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This Berry Mascarpone Layer Cake has layers of fluffy vanilla cake, fresh berry filling and mascarpone whipped cream frosting! It’s light, fruity and perfect for spring!
Berry Mascarpone Layer Cake
I never really realized how much of an effect caffeine has until I stopped drinking it recently. As part of the IVF process, caffeine isn’t really recommended so I’ve been doing my best to not drink it. Since soda has less caffeine than coffee, I’ll have a little if I’m desperate. I’d rather have coffee though. 🙁 Much more yummy.
Point is though – the lack of a picker-upper is brutal! And the tiredness is making me crave a way to increase energy so now I just want to eat all the carbs and sugar, which I’m also avoiding. Sometimes I feel like I just can’t eat anything. It’s not a good situation. I’ve gotta find a way to muster up some energy!
My go-to move right now is to play some of my favorite music and dance around while working. Gets the blood flowing and pumps me up. 🙂 Yay for 90s music! That’s my era.
And this is my cake.
Boy, do I love this cake! Fresh berries are some of the best things ever and we’ve had them galore for the last month or so. I can’t get enough of them! Especially the blueberries and strawberries. I just want to eat a carton at a time. And I can eat fruit – yay! 🙂
How to Make Berry Mascarpone Layer Cake
This cake starts with a moist and easy vanilla cake. The batter is so easy to put together, you could simply use a whisk to combine everything if you wanted. I always love a good stand mixer – it takes the work out of it for you – but you could do it by hand. Just combine the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then add them all together with a little water. Done! Plus, the ingredients are all nice and straight forward. Rock on.
Then there’s the berry filling. You could almost think of it as a homemade jam, but not quite as thick. I used an even mix of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, but you could use whatever combo you like. The berries are purred in a food processor, then cooked over heat with some sugar and cornstarch. The heat reduces the liquid a bit and the cornstarch helps thicken everything. Once it’s cooled, you’ve got the perfect berry filling!
The mascarpone whipped cream frosting is used both to add to the cake filling and to frost the cake. I love how light this frosting is! You basically make whipped cream and add mascarpone cheese to it. The mascarpone flavor is lighter than a more straight forward mascarpone frosting, but this version runs much less risk of getting a super soft mascarpone frosting. Just be sure to add the full amount of powdered sugar to make sure the frosting stays stable. It makes a great addition to the cake and keeps things light and fresh!
The final cake is perfect for spring, Easter and all through the summer! It was a huge hit!
Watch How To Make It
SHOP THE RECIPE
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Berry Mascarpone Layer Cake
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 26 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 11 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Berry Mascarpone Layer Cake has layers of fluffy vanilla cake, fresh berry filling and mascarpone whipped cream frosting! It’s light, fruity and perfect for spring!
Ingredients
VANILLA CAKE
- 2 1/2 cups (325g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (414g) sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240ml) milk
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (240ml) water
BERRY FILLING
- 1 1/2 cup (240g) mixed berries (I used strawberries, blueberries and raspberries)
- 3 tbsp (45ml) water
- 3/4 cup (155g) sugar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
WHIPPED MASCARPONE FROSTING
- 2 1/2 cups (600ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 1 1/2 cups (173g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 16 oz (452g) mascarpone cheese, chilled
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare three 8 inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray and parchment paper in the bottom. These cakes can have a tendency to stick to the pans a bit, so I strongly recommend the parchment paper in the bottom.
2. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large mixer bowl and combine. Set aside.
3. Add the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and eggs to a medium sized bowl and combine.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
5. Slowly add the water to the batter and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 24-28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
7. Remove the cakes from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling. These cakes can have a tendency to stick to the pans a bit so jiggle them a bit to loosen from the sides of the pan before turning the cakes out to cool.
BERRY FILLING
8. To make the berry topping, add the berries and water to a food processor and puree until smooth. You should end up with about 2/3 cup puree.
9. Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Stir in the berry puree.
10. Cook over medium heat, stirring consistently until mixture thickens and comes to a boil, about 8-10 minutes.
11. Allow to boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Refrigerate and allow to cool completely.
FROSTING AND ASSEMBLY
12. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until soft peaks form.
13. Add the mascarpone cheese to the whipped cream and whip until stiff peaks form. It will happen fairly quickly.
14. To assemble the cake, use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes.
15. Place the first layer of cake on a serving plate or a cardboard cake round. Pipe a dam of frosting around the outside of the cake. I use Ateco tip 808 for the dam so that it’s tall.
16. Spread half of the berry filling evenly on top of the cake layer, inside the dam. It should fill the dam about half way full.
17. Add some additional mascarpone frosting to the top of the berry filling and spread into an even layer to fill in the remaining dam space.
18. Add the second layer of cake and repeat the filling layer with the remaining berry filling and additional mascarpone frosting.
19. Add the final layer of cake on top, then smooth out the frosting around the sides of the cake.
20. Frost the outside of the cake, then use an icing decorator (I use this Ateco Icing Smoother ) to add a striped pattern to the sides.
21. Finish off the cake with some swirls of frosting and fresh berries.
22. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve. Cake is best for 2-3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 678
- Sugar: 53 g
- Sodium: 216.6 mg
- Fat: 40 g
- Carbohydrates: 74 g
- Protein: 8.7 g
- Cholesterol: 118.4 mg
Enjoy!
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I made this cake (with a box mix) this week for my 12 year old son’s birthday and it was a hit. My husband doesn’t usually like the cakes I make with American buttercream (everyone else’s favorite). But I used your mascarpone cream and fruit filling before topping it with the buttercream and he really liked it! Thanks for the recipe! I’ll be making it again! 🙂
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed!
