Here’s a bright, fresh loaf for the spring season. This lemon loaf cake is soft and tender, with a sharp raspberry sauce swirled into the batter. The combination of zesty lemon and tart raspberry makes for a lovely balance of sweet and fresh, and is the sort of bake I’m loving right now.
When I say that I’ve tested this recipe thoroughly, I mean it! I baked this loaf multiple times to get the raspberry swirl just right. I initially tried adding the sauce directly to the batter, but found that it seemed to disappear during baking. The trick in the end was to mix the sauce into some of the batter first, before layering it with the rest. The result was a much more defined raspberry swirl that makes the loaf taste as good as it looks.
This lemon loaf is delicious just as is, but for a special touch I’ve topped it with a soft and luscious white chocolate and cream cheese icing. The creamy icing works beautifully with the raspberry and lemon, and is totally divine. Of course, you can leave it off for a simpler every day loaf – but if you’re making this for a special occasion I highly recommend going all in!
If loaf cakes are your thing then do have a look at these carrot and pineapple loaf cakes, or this chocolate and pecan loaf cake.
LEMON, RASPBERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE LOAF CAKE
Raspberry sauce
- 75 g frozen raspberries
- 10 ml (2 tsp) castor sugar
- 5 ml (1 tsp) fresh lemon juice
Cake batter
- 180 g castor sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 20 ml (4 tsp) lemon zest
- 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) fresh lemon juice
- 125 ml (½ cup) vegetable oil
- 180 ml (¾ cup) full cream milk, warmed
- 250 g cake flour
- 10 ml (2 tsp) baking powder
- 1.25 ml (¼ tsp) fine salt
White chocolate icing
- 60 g butter
- 100 g full fat smooth plain cream cheese
- 2.5 ml (½ tsp) vanilla extract
- 100 g white chocolate, melted and cooled
- 40 g icing sugar
- lemon zest and/or dried rose petals, to decorate (optional)
1.) To prepare the sauce, place the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small pot. Heat gently and mash the berries as they thaw. Simmer for 2 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly and has a jammy consistency. Set aside to cool completely.
2.) Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line the base of a 25 cm loaf tin with baking paper and grease the tin well.
3.) To prepare the cake batter, place the sugar and eggs in a bowl. Use an electric beater to whisk for a few minutes until pale and thick. Add the lemon zest, vanilla, lemon juice and oil and whisk to combine. Add the milk and whisk in. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and fold in.
4.) Pour half of the batter into a bowl. Add the raspberry sauce and fold together. Pour half of the remaining plain batter into the loaf tin. Pour the raspberry batter on top, followed by the remaining plain batter. Use a skewer to swirl the batters together. Bake for 45 – 50 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool completely.
5.) To prepare the icing, place the butter in a bowl and whisk to soften. Add the cream cheese and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Pour in the chocolate and whisk to combine. Sift in the icing sugar and whisk until smooth and combined. Spread over the cooled cake and decorate with lemon zest and rose petals if using.
