Hello to all my lemon lovers! Ya girl is back with another EPIC cake recipe just in time for Valentine’s Day, because every holiday deserves cake. Last year you all went crazy for this incredible inside out chocolate covered strawberry cake, so I bought back the beautiful berry theme to share with you and your sweetie pies.
This beautiful lemon raspberry cake has fresh raspberries, lemon juice and zest, plus a touch of almond flavor that makes it taste like your favorite nostalgic lemon poppy seed muffin. To make it extra special and even more beautiful for any occasion, I added a gorgeous lemon raspberry buttercream frosting.
I kept the cake gluten free to share with all of your GF friends and loved ones, and it’s easily made dairy free as well. The cake layers are perfectly moist thanks to siggi’s yogurt and I LOVE the extra berry flavor that the raspberry plant-based cup adds! Bake this beauty up, share with your love and have a fabulous Valentine’s Day.
Fall in LOVE with this lemon raspberry cake
Besides being the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert, there’s even more to love about this perfectly moist, delicious lemon poppy seed cake. Its:
- Gluten free: thanks to almond flour and oat flour (which you can make at home!)
- Naturally sweetened: with some honey.
- Deliciously moist: from baking siggi’s yogurt right inside! Siggi’s yogurt also has more protein than sugar per cup so you can really feel good about incorporating it into recipes (and enjoying it as-is). The cake gets its texture and perfect fat for the crumb thanks to almond flour and siggi’s – whoo hoo!
- Easily dairy free: by using siggi’s plant-based cups and your fav vegan buttery stick (in the frosting). I’m currently dairy free while I’m breastfeeding Viggo, so I tested it this way and it was fabulous!
Ingredients in this gluten free lemon raspberry cake
As I mentioned, this beautiful raspberry lemon cake is not only gluten free, but it’s also easily dairy free, naturally sweetened, and bursting with flavor. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Eggs: you’ll need 4 eggs in this cake recipe to give it the right texture.
- Sweetener: we’re naturally sweetening this raspberry almond cake with honey.
- Yogurt: I absolutely love baking with siggi’s yogurt because it’s made with super simple ingredients and adds the perfect amount of moisture and flavor without adding a ton of sugar. As I mentioned, I used the raspberry or mixed berry plant-based siggi’s yogurt because I’m currently dairy free, but you can also use their regular raspberry or mixed berry cups.
- Lemon: that lovely lemon flavor comes from both fresh lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Flour: we’re using a mix of fine blanched almond flour and oat flour as the base of this recipe to keep it gluten free. The almond flour adds a beautiful almond flavor to the cake along with an amazing texture!
- Baking staples: you’ll also need baking soda, salt, and almond extract to really bring out that almond flavor.
- For the lemon raspberry frosting: you’ll need butter (or a vegan buttery stick like Miyokos), powdered sugar, more lemon juice & zest, fresh raspberries, and a little milk of choice.
- For the filling & garnish: don’t forget fresh raspberries for between the layers and on top of the cake!
More raspberry options
This raspberry lemon cake is seriously perfect as-is, but there are a couple of different ways you can use fresh raspberries or raspberry jam that will still be delicious!
- Feel free to bake fresh raspberries directly into the cake layers. Simply toss 1 heaping cup of fresh raspberries in a tablespoon or two of oat flour before adding them to the batter so that the raspberry juice doesn’t spread.
- Instead of using fresh raspberries you can use ¼ cup raspberry jam between each layer on top of the frosting (so ½ cup total). Just don’t spread the top of the cake with the jam!
Can I make it vegan?
I haven’t tried making this healthy lemon poppy seed cake vegan, but if you want to try you can use 4 flax eggs (¼ cup flaxseed meal + ¾ cup water) and allow it to sit for 10 minutes until a gel-like consistency forms. Learn how to make a flax egg with this tutorial, and let me know in the comments how it works out!
Feel free to sub maple syrup for the honey in the cake to make it truly vegan, too!
A note on flour substitutions
Please note that I cannot recommend a substitute for the almond or oat flour as the ratios are what give this cake the perfect texture. See below for how to make your own oat flour for ease!
Make your own oat flour at home
You can easily make homemade oat flour to use in this lemon raspberry cake recipe. Check out my tutorial on how to make homemade oat flour right at home. So easy!
Tips for decorating this raspberry lemon cake
If you’ve never decorated a three-layer cake before, don’t worry! It’s easy and will turn out beautifully with a few tips:
- For the layers: cut the raspberries in half lengthwise to add them between the cake layers and carefully smoosh them into the layers. This will ensure that there isn’t too much space between the layers.
