
- Properly measure your flour - If you over-measure your flour, the cake could turn out dry and crumbly. It is very easy to over-measure your flour, so I strongly recommend weighing it with a $10 kitchen scale or using the scoop and level method.
- Do not skip the parchment paper lining! I promise it makes it so much easier to get the cake out of the pan, and if you skip it, the cake could easily fall apart when removing it from the pan.
- Fresh or frozen raspberries - if you’re using frozen raspberries, don’t let them thaw before adding to the batter. That’ll cause extra moisture in the batter which we don’t want! If you’re using fresh raspberries, after you’ve washed them make sure to pat them completely dry because again it’ll add too much moisture to the batter.
- Don’t overmix the batter - when folding in the raspberries, be careful not to overmix the batter. We don’t want a tough cake and we also don’t want to break up the raspberries too much. Once they’re combined, stop folding.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
The cake can stay at room temperature (provided you don’t live in a very hot climate!) for around 8-12 hours, but should be refrigerated afterwards. Since there are berries in the cake, it won’t last as long at room temperature.
Instead, I suggest keeping the cake tightly wrapped and covered in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
You can also freeze the cake for up to 2 months, just wrap each slice in plastic wrap or place in a ziploc bag. Let the cake defrost overnight in the fridge when ready to serve.
More Cake Recipes You'll Love
If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Summer Raspberry Cake
Video
Equipment
- 1 9 inch springform pan
- 1 standing mixer or handheld mixer
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup butter, softened (regular or dairy free)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup milk (regular or dairy free)
- 2 cup raspberries, divided (fresh or frozen)
- powdered sugar (icing sugar or confectioner's sugar) for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°Fahrenheit/175°Celsius. Spray a 9-inch springform pan or a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray and line the bottom with a parchment paper circle cut in the shape of the pan.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer or handheld mixer, beat butter and sugar until combined. Add in the eggs and vanilla.
- Slowly alternate adding in milk and dry ingredients, scraping the sides of the bowl between additions if needed.
- Roughly chop ½ cup of the raspberries and gently fold them into the batter until just combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the springform pan, then layer the remaining 1½ cup of whole raspberries evenly on top. Try to avoid any raspberries touching the edges of the pan (they will likely overcook and overbrown if you don’t).
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 20-30 minutes.
- Sprinkle powdered sugar over top of the completely cooled cake right before serving. Slice and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired!
Notes
Nutrition
The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
Stephanie
Hi! I would like to make two of these and turn it into a layer cake with buttercream. Do you think this would work? Thanks!
Gabby
That should work fine yes!
Marsha
My cake didn't rise, and is about 3/4" high. Is that correct?
Gabby
I recommend checking your baking powder, as it could likely be expired!
Marsha
Thanks, you're probably right about that! Still tasted really good!
Azadeh
I made this with some small changes. First, I replaced all the flour with my own blend of gluten free flours (+ Xanthan Gum), and I used Coconut Sugar in place of white sugar. Then I added a tiny bit of lemon extract and lemon juice because I think they work beautifully with raspberries. After the cake cooled I poured a glaze of lemon juice, lemon extract, and powdered sugar overtop. AND IT WAS PERFECTION. Thank you for such an easy and adaptable recipe.
Gabby
I am so happy that the recipe worked out with the substitutions and that you loved it! Thanks for the review!
Meagan
Oh. My. Goodness! Made this cake exact except replaced raspberries for blueberries and it was soooo good! Moist and perfect amount of sweetness! Will definitely keep this one handy anytime I want to make a cake!
Gabby
Blueberries in the cake sound delicious! I'm so happy you loved it! Thanks for the review!
Sue
Hello there! Can I sub 2 cup fresh raspberries for 2 cup fresh strawberries? Thanks in advance!
Gabby
Hi Sue!Chopped strawberries will work fine in this - but just note that they do have a bit less flavor than raspberries!
vanessa
I used this recipe to use up the last of my raspberries from berry picking and it was sooo good. My gramma loved it and asked me if I can make it for her birthday next month which I happily will! I'll try it with frozen berries next time since its hard to get fresh ones at the store where I live. Soft and delicious and the perfect level of sweetness for me. thank you!
Gabby
Hi Vanessa! Thanks so much for the review! So happy you loved the cake and that your grandmother did too 🙂
Holly Brown
The recipe is different from the step by step instructions part. The recipe says to put the remainder of the fruit in the bottom of the cake pan. The step by step instructions in the article says to put batter in pan and top with remainder of fruit. I did not notice the difference, I went straight to the recipe instead of reading the whole article first, my mistake. This cake tasted pretty good the way I made it. I will try it again with the fruit on the top of the batter. I did use fresh peaches which were delicious. Next time I will try a little brown sugar with the peaches. I am looking forward to trying this recipe with raspberries too.