Raspberry Almond Layer Cake

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This Raspberry Almond Layer Cake has three layers of moist, fluffy almond cake filled with fresh raspberry frosting. It’s such a pretty cake and it tastes even better than it looks!

Raspberry Almond Layer Cake recipe

Raspberry Almond Layer Cake

So there was a moment this past weekend where I realized what true love really is. It’s giving your spouse the “best” pillow even when you want it. Let me explain.

We were visiting my parents and therefore not using our usual pillows. The first night, we just grabbed the pillow that had been on our side of the bed and went to sleep. Yes, I noticed that his was softer and fluffier than mine, but I wasn’t going to steal it from him. I want him to be comfortable and I can deal with the less fluffy pillow – no problem.

Well then the next night, all of a sudden – through the dark – the hubs lets out a heavy sigh and says, “Do you like your pillow?”

“I mean, it’s a little flat, but it’s fine,” I said.

“Well mine is too fluffy, it’s hurting my neck. I didn’t want to say anything because I thought you wanted the pillow you have,” he says.

To which I laughed, because I of course I hadn’t said anything figuring he’d wanted the fluffy one. 🙂

So we switched and were both happy. But the point is that we had initially given up the pillow we wanted for the comfort of the other. See? True love. 😉

Best Raspberry Almond CakeBest Raspberry Almond Layer Cake recipe

Speaking of true love, I’m in LOVE with this cake! I feel like it just looks like a cake you’d make for someone you love too. Those flowers!! I can’t even handle it.

The cake starts out with three layers of moist, fluffy almond cake. I feel like almond doesn’t get enough credit for how awesome it is. Vanilla tends to capture hearts, but almond deserves that spot too. It’s one of those flavors that gets me every time I have it. I’ll sometimes forget just how delicious it is and then it reminds me when I bite into it. So good!

How to Make a Raspberry Almond Layer Cake

The first step to a wonderfully fluffy cake is to fully cream the butter and sugar. You don’t want to skimp on this. The butter and sugar will come together and look lighter in color and have a thick and fluffy texture. It’s pretty cool. You’ll know it when you see it. 🙂

Once the cakes are made, you’ll make the two frostings. I’ve got raspberry frosting in between the layers and on top as decorations. Then the almond frosting is on the outside of the cake.

Raspberry Almond Layer Cake with fresh raspberry frosting!Easy Raspberry Almond Layer Cake

The raspberry frosting gets its pink color entirely from fresh raspberries. How awesome is that?! To ensure an uninterrupted shade of pink, I puree the raspberries in my food processor and then press the puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds. When added to the frosting, it’s a pure, beautiful shade of pink!

The almond frosting on the outside of the cake is added using the same method as in this tutorial for frosting a smooth cake. I then used the patterned side of my icing smoother to create the pattern in the frosting on the sides.

The roses on top are made with a closed star tip – I used the Ateco 844, but the Wilton 1M or 2D would work as well. I colored some of the remaining almond frosting with some green to add a few leaves as well.

This cake was a BIG hit! Everyone loved it! Not only is it fun to check out the pretty flowers, but the almond and raspberry together are so light and refreshing! It really is the perfect combo!

Favorite Raspberry Almond Layer Cakeslice of Raspberry Almond Layer Cake!

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Recipe

Raspberry Almond Layer Cake

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 35 minutes
  • Cook Time: 22 minutes
  • Total Time: 57 minutes
  • Yield: 12-14 Slices
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

This Raspberry Almond Layer Cake has three layers of moist, fluffy almond cake filled with fresh raspberry frosting. It’s such a pretty cake and it tastes even better than it looks!


