Ann-Marie Sanderson has always turned to baking.
“I have always been fascinated by cooking and baking and the science of it all,” says the owner of A Little Something Bakery in Simpsonville. “Baking connects me to my family, both my Midwestern grandmother and aunts as well as my Southern mother and aunts.”
Friends encouraged her to turn her passion into a business in 2020, and now she has a long list of clients clamoring for her celebration cakes and cupcakes, as well as cookies, hot cocoa bombs, tartlets, and more. “There is always growing demand for home-baked treats,” she says. “I truly love feeding others, especially things that make them happy.”
This irresistible lemon berry cake brings the bright flavors of spring, studded with fresh raspberries and blanketed with lip-smacking cream cheese frosting. Decorated simply or generously, it makes an elegant and delicious addition to any spring table.
Lemon Berry cake
- White cake mix, (preferably one with pudding in mix)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup flour for raspberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/2 cup raspberries
- (1) 8oz pkg. cream cheese (softened)
- 12 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (juice of about one small lemon)
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
Prepare cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8×2 inch round cake pans. Mix raspberries with 1/4 cup flour. Set aside. In the bowl of your mixer, add dry ingredients and mix for 30 seconds. Add the remaining ingredients, except raspberries, to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Stop mixer and scrape bowl, then mix for 1 more minute or until completely mixed. Don’t overmix. Pour into prepared pans and bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in the pans 10 minutes then turn out on a rack to cool completely.
Prepare frosting:
Process 1/2 cup raspberries in a food processor until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Spoon pureed raspberries into a fine-mesh strainer set over a small bowl; press raspberries using the back of a spoon to strain juices. Set raspberry juice aside.
Beat cream cheese and 6 Tbsp. of the sugar, preferably with a mixer on medium speed, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp. raspberry juice; beat until combined. (Discard remaining raspberry juice and solids.)
Beat whipping cream and lemon juice with an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Increase speed and slowly add remaining 6 Tbsp. sugar, beating until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Fold half of the whipped cream mixture into cream cheese mixture; fold in remaining whipped cream and 1/2 tsp. zest.
Assemble cake:
Spread a Tbsp. of frosting on a serving plate; then place one cake on top. Spread with frosting to a 1/2-inch depth. Cover frosted cake layer with 1/2 cup raspberries, leaving space around edges. Top raspberries with more frosting and then with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Decorate with whole raspberries and lemon zest.
Chill for at least 30 minutes to set.
Store leftovers in refrigerator.
Recipe from Ann-Marie Sanderson of A Little Something Bakery; alittlesomethingbakerysc.com.
