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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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Can I substitute cake flour in place of all purpose flour?
I haven’t tried it with this particular recipe, so I’m not sure.
what lacked in looks (my own amateur decorating skills are to blame) was made up for in flavour. loved it and will make it again as soon as i burn off what i’ve eaten today
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
First cake from scratch I ever made. Thank you for the delicious recipe. My family love it and appreciate it very much!
Awesome! I’m so glad!
just made this cake today and is so fluffy and moist! I am wondering though.. as I let my cake layers cool the tops and bottoms of the layers became sticky and soggy-is.. do you have any idea why that’s happening? is that normal?
Mine too. I just made it and it does seem dense.
Such a great recipe! And so simple! And that frosting is to die for, never tasted any frosting I like better!
Wonderful! So glad to hear it!
Have you ever tried this recipe with a chocolate cake instead of vanilla? I’ve got a friend who loves chocolate and raspberry, but I want to still be able to to do a little decorating on the exterior. Thanks!
Absolutely a 10! I and my partner work in the bakery for a school district, and she has had a dessert catering business for years. I made her this cake today for her birthday, and everyone LOVED this cake, including her! That is quite a compliment coming from bakers. Next time I will follow my instinct and room temp my cheese, as we both think this is what caused the little lumps even after whipping my frosting. But wow this is my new favorite cake. By the way I did only make two layers
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks Cynthia!
I’m looking to use the filling in a cake I’m making for Valentines Day (using 2 layers I froze when I make a 3 layer cake but just needed 1 layer). I wanted to make it with all strawberries. Do you think that would work? Also, how far ahead can you make the fruit filling? I’d like to make it a day or two ahead and then keep it in the fridge. Any issues you see with that? Thanks!
PS This recipe was recommended by a FB group I’m in. She loves the filling and recommended I try this one!
Yes, all strawberries would work and you could definitely make the filling 2 or 3 days ahead. I hope you enjoy it!
I had the dense Cale problem too but it was moist which is hard to achieve at this high altitude. Aside from the heaviness of the cake I thought the flavor was great and the edges did get a little crisp but not a lot. I used aluminum cake pans and it wasn’t overly brown. It’s possible the cake cooked too fast. I know the altitude does mess with baking so that is likely the problem. I’m going to try the cake recipe with butter next. The fruit jam turned out great with the amount of cornstarch I like sweet things so the sugar content was fine with me. The frosting was delicious too I used a little less than 16oz of cream cheese with it.
Dense cake my phone keeps correcting me to Cale.
This cake is amazing!!! My husband doesn’t show much emotion, but he is still raving about this cake. My mother (who is 80) said it was the best cake she ever had. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfect. I’m new to baking and this recipe has given me the confidence to keep on baking. Thank you!
That’s wonderful! I’m so glad you all enjoyed! 🙂
Can yo use light olive oil instead of vegetable oil?
Thanks
That should be fine.
I made this for my daughter’s 15th birthday. She loves berries so it was perfect. My whole family absolutely LOVED this cake. It was so fresh tasting. The sponge itself is surprisingly moist. We are not frosting people, but it was delicious. We cleaned our plates. Thank you for this recipe. It will become our go-to fancy cake recipe.
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you all enjoyed!
Hi, I got only one mold, so can the cake wait for the other cake baked? Then only continue with the second and third layer of cake?
I think that should be fine.
If I could give it 6 stars, I would. This was pure heaven!!!
Wonderful! Glad it was a hit!
My husband made it, and took it to a party last night. The hostess said “That cake, in my opinion, is the best I have ever tasted! Please do not lose that recipe.”
That’s awesome! I’m so glad it was a hit!
Hello! Baking your recipe as I type ???? Just wondering if I wanted to use less sugar in the frosting, can I use dry milk to help stabilize it? Thanks!
I haven’t tried it. It could alter the texture and taste of the frosting.
Hi! The cake looks really good. Will this work for a tres leches cake?
I really haven’t made a tres leeches cake, but I think this cake base should work fine.