This incredibly soft and tender Raspberry Lemon Coffee Cake has plenty of juicy raspberries throughout with a buttery lemon zest streusel and drizzle of creamy vanilla icing on top.
This coffee cake is absolutely dreamy! Coffee cakes are just so buttery and rich with that classic crumble topping that it feels like you could eat on its own. My Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake is another coffee cake recipe you have to try next!
The rich sour cream coffee cake batter is flavored with fresh lemon zest and pure lemon extract for a sweet lemon flavor that compliments the tart raspberries perfectly. The lemon streusel is made with salted butter, white sugar, flour, and lemon zest for a buttery sweet topping that brings another texture to the cake.
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If you love baking with lemon, this cake is for you! It is a more gentle and sweet lemon flavor than a tart one. If you want a burst of tart lemon, try making the icing with lemon juice instead of whipping cream! For other lemon recipes, be sure to try Lemon Cranberry Muffins or Lemon Cream Cheese Turnovers! For more recipes featuring fresh raspberries, try my stunning Dark Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova, easy 2-Ingredient Raspberry Sauce Recipe, or decadent Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake!
⭐️ Why You Need to Make This Recipe
- Texture - This cake has an incredibly moist crumb with a crunchy lemon zest crumble and creamy vanilla icing.
- Flavor - Sweet lemon meets tart, juicy raspberries with a drizzle of vanilla icing on top.
- Serving - As the name suggests, this cake is great served at coffee time or for dessert or a special snack.
🧈 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make this lemon raspberry coffee cake.
Ingredient Notes
- Salted Butter - Add ¼ teaspoon of salt if using unsalted butter.
- Lemon Zest - A full tablespoon of lemon zest in the cake batter plus 1 teaspoon in the streusel topping brings a soft lemon flavor.
- Sour Cream - Using real full-fat sour cream is best for the most rich and tender cake, but you could substitute plain yogurt in a pinch!
- Raspberries - Either fresh or frozen raspberries may be used for this cake! We will toss them in a little bit of flour to prevent them from sinking in the cake.
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with measurements.
📃 Instructions
Step 1: Cream together the softened butter, white sugar, and lemon zest for 1 minute.
Step 2: Add the lemon extract, eggs, and sour cream and continue mixing until well combined.
Step 3: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt separately. Add to the combined ingredients in the bowl and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Do not overmix!
Step 4: Spread about half of the batter into the bottom of a prepared baking pan. Toss the raspberries in 1 tablespoon of flour before spreading about half of them over the first layer of batter.
Step 5: Spread the remaining batter gently over the layer of raspberries and top with the remaining flour-coated raspberries.
Step 6: Combine the melted butter, sugar, flour, and lemon zest to form a crumbly streusel topping.
Step 7: Spread the streusel topping evenly over the raspberries on top of the cake.
Bake in a preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool slightly while you make the icing.
Whisk together the powdered sugar, whipping cream, and a touch of vanilla to make an icing/glaze to drizzle lightly over the slightly cooled cake.
💡 Top Tip
Make sure the cake stays in the oven until it is fully baked throughout. Insert a tester like a toothpick into the very center of the cake while the cake is in the oven. Removing the cake from the oven may cause it to sink if it is still unbaked in the center due to the temperature change shock. Open the door, test quickly, and close the door so that the cake can finish baking.
❓ Recipe FAQs
The main difference between coffee cake and regular cake is the crumble topping called streusel on top of the cake.
Sometimes it does but usually it does not. The name coffee cake typically only refers to it being a good cake to serve with coffee.
Yes. Fresh raspberries are great to use in this cake when they are in season but frozen raspberries work too!
Store leftover cake covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
🍋 More Lemon Recipes
Looking for other lemon desserts and baking recipes? Try these:
If you tried this Lemon Raspberry Coffee Cake or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and write a little note telling me how it went in the comments below. Thank you!!
📖 Recipe
Raspberry Lemon Coffee Cake
Equipment
- 9-inch springform pan
- cooking spray
- mixing bowls
- electric handheld mixer
- sifter or sieve
Ingredients
For the Batter:
- ½ cup salted butter * softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
For the Topping:
- 2 tablespoons salted butter melted
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
For the Icing:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons whipping cream *
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease a 9X9-inch pan or line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer, cream together the softened butter, sugar, and lemon zest on high speed for 30 seconds. Add the eggs, lemon extract, and sour cream and continue beating on high speed for another 30 seconds or until smooth.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the combined wet ingredients and mix on low speed just until fully combined. Do not overmix!
- Spread about ½ of the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing out the top well. Toss the raspberries with 1 tablespoon of flour. Arrange half of the flour-coated raspberries on top of the batter followed by the remaining batter. Gently smooth and top with the remaining raspberries.
- Make the streusel topping by mixing together the melted butter, sugar, flour, and lemon zest in a small bowl using a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over the top layer of raspberries.
- Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for at least 1 hour. Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough whipping cream to make a pourable icing. Drizzle over the cooled cake. Slice and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Add ¼ teaspoon of salt if using unsalted butter.
- For a tart lemon icing, use fresh lemon juice instead of cream to make the icing. You will need less lemon juice around 2-3 teaspoons.
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