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Honey Lemon Layer Cake with Raspberry


Ingredients

For the cakes:

  • Pan spray
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • Zest of 2 lemons 
  • 3/4 cups olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons honey

For the lemon honey syrup:

  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Zest of 1 lemon

For the buttercream frosting:

  • 3 cups (6 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 
  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • Pinch of salt

Method

For the cakes:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Prepare cake pans with a light coating of pan spray and a parchment round. Spray the top of the parchment round and set aside.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, oil, and lemon zest.
  5. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and add the honey. Mix gently until just combined.
  6. Divide the batter among the three prepared pans.
  7. Bake for 25-30 minutes until just golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  8. Remove from the pans and let each cake cool completely on a wire rack.
  9. Once cool, use a bread knife and gently slice off the mounded top of each cake. These make for great snacks.
  10. Yield: Makes three 8-inch cake rounds

For the lemon honey syrup:

  1. In a small saucepan, bring all ingredients to a simmer.
  2. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
  3. Use this syrup to brush each of the cake layers just before assembling the cake. 

For the buttercream frosting:

  1. Mix all ingredients together until light and fluffy using a hand blender or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle.

Cake assembly

  • 3 honey lemon cakes, recipe above
  • Lemon honey syrup, recipe above
  • Buttercream frosting, recipe above
  • 1-2 cups raspberry preserves
  • Fresh raspberries, smaller berries are ideal if you can find them
  • Lemon verbena or small basil leaves

Method

  1. Brush each of the cakes evenly with the lemon honey syrup using a pastry brush.
  2. Place the first cake onto the platter you will be serving it on.
  3. Transfer your buttercream to a zip-top bag and cut a small hole in the bottom corner. Do the same with the raspberry preserves.
  4. Pipe a line of buttercream frosting around the perimeter of the cake.
  5. Then, working from the center outward, pipe a spiral of buttercream, leaving unfrosted cake in between each section of the spiral.
  6. Working from the center outward, pipe a spiral of raspberry preserves in the open space between the buttercream. Fill in any open spaces so the top of the cake can’t be seen.
  7. Once finished, stack the second cake onto the first and repeat the process: buttercream around the top of the perimeter of the cake followed by a spiral of buttercream and a spiral of raspberry preserves.
  8. Stack the third and final cake on top. Pipe lines of buttercream around the gaps between the first and second layer as well as the second and third layers.
  9. Pipe the remaining buttercream on the top of the cake and use a small offset spatula to spread it out toward the edges. Get as decorative as you like with swoops or keep it simple and flat.
  10. Decorate with fresh raspberries and leaves. If you have larger leaves, you can easily cut them with scissors to create “raspberry-sized” leaves.
  11. Enjoy!