- For the frosting: make sure you only frost your cake once the layers are completely cooled, otherwise the frosting will melt. Do a crumb coat first by frosting the layers as you normally would and then coat the outside of the cake with a very thin layer of frosting then place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before you finish frosting. This is so that the crumbs stick to this layer of frosting and not your main layer.
- For the top: garnish the entire top of the cake with raspberries by placing whole raspberries upside down onto the cake. See the photos for reference! I recommend doing this just before serving the cake so that the berries stay fresh and juicy!
How to make the lemon raspberry buttercream frosting
Not only is this easy lemon raspberry buttercream frosting gorgeous, but it’s also SO delicious and bursting with flavor. Here’s how to make it:
- Blend the raspberries. You’ll want to start by blending ½ cup of raspberries until smooth. Pour that mixture into a bowl through a sieve to strain the seeds out, and use the back of a spoon to get all of the juice out.
- Whip the butter. Add softened butter (or vegan butter) to a bowl of an electric mixer and whip it on high until it’s light and fluffy.
- Mix the frosting. Add powdered sugar, lemon juice & zest, and the raspberry puree to the electric mixer and beat on high again for a couple more minutes until well combined. You may need to add a tablespoon or so of milk to thin the frosting and make it creamier, but this just depends on how you like it.
P.S. you can make the frosting up to a week ahead of time! Simply store it in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. Let the frosting come to room temp before spreading it on your cake.
If you want to make a regular lemon buttercream: simply leave out the raspberry puree, add an extra tablespoon of lemon juice (so 2 tablespoons total) and 1-2 tablespoons of milk.
How to store & freeze this lemon poppy seed cake
To save time you can absolutely make this lemon raspberry cake 1-2 days ahead of time! Feel free to make the cake layers ahead and store them in the fridge, or make the whole frosted cake and store it.
- To store: I recommend storing the cake well covered in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days.
- To freeze: feel free to freeze this lemon raspberry cake either frosted or unfrosted for up to 2 months. I recommend freezing it unfrosted in individual layers for the best results. First, wrap each individual layer in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and then place the cakes in a zip-top freezer bag. When you’re ready to serve it, simply thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and then let the cake come to room temperature before frosting and serving.
Our fav cake baking tools
- 6 inch cake pans
- Parchment paper
- Lemon zester
- Lemon juicer
- Offset spatula for the frosting
- Mixing bowls
- Hand mixer
- A nice cake stand
Get all of our go-to kitchen essentials here!
More amazing cake recipes
- Blow Ya Mind Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake with Lemon Frosting
- Inside Out Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake
- Damn Good Peanut Butter Banana Cake
- Healthy Birthday Cake
Get all of my cake recipes here!
I hope you love this wonderful lemon raspberry cake recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Almond Lemon Raspberry Poppy Seed Cake
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients:
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup honey
- 1 (5.3 ounce) container of raspberry or mixed berry plant-based siggi’s yogurt*
- Zest from 2 large lemons
- 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- Dry ingredients:
- 2 3/4 cups packed blanched fine almond flour
- 1 cup oat flour** (do not pack!)
- 2 tablespoons poppyseeds
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- For the lemon raspberry frosting:
- 1 ½ cups (12 ounces) butter or vegan buttery stick (such as Miyokos), at room temperature
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- ½ cup raspberries (to make 1-2 tablespoons raspberry puree)
- Optional: 1 tablespoon milk, if necessary
- For the filling:
- 6 ounces fresh raspberries, cut in half lengthwise
- For the garnish:
- 6 ounces fresh raspberries (do not cut!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line the bottom of three 6-inch round cake pans or two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper rounds. Spray parchment paper and sides of the pans with nonstick cooking spray. YOU SHOULD USE PARCHMENT PAPER or the cake is likely to stick. Please do not forget.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice and almond extract. The mixture should be smooth and well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the almond flour, oat flour, poppyseeds, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well with a rubber spatula until smooth.
- Divide batter evenly between pans and spread out with a spatula to smooth the tops. Bake for 18-28 minutes in the two 8-inch pans or 25-35 minutes for three 6-inch pans. Cakes are done when a tester comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting or removing from the pans. The cake should be room temperature when you frost it. This is very important. Cakes can be made a day ahead if you’d like.