Ingredients

ALMOND CAKE LAYERS

  • 3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups (310g) sugar
  • 3/4 cup (173g) sour cream, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp (10ml) almond extract
  • 6 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups (325g) all purpose flour
  • 4 tsp (15g) baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup (180ml) milk, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) water, room temperature

RASPBERRY FROSTING

  • 6 oz (170g) raspberries
  • 3/4 cup (168g) salted butter
  • 3/4 cup (142g) shortening
  • 6 cups (690g) powdered sugar

ALMOND FROSTING

  • 3/4 cup (168g) salted butter
  • 3/4 cup (142g) shortening
  • 6 cups (690g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp almond extract
  • 23 tbsp water

Instructions

TO MAKE THE CAKE LAYERS:

1. Prepare three 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) .
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time.
3. Add sour cream and almond extract and mix until well combined.
4. Add egg whites in two batches, mixing until well combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then combine the milk and water in a small measuring cup.
6. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until well combined. Add the milk mixture and mix until well combined. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
7. Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pans and bake for about 21-23 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
8. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

TO MAKE THE FROSTINGS:

9. To make the raspberry frosting, first puree the raspberries in a food processor. Strain the puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.
10. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and shortening together until smooth.
11. Slowly add half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
12. Add 5 tablespoons of raspberry puree and mix until smooth.
13. Slowly add remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add additional raspberry puree, as needed. Set aside.
9. To make the almond frosting, beat the butter and shortening together until smooth.
11. Slowly add half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
12. Add the almond extract and 2 tablespoons of water and mix until smooth.
13. Slowly add remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
14. Add remaining tablespoon of water, if needed.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:

15. To put the cake together, use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes so that they’re flat. Place the first cake on a serving plate or a cardboard cake round.
16. Spread about 1 cup of raspberry frosting evenly on top of the cake.
17. Add the second layer of cake and another cup of raspberry frosting.
18. Top the cake with the remaining layer and frost the cake with the almond frosting. Refer to my tutorial for frosting a smooth cake, if needed. Once frosted, use the patterned side of an icing smoother/comb and create the patterned lines on the sides.
19. Use the remaining raspberry frosting to pipe rosettes around the edge of the cake. I used Ateco tip 844, but Wilton 1M or 2D would work as well.
20. Color some of the remaining almond frosting green and use it to add some leaves. Sprinkle the cake with some gold sprinkles, if desired.


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Slice
  • Calories: 1011
  • Sugar: 106.8 g
  • Sodium: 284.3 mg
  • Fat: 54.4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 128.5 g
  • Protein: 6.5 g
  • Cholesterol: 84.7 mg

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Enjoy!

Raspberry Almond Layer Cake! Such a light, moist cake with fresh raspberry frosting!

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98 Comments
  1. Bailey

    I just made this recipe for my anniversary and it was delicious! How should I store it? In the fridge or room temp? How long would it last?






    1. Lindsay

      Sure. I assume you are looking for it to be rather tall? I haven’t baked it that way before, but I imagine you may want to bake it at 325 instead of 350.

  2. Gina

    I made this earlier and after the toothpick test came out with no raw batter, they shrunk down to the size of pancakes.
    I followed the instructions exactly, and used a brand new canister of Rumford baking powder.
    I don’t understand why this happened. I had to throw them out, as like I said, shrunk (in the pans while cooling). They tasted good, but what a disappointment






    1. Lindsay

      It sounds like it could have been one of two things. Be sure you creamed the butter and sugar properly – you don’t want to over or under do it. And be sure you don’t over mix the batter after you add the flour. It can over develop the gluten and give you a touch cake that could shrink up.

  3. Kristin Vargas

    One of the best cakes I have ever made. I make it with either Italian merengue buttercream or French buttercream though, as I can’t stand American buttercream or shortening.






  4. Linzie Pflumm

    I LOVE making this cake, I have made it twice and will be making it again for another bridal shower. Love how ray it is to make and even better how DELICIOUS it is!






  5. Anna

    Great recipe! We were trying to replicate my sister’s almond wedding cake with raspberry buttercream and this was just as good! We had a TON of leftover frosting (not a bad problem!) but I’ll probably halve the frosting next time. I also had extra raspberry compote that I spread onto the cake layers and let soak in before frosting them. Gave the cake a nice little burst of raspberry. I also used 2 1/2 tsp almond in the cake and 1 1/2 tsp in the frosting.

    Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!






  6. Georgia

    Hello Lindsey! Great job on such a beautiful cake! I am starting a cake business, and I was wondering if I could have permission to reuse one of your photos of this cake. I do custom cake designs and I needed an example on my order form, but I would not be claiming that the cake was made by me. I understand if I cannot reuse your image, but I thought I would check. Thank you!

  7. Carole bas

    This is just the type of creation I’ve been looking for!!!

    Elegant….pretty..without being ‘overdone’ the flavour combination sounds absolutely perfect..
    I’m going to have a trial run..and this will no doubt become my ‘go to recipe’ once i can get together with my family to welcome our new Baby Granddaughter after lockdown!! I Absolutely can’t wait!!!!

  8. Kimberly D’Avis

    I made this cake for the middle tier of my brother’s wedding cake last weekend. I used your chocolate cake recipe for the top and bottom tiers and used the raspberry buttercream for those as well. I just made your vanilla buttercream for the whole outside of the cake. It was a huge success. The whole cake got eaten. I loved the almond cake! But I always love your recipes and go to your website first whenever I need to bake anything! You are gifted! Thanks for sharing your gift!
    Kim D.
    (I wanted to add pictures here but I can’t figure out how to do that ????????‍♀️)






    1. Lindsay

      Thanks so much Kimberly! So glad you enjoyed the cakes – sounds delicious! I wish there was the ability to add photos, but there isn’t right now. If you have instagram, you could post a photo there and tag me (and use #lifeloveandsugar) and I can see it. 🙂

  9. Joanna

    I would give this cake 3 stars. It is definitely on the very sweet side. My husband likes very sweet cakes with lots of sugar and he really liked it, but I am European and I prefer less sweet cakes. Would probably not make it again with this amount of sugar, maybe half.






  10. Jamie

    I am interested in making this cake for a party Saturday evening but can only bake on Thursday. Can I still use this recipe? I would be concerned that it would have to sit in the fridge with the use of raspberries then dry out.  

    1. Lindsay

      Yes, you could still use this recipe. I try not to refrigerate cakes if I don’t have to but with the fruit in the frosting, it’s probably good to refrigerate it if it’ll sit out for more than about a day.

  11. Susana

    Hola linsey te quedó hermoso el pastel, no puedo quedarme sin hacer esta receta, por favor sube el vídeo de la preparación, muchas gracias por compartirlo, saludos desde Guanajuato México. Soy tu fan????‍????????????






  12. kim

    I prefer not to use shortening. Would I use the same amount of butter to substitute? And should i use salted or unsalted?

    1. Lindsay

      Yes, the same amount of butter. As for salted/unsalted there are a couple options. You don’t want to use all salted because that would be too much salt. You could use half salted/half unsalted, or just go with all unsalted and add your own salt. I’d start with 1/2 teaspoon and add a little more to your taste, if needed.

  13. Jen

    Made this cake for my daughter’s birthday, it looks beautiful and baked up perfectly. It definitely was way too strong of an almond flavour for me, but that’s personal taste. I also put in way less sugar in my buttercream, but again, that’s personal taste. The instructions for assembly were so helpful. My son told me I should get the world record for most beautiful cake ever made!

  14. Tracy Bradford

    Thanks for the recipe.

    This is a top 10 easy to make and great to eat cake.

    I have a few criticisms:
    1 – the almond is too intense with 1 tbsp. I made this 2 times and 1/2 tbsp was a better taste and my kids agreed.
    2 – The icing is too sweet. It needs salt I actually used another icing recipe on the 2nd attempt and i added some sour cream to notch that down in sweetness. I will be making this again and I will use Italian buttercream to see if that is even better.
    3 – The filling is also too sweet. The 2nd time I made this I actually used a raspberry jam with a raspberry dam on the outside and it was marvelous as the jam toned down the buttercream sweetness. Perhaps a curd or a whipped cream filling with a liquor would be a nice compliment…

    Beyond those things noted above, this cake was marvelous in prep time, it baked well, had a great crumb, handled cutting well, great texture, was sufficiently moist. I am going to use this as a base for other variations (vanilla bean, lemon….).

    thanks!!

