Prevent Cake Discoloration

• If you want a yellow cake containing whole raspberries, you must freeze the berries before you begin making the cake so they don't break up while you're stirring them into the batter. Gently place fresh raspberries in a colander and rinse them with cold water. Drain for two to three minutes, gently shaking the colander every 30 seconds. Line a baking sheet with paper towels, and carefully pour the raspberries onto the sheet. Place another paper towel on top of the raspberries and gently pat to remove remaining water. Place the raspberries individually on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper, making sure they do not touch. Freeze the raspberries for one to two hours, or until they are frozen solid. Remove them from the freezer and gently stir them into the lemon cake mix batter after you've mixed in all other ingredients.

Add Raspberry Color

• If you want your lemon cake to have a pinkish hue, crush some or all of the berries so they'll color the batter. Gently place fresh raspberries in a colander and rinse them with cold water. Drain for two to three minutes, gently shaking the colander every 30 seconds. Transfer the raspberries to a mixing bowl and crush them with a pestle, potato masher or fork. Mix the crushed raspberries into the cake mix batter, along with any remaining whole berries, after all other ingredients have been added.

Raspberry Layers

• Add layers of raspberries to a lemon cake for bright bands of color and intense flavor. Follow the directions to prepare the lemon cake mix, adding a few crushed berries if you wish, and fill the cake pan approximately one-fourth full of batter. Top with a layer of frozen raspberries, then pour more batter on top until the pan is approximately half full. Add another layer of raspberries, then fill the pan with the remaining batter.

Marbled Raspberry Lemon Cake

• Pour your lemon cake mix batter into the cake pan in stages to create a marbled effect. Divide the lemon cake batter into two bowls, and stir crushed raspberries into one bowl to make the batter pink. Leave the other bowl of batter yellow. Scoop one spoonful of yellow batter into the pan, then scoop a spoonful of pink batter into the pan so the two colors are beside each other. Drag the tip of a knife or a toothpick through the two batters to increase the marble effect.