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.
This is one of my favorite recipes. I was wondering if you think the cake would be stable if I increased the ingredients and make a 10 in cake. Also, if I use the cream for your vanilla cupcakes (same ingredients) could I store them fridges for 2 days?
I’m a little confused by your questions but I’m going to do my best. Yes, you could increase this for a 10 inch cake. I would double the cake recipe. And then I think you’re asking if you can use the mascarpone whipped cream on my vanilla cupcakes and the answer would be yes. They would store fine in the fridge for two days. They would be best airtight container. I hope that helps!
This is hands-down my favorite cake recipe, I’ve been making it for all family birthdays (including my own) for the past few years! The frosting is heaven-sent, there’s nothing like it. I’ve experimented with different fruit fillings – a combination of raspberry and strawberry has been my favorite so far!
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoy it!
I’m making this cake this evening, and making 2 batches of batter, and i’m going to do a 6inch (4 layers) on top to make it a 2tier cake. Hopefully it works. But does the frosting firm up like a normal buttercream does?
The frosting does not firm up like a normal buttercream. It is more like stabilized whipped cream.
How many cups of batter in this ?
I’m not sure. I’m sorry.
I have made this cake over & over , it is the best , everyone loves it
I’m so glad it’s been a hit!
This was delicious! Made for my husband’s birthday and everyone loved it. Going to make again for my friend’s birthday. Definitely adding this to my recipe book!
Awesome! I’m so glad it was a hit!
Can you use sunflower oil?
I’ve never used sunflower oil, but I think it would be fine.
I have made this recipe a half dozen times with rave results. Sometimes I add a little bit of fiori di sicilia in the cake. I also like to separate my compotes so I have reds and blues separate for a patriotic wink. The icing is a perfect balance and better option than the cloyingly sweet American buttercream. Sorry can’t share a pic here ….
So glad you enjoy it!
Hi Lindsay!
I notice that you only use veg oil in this cake and not butter. Most of your other recipes call for butter and oil. Do you have a reason why you do not use butter in this one?
It’s just a different recipe option. I have several vanilla cake/cupcakes with different pros and cons.
I’ve made this cake several times as it is a family favorite. I do a buttercream frosting instead. The trouble I have had is the top layer will slide and not stay up. I have started to make it as a 2-layer cake and use the remaining batter as cupcakes. Any idea why the cake might be slipping? I could use dowels to hold in place but it seems like that is not necessary with the directions!
I’m glad you enjoy it! Are you piping a dam around the edges of the cake before you add the filling? If you are and the frosting is stiff enough, it shouldn’t move around. I hope that helps!
This cake is absolutely wonderful! Curious, can I use butter in place of the oil?
So glad you enjoyed it! I haven’t actually tried butter, so I’m not sure. It might bake and be fine, but it will change the texture of the cake.
i have not yet tried out this recipe but i am curious if fresh berries and frozen berries would have a different taste to this cake
It really depends on the berries. Even fresh berries sometimes don’t taste that great. If the berries are good, the filling should be good. The thing to be aware of with frozen berries is it there is usually excess water. I’d recommend thawing them and removing the excess liquid first.
I made this cake for my Bunco babes when I hosted last night. Fantastic recipe! Everyone loved it. Hard to find a good white cake recipe. Of course the frosting and berry filling is to die for. This will certainly become one in my repertoire.
Awesome! So glad it was a hit!
Second time making this amazing cake. Everyone says it’s the best cake they’ve ever had.
I’m so glad it’s been a hit!
I made this cake for my granddaughter’s birthday. The cake part was horrible tasting. The berry filling and marscapone frosting were amazing. I ended up making a different 3 layer cake recipe. I will definitely make the berry filling and frosting again. My family said to triple the berry filling next time.
Hi what size cake tins did you use?
Three 8 inch cake pans.
can you use 9 inch pans can’t find 8 inch
Sure, your cake just won’t be as tall. If you want to use 9 inch pans and maintain the height, do one and a half recipes worth.