Easy Lemon Raspberry Loaf Cake

This recipe makes the best lemon raspberry loaf cake!

It’s the perfect lemon and raspberry dessert, full of bright lemon flavour with the tart tang of raspberries.

This moist lemon pound cake is studded with fresh or frozen raspberries for a deliciously sweet quick bread. Glaze with an easy lemon icing for more sour-sweet goodness and top with fresh lemon zest and raspberries.

It’s great for summer picnics, bake sales, potlucks, tea parties and BBQs.

lemon raspberry loaf pound cake sliced topped with lemon glaze and fresh raspberries

Jump to:

✏️ Recipe creation
🥘 Ingredients
🔪 Equipment
📖 Method
🎥 Recipe video
🍱 Storage
💭 Top tips
❔ FAQs
♻️ Variations
🧁 Other goodies
📋 Recipe

✏️ Recipe creation

This raspberry lemon loaf is based on a Starbucks copycat recipe, but instead of swirling raspberry preserves through the lemon cake batter, I’ve added real raspberries for a more intense berry flavour.

It’s based on a fruitier version of my Starbucks copycat lemon loaf cake recipe – one of my all-time favourites!

It's also a super easy recipe without buttermilk.

🥘 Ingredients

This loaf cake recipe calls for the following ingredients:

Lemon raspberry loaf

Unsalted butter
White caster sugar (finely granulated sugar)
Eggs
Vegetable oil (or other neutral-flavoured oil)
Milk
Plain flour (all-purpose flour)
Baking powder
Salt
Lemon zest and juice
Raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Lemon icing glaze

Powdered icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
Lemon juice
Milk (optional)

Decorations

Raspberries (fresh)
Lemon zest

See the recipe card for quantities.

raspberry lemon loaf cake recipe ingredients with labels

Ingredient substitutions

This recipe is for a homemade lemon raspberry pound cake from scratch.

However, you can instead swap the cake for a store-bought version. You can use a yellow cake or white cake boxed mix for the cake sponge and add lemon zest and juice per this recipe.

I like to use a white sugar for this pound cake recipe, but you can instead swap this for golden caster sugar instead. This will give it a delicious caramel hint!

You can use any neutral flavoured oil for the cake batter, such as vegetable, canola or sunflower oil.

Swap the plain all-purpose flour for self-raising flour and reduce the baking powder to only ½ tsp.

You can use either fresh or frozen raspberries for the loaf recipe.

Ingredient tips

It’s easier to mix room temperature ingredients, so be sure to take your butter and eggs out of the fridge before use.
Using unsalted butter lets you control the amount of salt in your cake and buttercream. I like mine to be fairly low salt. Add an optional ⅛ teaspoon in the cake batter.
I recommend sieving your flour, baking powder and powdered sugar (icing sugar / confectioners’ sugar) for a smooth sponge batter and glaze.
For accuracy, it’s best to weigh your ingredients rather than using cups.
It’s best to use fresh lemon juice rather than bottled to add punchy flavour to your lemon loaf and icing.
Using a fresh lemon zest for this recipe is important. You also want the lemon to be unwaxed, so you’re not adding wax to your lemon cake.

🔪 Equipment

I use the following equipment for this recipe:

Equipment alternatives

I like to use a 2lb loaf pan, which is usually 9inch x 5inch (23cm x 13cm) size. However, you can also swap the tin for another size.

Make lemon raspberry mini loaves instead! Depending on the size of your mini loaf tins, you’ll want to reduce the baking time by 10-15mins. This recipe should fill an 8-hole mini loaf pan, but if you have any extra batter you can make little cupcakes or muffins with it.

You can also make your lemon raspberry pound cake in a bundt pan. The standard size of bundt pan is usually a 10-inch pan. You can make a small bundt cake from this recipe, or scale it up by an extra ⅓ (i.e. 1 extra egg’s worth) and fill your standard bundt pan for a regular sizes bundt cake. This will add an extra 5-10mins to your cooking time.

I usually use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer for the cake in this recipe – makes it super easy. However, you can also use a whisk, spatula or fork (plus elbow grease!).

Equipment tips

Before you start baking, prepare your cake tins first. Grease them with butter or cooking oil spray, then line them with greaseproof paper (baking parchment). For extra non-stick power, grease your paper once it’s in the tin and you can also sprinkle in all-purpose plain flour too.
I like using digital scales for weighing my ingredients as it's easy and accurate.
It’s best to use actual measuring spoons. Cutlery teaspoons and tablespoons aren’t actually the correct volume, which I never knew before.
I’d also recommend levelling off any heaped scoops for a more accurate measurement.
When using a stand mixer, I like to use the paddle attachment with a low speed for the cake batter.
Leave your loaf cake to cool in the tin for at least 20mins before transferring it to a wire rack to finish.

📖 Method

Lemon raspberry pound cake

First, preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C (fan) / Gas Mark 4 / 350°F.

Step 1: Cream together the butter, sugar, oil and zest, using a spatula, electric hand mixer or stand mixer.

Steps 2 - 4: Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the milk and lemon juice.

recipe steps 1 to 4 how to make raspberry lemon loaf cake

Step 5: In a separate bowl, gently coat the raspberries with 2 tablespoon of plain flour.

Step 6: Sieve the rest of the plain flour and the baking powder into the egg mixture and gently stir until combined.

Step 7: Fold in the flour-coated raspberries.