- Make your frosting: Add ½ cup raspberries to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour mixture through a sieve over a small bowl and use the back of a spoon to get all of the juice out so you only have the seeds remaining. Set the raspberry juice puree aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the softened butter or vegan butter and whip on high until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add 4 cups powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of the raspberry puree; beat on high for 1-2 minutes more until well combined. Taste and add more powdered sugar to your liking, if necessary. You may need to scrape the frosting down the sides of the bowl and then beat again. Optional: You may need to add in a little bit of milk (about 1 tablespoon) to thin the frosting out so it’s a little more creamy, but it depends on how you like it! I love a thick frosting.
- Now it’s time to frost the cake: place about 1 tablespoons down onto the cake stand and spread out. Invert a cake onto the cake stand, add about 1/2 heaping cup frosting between each layer. Cut the raspberries reserved for the filling in half lengthwise, and place them over the filling between each layer, covering the entire surface. You want to sort of smoosh them into the frosting as best you can. It’s okay if they break a bit, but it is important that they are well nestled into the frosting so that there aren’t large gaps between the cake layers. Repeat with each cake, then frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining lemon frosting. If the cake is slightly ‘naked’ on the outside, that’s okay, it’s going to be delicious!
- Garnish with fresh raspberries just before serving the cake to make sure they stay as fresh as possible!
- Cake will stay good at room temp for a day or so, then should be placed in the fridge. Cake will stay good for 5-7 days in the fridge, and should be well-covered to ensure freshness.
Recipe Notes
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by The Mindful Hapa
This post is sponsored by siggi’s. All text and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make AK possible!
79 comments
This looks amazing!! Can you use 9in pans instead? Thanks for all the great recipes!
I’d suggest an 8-inch pan because the cakes will be pretty thin in 9-inch pans. But if it’s all you have, just be sure to bake them for a bit less time. Let me know how it goes 🙂
It worked great! The cake was delicious and the layers were not too thin at all. I did end up reducing the baking time a bit still though. Thanks!!
I’m so happy to hear that, YAY!
Can you recommend cook time or any other instruction modifications for cupcakes instead?
I haven’t tested it so I’m not sure, sorry! But I think this recipe would work great as cupcakes 🙂 Let me know if you end up trying it.
I am not able to eat almonds. Do you have a a suggested alternative for the almond flour please?
I haven’t tested anything else in here, sorry to say! Let me know if you experiment with anything 🙂
This looks gorgeous and so yummy! I love almond/oat flour based recipes. Any changes I’d need to make if I used strawberries instead of raspberries?
Can’t wait for you to try it! Nope, just make sure to slice the strawberries thinly and press them down a bit into the buttercream, just like you’d do with the raspberries 🙂
Could you make these into cupcakes? If so…how long would you bake for?
It definitely can! I haven’t tested it though so not sure about the bake time, sorry!
Looks incredible! If we can’t find siggis, would you recommend regular raspberry yogurt over greek yogurt?
I’d recommend greek still to ensure it’s the same consistency/moisture 🙂 Hope you enjoy this one!
I made this cake exactly as written (except used Greek yogurt as we don’t have Siggi’s where I live) and it’s SO delicious! I used two 8-inch pans. At first, I wasn’t sure about the combination of all the different flavours, but it turns out that it all works together perfectly; the fresh raspberry and lemon offsets the sweetness of the frosting. The cake is a lovely texture too, reminds me of pound cake. Excellent!
So happy it turned out amazing! Thank you! ❤️
Hi. I’m trying to avoid refined sugar. Could I use honey or agave or coconut sugar etc in the frosting n stead of icing sugar ? Thanks. Recipe looks amazing ! Going to try making it for my own birthday cake !
Hi, there! I have a recipe for paleo powdered sugar that’s made with coconut sugar 🙂
Thank you Monique for this amazing recipe! I made this beautiful cake and it came out spectacular and so delicious. My frosting was not quite as pink and I’m not sure if its because I didn’t blend the raspberries long enough or not, but next time I might use more raspberries to make more juice. I also used a nutribullet to blend it so that could be the difference as well. I wish I could post a picture of my cake in my review lol.
Oh I’m SO glad you loved this one, Jodie! Thanks so much for leaving a review. Not totally sure about what may have affected the color but you could definitely use a bit more next time 🙂
Made this cake according to the recipe. It’s absolutely delicious and looks amazing. Definitely a crowd pleaser!
I’m so happy you loved it, Michelle! Yay!
Hi!
My son loves lemon so I would like to make this cake for his birthday. Can I omit the poppyseeds?
Totally fine to do that! Hope you all love it, and happy bday to your son!