This looks amazing! I’m thinking about making this for my birthday in a few days. I was wondering if I had to cut the recipe if I use 6in round pans? Maybe if I use 4 6in pans it would be ok but I don’t want to make it too tall.
I honestly haven’t made any 6 inch cakes, so I’m not sure how to advise. I’m sorry!
I tried this cake for my daughter’s birthday as she loves mascarpone cheese. It turned out to be awesome. I tried icing first time as well. Only change I made in recipe was to use my go to eggless vanilla cake recipe as we don’t use eggs.
Totally in love. Made it again for a cousin’s birthday. Love the recipe.
Wonderful! So glad you’ve enjoyed it!
This cake was phenomenal! I made it with 9 inch pans because that was all I had, which made a wider and thinner round cake, BUT that was to be expected. I made no changes to the actual recipe and everyone LOVED it and RAVED about it! The cake was devoured in minutes. It was my first layer cake and i will be making it again for sure!! I will be making more of your recipes in the future! So happy i found your website!
Awesome! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hi! I’m hoping to make this cake this weekend for a special event but want the cake a bit taller. If I 1 1/2 the recipe and made it into 3 8 in layers that it would mess with the consistency of the cake?
Possibly. I’m not entirely sure. That amount might still be fine. Often if the layers get too thick, they can end up dense.
I have made this amazing cake several times. Everyone loves it!!!
I am now going to make it for my Niece’s wedding. Wondering if you have any tips on slicing it so I get clean pieces?
Also, 1 time I was doing the frosting and i think i whipped it too long……any tips for knowing the perfect time to add the mascarpone? Or can it be fixed if it happens again?
Thank you!!!!
I’m so glad to hear that! Clean slices is hard to say – the filling is naturally going to kind of move around during slicing.
What happened when you whipped too long? I typically add the mascarpone when I notice that the whipping cream is starting to hold it’s shape but isn’t really thick yet.
I am not a baker! And have never had success with cakes from scratch. But I bit the bullet and made this…..with great success. OK, it didn’t look perfect as pictured but it was fantastic. The cake itself was so light and moist. The directions were easy to follow. At the end of the day, I FELT like a master chef! Thank you for sharing!
I”m so glad you enjoyed the cake!
I have not tried the recipe for the cake thus giving it only a 4 star. However, the berry jam ( I use strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry) and the mascarpone frosting was a really good combo. I made a white sour cream almond cake to go along with the berry filling and the mascarpone frosting and it was a hit! The frosting is not overly sweet so it didn’t overpower the sweetness of the cake while the berry jam gives a hint of tartness making it all comes beautifully together. You just want to keep the whole cake to yourself.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the filling and frosting!
OMG! You’re site is amazing. I love the detailed videos. It’s very inspiring. May I ask what set up do you use to record your videos and edit them? Thanks for everything sweet!
Thanks Jenna! Gosh, it’s hard to explain the whole set up and I haven’t been doing my more recent videos myself. But I usually have a camera on the side angle and one overhead. I use Canon 6D cameras with a 100mm lens on the side and 24-70mm lens overhead. I edit with Adobe Premiere.
Hi! I was wondering if this cake could hold up with fondant covering it? It’s looks and sound delicious!
I’m really not sure. I haven’t used fondant much lately. It’s a fairly moist cake. If I were to cover it in fondant, I’d probably use ganache underneath.
I cut my 3 cakes into 2 layers each and then doubled the filling as well as the icing. This made for prettier presentation, very yummy cake!
Sounds delicious! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I was wondering what the difference is between mascarpone and cream cheese? If it would be an equal match to use cream cheese
The cheeses have different textures and flavors. You can use cream cheese here though, if you like. Just use the same amount.
I would like to make this for Easter, so I’m hoping you’re able to get back to me quickly. (Late notice, so if you can’t, I understand.) I would like to do just raspberries and a lemon icing. How would you change the icing recipe to account for lemon juice and some lemon zest? Or should I just do extract instead of the vanilla? Thank you so much & have a wonderful Easter holiday!
Hi Lindsay,
I love your blog and your recipes are just fabulous. I am not a cake/baking kind of person but I decided to take the plunge and try out this berry mascarpone layer cake. I am actually in the process of making it. I followed the recipe to the letter but my vanilla cake is very dense and I am wondering what I did wrong. I was wondering if the lean milk i used might have affected the result. It’s 0.4% fat, should the water be cold or lukewarm?
I’ll appreciate your feedback so I can do it better next time and get that light airy result.
Hi Marvis! I’m so glad to hear you enjoy the site! I’m sorry you had trouble with the cake layers. It seems that some people have trouble with it while others don’t and it doesn’t seem to be an issue I can recreate, so I’m not sure what’s causing it. I wouldn’t think the milk or water temperature should make a significant difference. I’ve used warm and cold water before. I typically use 2% milk.
Hi! I can’t wait to bake this cake. I am doing a test cake this weekend prior to my son’s party. The venue he’s having the party at does not have a fridge. Do you think the icing will hold up ok if the cake sits out 1-2 hours before serving? Thanks so much in advance. 😉
Is the venue inside? If so, then it should be fine. If it’s outside, I probably wouldn’t take the chance.
Hi Lindsay!
I made this cake for a friend’s birthday this week. I had never made it before so I was a little worried about the outcome. Everyone loved it! Even my husband raved about it! I was so proud and happy! Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
Angelica
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks Angelica!
Do you use hot water for the cake recipe?
You can use whatever temperature water.