Rustic Lemon Raspberry Buttercream Layer Cake

I love family get togethers because it gives me the chance to show off my baking chops and to try out new recipes. Which really benefits everyone, especially you! Well maybe it benefits my family slightly more because they get to sample the delicious treats! This summer I made this fabulous Lemon Raspberry Layer cake which was equally as scrumptious as it was gorgeous. And the rustic messy buttercream frosting is so splendidly simple to do.

You will need two batches of your favorite vanilla cake recipe or vanilla cake mix. Its surprisingly easy to find organic and gluten-free cake mixes now! They’re a bit more expensive than your usual Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker mix, but they don’t have all the garbage in the ingredients. Check out your local supermarket (super Target, whole foods and Trader Joes have great selections) for products from Bob’s Red Mill or Arrowhead Mills or you can grab them on Amazon and have them delivered to your door!

Here’s what you need for the cake:

• 2 x vanilla cake mixes (or your favorite homemade recipe)
• 2-3 lemons (you will need 2 for the juice and zest, and one for garnish)
• 1 cup fresh raspberries (plus 8-10 extra berries for garnish)
• 2 sticks butter
• 3 cups seedless raspberry jam
• Yellow food coloring
• Pink food coloring
• Red food coloring
• 1 x – 8″ cardboard cake round

For the frosting:

• 2 cups butter, softened
• 7.5 cups confectioners’ sugar (one 2 lb bag)
• 2 teaspoons milk
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

1. In a bowl combine butter, sugar and salt. Beat until blended.
2. Add the milk, lemon zest and vanilla and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until smooth and creamy.

Make the following adjustments to your mix-

Lemon Cake:

1. Substitute half lemon juice and half water for the liquid called for in the instructions.
2. Substitute melted butter for the oil called for in the mix.
3. Add 2 teaspoons of freshly grated lemon zest.
4. Add 5-6 drops of yellow food coloring.
5. Pour into two 8″ greased cake pans. I like to use Baker’s Joy cooking spray with flour added. Bake as directed

Raspberry Cake:

1. Substitute cream for the water called for in the mix.
2. Substitute melted butter for the oil called for in the mix.
3. Add 1/2 cup pureed and sieved raspberries (about 1 cup of whole berries). Be sure to use fresh, ripe, sweet berries. Its best to let them ripen for a few days before you make the cake, so they are at their peak sweetness. Sieve them through some cheesecloth or a chinois (which is really just a fancy pants version of a fine strainer) to remove all the seeds. Because let’s face it, no one likes raspberry seeds.
4. Add a few drops of hot pink food coloring, and 1-2 drops of red food coloring to get a nice deep raspberry color.
5. Pour into two 8″ greased cake pans. Bake as directed.

Assembly and Frosting

To make this glorious layered effect we are going to be torting this cake. To tort a cake just means you are slicing each layer in half and adding filling in between. This makes your cake slices look beautiful plus it gives you more filling which makes for a much more delicious cake.

I recommend using a cake slicer (or cake saw) like this one from Wilton. You can use it to level off the tops of your cake, then drop it down to the lowest setting and slice your cakes in half. Be sure to do this on a level counter or table or your cakes will end up lopsided.

Slice all four cakes in half. Then begin by smearing a little frosting on your cake board then place the bottom raspberry piece down. The frosting will keep the cake from sliding around. Add about 1/2 cup of jam in the center and spread it around leaving about 1/2 inch of space all around the edge (that way when you place your next layer on the jam doesn’t smush out the sides.) Next, add a lemon layer and more jam. Continue layering one raspberry, then one lemon layer, with jam in between until you get to the top. Make sure your top piece is a “bottom” layer of one of your cakes. That way you will have a smooth top and not too many crumbs. Does that make sense?

Now for the frosting. Just drop a big blob of frosting on the top of your cake and, using a large offset spatula, begin working the buttercream down the sides in smooth swirly motions. Don’t worry about making it too smooth. Just make sure you have a nice even layer. Then go back and using the tip of the spatula make some nice rustic swirls. Finally, slice your lemon and stick a few slices around the bottom of the cake and add a few berries for garnish. That’s all she wrote friends! I hope you enjoy this delicious and delightful cake!