This fresh Raspberry Bundt Cake Recipe is made completely from scratch, and it uses both fresh raspberries and freeze dried raspberries. The raspberry glaze on top adds an extra layer of flavor to this raspberry cake.

This pretty in pink Raspberry Bundt Cake is light, fluffy, and filled with plenty of raspberry flavor. A stunning Valentine’s Day dessert!

Valentine’s Day has become one of my favorite holidays. While it might be a commercialized holiday, and while there might be a lot of emphasis on the romance side of love, I have discovered how much I enjoy a holiday that—commercialized or not—reminds all of us to spread a little more love in our daily lives.

When I was in the third grade, our class spent the afternoon of Valentine’s Day at a convalescent home. We handed out cards and Valentine’s, and just spent a couple of hours getting to know those who lived there. It’s something that’s ingrained in my memory forever.

Each year as Valentine’s Day comes closer, I’m reminded how such small acts can truly bring a smile to someone’s face. After the year we’ve all had, I’m sure we could all use a smile. ❤️

As someone who finds baking incredibly therapeutic, my favorite way to bring a smile to someone’s face is with a basket of homemade goodies. This pretty in pink Raspberry Bundt Cake is certainly worthy of a smile.

Why I Love This Cake:

It’s made with both fresh raspberries and freeze dried raspberries, so it’s heavy on the raspberry flavor and on the raspberry color.
The recipe calls for sour cream, which makes this a really tender and fluffy raspberry cake.
It’s made in a bundt cake pan and topped with a glaze—it’s a showstopper but doesn’t require any assembly, like a regular cake.
It’s the perfect combination of sweet and tangy.
This is a fresh raspberry cake from scratch! There is no cake mix required in this recipe, nor is there any gelatin!

Other Cake Recipes To Try Next:

Ingredients:

Raspberry Sauce:

fresh raspberries: if raspberries are out of season, you can use frozen raspberries (thawed and drained)
granulated sugar
orange juice

Raspberry Cake Batter:

butter, unsalted: Unsalted butter allows me to control how much salt I add to the cake batter
granulated sugar
orange zest: Orange adds a sweet citrus flavor, unlike lemon, which adds a lot of tang. However, if you’d prefer, you can sub out the orange juice and orange zest and instead use lemon juice and lemon zest.
eggs
all purpose flour
cornstarch
salt & baking powder
milk: 2% or whole milk is best
sour cream: it adds a lot of richness to both the flavor and texture of the cake
raspberry sauce (made above)
vanilla extract & almond extract: you can omit almond extract if you’d like; however, it adds an extra layer of flavor throughout the cake. It’s just a *hint* of almond, but it pairs very well with raspberry.
freeze dried raspberries: this is a very important ingredient—freeze dried raspberries add immense flavor and color without adding any extra liquid to the batter
gel food coloring: the cake will be a light pink by nature, but if you want a more enhanced color, add in 1-2 drops of pink or red gel food coloring

Glaze:

powdered sugar
raspberry sauce
orange juice

How To Make A Raspberry Bundt Cake From Scratch:

Raspberry Sauce: fresh raspberries, sugar, and orange juice are combined on the stove to cook down until a sauce forms.
- You can strain the sauce to remove all seeds, or you can use the sauce as is.
Batter: Cream the butter, sugar, and orange zest together until it’s light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, beating well after each addition.
Wet Ingredients: Whisk milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract together.
Dry Ingredients: Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt together. Alternate the dry and wet ingredients into the batter, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
- Breaking it down a bit, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the batter. Mix until just combined. Next, add in half of the wet ingredients; mix until combined. Add in 1/3 of the dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Add in the remaining wet ingredients; mix until combined. Lastly, add in the remaining 1/3 of dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
Sour Cream, Raspberry Sauce, and Freeze-Dried Raspberries: Add in the sour cream, raspberry sauce, and freeze dried raspberries, mixing until the batter is just combined.
Food Coloring: Finally, add in the gel food coloring, if using.
Bundt Cake: Pour the batter into a 12-cup bundt cake pan that has been greased well. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool about 5-10 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan to finish cooling.
Glaze: Whisk powdered sugar, raspberry sauce, and orange juice together. Drizzle over cake. Allow glaze to set before serving.

