Quick and easy Raspberry Almond Cake. Made with almond meal, flaked almonds and fresh raspberries, it boasts a soft, buttery crumb and a golden, nutty crust. Best of all, it’s ready to eat in one hour!
I’m in love ❤️
Meet my new Raspberry Almond Cake. A perfectly soft, butter cake with a distinct almond flavour. Made with almond meal and a dash of almond extract, this cake is filled with juicy raspberries and topped with crunchy, flaked almonds.
It’s surprisingly easy to make, but it looks just a little bit fancy. And it tastes amazing! Light, buttery and almond-y.
why you will love this recipe
- It’s quick and easy to make
- Makes just one 8-inch cake
- It boasts a beautiful soft, tender crumb
- Ready to eat in under an hour
recipe testing
I had so much fun testing the recipe for this Raspberry Almond Cake. I’m a big fan of quick and easy one layer cakes like my Lemon Crumb Cake and popular Apple Cake. So I couldn’t wait to make a delicious almond cake filled with juicy raspberries.
I began recipe testing by using my Apple Cinnamon Cake as the base. It uses oil to create a really moist cake. I substituted a little flour for almond meal, added almond extract, fresh raspberries and flaked almonds.
The result? Surprisingly awful (see the first cake below). The balance of ingredients was off. The cake sank in the middle and it was dense and wet. The raspberries added way too much moisture and the almond meal had affected the structure.
So I tried again, this time adding a little more flour and a little less yogurt to deal with the moisture issue. But things got worse. The cake sank even more, and the changes made the crumb dry – yuck!
Since it didn’t seem to be working, I decided to switch things up and try a butter based cake instead. I tweaked my Cinnamon Tea Cake recipe, which uses butter instead of oil, milk instead of yogurt and only baking powder. The result? AH-mazing! (See the third cake below).
It was just a touch underbaked. So I tested it one more time, baking it for an extra few minutes and the results were perfection. A truly soft, buttery crumb with pops of raspberry and a crunchy, nutty crust.
what you will need
This Raspberry Almond Cake can be made using mostly pantry staples. Here’s a list of everything you’ll need, including any substitutions you can make.
- Unsalted butter
- Caster sugar: Or granulated sugar.
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract: You’re likely to find almond extract in your local supermarket in the baking section or online. It offers a unique flavour but only needs to be used sparingly. You can leave it out if you prefer, and use double the vanilla extract instead. I promise, the cake will still be amazing.
- Eggs
- Plain flour: Or all purpose flour.
- Almond meal: Almond meal is not the same as almond flour. Almond meal is made from 100% ground raw almonds, usually with the skin still on, while almond flour is made from peeled, blanched almonds. Almond flour also has a finer texture. I tested this recipe with almond meal and recommend using it for best results. But almond flour will also work.
- Baking powder
- Raspberries: You can use fresh or frozen raspberries in this recipe. Personally, I prefer fresh raspberries. If you choose to use frozen raspberries, add them to the batter frozen – do not thaw them first.
- Milk: I recommend using full fat or whole milk for best results.
- Flaked almonds
tips for making perfect cake batter
This recipe requires you to cream the butter and sugar first, so you will need an electric mixer. You’ll be rewarded with a lovely light, soft cake with a golden crust and a buttery crumb. Here are a few tips for success:
- Use softened butter: Starting with room temperature butter will make it easy to cream together the butter and sugar. This step is very important in creating a soft and tender cake. If your butter is too cold, you’re likely to end up with lumps of butter in your cake batter.
- Take time to cream your butter and sugar correctly: Creaming means beating your butter and sugar together until the butter turns pale, light and fluffy – almost cream-like. It ensures your cake is soft and tender. If your butter is lovely and soft to begin with, it won’t take long, just a few minutes using an electric mixer on medium speed.
- Weigh your ingredients: For best results, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients using a baking scale. It’s very easy to over-measure ingredients like flour and almond meal when using cup measurements.
- Avoid over-mixing your cake batter: Once your batter is combined and creamy, you can stop mixing. Over-mixing can result in a dry or tough cake.
- Don’t over-bake your cake: You’ll know your cake is ready when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Your cake should be golden all over and no longer have a sticky or wet top.
fresh or frozen raspberries?
I prefer to use fresh raspberries for this cake if they’re in season. I tear most of the raspberries in half and gently mix them into the cake batter. When I was recipe testing, I found that adding whole raspberries into the cake batter made the cake too mushy in parts.
But I do press a few whole raspberries into the top of the cake. You can absolutely use frozen raspberries if you prefer. Do not thaw them. You can simply add them frozen into the cake batter. Just be gentle when stirring the batter, otherwise the raspberries may bleed – and make the batter pink-ish.
frequently asked questions
Yes. You could use blueberries, strawberries or blackberries. I just recommend adding the berries sparingly as they can add a lot of extra moisture to the cake.
If you’ve had issues with berries sinking to the bottom of your cakes, you can toss them in 1-2 tablespoons of the flour before you add them to the batter. But don’t use extra flour – only use the flour that is already measured out for your cake. I find tearing the raspberries in half works just as well. For bigger berries, try chopping them into smaller pieces before adding them to the cake.
Yes. This cake is delicious fresh from the oven, but it can be made a day or two in advance. You can also freeze the cake.
You can keep this cake in an airtight container at room temperature.
more one layer cakes
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Let’s Bake
Raspberry Almond Cake
Soft and tender Raspberry Almond Cake with a crunchy, nutty crust.
Ingredients
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 175 grams (1 and 1/4 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 75 grams (3/4 cup) almond meal or ground almonds
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) full fat or whole milk
- 125 grams (1 cup) fresh raspberries
- 30 grams (1/3 cup) flaked almonds
- Icing sugar or powdered sugar, to serve, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake pan with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy, approximately 1-2 minutes.
