Buttermilk is one of my favorite ingredients to add to cake batter, because it yields a moist and tender cake. This Raspberry Buttermilk Cake takes about 15 minutes to make the batter. Yes, you can substitute other fresh summer berries. Either way, this cake is moist and tender– and perfect for company.
I really appreciate that living in the Salinas Valley (California) we have easy access to fresh berries.
For the last few years, the Salinas Valley has been dedicating a lot more acreage to growing these beautiful Driscoll berries. There was an irresistible sale, so I snatched two pints with all kinds of ideas on how to make them. At first, I thought I’d bake and update new photos for this Raspberry Lemon Shortbread Tart. But, then, I remembered that it has been a while since I’ve baked this super easy Raspberry Buttermilk Cake– only I used our home grown Olallieberries.
I don’t know why, but that particular blog post has disappeared! Strange! This cake is so simple to make, that I decided it was time to create a new post and share it with all of you.
This cake is easily made in one cake pan. The only ingredient you might not have on hand is buttermilk. You can try the milk and lemon juice or white vinegar trick, but I can’t guarantee that you would get the same results as using real buttermilk. I do keep buttermilk in my fridge. I love using buttermilk to soak fried chicken, in buttermilk pancakes and find that buttermilk gives cakes and baked goods a lot of moisture. This recipe is no exception!
The rest of the ingredients are basic– 1/2 stick unsalted butter, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, lemon zest, flour (of course). The dough is sublime. I’m one of those folks who dismisses warnings about eating raw dough (like licking the spatula). I’ve been doing it all my life, as has my husband, and have lived to tell the tale.
You don’t have to stick to raspberries, by the way. With all the beautiful summer berries that are available, use whatever you like. Once you add the berries, sprinkle some sugar all over– this will give a beautiful crunch to the cake. Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes (mine passed the toothpick test in 18 minutes). Allow to cool for 10 minutes, in the pan, then remove and allow to cool completely on a baking rack.
The next time I make this cake, I will double the amount of raspberries from the original recipe. Dust the cake with powdered sugar. I also made some fresh whipped cream to go with it.
Raspberry Buttermilk Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened, (1/2 stick)
- 2/3 cup tablespoons sugar plus 1 1/2 Tbsp., divided
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest finely grated (optional, but highly recommended)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup buttermilk well-shaken
- 1 cup fresh raspberries about 5 oz
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric (or stand) mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes, then beat in vanilla and zest, if using. Add egg and beat well.
- At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.
- Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.
- Dust with powdered sugar or serve with fresh whipped cream as a garnish.
Notes
Your trip sounds wonderful! I hope you tell us all about it.
Don't worry about being MIA. I haven't posted anything on my blog since Father's Day. I don't even have the excuse of being busy. I am just not creating as many recipes I want to show off and I think I should be doing that.
Love this cake. I don't use a lot of butermilk, so I always worry that I'll be wasting it when I buy it. My recent solution is to buy powdered buttermilk. I'm not sure if quality will suffer that much, but it saves me some headaches. I have been looking for ways to play with my summer fruit and maybe share a dessert at work, so this is right up my alley.
Looks really good Debbie – I think I like raspberry everything.
Oh my, the cake looks delicious, Debby. This is just the kind of summertime treat I love. I saw some huge marionberries at the market yesterday. I'm going to dash back and get some for this cake. Only trouble is that I won't be able to leave it alone until its all gone.
I made this cake yesterday and understood that you doubled the raspberry amount. So I used 10 oz of raspberries. It was very juicy and dense and I now believe I should have used 5 oz. Is 5 oz what you used?
Ann Cromwell
I'm sorry your cake didn't turn out as fluffy as mine does– and I've made this cake multiple times. To answer your question, yes, I used 5 oz. I thought the cake could have had more berries. For best results in baking ANY cake, I make sure that my butter and eggs are at room temperate. Did you beat the batter only long enough to be combined? Sometimes, over beating cake batter can make a tough, dense cake. Did you use real buttermilk? I hope you try it again, and get the same results that I always do. Oh, if it matters, I use King Arthur All-Purpose flour, as it's my favorite brand.
I used 5 oz of raspberries in my second attempt and it was delicious. Thanks much for this recipe. Do you think frozen raspberries would work? I have raspberries frozen from last year (yes, I will check to assure they are ok before using). I should be honest, the best I can hope for in my home-frozen raspberries would be pea-to-walnut size chunks of clumped berries. Perhaps scatter those over the batter just as you used fresh?
I used 5 oz of raspberries in my second attempt and it was delicious. Thanks much for this recipe. Do you think frozen raspberries would work? I have raspberries frozen from last year (yes, I will check to assure they are ok before using). I should be honest, the best I can hope for in my home-frozen raspberries would be pea-to-walnut size chunks of clumped berries. Perhaps scatter those over the batter just as you used fresh?
Whew! I'm glad it worked out for you. I've been known to use frozen berries, and usually have great results. I don't thaw them, first, though. Let me know if it works!