Lemon Raspberry Ripple Snack Cake

Share this...

Pinterest

Facebook

Twitter

Yummly

Email

Print

Lemon raspberry ripple snack cake may be a mouthful to say, but it’s delicious and simple to make! It’s a single layer cake with no buttercream and minimal decoration that you don’t need an excuse to make. 

This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission as an Amazon Associate (or other affiliate program) from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products that I use and trust.

Jump to Recipe

Lemon Raspberry Ripple Snack Cake

The whole idea behind this recipe was to make a simple one layer cake that didn’t have any buttercream. With these constraints, it was still so important to pack as much flavor as possible into each bite.

After brainstorming with my brother, we came up with a lemon raspberry ripple cake topped with a powdered sugar raspberry glaze. For texture, flavor, and aesthetics, I decided on a lemon cookie crumble and fresh raspberries to decorate.

Brian’s Recipe Suggestions

I first made this snack cake months ago for my brother’s birthday. As much as I loved his idea, it wasn’t one I would have ever come up with on my own. Since there weren’t a lot of us, we didn’t need a big cake and Brian wanted to avoid a heavy butter based frosting.

By now, I’ve learned to trust Brian’s ideas. He’s the one who suggested the chocolate mayonnaise cake, strawberry lemon rolls, and cream cheese chocolate chip cookies. There are probably more recipes on my site that he’s inspired, but those are the first ones that come to mind.

Print Recipe

Lemon Cookie Crumble

To contrast with the raspberry glaze and reiterate the lemon flavor, I whipped up this crazy simple lemon cookie crumble. Feel free to scale the recipe back, but having extra on hand isn’t so bad. It’s a crunchy, sweet topping you can use with the extra raspberry goo.

I like to use a hand mixer to bring the ingredients together. It starts to form really nice nuggety lumps once everything is moistened. Stop before it becomes smooth. Spread it out on a large sheet and bake until it starts to think about becoming light golden brown.

Lemon Snack Cake

Lemon zest and a bit of lemon extract is all you need to get a beautifully smooth lemon flavor in this snack cake. I’ve found that these additions will make the batter look a bit curdled compared to my normal cakes. So far, it’s still come out perfect each time!

To get the raspberry ripple, I added a few plops of cake batter to my pan, then pipe on a zigzag of raspberry goo. I repeated this process, making sure to finish with batter, until all of the batter was in the pan. Then I spread the whole thing out into an even layer inside the pan.

Related Reading: FREE Cake Baking Course

Top Tips for Cakes

• Make sure all of your ingredients are at the correct temperature.  This will help everything blend nicely and give your cake a nice texture.
• Scrape down your bowl often.  Butter and sugar can hide out at the bottom of your bowl.  Make sure everything gets blended!
• Wilton baking strips will give you a flat top and prevent the edges from caramelizing. 

Jump to Recipe

Raspberry Glaze

Since my brother asked for no buttercream, I put on my thinking cap and decided the raspberry glaze from my lemon raspberry donuts would probably do the trick. And reader, it certainly did!

Pulse up some freeze dried raspberry and sift out the seeds. This pink powder is the secret to the vibrant taste and color! Add your liquids in two or three additions. You want the glaze to flow well, but not be too runny. Add more powdered sugar or water to adjust the consistency.

Bake & Decorate With Me

Even simple snack cakes deserve a recipe video! You can watch me bake and decorate this lemon raspberry ripple cake on the Bakes & Blunders YouTube channel. Once cooled, I trimmed my cake and placed it upside down on my stand.

Pour the glaze on top, a little at a time, and carefully spread it out. I was going for a slight drip, so I pushed the glaze right to the edge, but not over. Sprinkle on a wreath of lemon cookie crumbles and dot with fresh berries. Get fancy and fill your raspberries with extra goo!

Enjoy!

Bright lemon and zingy raspberries are a perfect flavor pairing. Enjoy these two rockstars in the form of a simple lemon raspberry ripple snack cake. The raspberry goo creates a delicious burst of jammy goodness throughout the cake!

