This post may contain affiliate sales links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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
You might also like
Mini Berry Almond Cheesecakes
Raspberry Dream Cake
Berries and Cream Cupcakes
Fresh Berry Vanilla Layer Cake
Berry Lemon Cheesecake Cookie Cups
Triple Berry Trifle
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!
This post contains affiliate links.
Hey!! I tried the recipe and loved it!! Only concern my cake turned a bit brown in color instead of the white in the pic. What could be the reason for it?
It’s a little tough to say. All brands vary a little bit and if one of yours was a little darker in color, your cake may have been a little darker.
Hi! I love the flavor of your cake recipe; however I think there is too much water in it and the cake bakes pretty flat and dense. I even reduced the amount of water to 2/3 cup (the second time) and it’s still not quite fluffy.
It’s a recipe that most people have great success with as is, but for some reason it gives some people trouble. I’d try it without the water if it’s giving you trouble.
I’ve made this cake twice on Memorial Day, it’s fabulous. To make it a bit patriotic, I use blueberry/blackberry on one layer and a strawberry/raspberry mix on the second.
Awesome! Glad you enjoy it!
I made this in a 6” 5 layer version. I tried 1/2 mascarpone frosting and 1/2 cream cheese. The mascarpone is definitely the better. It was a hot day and wasn’t as perfect looking as I wanted but the flavors were wonderful! It was impressive.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Would the berry filling bleed into the cake if it is assembled the day before serving?
I don’t usually have issues with that.
Hello, I would love to make this frosting but need to color it dark purple. Do you think it would work?
Yes, that should be fine.
With the fruit…. Did you use frozen fruit or fresh fruit?
I use fresh fruit, but frozen should be fine. I just might thaw it first.
I used frozen fruit. Just thaw and puree, no need to add water. It’s perfect!.
I make this as cupcakes. I use a corer and spoon the filling in the cupcakes, then pipe on the frosting. Everyone loves them!
Glad to hear they work well!
Love this cake. Would like to make it for a bridal shower. How much batter do I need for a 12×18 sheet pan and how long should I cook it for?
If you’re making it in a single thin layer like this cake, you should be able to use the cake recipe as is. Bake time should be similar to the sheet cake as well. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/vanilla-sheet-cake/
I made this cake yesterday and it was devoured. The compote was delish! The frosting was so good, I had forgot to buy mascarpone and I look it up made it. (Cream Cheese, sour cream and whipping cream) I highly recommend this cake soooooo good!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Not sure what I did wrong but when dividing the cake mix into the 3 pans, my cakes only turned out a 1/2 inch thick… followed the directions to a T. Not sure how there wasn’t enough batter like mentioned in the recipe. Now having to fix this issue bc I can’t take this flimsy cake to Mother’s Day. 🤦🏽♀️🙄
My new favorite cake! It’s a hit at every event I bring it to! How would you do this in a cupcake?
Glad to hear that! You can find the vanilla cake in cupcake form here. I would probably fill the cupcakes with the berry filling and use the whipped cream on top. Alternatively, you could try something like these Berries and Cream Cupcakes.
When making this do you use granulated sugar or caster sugar? Might be different in US to UK, just want to ace this recipe
Granulated sugar. I hope you enjoy it!
I’ve made a fair number of cakes & desserts and my family agrees this is the best cake we’ve ever had. When we have friends over they assume it was from a bakery. This time I experimented a little and added some lemon zest & juice for a little zing in the frosting and was happy with the results.
So glad it’s been a hit!
Me encanto el relleno de este pastel, la combinación de sabores
I’ve made this recipe several times and absolutely love it!
Whenever I serve it people ask for the recipe which I’m happy to share.
So glad it’s a hit!