This perfect Raspberry Glaze is packed with raspberry flavor and - best of all - easy to make! This recipe is made with fresh or frozen raspberries and a touch of lemon juice to make the best raspberry icing for pound cake, bundt cake, scones, donuts, and more. Plus it’s the ideal consistency to drizzle and will hold up perfectly on all your baked goods (no more soaking in!).
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Have you ever made a glaze that soaked right into your cake and just disappeared? Not anymore!
This Raspberry Glaze is thick and smooth, the perfect raspberry icing for cake or other desserts. It uses a bit of butter to give it a creamy consistency and cut through the sharp powdered sugar taste, leaving you with a sweet but flavorful raspberry drizzle.
Raspberry desserts - Raspberry Crumble Bars, White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake, and White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake - show up at many of our special occasions. They are all great for serving to a crowd!
If you haven't decided what to put this glaze on, it's a perfect topping for our Lemon Loaf Cake, Lemon Scones, or one of many easy dessert recipes. We also have a Fresh Orange Glaze and a Maple Glaze that are delicious as well.
🏅 Why this recipe is great
- It's a quick and easy recipe.
- Versatile - It's the right consistency for cakes, scones, donuts, and more!
- Doesn’t soak in and disappear.
- You can use fresh or frozen raspberries - whatever you have on hand.
🍓Ingredients
A full list and ingredient quantities are in the recipe card below, but here are a few noteworthy tips:
- Raspberries: Fresh or frozen raspberries are perfect.
- Lemon: The juice from a lemon helps to cut the sweetness and brighten the fruit flavor.
- Butter: It’s just a touch of butter so either salted or unsalted butter can be used.
- Cornstarch: This helps to thicken the raspberry mixture so that the final product is the perfect consistency.
🥣 How to make raspberry glaze
This is a quick two part process. The first part is basically like making a raspberry coulis (easy raspberry sauce) which gets thickened to the right consistency for glazing.
First, for the homemade raspberry sauce, combine the raspberries, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook over low to medium heat, until the raspberry juice starts to release. Stir occasionally, smashing the berries against the side to break them up.
Once it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, pull off the heat and strain through a wire mesh strainer (affiliate) (fine mesh sieve) into a small bowl. Discard seeds, and allow the smooth sauce to cool to room temperature.
Next, whisk or blend the butter, powdered sugar (icing sugar), vanilla extract, and raspberry sauce together until desired consistency. Boom! Glaze is done!
To fully cover with glaze, place cooled item(s) on a cooling rack with cookie sheet underneath. Slowly pour the glaze on top moving side to side to be sure everything is covered. If you want a drizzled look like we have here, use a spoon or place some of the glaze in a squeeze bottle and zig zag back and forth across the top.
🍽What to serve glaze on
- Angel food cake
- Scones
- Muffins
- Coffee cake
- Loaf cake
- Cookies
- Bundt cake
- Pound cake
- Vanilla ice cream
- Chocolate cake
🙋 Questions and Answers
Fresh raspberries that are in season are always more flavorful. However, if they're out of season or the fresh raspberries you find are not very flavorful, try using frozen. Frozen berries are picked at their peak of ripeness and are perfect for this application.
First, only pour on the glaze when the cake is completely cool, that way the icing doesn’t melt. Second, use a glaze that uses a bit of butter. The extra fat content helps hold the glaze together so it holds a nice layer instead of dissolving into the cake.
You can store this glaze in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, then gently warm it before using until it’s the desired consistency. Once you drizzle it on your cake, it will stay good for 2-3 days at room temperature.
👨🏼🍳 Tips & Tricks
- Cook raspberries on low heat until juices are flowing and cornstarch is dissolved.
- Don’t skip the butter or cornstarch. They are what helps the texture of this glaze hold up perfectly on baked goods.
📖 Other fruit recipes
- Individual Fruit Pizzas - Fresh berries and other summertime fruit make these the perfect dessert when the weather is warm!
- Orange Cake - Made with orange juice and zest it's a tasty breakfast or dessert!
- Strawberry Cheesecake Bars - The next time you want a throwback treat try these!
👋🏻 Connect with us!
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating to let us know how it is! We’d also love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Tag @borrowedbites or hashtag #borrowedbites to show us your food!
📋 Recipe
Perfect Raspberry Glaze
Ingredients
- 4 ounces raspberries fresh or frozen
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice fresh
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- 1½ tablespoon butter softened
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- 1¼ cups powdered sugar plus extra if needed
Instructions
- First, combine the raspberries, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, until the juices start to release. Stir occasionally, smashing the berries against the side to break them up. Once it starts to thicken, pull off the heat and strain through a wire mesh strainer (affiliate). Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.4 ounces raspberries, ½ tablespoon lemon juice, ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- Next, whisk or blend the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and raspberry sauce together until desired consistency.1½ tablespoon butter, ¼ teaspoon vanilla, 1¼ cups powdered sugar
- We love comments! Please come back and leave us one after you’ve tried this recipe.
Notes
- Cook raspberries on low heat until juices are flowing and cornstarch is dissolved.
- Don’t skip the butter or cornstarch. They are what helps the texture of this glaze hold up perfectly on baked goods.
Add Your Own Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition information is provided by a third party and is an estimate only. Use your own nutritional calculator for more specific measurements.
Ivette says
Hi, does this glaze set completely? Or does it stay wet? I am asking because I am making cake pops that I want to finish dipped in a raspberry glaze. I need to be able to package them in cellophane pouches without making a mess, lol. Thanks in advance.
Misty says
Hi Ivette! This icing does set up, although I am not sure if it is firm enough for cellophane wrapping. I have only ever tried it on baked goods that don't require individual wrapping. In my experience, it would likely work if it is a thin coating and has time to dry in the air. However, I certainly don't want to make a promise that I have not tried myself. If you do decide to try it, let us know how it goes!
IVETTE P DANZO says
Thanks for the reply! I'm going to try it out this weekend, I'll let you know how it turns out!
Debbie says
Used a chocolate cake mix in a heart shaped pan and made this glaze. Turned out incredible. Love it.
Niki says
Great recipe. Came out just right!
Misty says
So glad you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to share with us.