I made my own oat flour for this recipe and it turned out great! I love the flavor of this cake with the lemon/almond/raspberry going on. I also made the frosting with plant based butter and it was delicious! I subbed plain greek yogurt for the flavored yogurt and the cake still had great flavor and is very very moist!
I’m so happy you loved it, Taylor! Thank you! ❤️
Has anyone successfully made this vegan? I can’t have eggs. Would either an egg replacer work or a flax egg?
See the notes above about using a flax egg! I haven’t personally tried it but think it will probably work 🙂 Let me know if you try it!
Delicious cake! I used frozen raspberries that I had left over from picking in the fall. When they thawed I had a lot of juice already so I pretty much used that for in the icing. Then the mushed/thawed raspberries I put in between the layers. It tasted perfectly fine! I thought I’d add the extra juice to the top of the cake after I frosted since I didn’t have nice whole berries but that was a bad idea because it looked like blood 🤣🤣🤣 my husband and I laughed about that for a while. Sooo good though! I also used raspberry Greek yogurt and it turned out fine! Thanks Monique for a great recipe as always
Such a great idea, glad that worked well to use the frozen berries! Funny about the juice on top 😂 Happy you enjoyed this one though!!
Made for vday and holy crap is this good! Super moist and the raspberry lemon icing is so good!!
YAY I’m so happy you loved it!!
AMAZING! I made this tonight and had to leave a review right away. It was SO good and everyone loved it!! I used maple syrup instead of honey and I used raspberry jam instead of raspberries in the frosting and it turned out great! That frosting tho – amazing. I also skipped the refresh raspberries in the frosting (I’m sure that would have been divine) but it was still delicious!
Ahh I’m so glad you loved it!! Those are all great options 🙂 Thanks for leaving a review, Hannah!
Is there a paleo substitute that can be used for the oat flour? 🙂
Sorry to say I haven’t tested anything else! Let me know if you have any success 🙂
I made this cake for a Birthday party and it was delish!! Amazing recipe, a staple in my kitchen now. Gluten free and with fresh ingredients, which I love! I made it with a regular berry yogurt and it turned out super moist. I was wondering if it would turn out just as nice swapping the almond flour for coconut flour instead? Or doing half and half of almond flour and oat flour? Thank you so much Monique!!
I’m so happy you love this one, María!! I wouldn’t recommend using coconut flour instead of almond because they absorb moisture completely differently and the texture will be off. And I wouldn’t alter the ratio of almond to oat flour either, sorry!
I LOVE raspberries and I’m always looking for new unique delicious recipes to use them. This one did not disappoint! The cake was absolutely decadent yet refreshing & a huge hit with my family. Thanks for this, its a keeper!
Yay!! So happy it turned out amazing and that you all loved it!
Amazing dessert that I made for my celiac sister in-law and dairy free niece! Everyone loved it!
Call out to all Monique’s recipes as I always know they will turn out. Every single time!
I mistakingly added my last name. Could you please remove? Thanks!
No problem, all set! I’m so happy you all loved this cake!! Thanks for the love ❤️
Making this now! Stupid question- do I use the raspberry juice or the raspberry seeds? They both look like purée to me!
Hi, Anna! Sorry if I’m late + if that was unclear. After pureeing + straining the raspberries, you want to use the stuff that’s come out of the strainer, not the seeds 🙂
I just baked this cake for my birthday and after tasting it, I couldn’t not leave a comment. BEST CAKE I HAVE EVER MADE! So moist and lemony. It somehow tastes like pound cake without the butter/sugar/flour. Insane! The icing is delicious but I think I could just eat the cake plain. It was so good! I used plain greek yogurt and baked in 8” pans, but made everything else as is. When it comes to baking with almond/coconut/oat flour, AK is my go to. Make this cake you won’t regret it! All the cookies too!
Omg that makes me so happy!! I’m so thrilled it came out perfectly. Thanks for the love 🥰 And HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Made this cake once and everyone loved it! I would like to make it again and modify for my baby’s first birthday. What could I replace the honey with?
So happy to hear that everyone enjoyed it! You can use maple syrup 🙂
This recipe was really good! I used egg replacer (cake did not fall apart), and there was a very bright lemon flavor. I also used the 9in cake pans and non dairy almond yogurt. Cake turned out to have more of a muffin-like texture, but it satisfied my cravings for cake! Would make again.
So happy it all worked out well!! That texture sounds amazing 😍 Thanks for sharing!
Hi- I subbed oat to normal flour which normally works ok for me but the cake came out pretty dense- not fluffy cake texture at all. Still tasted good but I wonder could it also be party due to no oil or butter in the batter?
