This lemon raspberry loaf cake is soft, moist, flavorful, and topped with a gorgeous naturally colored raspberry lemon glaze. Tangy, zesty, and studded with whole raspberries. It’s a one bowl recipe and can be whipped up in no time! You don’t need an electric mixer, just a hand whisk or a fork and spoon if you don’t have one.
Check out my lemon raspberry cake for a layered cake version of this classic flavor combination.
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🍋 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Easy: You only need one large bowl for the batter and no electric mixer!
- Raspberry lemon: lemony cake with pops of juicy raspberries. And a tangy raspberry glaze!
- Bright pink glaze: This bright pink glaze is naturally colored and flavored with raspberries and lemon. It's tangy and berry-licious.
- Soft & fluffy: Thanks to the combination of butter and oil, the cake is soft, fluffy, and moist.
📝 Key ingredients
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.
- Lemon: You'll need the zest and juice.
- Raspberries: Fresh or frozen raspberries will work great! Don't defrost before adding them.
- Butter and oil: Butter gives the cake flavor, while vegetable oil gives the cake a moist and fluffy texture. I used grapeseed oil, you can use your favorite neutral flavored oil.
- All purpose flour: Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.
✔️ Ingredient substitutions
The raspberries can be replaced with fresh or frozen blueberries or blackberries. Or make these blackberry buttermilk muffins.
Strawberries have a lot more moisture so the lemon raspberry loaf cake might turn out too moist. Instead, make these chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes! Or this easy strawberry galette.
You can also make a simple lemon glaze like I used for these lemon poppy seed scones.
👩🍳 How to make lemon raspberry loaf
Step by step loaf cake
Prep: Prepare 9"×5" loaf pan by lining with parchment paper, leaving longer parchment paper handles on the sides so that it is easier to pull out the loaves. Preheat oven to 185°C (365°F).
Step 1: Combine sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingers until fragrant and pale yellow.
Step 2: Add eggs into the lemon sugar and whisk until slightly frothy and fully combined, about 30 seconds by hand.
Step 3: Add salt, butter, vegetable oil, vanilla, buttermilk, and lemon juice. Whisk until combined.
Step 4: Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda into the bowl. Fold until almost fully incorporated.
Step 5: In a separate bowl coat raspberries in 1 teaspoon flour.
Step 6: Add coated raspberries into the batter and fold just until no streaks of flour remain. Do not over mix. Some lumps in the batter is normal.
Step 7: Transfer batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Tap on counter a few times to remove large air pockets.
Step 8: Bake the lemon raspberry loaf cake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. The toothpick may come out wet because of the raspberries just as long as it isn't coated in batter.
Remove from oven and let cool completely in the pan. Lift out using the parchment handles.
Expert Loaf Cake Tips:
- Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results.
- Don't overmix the batter. Mix just until you stop seeing any dry streaks of flour or the cake will be dense and dry.
- Make sure the baking powder and baking soda aren't expired. When mixed with water, baking powder should fizz and bubble.
- Don't overbake! This loaf cake is ready when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs attached. If the toothpick comes out with wet batter, it's not ready yet.
- Halfway through, tent the top of the loaf with some aluminum foil to prevent it from burning if you notice it browning too quickly.
Step by step lemon raspberry glaze
Step 1: Smash raspberries with a spoon and push through sieve to remove seeds. Alternatively use 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water.
Step 2: Sift powdered sugar into a bowl and gradually add raspberry juice. Whisk until a thick glaze forms. Add lemon juice as needed to get desired consistency. I made my glaze very thick. If you want to thin it out even more, add drops of water at a time.
Step 3: Pour glaze over the loaf and spread all the way off the edges so that it drips down. For less mess, place the loaf on a cooling rack with a tray underneath to catch any drippings.
Step 4: Slice and serve! I recommend serving it with this ultra creamy, tangy raspberry curd. Or this raspberry cheesecake ice cream!
Glaze Tip: Don't add too much liquid into the glaze. It needs to be a lot thicker than you think or else you'll be stuck with a very thin layer that runs off the cake.
🥄 Make ahead and storage
The loaf cake will store well refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You can also freeze the slices with parchment paper in between each piece in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let come to room temperature before eating. The glaze will get messy after freezing.
I wouldn't make ahead the glaze because it dries quickly. Pour it immediately after it's made.
❔ Why use butter and oil?
To get it extra moist and delicious, I used a mixture of both oil and butter. I prefer the flavor of butter in my cakes but oil makes it so much more moist! By doing a combination, you get the best of both worlds: a soft, moist texture and buttery flavor. I use this technique in my blueberry birthday cake and this chai spiced cake as well.
Additionally, buttermilk gives this lemon and raspberry loaf cake some extra tang and even more flavor. Just like in this apple cider bundt cake.
❔ How to make naturally colored pink glaze?
