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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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Hi, I wanted to know if I could substitute the whipped cream icing for a swiss meringue buttercream. Do you think it will taste good together?
I’ve really only had SMB buttercream a couple times and it was a while ago. It’s hard for me to say how it’d be together.
I made this a few years ago and now requested to make it.
For tweaks…. I use box of vanilla cake but add some lemon zest and very little juice to add extra flavor. I use a jar of Bonne Maman jam Four Fruits as my filler.
Everyone loves it-even my mom who says she hates cheese.
I’m in the midst of making this cake now. They are indeed quite soft but smell wonderful. My concern is the fruit filling. I saw someone else addressed this in a comment about the ratio of corn starch in the filling. I used 2 cups of fruit, more than the recipe states, and with that much corn starch it was so thick I had to thin it with another 1/2 cup+ of water. Now that it is cooled and out of the fridge, it’s really quite firm. Should that be 3 TEASPOONS and NOT tablespoons? Thanks!
Hello Lindsay,
I like to know if I can use a 8×3 inches for all three layers instead of using a 3 8inches pan. Thank you!
Do you mean adding all the batter to one pan at the same time to bake it? I wouldn’t suggest that. The cake will turn out dense and bake unevenly.
My cake and berry filling were fine.
I just have problems with the icing,
It’s too runny, what can I do to fix this problem.
It’s hard to say without being there to see it. Did you whip it long enough? Are you using a hand mixer or stand? Are you using a HEAVY whipping cream? Was it nice and cold when you whipped it? Did you maybe over whip it?
Yes, I followed all your instructions
I used my kitchen aid mixer
Heavy cream was cold
I actually put my bowl and attachment in the freezer just before.
I started over and this time I added whip it to my mix, all went well
I’m not familiar with whit whip it, but I’m glad it worked!
Hi! If I’m looking to make a 3-layer 10-inch Cake? Would I double or triple this recipe? What baking time would you suggest? Thanks!
I’d like to make this as a 6 inch cake- do you have recommendations for cooking time of the cakes to fit 6 inch pans? Thanks so much! Looks delicious!
I don’t really use 6 inch pans, so I’m not sure. I’m sorry.
I making a sheet cake and would like to know how long to cook it and would I double the recipe? Thank you. I hope this is a moist cake. Making this for a teacher that is retiring this year! Thank you so much
Angie
Are you doing a 9×13 cake? If so, check out this vanilla cake, which is this cake as a 9×13.
For the berry filling, is there anything else I can use instead of the corn starch? I just realized I was out. Thanks!
You could try using flour but you’ll want to use a little more to replace it.
I made 2 out of the 3 components to this cake. The berry filling and the frosting. I read many of the comments but didn’t feel comfortable using the sponge recipe so I used one that I’ve made before. In that recipe it calls for just vanilla but I also added almond extract because I wanted an almond sponge. As for the filling and frosting? Both came out beautifully. I will admit I was worried about the frosting. Because so many people had issues with it yes, I was nervous. Here’s what I did. First off, at the time of making the frosting it was 80 degrees in my house. I did chill my bowl and beater for a few hrs. I also sifted the powdered sugar onto a piece of parchment paper. Once I placed the cream and vanilla into the bowl that’s when I took out the mascarpone. Before I turned on my mixer I grabbed a spoon and lightly worked over the cheese just to loosen it up a bit. Then I began to beat the cream and slowly pour the sugar in. Once it almost hit soft peaks I ran a spatula through it then continued beating till I got soft peaks. Doing that step ensured that all of the sugar and cream was fully incorporated. Then I added the cheese, turned my mixer to its highest speed. I stopped the mixer before it got to full stiff peaks so I could once again use my spatula to make sure everything was incorporated. I turned it back on and in about 30 seconds it was done. I couldn’t believe how light and fluffy the frosting came out. Don’t get me wrong. I love the texture and taste but next time I make the frosting I’m either going to add about 1/4 cup of sugar or add 1/2 tsp to a full tsp of vanilla extract just so there’s a bit more flavor. I haven’t had a slice yet. I know, crazy right? LOL But there’s a good reason for that craziness. I plan to share this beauty with my sisters. Today one sister will be dropping by to pick up most of the cake and tonight I’ll finally be able to enjoy my slice. Thanks for such an amazing frosting and jam recipe!! I haven’t added the fresh berries yet (didn’t want the bleeding to happen before my sister arrived) but my cake looks so beautiful. I’m not good at decorating either but that frosting made doing a crumb coat, a final icing and piping some basic decor so easy. Sorry for the novel but I just wanted to share my experience with the hope that it can be of some help to someone down the line. Happy baking…..
Hello – Would it work to not fully puree the berries and leave some chunks/diced strawberries in the berry filling? Also – could I reduce the amount of sugar in the Berry Filling to ~ 2 TBSP? I don’t like overly sweet fillings but I wanted to make sure reducing the sugar won’t affect the consistency too much? Thank you!
You could leave some chunks in there, but you’ll have less liquid and it might not make as much filling. As for the sugar – it doesn’t just add sweetness. When sugar melts, it’s liquid, so it adds moisture and volume as well. You can reduce it but you’d probably want to reduce the cornstarch too, as you won’t have as much liquid or filling.
Just a side note, the butter and flour method for the pan also works with this recipe:)
I am making this cake for my mother for her birthday and I have had a lot of issues with making cakes and not having enough frosting to use as a filling and also a frosting for the whole cake so I want to make sure that the recipe for the frosting is going to be enough to fill the cake like the video showed because I liked how you used the thick layers. I’m sure there is but I want to make sure.
I’m typically accused of having too much frosting in my recipes, so I’m thinking it should be fine.
Thank you for your awesome recipes and tutorials! Can I use this frosting under a fondant covered cake? Or will the whipped frosting be too soft? I’m making a cake for a friend and he likes this flavor combination.
I’m thinking the frosting would likely be too soft.
I bake quite I bit and by far this cake is the best cake I have ever made/had. It’s not too sweet, and is the perfect cake for spring or summer. I added freshly squeezed lemon juice in the berry topping.
For the icing, I didn’t have any mascarpone cheese, so I used the mascarpone substitute recipe. Its 16oz. cream cheese and 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream. I blended it separately before adding to the whipped cream . Came out fantastic!!
5 star recipe!!
Hello!
Can I make this cake in two 9 inch pans? earlier comments says to reduce fruit filling to half. How about frosting.. should I adjust for 2 layers? Finally, can fruit be reduced whole with sugar instead of puree and eliminate cornstarch? Thank you very much in advance!