Hi, there. As I mentioned in the blog post, I wouldn’t recommend changing the flours in this recipe. If you don’t have oat flour, blending rolled oats to make your own works well 🙂
Hi Monique, before I try this recipe would you please confirm the baking times for the different cake pan sizes – you have given a longer time for the 6-inch cakes than for the 8-inch. I’m really looking forward to trying this one as I’ve loved so many of your gluten-free recipes over the years. They are so worth the effort to convert them to metric! Many thanks.
Hi, Val! Yes, the cakes will be taller/thicker in the 6-inch pans, so they need to bake longer than the 8-inch cakes. Can’t wait for you to try this one!
I wish I could give this cake 10 stars! This is one of my new favorite cake recipes. It is so delicious!! My husband really loved it as well. I didn’t want a 3 tier cake because there are only 2 of us in my home (and that’s a lot of cake to eat), so I used your recipe for the Lemon Blueberry Zucchini cake as a guide and adapted the recipe to be baked with just one layer in a square 8×8 pan. I baked it at 350 for 30-35 mins, and it turned out perfectly!! I put the ingredient quantities I used below in case anyone wants to bake it this way. Thank you for the recipe!
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup honey
– 1 (5.3 oz) container raspberry Greek yogurt
-zest from 2 small lemons
-half of 1/3 cup lemon juice
-1 Tsp almond extract
-1 1/2 cup almond flour
-3/4 cup oat flour
-1 TB poppyseeds
-1 Tsp baking soda
-1/4 Tsp salt
-1/2 cup butter
-1 cups powder sugar
-1 TB lemon juice
-1 TBS raspberry juice (from chopping and straining 1/4 cup raspberries)
-2 Tsp lemon zest
-I also cut raspberries in half and coated them with some oat flour and folded them into the batter.
Just saw your post on FB — it looked INCREDIBLE! Love that idea. Thanks so much for sharing!
Made this for my MIL’s 80th and everyone absolutely loved it and couldn’t believe I made it. Moist, flavorful and not too sweet. It’s was perfect and so pretty
Aw yay!! I’m so glad everyone loved it ❤️
This was absolutely divine! I’ve made it dairy free and also made it with butter in the icing. Both incredible. The cake is so moist and the flavor is wonderful.
So glad you are enjoying this recipe and that it turned out great!
Looks amazing! Do you have any tips for high altitude baking (7,000ft)?
This looks amazing! Do you have any tips for high altitude (7,000 ft.) baking?
Unfortunately I don’t – so sorry! Let me know if you give this recipe a try!
Just made this for Easter, and it came out so good!! Love that there’s no added sugar in the cake.
So good!
One of my favorite cake recipes!! If I wanted to do a 3 layered 8” cake, how should I change the measurements? Add 1/3 to everything?
Hi Ashley- I am so glad you’re loving this recipe. I haven’t tried making this as a layered cake with 8″ pans so I am not quite sure how to adjust the recipe. Let me know if you give it a try and how it turns out!
The flavors in this cake are amazing! Such a perfect summer cake but really for any time of year! I typically like my favors simple when it comes to cake but this one is a real winner!
Being strictly gluten free, I can’t tell you how happy I am to have found Monique’s cake recipes. They are the only cakes I make. Every recipe I’ve tried comes out great. I made this one for my daughters birthday and people still talk about it. Nobody realizes it’s gluten free either!
So happy to hear that, Maria! Plenty more delicious gluten free recipes to come 🙂
The icing was great and the cake was overall delicious but I think I would replace the honey for the cake with regular sugar as it tasted like it needed to be a bit more sweet for me.
Let me know if you give it a try!
I made this cake recently, and it was so yummy! I filled it with lemon curd and topped it with cream cheese frosting. I also subbed chia seeds for poppyseeds bc I didn’t have them. Thanks for a great recipe!
Amazing! The lemon curd sounds delicious 🙂
I followed the recipe precisely and this was divine! I made it for Easter Sunday and it was a hit!! My 3 year old is newly wheat free due to allergies and he LOVED this cake.
Do you have any recommendations for converting this to cupcakes?
So happy to hear that! For cupcakes, you’ll just need to bake this for about 15 minutes (same temperature).
I so appreciate how allergen friendly this recipe is! I made it for my mom who is GF, DF, and allergic to eggs. It works well with the Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer. I made a 3 layer 6″, and it was the prettiest centerpiece. The cake itself is a bit dense, but anyone who bakes with almond flour will know what to expect.
Absolutely! Great for anyone with a variety of allergies.