LEMON AND RASPBERRY CAKE | GLUTEN AND DAIRY FREE

Lemon cake is a family favourite and whenever I make it, it usually disappears within seconds. I thought raspberries would make a tasty addition as they are in season and compliment the bitter lemon taste. This cake is perfect for Summer, as it is light and fluffy with a refreshing taste. 

Ingredients:

250g gluten-free self raising flour (I use Dove's farm)

250g caster sugar 

250g dairy-free butter (I use Vitalife Sunflower Spread)

4 eggs 

2 lemons

200g raspberries 

Icing sugar 

Optional: Red food colouring/paste

23x23 cm Cake tin

Preparation time: 20-30 minutes

Cooking time: 35-40 minutes 

Skill level: Easy

1. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees fan. Grease your tin with your butter of choice and follow by lining with some baking parchment. 

2. Put your butter and sugar into a bowl and beat for around 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. I like to use a freestanding electric mixer but you can use a hand held mixer or wooden spoon. 

3. Add in your eggs one at a time incorporating a little flour with each egg, mixing in-between. Make sure you sift your flour into the bowl if you want your cake to have a light texture. 

4. Using a grater, zest both lemons and add it into the bowl, followed by the juice of a whole lemon. Mix until all incorporated. 

5. Fold in your raspberries using a spatula or wooden spoon. It is really important to gently fold in the raspberries otherwise you will remove all of the air from the mixture and the cake won't rise. In addition, you don't want the raspberries to break. 

6. Pour your mixture into your pre-lined tin and put into the oven for 35-40 minutes. I like to stay in the kitchen whilst the cake is in the oven to ensure it isn't burning. The raspberries in the cake add moisture so this will mean the cake might take longer to cook. 

7. Whilst your cake is in the oven, put the juice from the leftover lemons into a bowl and mix in the icing sugar. You want the icing to be quite a thick consistency otherwise it will sink into the cake rather than sitting on the top. I made my icing pink by adding in some red food colouring paste, this is optional. 

7. When your cake is cooked, put it onto a wire rack to cool. 

8. Once it has cooled, drizzle your icing onto the cake and leave to set before cutting. At this point you can choose to decorate it with whatever you like, I chose some fresh raspberries but sprinkles or freeze dried raspberries would also look good. 

Enjoy with a glass of lemonade or a cup of tea. 

Tips and tricks

-If you want to make your cake extra lemony you can use the juice of another lemon to make a drizzle. If you stir in some caster sugar, and poke some holes into the cake the juice will seep into the cake and add extra flavour. 

-Instead of using a square tin, alternatively you could make this cake into two 8inch rounds and sandwich them together with some lemon flavoured buttercream. 

-If any cake isn't eaten, it can easily be frozen by cutting it into pieces and placing in a air-tight container. Just remove from the freezer a few hours before serving. 

If you make this cake, please share a photo with me via Instagram (@cupcakesandcandyfloss) or Twitter (@cupcakesncfloss).

Do you like lemon cake?

Lauren