Honey Lemon Raspberry Cake (Viral Meghan Markle Recipe)

honey lemon raspberry cake on a white plate with black fork

Honey Lemon Raspberry Cake (Viral Meghan Markle Recipe)

Inspired by Meghan Markle's viral recipe from her new Netflix show, this Honey Lemon Raspberry Cake is the epitome of dessert perfection! I tweaked the Duchess' recipe to make it even better, lower in sugar and gluten free friendly. It features a lemon olive oil cake brushed in honey lemon syrup and a swirl of mascarpone whipped cream frosting and raspberry preserves between each layer. It feels fancy yet is pretty simple, and perfect for Spring and Summer!

Servings slices

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 25

Cooling Time 1

Total Time 2 10

Equipment

3 eight or nine inch cake pans
parchment paper
cutting board
microplane zester
kitchen scale (optional)
medium bowl
whisk
2 large bowls
spatula
small pot
wire rack
Pastry brush
hand or stand mixer
2 plastic bags or piping bags
offset spatula

Ingredients

For the Honey Lemon Layer Cake:

1 ¼ cups cane sugar or granulated sugar (250g)
2 tbsp lemon zest (from about 2 large lemons)
3 cups gluten free 1-to-1 flour or AP flour (360g)*
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
4 large eggs
1 ½ cups milk of choice (I used 2%, 355ml)
¾ cup olive oil (150ml)
3 tbsp honey (60g)
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Honey Lemon Syrup:

½ cup honey (172g)
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup water
1 tbsp lemon zest (from about 1 large lemon)

For the Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting:

8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 cup powdered sugar sifted (124g)
1 ½ cups heavy cream (355ml)
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of kosher salt

For the Raspberry Filling:

1 cup raspberry jam or preserves

For Decorating:

fresh raspberries halved lengthwise
small mint leaves

Instructions

First, preheat your oven to 350F. Spray three 8 or 9" round cake pans with cooking oil, then add a parchment paper round and spray again. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add sugar and lemon zest. Use your hands to massage the lemon zest into the sugar, which will release the oils in the zest and add extra lemon flavor to the cake! Then, add in the flour, baking powder, salt and whisk until combined.
1 ¼ cups cane sugar, 2 tbsp lemon zest, 3 cups gluten free 1-to-1 flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp kosher salt
In a medium bowl, add the eggs, milk, olive oil, honey and vanilla. Whisk until combined. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and use a spatula to stir until just combined - if you're using AP flour, be sure not to overmix.
4 large eggs, 1 ½ cups milk of choice, ¾ cup olive oil, 3 tbsp honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared cake pans. You can use a kitchen scale to ensure they're all the same weight. Transfer cake pans to the oven to bake for about 20-25 minutes for 9" pans, or 25-30 minutes if you're using 8" pans. They're done when a toothpick comes out clean. Remove cakes from the pans, discard the parchment rounds, and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, add all honey lemon syrup ingredients to a small pot over medium heat and stir. Once it just starts to bubble on the edges, remove it from the heat and transfer to a bowl to cool down completely.
½ cup honey, ¼ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup water, 1 tbsp lemon zest
After your cakes have cooled, use a serrated knife to carefully level out the top if necessary. Then, brush each of the cakes evenly with some of the syrup. You will NOT use all of it. Leftovers can be stored in a jar in the fridge, and make for a great coffee/matcha sweetener!
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the mascarpone and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and combined. Then, add in the heavy cream, vanilla extract and kosher salt. Beat again until stiff peaks form.
8 oz mascarpone cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 ½ cups heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract, pinch of kosher salt
Transfer mascarpone whipped cream frosting to a plastic bag and cut a large hole in the bottom corner. Repeat the process with the raspberry preserves. Alternatively, you can use piping bags if you have them on hand. I recommend keeping leftover frosting in the fridge while you assemble the cakes.
1 cup raspberry jam or preserves
Pipe a line of frosting around the perimeter of your first cake layer. Then, working from the center outward, pipe a spiral of frosting, leaving unfrosted cake in between each section of the spiral.
Working from the center outward, pipe a spiral of raspberry preserves in the open space between the frosting. Then, stack the second cake layer on top and repeat the process of frosting and raspberry preserves.
Stack the third cake layer on top and spread the remaining frosting evenly over the top using an offset spatula. Decorate with raspberries and small mint leaves. Enjoy!
fresh raspberries, small mint leaves

Video

Notes

*NOTE: My favorite brands of gluten free 1-to-1 flour are King Arthur Flour and Bob's Red Mill, both of which contain xanthan gum which is a crucial ingredient. If you aren't gluten free, you can substitute an equal amount of normal AP flour!

NUTRITION INFO: The nutrition info listed below is an estimate per serving, assuming you divide this cake into 15 slices. It does NOT include the additional calories from the honey lemon syrup, as not all of it is used in this recipe.

Calories: 526kcal

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Keyword: Cake, Dessert, Honey, Layer Cake, Lemon, Mascarpone, Meghan Markle, Raspberry, Summer Recipes, Whipped Cream

Nutrition