Lemon Raspberry Cake with Mascarpone Whipped Cream
This velvet lemon cake contains the richness of eggs and buttermilk. The silky, light sponge cake has homemade sweet raspberry filling in between the layers. Then, the cake tops off with a rich, yet airy lemon mascarpone whipped cream frosting.
Ingredients
Lemon Velvet Cake
- 2.5 sticks unsalted butter
- 3.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1.5 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2.5 cups granulated sugar
- 5 eggs
- Zest 2 lemons
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 1 ⅓ cup buttermilk
Raspberry Filling
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1½ tbsp water
Lemon Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup confectioners sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Juice and rind of 1 lemon
- 12 oz mascarpone cheese, cool but not chilled
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prep cake tins with butter or baking spray, followed by parchment paper rounds on the bottom, another round of butter/spray and a dusting of flour to coat.
- Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
- In a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy for 5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time. Make sure to give a few seconds between additions. Add in the lemon zest, followed by the extracts. Lower the speed and add 1/3 of the dry mixture in, alternating with the buttermilk, so dry-buttermilk-dry-buttermilk-dry. Make sure all is incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the tops. You can also gently knock the filled pans on the counter to get them to settle a bit. Bake for 45 minutes or until the toothpick is your friend and comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Raspberry Filling
- In a saucepan, combine the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice. Mash them up a bit with a potato masher and then, if wanting a smoother consistency (which I did), puree with a hand blender.
- Put on medium/high heat until it starts to bubble/boil. Add the cornstarch to the mix and lower the heat. Continue to stir until the cornstarch is full incorporated for a few minutes. Allow the filling to cool before applying to the cake.
Lemon Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- In a cold, metal bowl, whip the heavy cream, confectioners sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice/rind on higher speed until peaks form.
- Add the mascarpone cheese to the cream and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
Assemble the Cake
- When cakes are frozen or refrigerated, place the bottom right side up. Pipe a ring around the cake of mascarpone cream, then fill with raspberry filling. You can add a layer of cream on top of it, or just use the raspberry as filling.
- Gently place the next layer on top and repeat until the top layer is placed upside down on the cake.
- Add a quick crumb coat of mascarpone whipped cream over the top and sides of the cake. Freeze or refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Apply your top coat of mascarpone whipped cream, using your offset spatula or a dough cutter to smooth it out. You can decorate in any way desired...I added raspberries, slices of lemon, and a little piped whipped cream and mint. Enjoy this summer holiday in the form of cake!