If you make this easy one layer cake, be sure to leave a comment and tell me what you think. Happy Baking xoxo

Print

Lemon Raspberry Ripple Snack Cake

Soft lemon cake rippled with raspberry sauce, topped with a raspberry glaze, lemon cookie crumbles, and fresh raspberries.

Pin this Recipe!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Berries, Birthday, Cake, Frozen Fruit, Lemon, Raspberry

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 9 servings

Calories 357kcal

Author Colleen

Ingredients

Raspberry Sauce

• 12 oz frozen raspberries
• 3 oz sugar

Lemon Cookie Crumble

• 1 1/2 oz almond flour
• 1 1/2 oz sugar
• 1 1/2 oz all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 oz unsalted butter melted
• Zest of 1 lemon

Lemon Cake

• 4 fl oz whole milk
• 1 oz sour cream
• 2 eggs room temperature
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 6 oz sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 5 oz cake flour
• 1 Tbsp cake enhancer optional
• 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 oz unsalted butter diced and soft, but still cool

Raspberry Glaze + Toppings

• 6 oz powdered sugar sifted
• 1/2 oz raspberry powder* sifted
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2- 3 Tbsps water
• Fresh raspberries

Instructions

Raspberry Sauce

• Add the raspberries and sugar to a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil.
• Reduce heat slightly and simmer, stirring regularly, for 10- 15 minutes.
• Add the raspberry mixture to a sieve over a bowl and use a spoon to press the sauce through. Discard the seeds. Let the raspberry sauce cool to room temperature, then cover and chill until needed.

Lemon Cookie Crumble

• Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
• Combine the almond flour, sugar, and all purpose flour in a bowl and whisk. Add the melted butter and lemon zest. With a hand mixer, beat on a low speed until combined and it forms small lumps.
• Spread the crumb mixture over the prepared baking sheet. Do not crowd the mixture together. Bake until the smaller crumbles are only just starting to turn a light golden brown, about 7- 9 minutes.
• Let the lemon cookie crumble cool completely before storing on the counter in an air tight container.

Lemon Cake

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Prepare one 8 inch cake pan with parchment and baking spray, then set aside.
• Combine the sour cream and whole milk in a glass measuring cup. Microwave the mixture for 20- 30 seconds to bring it to room temperature. Stir again, then pour half of the mixture into a second measuring glass.
• Add the eggs to one of the milk portions. Stir to combine, then set aside. Add the lemon extract and vanilla to the other milk portion. Stir to combine, then set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine sugar and lemon zest. Mix on a low speed until the zest has been rubbed into the sugar. Sift in the flour, cake enhancer (if using), baking powder, and salt. Mix on low to combine.
• Add the cubed butter to the dry ingredients. Mix on medium- low until the butter is completely incorporated. The mixture will look like damp sand and there should be NO lumps of butter remaining.
• Add the milk, lemon, and vanilla portion of the wet ingredients. Beat on low for 30 seconds, then on medium for 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl down.
• With the mixer on a medium- low speed, add the egg mixture in 2- 3 additions. Drizzle in a portion of the egg mixture with the mixer on low. Then beat on a medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl down and repeat until all of the egg mixture has been added. After the final portion has been added, beat on medium- high speed for 30 seconds.
• Spoon a few dollops of the lemon cake batter into the prepared pan and drizzle a layer of raspberry sauce over top. Alternate cake batter and raspberry drizzle, ending with cake batter. Smooth the batter into an even layer.
• Bake for 50 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly poked. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before assembling.

Raspberry Glaze

• Whisk together the powdered sugar, raspberry powder, lemon juice, and water. If too thick, add water a tiny bit at a time. If too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar. The glaze should flow easily, but not be too runny.

Assembly

• Trim and level the cooled cake. Place the cake layer upside down on your cake plate. Use a spoon or piping bag to add the raspberry glaze on top. Carefully spread and smooth the glaze so that it just barely drips over the edge.
• Sprinkle a ring of lemon cookie crumble around the top of the cake. Decorate with fresh raspberries. You can fill the raspberries with your extra raspberry sauce, if you'd like.

Notes

• You should be able to get 8- 10 decent slices out of this cake.
• *To make raspberry powder, pulse freeze dried raspberries in a food processor.  Sift out the seeds and large chunks.