Raspberry Limeade Cake

I love raspberry limeade/lemonade. Its one of my favorite drinks. So when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it. Also, I am posting this beautiful cake in honor of my sweet baby girls 2nd birthday today!

This particular recipe is a Paula Deen original. Its the first one of hers I have ever tried, and I think it turned out great. Its a wonderful Spring/Summer dessert to serve to company... or just to make because you feel like it is calling your name. We didn't have any company the day I made this, so you can imagine my motivation in making this delight.

I only own two 9 inch round pans, so I ended up using 3 of my teeny tiny 4 inch round pans as well. I love how the little ones turned out! I took one to a friend for her birthday and now I only want to make mini cakes from here on out!

First of all, do yourself a favor and go buy some of this stuff:

I LOVE THIS STUFF! Seriously, its awesome. I know, I know... you can just sprinkle some flour in your pan, but this spray is just so great. I have always been happy with the results when I use it... NOTHING sticks to the pan!

This recipe seems like a lot of work, and compared to some recipes it is, but trust me, its so worth it. This would be a really fun cake to serve at a baby or bridal shower.

Raspberry Limeade Cake

Cake Batter:

3/4 Cup Butter, softened

2 Cups Sugar

1 TBSP Lime Zest

3/4 Cup Frozen Limeade Concentrate, thawed

5 large Eggs

3 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour

2 3/4 tsp. Baking Powder

1 1/2 cups Buttermilk

Raspberry Filling:

1 (10 oz.) Bag Frozen Raspberries in Syrup, thawed

1/2 Cup Sugar

2 TBSP Cornstarch

3 Egg Yolks

1 TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice

1/4 Cup Butter, cut in pieces

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 (8 oz.) Package Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 Cup Butter, softened

3 TBSP Frozen Limeade Concentrate, thawed

1 TBSP Lime Zest

5 Cups Powdered Sugar

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 9 inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray with flour.

In a large electric mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, and lime zest @ medium speed until fluffy.

Add Limeade concentrate and beat until combined.

Add eggs, 1 @ a time, beating well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Gradually add this mixture to egg mixture, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean {since I only had 2 pans, mine cooked for more like 30-35 minutes}. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto wire racks to continue cooling.

For the Filling:

Blend raspberries in a food processor until smooth and has a puree like consistency. If needed, strain mixture to remove any chunks {I didn't do that part!}.

In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, raspberry puree, egg yolks and lemon juice over medium heat. Whisk together and continue to cook on medium heat for 7-8 minutes, or until very thick. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in butter pieces until melted. Allow to cool slightly before covering and refrigerating for at least 2 hours.

For the Frosting:

In a large electric mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter @ medium speed until creamy.

Add limeade concentrate and lime zest, beating @ low speed.

Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Taste and adjust consistency to your liking {I ended p adding a bit more limeade to make the frosting thinner and more spreadable}.

Assembly:

Spread raspberry filling between layers. Frost top and sides with cream cheese limeade frosting. Garnish with fresh raspberries and lime slices if desired {I didn't have fresh raspberries on hand...}.

**Note: You can see that I have 4 layers on mine instead of 3. I just ended up cutting my 2 9 inch cakes in half and making an extra layer. There was plenty of filling and frosting to decorate the whole cake.

**Another Side Note: The missionaries came over for dinner the day after I made this, so you better believe I pawned a HUGE chunk of it off to them! :) I can't have this thing hanging out on my counter all day!! They LOVED it!