This glaze is naturally colored and flavored using raspberries. Fresh or frozen will both work great! Just mash the raspberries and push them through a sieve to remove the seeds to get a very concentrated raspberry juice.
Mix the raspberry juice with some freshly squeezed lemon juice and powdered sugar. Pour over the cooled loaf cake to get a show-stopping dessert. The glaze tastes like sweet and tangy raspberries!
I used the same technique in the cream cheese frosting for my lemon raspberry layer cake for a beautiful pastel pink color.
For naturally colored and flavored purple frosting, check out my blueberry cupcake recipe.
📖 Recipe FAQs
Lemon glaze will work just as well on top of this loaf cake! Replace the raspberry juice or jam with freshly squeezed lemon juice, adding as much as needed to get the consistency you prefer!
A little bit of liquid goes a long way when making the glaze. Add little by little and stir in between each addition so that you get the consistency you like. If it’s too thin, add some more icing sugar. If it’s too thick, add more lemon juice or a splash of water to thin it out a bit.
You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar in a measuring cup and adding enough room temperature milk to get a total of ¾ cup. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes. It should become lumpy and thick.
Plain kefir also works as a good replacement for buttermilk.
Frozen raspberries work great in this recipe! Do not defrost and add them exactly the same way as the recipe says.
🍞 More related recipes
Did you make this recipe? I would love for you to rate this recipe and hear what you think in the comments below! Share your creation on Instagram and tag @flouringkitchen. Follow me on Pinterest to save and for more recipe ideas.
📖 Recipe
Lemon Raspberry Loaf Cake with Raspberry Glaze
Equipment
- 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 lemon zested
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup butter melted and cooled
- ¼ cup vegetable oil I used grapeseed
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup buttermilk room temperature
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed from 1 lemon
- 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour 325 g
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 oz raspberries fresh or frozen (170g)
- 1 teaspoon all purpose flour
Raspberry Lemon Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 oz raspberries fresh or frozen (85g)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or as needed
Instructions
- Prepare 9"×5" loaf pan by lining with parchment paper, leaving longer parchment paper handles on the sides so that it is easier to pull out the loaves. Preheat oven to 365°F, (185°C).
- Combine sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingers until fragrant and pale yellow.⅔ cup granulated sugar, 1 lemon zested
- Add eggs into the lemon sugar and whisk until slightly frothy and fully combined, about 30 seconds by hand.3 large eggs
- Add salt, butter, vegetable oil, vanilla, buttermilk, and lemon juice. Whisk until combined.⅛ teaspoon sea salt, ½ cup butter, ¼ cup vegetable oil, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, ¾ cup buttermilk, 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda into the bowl. Fold until almost fully incorporated.2 ¾ cups all purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoon baking powder
- In a separate bowl coat raspberries in 1 teaspoon flour.1 teaspoon all purpose flour, 6 oz raspberries
- Add coated raspberries into the batter and fold just until no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix. Some lumps in the batter is normal.
- Pour into prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Tap on counter a few times to remove large air pockets.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. The toothpick may come out wet because of the raspberries just as long as it isn't coated in batter.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely in the pan. Lift out using the parchment handles.
Raspberry Lemon Glaze
- Smash raspberries with a spoon and push through sieve to remove seeds. Alternatively use 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water.3 oz raspberries
- Sift powdered sugar into a bowl and gradually add raspberry juice. Whisk until a thick glaze forms. Add lemon juice as needed to get desired consistency. I made my glaze very thick. If you want to thin it out even more, add drops of water at a time.2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Let the glaze set for about 10 minutes, slice and serve!
Notes
- Weigh the flour or measure properly with a measuring cup (see questions section above)
- Do not over mix the batter. Lumps are ok! Mix just until you stop seeing streaks of dry flour
- Add the raspberry and lemon juice into the glaze gradually so that you get the thickness you want
Katie
I absolutely loved this! I found the recipe super easy to follow and loved how the measurements were written in with the directions! There was a perfect amount of lemon and raspberry in this loaf! I found that coating the raspberry trick really helped! I think I added a bit too much sugar for the glaze because I found it a bit too sweet, but I think that's personal preference because others didn't think so. So, taste the glaze as you go if you don't like things too sweet! Overall, great recipe and I can't wait to try more of these recipes!
Elise
Super simple to make. I doubled the recipe and its made the calculation for me which was super helpful and a time saver. It also shows which ingredients you need it each step so you dont need to scroll up and down constantly (LOVE this feature).
Great recipe and will add this go to recipes 🙂
Mary
So happy you loved it, thank you so much!
Jenny
Oh my gosh I dunno why more sites don't do this but the extra work for Mary to put in the measurements in the steps is So helpful during baking. Thank you! AND weight by gram too!! I'm in love
This turned out incredible. I came here from TikTok and I'm so glad I made this. Divine!