Summer Cake

What to bake, what to bake... It's so HOT outside, the only things that sound good are light and tart and lemony!! But have I overdone it already with the lemon recipes? This Lemon Yogurt Loaf from The English Kitchen sounds just about perfect, but I posted one of her recipes yesterday... wait a minute. What if I took the lemon loaf...and added raspberries! But I can't just chuck them in the batter, they're still pretty tart. I learned that lesson last time I made raspberry scones... There IS that cooked blueberry method from my Lemon Blueberry Muffins... I think I might be on to something...

Summer Cake
Printable Recipe


1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs (room temp)
grated zest from 3 lemons
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil

For the sugar glaze:
the juice of 1 lemon
5 TBS sugar

For the Drizzle Icing:
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 TBS fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a large loaf tin. Line with parchment paper and butter the paper. Set aside.

Heat raspberries and 1 1/2 tsp sugar in small pot or saucepan. Simmer for a few minutes, till berries are softened and juices have thickened to a glaze. Set aside to cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Whisk together the yogurt and sugar in another larger bowl. Beat in the eggs, lemon zest and the vanilla. Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold in the oil, using a rubber spatula, making sure to get it all in smoothly. Pour into the loaf tin. Pour berry mixture over the top of the batter. Using a chopstick or the end of a spoon, swirl the berry mixture through the batter a few times, do not touch the side of the pan (shortcut: you could just use preserves/jam and skip cooking the berries, I just like the tartness of the fresh berries) Do not clean the pan, save it! Place cake on a centre rack in the heated oven.

Bake for about 50 minutes, or until well risen and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. While it is baking, heat the lemon juice and sugar in the same pot/pan you cooked the berries in, to get that raspberry juice into the glaze. Heat till sugar dissolves completely. 

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing. Place on a wire rack over a baking pan (or parchment paper) and spoon the glaze over top, allowing it to soak in a little at a time. Allow to cool completely.

Whisk the powdered sugar together with the lemon juice and drizzle over the top of the loaf. Allow to set. Cut into slices to serve.

Oh man oh man, I think I just might be brilliant!! This cake is tart and tangy and refreshing and summery. I need an ice cold glass of lemonade to go with it! I haven't had so much fun creating a recipe in years, I hope you like it as much as I do! And how perfect, it looks so pretty on my chickadee plate. :)

Note: the texture on this wasn't quite right the first time, I did some fiddling (baked 3 more lemon yogurt loaves!) re-read the original recipe, and discovered it needed GREEK yogurt! So mine looks kinda dense, but I changed the recipe and yours will be perfect, still moist and delicious but lighter :)