Raspberry Lemon Bundt Cake

I was at Trader Joe's the other day and picked up their Lemon Raspberry Bundt Cake.  Since about last summer, we stopped buying baked goods because I have discovered what homemade goodies taste like and cost and also discovered that making them was really no big hassle.  But, that bundt cake looked really good so I picked it up.   As I was enjoying a piece with tea, I decided to look up some recipes that would make something similar.  Plus, I had some left over raspberries (unused in varenie because I ran out of cans!) I was anxious to use up so now I had to try to make my own.

I know that this is not a cooking blog, but I post some of the recipes here for a couple of reasons.  First, if I don't, I will lose them, and second, by having the things I attempt turn out, I hope to inspire some of you out there who never bake that if I (with my very limited knowledge and experience) could do it, you can too!  Really, you can.   So, here is a cake that we all enjoyed yesterday with housemates from Vladivostok to whom we are currently renting our basement.

The original recipe came from here.  I changed a couple of things, but it was pretty easy to follow overall.

Raspberry Lemon Bundt Cake

makes one 9″ bundt cake

for the cake

8 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

zest from 4 lemons

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons almond meal (I got mine from Trader Joe's but Bob's Red Mill sells it too)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons yogurt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup fresh raspberries, halved

for the glaze

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons raspberry, or other dark pink, juice

7 – 10 raspberries, halved

Liberally butter an 8 or 9” bundt pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for 2 minutes more. Add in the eggs one at a time, and then the lemon zest.   Set it aside.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, combine the lemon juice, yogurt, and vanilla. With mixer on low, add in a bit of the flour mixture, then the liquid, flour, liquid again, and finally the remaining flour.

Spoon a thin layer of batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle roughly half the raspberries on top. Add another thin layer of batter, and then scatter the remaining berries. Spoon in the remaining batter.

Bake for 45 – 50 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs and the cake is a light golden brown.

Cool for 45 minutes, and then flip cake onto a platter. Allow the cake to cool completely. To frost, whisk the confectioners sugar, lemon juice, and raspberry juice. Spoon onto the cake, garnish with raspberries and serve.

Goes well with an afternoon coffee :)