  15. Kara

    Hi there! I just made this cake and it looks and tastes amazing! The only thing that I don’t understand is that even though it is fully cooked and looks great on the fork, it turns really mushy once you put in your mouth? I thought maybe it was underbaked so I left it in the oven about 5 minutes longer and the toothpick was coming out clean and the cake had moved in from the pan. Any ideas what I could change up next time?

  16. Lydia Clear

    My cake turned out flat too. I went back and forth with myself  should I make the cake the way it said or beat the egg whites like I think. Well I made the wrong decision. I followed the recipe. My daughter picked this out for her birthday cake I feel horrible.No time to bake another one!

    1. Lindsay

      It’s not the recipe. The egg whites are not beaten or whipped before adding. That wasn’t the issue. Most likely, the butter and sugar weren’t fully creamed together until lighter in color and fluffy.

    2. Sierra

      This happened to me as well (as did to multiple others I see). I think the issue is that there is no baking soda in the recipe. This recipe contains sour cream (an acid) however the carbon dioxide created from the acid and baking soda is not enough to leaven the volume of batter in the recipe. That’s why baking powder should be used as well– to add necessary lift. I will test the cake next week with powder and soda and see what happens. My butter and sugar last time were fully creamed, but still the cake was extremely flat so hopefully the problem will get fixed!

      1. Lindsay

        You are right about sour cream being an acid and the science there. I can tell you though that I use the base of this recipe all over this site and most people don’t have an issue with rise, so I do think there’s something else going on that’s giving some people a problem. That said, I’d be curious to know if the baking soda helps. I’d try it, but given that I get a different result without it I don’t think my test would provide the same results that you’d get. I hope it works!

  17. Stephanie

    For those who are coming out with dense cakes, when you fill your pans, do you drop and spin your pans to even out the batter? That takes out some of the air, so I tried just spooning and smoothing the batter and my cakes came out light and moist.

      1. Emma

        If I use unsalted butter would that be okay? If not can I add salt, or should I just go buy salted butter? I only ask because I already have a plethora of unsalted butter lol

  18. Karen

    Oh, and maybe the cakes are flat for some people because the ingredients are not room temp? I made sure everything sat on my 70-degree counter for a couple hours. My batter was definitely airy and light when I put it into pans. It was not dense like a cake mix would be.  Just a thought. 

  19. Karen

    Made this for Mother’s Day. Followed directions exactly and cake was perfect. Rave reviews from family. Batter was super spongy before baking (kind of like angel food cake batter!) but baked up fine. Used 9-inch pans to make slightly bigger cake. Thanks for a great recipe!

  20. Michelle Bruno

    I made cupcakes with this recipe and they were fantastic. So smooth and tasty. I found a raspberry curd recipe that uses five egg yolks. I am going to try that next for a filling; I think they will pair together nicely and then I will only have one unused egg yolk.

  21. Rachel

    My cake fell and was very dense and flat despite following this recipe to a T. Maybe whipping up the egg whites and folding them into the batter instead would work better? 

  22. Ruby

    My cakes came out very flat as well, despite creaming the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Why are so many having this problem? Can you cream them too long? I ran my mixer on medium speed for 5 mins, stopping a couple times to scrape the sides. Sad 🙁

    1. Lindsay

      I really do wish I knew why that happened for some people, but it’s very difficult for me to know without being there and seeing it or being able to recreate it. I’ve made variations of this cake no less than 100 times and I can’t recreate the issue. I’m sorry.

