Lemon Raspberry Cake {gluten-free}

Cut Lemon Raspberry Cake on a cake stand

4.84 from 6 votes

Lemon Raspberry Cake {gluten-free}

Gluten-Free Lemon Raspberry Cake is a wonderfully indulgent cake for a special occasion. The very lemony sponge is made from ground almonds and plain gluten-free flour so it is incredibly
accessible for novice gluten-free bakers. Fresh raspberries are baked into the sponge but also fill the cake along with a lemony mascarpone cream.

Prep Time40

Cook Time50

Resting Time4

Total Time5 30

Course: Cake

Cuisine: British

Servings: people

Calories: 480kcal

Author: Georgina Hartley

Ingredients

320 g caster sugar
zest of 2 lemons
240 g unsalted butter room temperature
5 eggs medium
2 egg whites medium
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
180 g gluten-free plain flour + 1 tablespoon extra
180 g ground almonds
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
300 g raspberries
25 g limoncello or Homemade Lemon Syrup

Homemade Lemon Syrup (optional substitution for the Limoncello)

6 tablespoons caster sugar
6 tablespoons water
juice of 2 lemons

Lemon Mascarpone Cream

300 g double cream
250 g mascarpone
1 tablespoon limoncello or lemon syrup
2 tablespoons icing sugar

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/160°C/gas mark 4 and line and grease a 2 x 8 inch round cake tins.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff in a very clean bowl and set aside.
Beat the sugar with the lemon zest and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions.
Add the vanilla extract.
Whisk together the flour, almonds, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl then beat into the rest of the ingredients.
Finally fold in the egg whites.
Divide the cake mixture between the two tins.
Sprinkle the extra tablespoon of gluten-free flour over the raspberries and shake the bowl until the raspberries are well coated in the flour.
Drop 75g of raspberries into each tin, smoothing the cake batter over the top.
Bake for 50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven, leave in their tins for 5 minutes before inserting them out onto cooling racks.
Brush 2 tablespoons of limoncello liberally over the top surface of the cakes.

Homemade Lemon Syrup

Pour the caster sugar and water into a small saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Whisk in the lemon juice and simmer for a couple of minutes.
Remove the lemon syrup from the heat and leave to cool.

Lemon Mascarpone Cream

Whip the double cream in a medium sized bowl until thick but still a little runny.
Add the mascarpone and limoncello (or lemon syrup) and mix in until smooth.

Assembly

Cut both cakes in half so you end up with 4 cake layers.
Place one of the cake layers on a round 8 inch cake card for support.
Take ⅓ of the Lemon Mascarpone Cream and completely cover the top of the cake to the very edges of the sponge.
Sprinkle over the cream 50g of raspberries, pressing slightly into the cream.
Lay the second cake layer over the top, pressing down gently so the cake layer is even. Cover with another ⅓ of the cream and sprinkle over another 50g raspberries.
Lay the third cake layer over the top and repeat with the last of the cream and raspberries.
Finally place on the last cake layer, pressing gently so the cake have an even straight top.
Using a palette knife, smooth the cream, which will have burst out of the sides of the cake, along the sides of the cake creating the ‘naked’ look.
Wrap the cake in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to overnight to settle.
Just before serving unwrap the cake, place on a serving plate and sieve some icing sugar over the top surface.

Notes

Gluten-Free Flour

I used Doves Farm Gluten-Free Plain White Flour.
This recipe also works really well with this Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend.

Limoncello or Lemon Syrup

If you don’t want to include any alcohol in this cake then you can substitute the Limoncello with the Homemade Lemon Syrup outlined in the recipe above. If you are using the Limoncello then you don’t need the Lemon Syrup

Lemon Mascarpone Cream

Use a balloon whisk to whip the double cream and always whisk by hand for maximum control. The cream can be overwhipped in a matter of moments. The double cream will continue to be whipped when you are mixing with the mascarpone so if anything underwhip the double cream at first.

Assembly

Use a sharp knife or a special cake cutting tool to cut the cakes in half.
It’s important to wrap the cake up and leave to rest before serving. This is so the raspberries have a chance to sink into the cream and the cake adheres together.

Store

The cake will keep up to 3 days wrapped up well in the fridge. Since the cake has fresh cream it should not be left out in the sun or a warm kitchen for any length of time.

Freeze

You can freeze the initial two cake sponges once cooled. Double wrap well in cling film and tin foil. Remove from the fridge to defrost overnight. Then you can cut the cake halves and make the cream for assembling the cake.

Ingredient measurements

Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.
US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups

Nutrition information

Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. Please seek a professional nutritionist’s advice for further clarification.

The nutrition serving is for 1 slice of cake, assuming the cake is cut into 16 servings.

Nutrition