Step 1

Add your raspberries and sugar to a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.

Step 2

Heat your raspberry puree until it begins to bubble. Increase the heat to medium-high heat if needed.

Step 3

In a small bowl, combine the water and the ClearJel (or cornstarch) and mix until smooth. Don't just add the ClearJel (or cornstarch) directly to the hot liquid or you'll end up with lumps of thickener in your filling.

Step 4

Add your ClearJel mixture (or cornstarch slurry) to the hot liquid and mix for one more minute to thicken the mixture.

Step 5

Add in the lemon juice and lemon zest and continue cooking for one more minute until thickened.

Step 6

Transfer the mixture to a heat-proof container and cover it with plastic wrap (so that it's touching the surface) and allow it to cool to room temperature or place it into the refrigerator to cool before using it.

Step 7

Preheat the oven to 335º F/168º C or 350º F/177º C and prepare three 6-inch cake pans (or two 8-inch pans) with cake goop or another preferred pan spray or parchment paper. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature or slightly warm (eggs, buttermilk, butter).

Step 8

Measure out the buttermilk and place 4 ounces in a separate measuring cup.

Step 9

Add oil to the 4 ounces of buttermilk and set aside.

Step 10

To the remaining buttermilk, add your eggs (lightly whisked to break them up), lemon extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

Step 11

Measure out the cake flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into the bowl of your stand mixer.

Step 12

Attach the paddle to the mixer and mix on low speed (setting 1 on Kitchen Aid mixers) until the dry ingredients are combined. I recommend a stand mixer for this recipe, but you can do this with a large bowl and electric mixer, just mix by texture instead of time.

Step 13

Slowly add chunks of softened butter to the flour mixture and mix on medium speed until the batter resembles coarse sand.

Step 14

Add the milk/oil mixture all at once to the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed (speed 4 on Kitchenaid) for 2 full minutes until it's white and fluffy.

Step 15

Scrape the bowl. This is an important step because if you skip it, you will have hard lumps of flour in your batter. If you do it later, they will not mix in fully.

Step 16

Slowly add in the rest of your wet ingredients in 3 parts and mix until combined. Stop to scrape the sides of the bowl one more time halfway through. Your batter should be thick and not too runny.

Step 17

Fill the pans 3/4 full and give each a tap to level out the batter and get rid of any air bubbles.

Step 18

Add 3 to 4 large dollops of your raspberry filling to the cake batter and use a spoon or knife to swirl it through the batter.

Step 19

Bake the cakes for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs.

Step 20

After the cakes have cooled for 10 minutes, flip them onto cooling racks to cool completely. Or wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them.

Step 21

Place the egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip on high speed for 3-5 minutes.

Step 22

Add the softened butter in small chunks then vanilla and salt. Whip on high until light and fluffy and white, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Step 23

Set aside 2 cups of vanilla buttercream if you want to do the ombre design. Add a drop of yellow food color to give it a slight tint.

Step 24

Add about ½ cup of the strained raspberry purée to the buttercream and continue to whip until combined.

Step 25

Mix in about 1-2 drops of pink food coloring to enhance the raspberry color if you choose.

Step 26

Optional: switch to the paddle attachment and mix on low for 15-20 minutes until all air bubbles are gone.

Step 27

Stored it in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator or for 3 months in the freezer.

Step 28

Trim the dome from the top of the cake rounds and the browned edges.

Step 29

Place the first cake layer on the cake board and spread raspberry buttercream over the top. Using a piping bag and round tip, pipe a dam around the outer edge of the cake.

Step 30

Spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of raspberry filling within the dammed area. If you overfill the center it could possibly squeeze out once you start stacking other layers.

Step 31

Place a few fresh raspberries on top of the raspberry filling.

Step 32

Spread a thin layer of raspberry frosting on the bottom of the next layer to sandwich in the berries.

Step 33

Repeat the process with the remaining cake layers.

Step 34

Once all 3 layers are placed, cover it in a crumb coat of buttercream. Chill it for 5-10 minutes until the buttercream has set.

Step 35

Spread a final coat of buttercream on the cake. I used the yellow buttercream to make an ombré, but you can do all raspberry if you prefer.

Step 36

Spread some raspberry buttercream around the bottom half of the cake.

Step 37

Then smooth the whole cake using the bench scraper, creating an ombré, watercolor effect between the 2 buttercream colors.

Step 38

Using a piping bag fitted with a star tip, pipe 8-10 dollops on top around the cake. (Make sure the dollops and raspberries are touching, to create a dam for the center raspberry filling.)

Step 39

Then, fill the center of the top of the cake with 2-3 tablespoons of raspberry filling.

Step 40

Make sure to keep the cake chilled, but take it out a few hours before you're going to serve it. This cake is best eaten at room temperature!