  23. Kate

    Made this twice in one week for 2 separate parties! Both times the cake came out perfect. I just thought the almond flavor on the cake was a little too strong so I put less than 1 T the second time I made the cakes. Overall great recipe though! Loved it!

  24. Camryn DeCamp

    This looks awesome!!! We have a fun night at my school ( I’m 10, and I bake) and there is a cake walk. I am making this cake for it!!

  25. Crystal Zacharias

    My cakes are pretty flat and I beat thr cream and sugar good and proper! Hoping it still tastes delicious!

  26. Mindy

    Is this supposed to be very spongy? I creamed he sugar and butter properly, but the batter seemed almost sticky and meringue like before baking. Did I over stir the eggs?

  27. Amy

    Lindsey, I forgot to tell you I did not use shortening but used cream cheese instead in the frosting. It came out fabulous.

  28. Amy

    Note to raspberry lovers like me. Using all the raspberry because, well, more has to be better, MORE RASBERRY……..NOT. My frosting came out too soft. Well, I know I could’ve used more powdered sugar, but I’m disabled. So, making a cake by myself is painful and quite a feat; so, I just used it as is and it ended up looking like a science project, like a volcano. Well, I have to rest, get out of pain, then I will try it and let you know if I succeeded in the flavor category.

    One thing I was wondering was why the cakes did not rise too much?? I followed the directions exactly

    1. Lindsay

      That’s a great note Amy. It would definitely make a softer frosting.

      Are you sure the butter and sugar were fully creamed? That’s normally the culprit of a cake that doesn’t rise as well or falls after baking.

  29. Amy

    I just made this cake, but it came out rather dense than fluffy as you described it. 🙁 You have any idea why it could have turned out that way? Would it have been more fluffy if the whole egg was used as opposed to just the egg whites?

    1. Lindsay

      Are you sure that you fully creamed the butter and sugar? I’ve seen friends make that mistake and it always results in a denser cake. You want to beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until it becomes lighter in color and fluffy.

  30. Jan

    Lovely recipe!
    I’m trying it tomorrow for the first time. Do you think I can substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream? Thanks.

  31. GiGi

    Another suggestion is using freeze-dried raspberries for the frosting. Put them in a food processor, turn them into a powder. Shake powder through mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Add powder to frosting until you get the amount of raspberry flavor you want. I like this better than using fresh raspberries because it does not affect the consistency of the frosting.

  32. Kesha

    I love almond extract! It is so yummy! This cake is so pretty! I have been on a hunt for a almond amaretto cupcake recipe. The cake is almond flavor with a amaretto filling. Not sure if it a mousse filling or not? The buttercream is a almond flavored buttercream with slice almonds sprinkled on top! It is AMAZING! Maybe you have some ideas or suggestions on how to recreate this cupcake. It is so yummy and so, so moist!

  33. Melissa Howell

    My husband and I are the same way with pillows! I love the fluffy ones, and he loves the flat ones!
    This cake looks absolutely amazing, and I agree–almond flavoring is SO yummy!

    1. Lindsay

      You could probably go either way. I try not to refrigerate cakes if I don’t have to but with the fruit in the frosting, it’s probably good to refrigerate it if it’ll sit out for more than about a day.

  34. Jodie

    Lindsay that cake looks too pretty to eat but having said that I wouldn’t say no to a slice. Do you have a tutorial on making those roses?

  35. Mindy

    Two of my favorite flavors! May have to make this for my birthday cake next month.

    Hard to decide between cheesecake or this, such a dilemma.

  36. Marliz

    The cake sounds delicious, and I am very happy that it contains almond extract and not almond flour! Almond flour is way too expensive where I live for me to buy, so I usually have to skip over almond recipes. I tend to add almond extract to the most randomest of recipes, so I can’t wait to make this almond-focused cake!

Lindsay
About Lindsay

I'm a wife and a mom to twin boys and a baby girl! And I've got a serious sweets addiction! Bring on the treats!

Scripture I’m Loving

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29