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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 tried this recipe for my daughters 3rd birthday and it is simply awesome. I didn’t change a thing except use frozen berries for the filling which is just delicious even on toast. Love the recipe I think it’s a must try. Thanks for sharing this
Made this cake and the chocolate peanut butter for my mother in laws 90th. Loved by all, since we drove 2 hours used your vanilla buttercream frosting. Made the vanilla cake twice, had an issue with one of the 8 inch pans not rising on one side. Otherwise followed your directions and was perfect
So glad you enjoyed them both!
Love this recipe and want to try it. Thinking of using frozen berries for the filling will I have increase the cornstarch
If you thaw them and pat them dry first, then no.
I have made this cake 4 times in the last few years and each time, I’m amazed at how delicious it is. The flavors go so well together and the texture of the cake is perfection. I’m thinking next time, I’m going to use almond extract where ever it calls for vanilla. 🤤😋 thank you!!
This recipe looks beautiful and there are so many varied comments that I had to give it a try to see how it went.
I made the cake as specified in the recipe. It was super easy but very thin batter so I was pretty skeptical. I did spoon the flour instead of scooping as well. I baked it in large cupcake tins and it was fine. Slightly dense for a cupcake but for a three layer cake it would be perfect. I did add a little lemon zest to the batter for half of them and that was also delicious!
The berry filling was easy and good. I used frozen berries so just thawed them first. The filling set up a little thick but that is completely dependent on how juicy the fruit is. I piped the filling into the middle of the cupcakes once they cooled.
The frosting was very easy as well. I made it exactly to the recipe. I was not familiar with mascarpone cheese so had to try it. It was very light and fluffy and the flavor is fantastic! If you leave it at warm temperature it will get soft pretty quickly so something to consider if you’re displaying at a party.
Overall it was delicious and beautiful. Would definitely make again
So glad you enjoyed it!
This cake is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! It is so delicious. I made it for the first time and served it to family. The berry filling and the mascarpone cream is so delightful. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Can I add nutella to the frosting?
I’ve never tried to add Nutella to whipped cream before, but you could try it. It could be a little heavy for the whipped cream if you add a lot.
I made this cake and followed the recipe exactly. It was the best cake I ever made and I could not stop eating it. My family loved it! I will make it again!
My mom loves to bake in her free time and has been wanting to try a cake like this for some time. She followed the directions exactly as stated and the end result was PERFECT! Initially she was super hesitant bc she read a lot of comments saying they had an unsuccessful bake or the frosting wasn’t right. Her cakes came out as they should as well as he frosting. Everything was a total success as she just decided to keep to following to the recipe as exactly stated and didn’t rush the process. The cake not only looked beautiful but tasted so unbelievably delicious. This is definitely a keeper.
I’m not sure what I did wrong with making this cake, I followed the directions to a T, I’ve made plenty of cakes… this one did not turn out for at all.
The cakes barely rose up, and the mascarpone frosting never turned into hard peaks enough for me to decorate the cake.
I’m sorry to hear that. I know some people have had issues with those cake layers before and I’ve never been able to figure out why. As for the whipped cream, mascarpone cheese can be finicky so if you want to make sure it’s not too warm when you use it or it won’t firm back up well and will get fairly liquidy. It’s possible that that could’ve affected your whipped cream.
If you would like to try different vanilla cake layers, this cake is a big hit it is my go to for a vanilla. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/moist-vanilla-layer-cake/
Hi I’ve just bought three 10″x3″ cake tins, would you recommend to doubling this recipe and extend cooking time as I need to make a larger cake. Many thanks
I haven’t really done 10 inch cakes, so I’m not sure. I would think doubling would be OK.
Can you use frozen berries instead of fresh?!
That should be fine. Just thaw them and pat them dry.
Awesome recipe !
I have made it many times over the last year.
I used fresh berries and I have made it with frozen berries.
The cake turned out awesome every single time so I’m puzzled over why some people had issues with the recipe.
The frosting is my all time favorite. It’s perfect.
Thank you for this recipe ❣️
So glad you’ve enjoyed it!
Hi Lindsay, I have fresh fruit to make the filling for my mom birthday . However her birthday is not until December. Can you freeze the filling, if so for how long. Thank you.
Can you freeze the filling? If so, how long?
Hi, I’m going to attempt this recipe today and i was wondering, is it possible to make the frosting ahead of time and leave in fridge? Will the texture/integrity be compromised if I do that?
This frosting is best made just before using.