This Raspberry Lemon Loaf Cake would make a great treat any day of the week. It’s a beautiful lemony loaf filled with ripe fresh raspberries. If you love lemon and berry desserts you’ll have to make it soon!
*Originally published on March 11th, 2021. Updated on February 4th, 2022 to include a video, more information, links, recipe tips and FAQs.
Are you ready to make a great loaf cake? Friends, this Raspberry & Lemon Loaf Cake is so delicious. I’ve made it so many times and it’s honestly just as good as my famous Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake and as tasty as the Greek Yogurt Raspberry Muffins.
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What Makes This Loaf Cake Great
- Uses fresh berries – fresh berries always add a lot of flavour and freshness to any baked goods.
- Uses fresh lemon zest – zest adds a fantastic flavour to baked goods, and by using fresh zest, you’re enhancing the flavour.
- Easy to make – this cake isn’t difficult to make. Just make sure to follow to recipe tips along the way.
- Stays moist – unlike some loaf cakes and quick breads, this cake will stay moist up to about 4 days after baking. Much like my mouth watering Lime Drizzle Summer Berry Cake and my Raspberry Coconut Muffins.
Ingredients for The Raspberry Lemon Loaf Cake
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Sugar
- Greek yogurt
- Eggs
- Lemon zest
- Vanilla extract
- Butter
- Fresh raspberries
REMEMBER, THE FULL INGREDIENT LIST WITH MEASUREMENTS AND RECIPE IS LOCATED AT THE END OF THE POST IN THE RECIPE CARD
How To Make The Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line and grease an 8 x 4 inch loaf tin. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the lemon zest and set aside.
- In a small bowl, gently toss the raspberries in the one tablespoons of flour and set aside
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and continue to beat for about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.
- In three additions add the flour and yogurt, starting with the flour mixture. Gently stir until just combined. Gently fold in raspberries.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 50 – 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Leave to cool about 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove cake from pan and peel off parchment paper. Leave to cool completely on wire rack.
- Cake will keep for about 4 days in an airtight container.
How To Serve & Store This Loaf
- Serving the loaf cake
- Serve with butter
- Great with fresh whipped cream
- Why not try Homemade Lemon Curd as a topping for a great treat
- And of course, a cup of tea or coffee
- Storing the cake
- Store in an airtight container on the counter up to three days
- To freeze, wrap in freezer proof wrap (like plastic warp), and place in an airtight container. Will keep up to a month in the freezer
Expert Baking Tips To get The cake Just Right
- Use parchment paper to line your tin. It will make it easier to remove after it’s baked
- Check the cake at the halfway mark, if it’s browning too quickly, place a sheet of aluminum foll over the top for the remaining baking time.
- Don’t over bake the cake. Remember all ovens are different. When a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, the cake is baked.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes in baking tin.
- Leave on the wire rack to completely cool.
FAQ’S
Berries are heavy and get weighed down in the batter and will often sink to the bottom because there is nothing for them to hold on to. HOW TO PREVENT BERRIES FROM SINKING. Put your raspberries in a bowl and add one tablespoon of flour and toss gently. The flour coating will help the berries attach to the batter in baking and prevent them from sinking.
I used fresh berries in this cake, but you could just as easily use frozen ones if you have them. Just add them frozen, no need to defrost.
Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries would all work as well.
A simple sugar drizzle would go great if you like. Just remember to allow the cake to cool completely before adding the drizzle. Check out my recipe for Cinnamon Rolls for the drizzle recipe.
Get the recipe!
Raspberry Lemon Loaf Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Cups plain flour
- 2 Teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 1 Cup granulated white sugar
- 1 Cup Greek yogurt
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 Cup butter at room temperature
- 1 Cup fresh raspberries
- 1 tbsp flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line and grease an 8 x 4 inch loaf tin. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the lemon zest and set aside.
- In a small bowl, gently toss the raspberries in the one tablespoons of flour and set aside
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and continue to beat for about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.
- In three additions add the flour and yogurt, starting with the flour mixture. Gently stir until just combined. Gently fold in raspberries.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 50 – 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Leave to cool about 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove cake from pan and peel off parchment paper. Leave to cool completely on wire rack.
- Cake will keep for about 3 days in an airtight container.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Notes
- Check the cake at the halfway point. If it is browning too quickly, place a piece of foil over the top for the remaining baking time.
- You may use frozen raspberries instead of fresh. IMPORTANT, if using frozen raspberries, put them into the batter frozen NOT thawed out.
- We are only using lemon zest for this recipe, which gives it a hint of lemon flavour.
- If you want MORE LEMON FLAVOUR, add one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Add this when you add the Greek yogurt.
Thanks For Stopping By And Hope To See You soon!
I just have to try this…luckily I have a container of raspberries that need using up in the fridge. Glad I don’t have to freeze them first!
It was so good Bernice. I’ve made it so many times with different berries and always great. Thanks so much!
Lemon and raspberry always pair so nicely together. I like that this loaf is more like a pound cake, rather than a sweet bread.
Yes, it’s just like a pound cake and so good. Thanks so much Cindy!
I love fresh berries in a cake and can’t wait to try this! Thanks for the great tip about flouring the berries to keep them from sinking, too!
Thanks so much colleen!
Sooo delicious! I love the raspberries and that it is lightened with yogurt instead of butter. Thanks!
What size pan did you use in this recipe ,?
Hi Patricia, I used an 8 x 4 inch loaf tin. 9 x 5 would also work. I’ve updated this addition in the recipe card.
This loaf is in the oven now and should be done at the same time I wake the kids. 🙂
Lana, you’re a great mom baking before the kids wake up. Go you!
Hi. I made this recipe. It turned out too good. First time I eat too much when I make a cake. I tried another one but I prefer this one 👍
Thanks for the kind feedback Sarah. Really happy you enjoyed the cake!
Can be baked as cupcakes?
Yes Sarah, you can bake them as cupcakes. Just keep in mind the baking time will be much less. Depending on your oven, I would check them at the 18 minute mark and see how they are. Could be up to 22 – 24 minutes. All depends on your cupcake tins and oven. Hope this helps.
It looks delicious! I baked mine and wondering what makes the top split?
Hi Amy, It’s quite normal for loaf cakes/quick breads/pound cakes to split or crack on the top. It’s generally because the top of the cake will bake faster and the inside. At times it can be because the oven is simply running a little too hot. A solution could be to gently place a sheet of tin foil over the top of the cake 1/2 way through baking. Hope this helps.
Can I use vanilla Greek yogurt instead of plain? Or possibly half sour cream and half vanilla yogurt?
Yes Laura, you absolutely can use those substitutions.
I made half this recipe today and it’s not a good recipe. I weighed the flour, didn’t overmix it and baked it 23 minutes in an 8″x2″ round pan until there were moist crumbs on the toothpick when tested. The cake is dry. I used sour cream in place of yogurt because my store didn’t have plain Greek yogurt.
Hi Terry, Sorry your cake didn’t turn out. This recipe has only been tested in loaf cake format. So, I’m not sure how it would turn out in a low round cake.
Hi Julia. The pan used shouldn’t make a difference in whether or not the cake is dry, as long as it wasn’t overmixed or overbaked.
Not very flavorful. My husband didn’t like it.
Sorry to hear you didn’t like the recipe.