• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans.

For the Cake:

• Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth, and beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt along with the milk, lemon juice and lemon zest, mixing until just combined.
• Pour the batter equally into prepared pans, and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. After the cakes cool for 10 minutes, turn them over onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

For the Frosting:

• In a stand mixer, mix the butter on medium speed for about two minutes or it turns white in color.
• Add the vanilla and raspberry preserves. Mix well, slowly mixing in the powdered sugar.
• Beat on low speed for 2-3 minutes, adding heavy cream a tablespoon at a time if the buttercream is too thick to spread.

To Assemble:

• Place one cake layer on a cake plate. Pipe a ring of frosting around the outer top edge of the cake. This is to hold the lemon curd in place.
• Spoon the lemon curd on top of the cake inside the frosting ring. Spread it out carefully.
• Place the second cake layer on top.
• Frost the outside of the cake with the raspberry buttercream. You can add as little or as much frosting as you want.
• To decorate, use leftover icing to pipe flowers on the top using tip 1M or use fresh berries to decorate.
• Store at room temperature for up to 24 hours, or store in an airtight container in the fridge.