Lemon Sour Cream cake - a soft, spongy lemon cake with fresh raspberries. This cake is light and tangy, with a pound cake like texture. A great cake for a afternoon tea party, office pot luck or any occasions that can be celebrated with cake!
In the mood for cake? Then this lemon sour cream cake won't disappoint. I love cakes that are light and fluffy, and are super flavourful and this lemon cake is one of those 'won't stop at one slice' kinda cake!
Who's with me?!
Recipe Notes
This cake was actually one that a cafe Adam previously worked in as a young twenty something year old used to make. He brought the recipe home one day and I was hooked.
There's no going back once you try this cake, not just because of the flavour, but for so many more reasons.
Is this lemon cake easy to make?
Short answer - yes! It's one of the easiest cakes I know how to make. Why? Because it's only one bowl, and requires a few simple ingredients that are all found in supermarket shelves!
What ingredients go in this cake?
As mentioned before, the beauty of this cake is that it is SO simple! All you need is;
Butter
You'll need 125g of unsalted butter at room temperature. I always use good quality butter in my baking.
125g is around 4.5 ounces, or a bit over a stick of butter if you're in the US. It's always best to weight your ingredients when you're baking so I recommend getting a set of digital scales that convert between metric and imperial.
Sugar
I prefer using caster sugar, which is essentially super fine sugar. It's great in baking because it doesn't leave a granulated texture that regular white sugar can. If you can't find it, regular sugar is good.
Flours
I use plain all purpose flour for this recipe, and baking powder. The baking powder will add height and plumpness to your cake.
Flour and baking powder will need to be sifted first.
Sour Cream
Sour cream makes this cake really moist and brings a beautiful tangy flavour that matches really well with the lemon flavour.
The sour cream adds moisture without thinning out the cake batter, leaving you with a gorgeous dense (but still light) cake.
Eggs
Like all baking projects, using good quality eggs are a must. I use Sunnyvale Free Range eggs that are the extra large (700g/25oz) weight.
This is approximately 60g per egg!
Lemon
Fresh lemon is the key here as you are using lemon rind. I find I can get a tablespoon of lemon rind out of one large lemon.
Raspberries
You can either use fresh or frozen raspberries for this lemon sour cream cake. I prefer to use fresh raspberries because they are easier to place in the cake and look nicer but either is fine.
If using fresh, you'll need around a 125g punnet (6oz punnet in the US). If using frozen you'll need around ½ a cup of frozen berries.
What equipment do I need?
To make this cake you'll need;
- a stand mixer or hand held mixer
- a large bowl (if using a hand help mixer or use your stand mixer bowl)
- measuring cups (Australian standard or American)
- digital scales that convert from grams to ounces
- a 25.5cm/10", square baking dish (glass or aluminium)
- baking paper to line your baking dish
- spatula for smoothing the cake surface
How to Bake this Cake
See the recipe card for full details, but in a nutshell you cream the butter, sugar and lemon together until smooth, then beat in eggs. Add in sifted flour and baking powder, then add in sour cream and combine. Pour into your prepared pan and arrange the raspberries on top.
Can I substitute sour cream?
I have used plain greek yogurt as a substitute before with similar results, but I do prefer to use sour cream. Greek yogurt makes a great substitute if you're looking to lighten up the cake.
How long does this cake bake for?
I've had so many ovens over the last 3 years since starting the blog, that this number can vary hugely.
At the moment I have a good, fan forced oven and this cake took 20 minutes to bake in an 180 celsius (355F) oven. It will take longer in a non fan forced oven.
In the past I also notice it will get crisper in a non fan forced oven.
The cake should be lightly browned on the edges, and lightly coloured in the middle. A good test is to stick a metal skewer or knife in the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean it is cooked properly.
If you're finding it starting to crisp too soon, cover it with aluminium foil so it doesn't burn.
Do I need a glaze for this cake?
The cake doesn't need a glaze. You can always dust some icing sugar (powdered sugar) over the top of it.
The raspberries bring out another element of flavour and the cake is sweet enough without a glaze.
How do I store lemon cake?
This cake is best eaten within a few days. I found it doesn't dry out, but can get a little sticky on top.
Store in an air tight container for max freshness, but in all honestly, this cake is so good it won't hang around for long!
This raspberry lemon sour cream cake is so, so SO good. It's light and creamy, zesty with just a hint of sweetness. The addition of the sour cream makes the batter so smooth and it's just a really, really good cake that works every time!
A great cake for any occasions whether it's a family-do, work morning tea, a time that you need to use up leftover sour cream or just want cake!
Much Love,
Georgie x x
Got leftover sour cream? Try these recipes;
- Smoked Salmon Pizza
- Chocolate Sour Cream cake (via It's Not Complicated Recipes)
- Green Goddess Dip (via It's Not Complicated Recipes)
- Cheddar Spinach Muffins (via A Baking Journey)
Lemon Sour Cream Cake
Ingredients
- 125 g unsalted butter 4.5 ounces, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon rind
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup all purpose flour sifted
- ½ teaspoon baking powder sifted
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 125 g fresh raspberries 6 oz fresh, or ½ cup frozen
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/355F (fan forced). Grease a 25.5cm/10" square baking tray with butter and line with parchment paper.
- Cream (aka beat together) butter, sugar and rind with a hand beater in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time beating 1 minute after each addition.
- Add sifted flour and baking powder. Beat 1 minute then add sour cream.
- Pour mixture into a prepared cake tin and spread out mixture evenly.
- Arrange whole raspberries in a nice pattern on the cake mixture.
- Bake in oven 20-30 minutes (depending on oven) or until lightly golden around the edges. Insert a clean knife or skewer into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is cooked.
- Remove from cake tin to cool. Cut into slices and serve.
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Veena Azmanov says
I am drooling with the thought of a bite to this cake. Love the combination of lemon and Raspberries. Delicious and yum.
Georgie says
thanks Veena, its certainly a great flavour combination!