- Add eggs, vanilla and almond extracts and beat briefly to combine. Don’t worry it it goes a little lumpy at this stage.
- Add flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt, along with the milk. Gently mix together on a low speed, just until cake batter is smooth and creamy.
- Roughly tear 95 grams (3/4 cup) of the raspberries in half and fold them into the batter. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Press remaining whole raspberries on top. Scatter over flaked almonds.
- Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Leave cake to cool for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. To serve, dust cake lightly with icing sugar.
Notes
Almond extract: You’re likely to find almond extract in your local supermarket in the baking section or online. It offers a unique flavour but only needs to be used sparingly. If you don’t enjoy the flavour of almond extract, you can reduce it to 1/4 teaspoon. Or you can leave it out entirely and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (total).
Raspberries: You can use fresh or frozen raspberries in this recipe. Personally, I prefer fresh raspberries if they’re in season. If you choose to use frozen raspberries, add them to the batter frozen – do not thaw them first. If you’ve had issues with raspberries sinking to the bottom of your cakes, you can toss them in 1-2 tablespoons of the flour before you add them to the batter. I find tearing the raspberries in half works just as well.
Almond meal: Almond meal is made from 100% ground raw almonds usually with the skin still on. It is not the same as almond flour, which is made from peeled, blanched almonds and has a finer texture than almond meal. I tested this recipe with almond meal and recommend using it for best results. But almond flour should also work.
Storage: You can keep this cake in an airtight container at room temperature.
Mari H says
Super delicious and spongy! Love it!!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Mari!
Angela says
Hi lovely your recipe came out beautiful I used a friands tin ❤️ They looked so pretty ! Just wondering is it possible to use GF flour ??
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Angela! I haven’t tested this recipe with gf flour I’m sorry.
Mayanka Khetarpal says
Great Recipe, everyone absolutely loved it .
I have question do you use a push up tin or invert the cake?
if you invert the cake how do you do it ?
Thanks,
Mayanka
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Mayanka, I just use a regular pan. I usually run a butter knife around the edge once it’s cooled slightly, then I flip it over onto my mitten, I peel the paper off the bottom of the cake, and then I place a wire rack over the bottom, and quickly flip it back. I don’t usually have a problem doing most of my cakes that way. I hope that helps?
Mayanka Khetarpal says
Thanks so much I was contemplating since I was worried that the almond flakes should not fall off, while inverting it.
It was fantastic recipe. Thank you
Mitha says
Hi this recipe looks amazing, wondering if I could make it
1. Eggless…what should i substitute?
2. Make it double layer with white chocolate frosting?
Please advise. Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Mitha, I’m sorry I haven’t tried this recipe without eggs. And yes you could make it twice to form a layer cake – it would pair beautifully with white chocolate frosting!
Sara t says
Is there any way you would recommend making this dairy free?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sara, I haven’t attempted a dairy free version I’m sorry. But you could always try using a dairy-free spread and milk alternative. If you do try it, let me know how it goes. Alternatively, I do have a nice dairy free Blueberry Cake recipe you might like to try.
Madina says
Thank you so much! The cake turned out absolutely wonderful. Im a novice baker, so your detailed guidelines were really helpful and the step-by-step on your ig stories were further reassuring 🤍.
Just a query tho, why isnt the flour meant to be sifted yet the cake still turns out fluffy and soft?
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Madina, I’m so happy you enjoyed the cake! And so glad to hear the instructions were helpful. In this case, the cake will be tender and soft through the creaming process (beating the butter and sugar) and having the correct balance of ingredients. You can, of course, sift the flour if you like!
Amie says
The perfect cake for Mother’s Day!
I had never baked an almond cake before – and I had to use frozen berries in it – and the cake turned out perfectly first try.
Thanks for the detailed method and notes!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad it worked out well for you Amie! I hope your mum loved it too.
Jocelyn says
Delicious cake and a recipe keeper! I used cherries instead because I had a huge basket from cherry picking. I wasn’t able to find almond meal, but found almond flour grounded with its skin. It made my batter and cake speckled with brown spots, and I was okay with that because the cake turned out so yummy!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So happy you enjoyed it Jocelyn! Cherries and almonds would be such a lovely combo!
Miss Reena Taglani says
This is was delicious! And so quick and easy to make.
I added some white chocolate chips in the batter and scattered some on top as I didn’t have any almond flakes.
Thank you for a great recipe!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that! White chocolate would be such a lovely addition!
Andrea Budiman says
Hi. Would it be ok to bake in a spring form tin?
Jessica Holmes says
Absolutely!
Melissa says
Thank you for this easy Raspberry Almond Cake recipe Jess. Baked it for my friends bday this weekend and everyone LOVED it! I’ll be baking it again for tea time sometime soon surely!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that Melissa!
Kayla says
Could I add some white chocolate chips to this recipe?
Jessica Holmes says
Absolutely!
JAYNE says
I made this & it’s fabulous! It really is soft & buttery & I’ll be making it again very soon.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! So happy to hear that Jayne!
Maddy says
Hi, I am going to make this for my husbands birthday this weekend and he also loves lemons, I was wondering if I could tweak it with some lemon zest if it would work ? Ever consider doing a lemon/raspberry cake ? Love your stuff!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Maddy! Yes you could definitely add some lemon zest into the cake batter. I also have a Lemon Blueberry Cake that could be swapped for raspberry. But this cake would definitely be a winner with some lemon zest!
PM says
In your list, you put milk however in the recipe instructions you don’t include it. Is it supposed to be used?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, it’s listed in step 4 of the method. Hope you enjoy it!