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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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Made this cake 3x’s. One for a birthday…but I never baked it before so I baked an extra one for myself and to share. It was such a big hit that I baked it a third time! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
So glad to hear it was a hit!
Is it possible to make the mascarpone frosting ahead of time?
Because it’s basically a whipped cream, I wouldn’t recommend it. It will hold up very well once you frost it onto the cake, but trying to stir it up again after it sits might leave you with a deflated whipped cream.
Hi Lindsey! I love this recipe. I’ve made it a few times and it’s always a huge hit. I’m making it again for my friends 50th bday. I’m wondering if I make it Friday will it still be fresh looking and tasting for Sunday if kept in the refrigerator.
Thanks
Kim
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! It should look fresh still, I just might add the fresh fruit on the cake the day you serve it so that that looks fresh.
Hi, Lindsay. I made this cake recipe for a co-worker’s birthday. She loves fruit, so this was the perfect cake for her. Not only was the cake flavorful and moist, but the filling was really delicious and the mascarpone frosting was light tasting and perfect. Thank you for another great recipe! My favorite is your chocolate pumpkin cheesecake, my second is your oreo cake, and this cake is my third favorite. Thank you for sharing!!! 😋🎂👍👍
Wonderful! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed everything!
I’ve made this a couple of times and it’s been a huge hit. I’m curious if you’ve turned then into cupcakes and if so, how you’d cook them?
I’m glad to hear it’s a hit! I haven’t personally made it as cupcakes, but it would work. I’d fill the cupcake liners about halfway and bake them for probably 15 to 18 minutes depending on your oven. I’m not sure exactly how many cupcakes the filling would fill. You should get about 24 cupcakes so you may need more filling.
Hi Lindsay 🙂
For the berry filling can i use frozen berries? I don’t have access to fresh ones.
And if i do, does it change the recipe?
Thanks!!
Frozen berries should be fine and shouldn’t change anything. I would just thaw them and pat them dry first.
Thanks! And if I want to make it a geode cake. The frosting is stiff enough to hold the candied rocks?
I’m not sure about that. It’s basically a whipped cream, so buttercream might be better for something like that.
Hi Lindsay!
So… I really love this cake. So much so that the sponge has become my go-to for all vanilla layer cakes. But I’ve been having issues with it. The edges of the cake are light, fluffy and perfect, but as the layers cool, the centers become very dense and almost gummy. I am really not sure what the issue is, as I’ve tried several solutions.
-I am not over-mixing. I have tried the recipe many times, both mixing by hand and with a stand mixer and I mix only until everything is combined.
-I am not under-baking. The toothpick comes out clean and the top of the cake springs back like it should.
I LOVE the flavor of this cake, so I’m really hoping I can figure out what’s going wrong. I’ve probably made it at least 25 times, and it’s been so many times now that I can’t remember if it ever DIDN’T turn out with the dense center.
Thanks in advance!
Hard to know what to suggest. It sounds like it was probably turning out better before, so I’m really not sure why it would be having trouble now. One thing that can cause layers to fall in the center while cooling is having too much baking soda or baking powder, so maybe double check those or even try reducing it by 1/2 a teaspoon and see if it helps.
Did you resolve the problem Nicole? I have exact same issue with this cake….I love the flavour, but it looks uncooked underneath (in the centre). I’ve baked it maybe 30 times, but now I’m selling my bakes & I can’t use this recipe unless I resolve this issue. Still has best flavour of any vanilla cake recipe I’ve tried. Very frustrating.
No, sadly, I didn’t ever figure it out. Had to find a new recipe 😢
I want to make this a day ahead of time. Do I keep it in the fridge or at room temp?
You’ll want to refrigerate it and then let it sit out for maybe 30 minutes or so before serving.
Lindsay, this may have been answered already but there are so many comments I don’t have the time to read through all of them! How far in advance can I make this cake and refrigerate it? I’ve already baked and frozen it but I want to be able to frost and refrigerate it as soon as possible so I can do everything else I need to do for TG! Thanks. 🙂 Trisha
Typically I’d suggest the day before. With Thanksgiving though, you could try to stretch it another day before beforehand.
Even though this is advertised as a spring/summer dessert, I intend to serve it on Thanksgiving as a break from the typically heavy Thanksgiving desserts. I would like to decorate it with some fall colors in the shape of leaves. Is the frosting strong enough to be piped that way or would I be better off just using regular store-bought cake frosting for the decorations? Thanks.
It’s hard to say for sure without knowing exactly what you’re planning on piping, but generally speaking this whipped cream should hold up pretty well to some basic piping. I would think it would stand up better than the store-bought frosting, which is actually very thin and not really pipeable in my opinion. I hope you enjoy it!
Actually some of the canned frostings are now light and fluffy but I just had a brainstorm and would like your opinion. Last fall I bought a set of pie plungers to decorate the top of my apple pie. https://www.surlatable.com/pie-plunger-set-of-4/PRO-5509773.html
If I filled them with the whipped cream frosting and put them in the freezer to set, do you think I would be able to have them form into the shapes so that I would be able to just release them onto the top of the cake with the plunger handle? If so, once they got to room temp do you think they would start to melt down and lose their shapes? What I am basically trying to do is to put decorations like those harvest shapes on the top of the cake. I figured I would color the whipped cream frosting in fall colors and use that for the decorations. Based on what I am trying to do in terms of decorating, do you have any thoughts, ideas, tips? Thanks.
I haven’t used canned frosting in quite a while, but that’s good to hear.
As for the decorations, I’m honestly not sure. The decorations would probably hold their shape, but they may flatten out as they soften so to speak. So like, if it’s a leaf that’s kind of got a curl to it it’ll probably end up laying flat once it softens. The other thing to consider is that with whipped cream, color sometimes bleeds. I don’t know if that would be an issue or not.
Hi! I’ve made this recipe many times before and absolutely loved it. I was going to attempt a chantilly cake though and was wondering if you think I could substitute 8 oz of cream cheese for 8 oz of the mascarpone in this frosting recipe. I know it’s guesswork, but your guess would be way more educated than mine!
Yes cream cheese would work fine as a substitute for the mascarpone.
This is the best cake I have ever made! It is definitely a go to for me and apparently for my friends as well. I took it for a beach trip last year and my girlfriends requested a repeat this year! I’m a little torn because that triple lemon cake looks amazing! It may win for this trip.
I’m so glad it was a hit!
The cake was delicious!! I used 9” pans and it worked fine. The texture was like shortcake and I absolutely loved it combined with the filling. The only issue I ran into was the frosting was way too thin. I had to add cornstarch and at least another cup of powdered sugar to get it thick enough. I will definitely make again but maybe cut the milk and heavy whipped cream in half.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. As for the frosting, I’m wondering if it had to do with the temperature of the mascarpone cheese. If it gets too warm, it really thins out and can be hard to thicken back up.
Hi Lindsay! What would be the baking time for using 9inch cake pans instead of 8inch? Also, same baking temperature?
The baking temperature doesn’t change. I’m not exactly sure of the baking time because I didn’t make it as a 9 inch, but you might want to check them around 18 to 20 minutes and add more time if you need it.
soooo good, and easy to make
My husband made a request for me to duplicate our June 19th wedding cake. We had almond flavor yellow cake with marionberry jam and crème fraîche filling with butterceam frosting. So I googled the basic ingredients and found this recipe. I followed your recipe as stated except changed almond for the vanilla. It turned out beautifully….it’s Setting up in the fridge as I write this and can’t wait to taste it!
How fun! I’m so glad it worked out well!