Step 8: Pour the cake batter into a greased and lined 2lb loaf tin for 45-55 minutes and bake until a skewer comes out clean.

recipe steps 5 to 8 how to make raspberry lemon loaf cake

Step 9: Allow the loaf to cool in the tin for at least 20mins before removing and transferring to a wire rack.

Lemon glaze icing

Steps 10 - 11: Once the lemon loaf cake has cooled, sieve the icing sugar into a small bowl and add the lemon juice and milk, stirring until smooth.

Decoration

Step 12: Slowly pour the icing over the loaf, spreading evenly across the top. Decorate your loaf with lemon zest and fresh raspberries.

Enjoy straight away or allow the icing to set.

recipe steps 9 to 12 how to make raspberry lemon loaf cake

🎥 Recipe video

Check out the short recipe video below for how to make the best raspberry lemon bread!

🍱 Storage

Your moist lemon raspberry quick bread loaf should last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

You can also freeze your cake for up to 3 months before defrosting and eating.

Wrap your cake in cling film (plastic wrap) and a layer of foil before placing in the freezer.

Label your frozen treats with what they are and when they were frozen so you don’t forget about them!

💭 Top tips

Raspberry lemon cake

Recipes with raising agents don’t like being over-mixed. You’ll end up with a dense sponge if you over-mix your cake batter. Try to mix sparingly once you add the baking powder!
Position your cake pans in the centre of the oven on the middle shelf when possible. This gives a more even bake.
Don’t open the oven mid-bake. You may have heard this before, but it’s an important tip. We’ve all been there and nobody likes their cake with a sinkhole!
You’ll know your sponges are cooked once they’re risen and springy to touch. An inserted toothpick or skewer should also come out clean from the centre of the cake.

Lemon glaze

Stir your frosting thoroughly to get rid of any lumps – you’ll get a lovely smooth frosting!
Use fresh lemon juice for the best bright and punchy flavour.
If your icing is still too thick to spread after you’ve added the lemon juice and milk, then you can add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time until you get the right consistency.
If your icing is too runny, stir in more powdered icing sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.

❔ FAQs

What is a pound cake?

Traditionally, pound cake is a sweet cake made from one pound of each of sugar, flour, eggs and butter. It’s a simple recipe for a cake that dates back hundreds of years.
Generally speaking, a pound cake is more dense than your average sponge cake, so it’s perfect for the loaf cake or bundt cake style.

How long does homemade lemon raspberry cake last?

Your lemon raspberry loaf cake should last for up to 4 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature or up to 5 days in the fridge.

Can you freeze lemon raspberry cake?

Yes! You can freeze your lemon raspberry loaf cake wrapped in a layer of cling film and layer of foil for up to 3 months.

Can you make lemon raspberry cake ahead of time?

Yes, you can make your lemon raspberry loaf cake sponge ahead of time and freeze it.

Alternatively, up to 4 days in advance your cake can be stored wrapped in cling film at room temperature and your icing glaze stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Why has my loaf cake sunk in the middle?

This could be caused by a few things. You might have scooped in too much baking powder, e.g. instead of using a levelled scoop from a measuring teaspoon.

Another reason could be that you opened the oven partway through baking which caused your oven temp to drop rapidly and sinkhole your cake.

Is cake flour the same as plain flour or self-raising flour?

No, cake flour is actually different to both plain flour and self-raising flour. It has a different composition and your cake will have a different consistency if you use cake flour.

Troubleshooting

If you’ve got any specific questions on making your homemade raspberry and lemon pound cake loaf, please feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll try my best to help out!

Alternatively, you can get in touch via my Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest – I’d love to hear from you!

lemon raspberry loaf quick bread with lemon icing and fresh raspberries on a rack

♻️ Variations

Frosting options

You can swap the lemon icing in this recipe for another frosting.

If you’d like a lemon drizzle on your loaf, mix 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice with ⅓ cup (70g) caster or granulated white sugar and pour over your loaf while it’s still warm.

Prick holes into your raspberry lemon bread first, using a fork or skewer, to help the drizzle sink in better!

If you’d like a more raspberry flavoured pound cake, then you can swap the lemon glaze for a delicious raspberry buttercream – made using real raspberries!

For more lemon flavouring in a creamy frosting, try this lemon buttercream. Or why not spread homemade lemon curd on top instead?

Alternatively, swap the frosting for a simple vanilla buttercream or a cream cheese frosting – simple yet delicious.

Flavour options

You can swap the raspberries for another fruit. I especially love the lemon loaf with blueberries or cranberries!

Why not add 2-3 tablespoon of poppyseeds to your raspberry lemon loaf? Stir it into your cake batter and sprinkle some on top of your lemon glaze before it sets too!

Swap ⅓ of the plain flour with sweetened desiccated coconut for a lemon and raspberry coconut loaf – yum!

Decorations and toppings

I love making this raspberry lemon cake with fresh raspberries and lemon zest on top of the glaze.

Alternatively, you can top it with freeze-dried raspberries or candied lemon peel.

Gluten-free option

To make a gluten-free lemon raspberry loaf cake, swap the plain flour for gluten-free flour. I recommend using a gluten-free plain flour blend, such as King Arthur's measure for measure flour or Freee from Doves Farm.

You should also add ½ teaspoon of xantham gum to the bread batter if your flour blend doesn’t already include this in the ingredients.

For gluten-free cake success, add an extra 1 tablespoon milk to the batter. Beat your batter really well and let it stand for 30mins before pouring it into your cake tins and baking.

You might also need to bake your cakes for an extra 5-10mins.