Some people find baking to be relaxing, but until recently I felt the complete opposite. You see, I can be a pretty messy cook. Part of it has to do with the lack of good counter space in our kitchen, but a lot of it is me. My style of cooking is this: take a bunch of ingredients, lay them on the kitchen table, and then come up with a recipe.
This particular cake, which comes from Gourmet Magazine via the fantastic food blog, Smitten Kitchen, is a recipe anyone can make. We had some beautiful raspberries from our CSA and I searched the internet for something to do with them. What I found were either baked goods that I had already done (scones and muffins) or incredibly complex cakes that contained ingredients I didn’t feel like purchasing.
This is one of those desserts that will not disappoint. I can pretty much guarantee it.
Note: I did not see the direction that said to “scatter the raspberries on top”. This is somewhat of a key step. The raspberries will sink into the batter as it bakes, so when I pressed them in, the berries sank to the bottom instead of resting in the center.
Ingredients
Directions
Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in vanilla. Add egg and beat well. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar. Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.
Mmnnn!!! I LOVES me some raspberry cake!
Lo que quiero decir es que "creo que me hubiera querido un poco de torta de frambuesa." He aprendido que cuando sabrosos postres como éste aparece en un hogar Frishman, deben ser atacados sin demora. . .
Finally we get to see this bad boy that you've taunting us for a week. Indeed delicious looking and certainly a good recipe to keep.
This looks fantastic! I am totally with you on baking. I love cooking and adjusting by taste…but baking is something I don't do as much because it is so precise! I've been trying to bake more although the heat has definitely not encouraged me!
Mmmm, raspberries & buttermilk cake. I will be trying this one soon. Thanks for posting it!
Yum! That looks so pretty AND delicious! I think I will have to make a vegan version of it soon
Your photos are fabulous; I can almost taste the cake. Or maybe it's cause I made it too? But you're right; surprisingly simple and sooo good. I added 1/4c of mini chocolate chips to the batter just because I love that flavor combination but either way, this is a keeper!
Wow, this is a beautiful cake! Seriously, I was taken aback by the photos. I bet it is even more delicious than it looks. And quite versatile too, I bet!
Your statement, "What I enjoy most about writing a food blog is doing things that take me out of my comfort zone," is one of the MAJOR reasons I started my own food blog. I love the idea of publicly challenging myself to try things I normally wouldn't attempt.
Your buttermilk cake look delicious. I did a similar one with blackberries based on that Gourmet recipe. It's really a great dessert – and would be great at brunch or breakfast (sort of how a coffee cake would be).
Brian, Monday morning posts from you always make me smile! I think that this cake looks spectacular. I love using buttermilk in cakes and muffins. It adds so much moistness with minimal fat. I am all about taking advantage of all these wonderful berries.
It looks so moist from that close up! My mouth is watering.
I fancy buttermilk in the cakes…so moist, with pleasant tanginess and flavours.
Brian, that is, quite clearly, the definition of food porn. Seriously, that is just beautiful. Love it!
Jax x
I am such a stress baker it's not even funny. If I go a week without baking, my fingers start to itch…I swear. I've made this cake but with blueberries instead of raspberries and can attest to it's awesomeness. Gorgeous pictures!
I kind of like the raspberries on the bottom! This does look like a delicious cake. Very nice pictures, too.
Rustic cakes are wonderful! The fancy kinds are nice, too, but rustic cakes just have a special place in my heart. This one will be terrific with the blackberries that are coming ripe around here. Thanks for sharing.
Well, I just bought the raspberries and the buttermilk..and I'm going to make this cake too! I'll bet it would be great with blueberries as well…..hmmm.
Also, here's a thought….if you toss the berries first with a tablespoon of the flour, they won't sink when you put them in the batter. That little bit of flour seems to suspend them all. Dad, of course, is going to put a big scoop of ice cream on his slice tonight!
Mmm, this looks amazing! I make a cake that is similar in concept but uses yogurt instead of buttermilk and it is a bundt.
Maybe you will see mine soon, now that your beauty has reminded me how good raspberry cake is!
Oh there must be some appropriate saying about messy men in the kitchen. I just can't come up with it right now. GREG
I am pretty mortified of baking but this looks perhaps doable even with my case of BAD- baking anxiety disorder. Living at high altitude with this condition leads to basically not baking
Yum, sounds good!
Looks absolutely delicious:)
Who cares if the raspberries sank at the bottom. The cake still looks fabulous! I actually love the picture of the batter studded with fresh raspberries before it hit the oven. This cake looks so comforting. I can eat breakfast, afternoon snack or midnight snack.
Absolutely love a cake w/fruit in it but add buttermilk AND raspberries? Lordy! Another winning recipe my friend!
That cake looks gorgeous. Too often I just adorn the tops of cakes and things with raspberries. This is the perfect way to incorporate them.
Also, I am one of those crazy people who find baking relaxing!
wow…..that cake looks so moist, there has to be so much flavor packed into that cake..the raspberries are the perfect berry for this cake, tart and sweet…..Great Job!
This is a fantastic looking cake! The crumb looks so moist and the crispy sugary looking top makes my mouth water. Who cares if the raspberries are on the bottom as long as they're in there. I'm printing out this recipe right now.
Pulling myself closer to the monitor with a cup of coffee in hand to partake of this lovely cake with coffee. YUM!
oh my goodness it looks so divine!
This cake looks divine and I don't mind that the raspberries sank to the bottom.
I'm like you–I've found myself baking more since I started my blog. I was definitely a lot more comfortable making savory dishes. It's been fun expanding my baking repertoire, though. By the looks of this cake, you're a natural.
This is my kind of cake! I also have been baking so much more since I've begun writing a blog… unfortunately the rest of the household doesn't love baked goods as much as I do, so I'm tending to eat way too much. I'm sure loving it though! This recipe will be in our kitchen soon!
You sound just like my boyfriend! I find baking relaxing, but he likes to take the more adventurous route when it comes to cooking-not following a recipe. This looks fabulous! I've been looking for a good cake with raspberry so I might have to give this a try!
Looks wonderful! I have to agree about those recipes that have tons of ingredients that you don't feel like purchasing. I tend to leave those for another day.
The texture of this cake looks really nice…I may have to try it with some of the elderberries that we have growing all over the place!
What a scrumptious cake with those luscious berries! I kind of like the berries on the bottom! It looks like they caramelized a bit. Delicious!
This looks beautiful. My mouth is watering!
I just made this on a recommendation from another friend. It is delicious and works with all sorts of other fruit as well! It's the perfect recipe to have on hand for summer. Love your photos!
the last time i saw this cake on a blog, i vowed to make it if just one more person posted about it. i guess i know what i'll be making this week–stellar work!
I baked this last night! Substituted the buttermilk with yogurt and it was awesome!
Really interesting and unique idea. Your pictures are great too! You should consider entering this cake into Recipe4Living's 5th Birthday Recipe Contest! The site is turning 5 years old, and we're giving away a Scharffen Berger gift basket to the top birthday cake that's submitted!