Bundt Cake Baking Tips:

You need to use a 12-cup bundt cake pan.
Grease your bundt cake pan very well. Very well. Bundt cakes tend to stick to the pan, so make sure you have thoroughly coated your pan to ensure easy removal.
Easy removal: place a plate that’s larger than the bundt cake pan over the top of the bundt cake pan. Holding tightly, flip the bundt cake pan over. The cake should slide out and sit on the plate.
Sift your dry ingredients. It can be tempting to skip this step, but sifting truly keeps your cakes light and fluffy.
Over baking this raspberry bundt can make it dry and crumbly. Keep a close eye on it, and as soon as a cake tester comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs stuck to it, it’s ready to come out.

Is A Raspberry Bundt Cake The Same As Raspberry Pound Cake?

No, Raspberry Bundt Cake Recipes and Raspberry Pound Cake Recipes are different.
- A pound cake has a much denser texture and closed crumb. It’s made with a lot of butter and/or sour cream to make it very heavy.
- A bundt cake is usually slightly denser than a traditional cake, but not nearly as dense as a pound cake.

Is this Raspberry Cake From Scratch?

Yes, this raspberry bundt is made completely from scratch. It uses freeze dried raspberries and a homemade raspberry sauce instead of cake mix or flavored raspberry Jell-o (i.e., raspberry gelatin).

Do I Have To Use Freeze Dried Raspberries? Why Can’t I Use All Fresh Raspberries?

Raspberries are a very wet berry, especially when cooked. They release a lot of moisture when they get hot, which makes baked goods too wet.
Cooking fresh raspberries down into a sauce gives the raspberry cake a very concentrated raspberry flavor without adding too much liquid. However, it still is not nearly enough flavor.
Freeze-dried raspberries are the key ingredient here because they add a ton of pure raspberry flavor without adding any extra liquid. Plus, they add a punch of color to the cake as well.
I’ve tested this recipe many times, and you need freeze-dried raspberries to get the right flavor and texture in this from scratch raspberry cake.

Can I Use Frozen Raspberries?

Yes, you can use frozen raspberries instead of fresh raspberries when making the homemade raspberry sauce.

Why Do You Use Flour and Cornstarch? Can I Use Cake Flour?

The combination of flour + cornstarch = homemade cake flour. If you prefer, you can use cake flour instead.
The recipe calls for 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour + 3 Tbsp cornstarch. If using cake flour, you will omit the cornstarch and use 3 cups of cake flour.

Do I Have to Strain the Raspberry Sauce for this Raspberry Cake?

Nope! I didn’t want seeds in my cake so I strained the raspberry sauce through a sieve. However, you can omit this step if you’d prefer.

Do You Have To Use Food Coloring to Make This Raspberry Bundt Cake Pink?

The color of this cake comes primarily from the freeze-dried raspberries and raspberry sauce. However, I like to add in 1-2 drops of pink or red gel food coloring to enhance the bright color.
It’s optional and you can omit gel food coloring, if desired.

Final Raspberry Cake Tips:

This is made with both freeze dried raspberries and fresh raspberries (you can use frozen instead of fresh, if needed).
The pink color of the cake comes from the freeze dried raspberries, food coloring, and the raspberry sauce.
Grease your bundt cake pan well.
Storage: Serve the cake the day of or the next day, for best results. Cake can be stored 1-2 days at room temperature (if your house is relatively cool), or store in the fridge.
- I suggest letting your cake come to room temperature before serving if it’s been stored in the fridge.
- Cold cake has a dry texture. Letting it come to room temperature will give the cake its soft and fluffy texture. Alternatively, you can microwave slices of the cake for 10-15 seconds to speed up the process.