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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 for the third time. It hits every time. I add a tsp of lemon juice to the berry filling. Makes it *chef’s kiss*
I don’t comment on recipes too often, but I had to on this one. This cake is amazing! My family loved it and said better than most bakeries. This recipe was fun to make and it is a keeper. Thank you for sharing!!
Awesome! So glad to hear that!
Hi can I make this as a traybake, also what would be the cooking time and so k double the quantity, thank you
By traybake, I assume you mean in a 9×13 pan? If so, yes. The bake time would be 28-32 minutes. You shouldn’t need to double it.
Can this be done with two layers in 10 inch pans or three 9 inch? What adjustments do I make?
Sure. Adjustments depend a little on how tall you want it. You could leave it as-is and bake it in two 9-inch pans for a little shorter cake. For you could do 1 1/2 recipes worth for about the same height. For a 10-inch cake, you’d probably want to double it.
Hi, I’m planning to make this frosting for a two tier cake. Will this hold up under a different sponge, like chocolate? Also , will the cake be stable in the fridge for a couple days, and can I tint the frosting?
It should be fine with another cake. It’s stable in the fridge. You should be able to color it with gel icing color, just don’t over mix it or can deflate.
I just made this cake today, for the 3rd time. It never disappoints. It’s always amazing!
Awesome! So glad to hear that!
Love this recipe! My now four year old has requested this cake for her fourth and upcoming fifth birthday after I made it for her second birthday and is requested this year by my mom for Mother’s Day. Thank you so much for sharing.
Awesome! I’m so glad it’s a hit!
This is best tasting cake but my frosting comes out with mascrpone bits that won’t whip smooth even at room temp.
Try gently stirring the mascarpone before adding to the whipped cream to get it nice and creamy first. Hopefully that will help. You can also try whipping at a little lower speed after adding the mascarpone to give it time to incorporate better, then turn the speed back up, if needed.
I love the recipe! Can I use cake flour instead of all purpose flour?
I haven’t ever tried it, so I’m not sure. It would probably be fine, it just may change the texture of the cake slightly.
So many great reviews for this cake! I’m looking forward to trying it. I just have one comment/question… I have never followed a cake recipe that calls for 1 cup of water in the batter – I would be more inclined to use whole milk, but wondering if that would change overall texture/taste at all?
My recommendation is usually I follow a recipe has written before changing it, so you see how it turns out as written. You can try using milk, but it will most likely give you a more dense cake.
Can I use silk brand coconut milk in place of regulär milk?
I haven’t ever tried coconut milk, so I can’t say from experience. It seems like it should work OK though.
Making this for dessert for Easter dinner as it looks like a delicious showstopper!.
2 1/2 cups seems like an awful lot of sugar. Would I be able to reduce the sugar to 1 cup?
Sugar adds moisture and affects the texture, as well as adding sweetness. You could try reducing it, but by that much might not give great results.
Hi, Would a person be able to substitute gluten free flour. There would be xanthum gum already in the flour.
I haven’t tried it, but I would think all purpose gluten free flour would be fine in the cake.
I am contemplating making this fabulous looking dessert for Easter Sunday and have a question about the frosting. Is it similar to American buttercream frosting? I am hesitant to make frosting with powdered sugar because it’s too sweet and heavy. I typically opt for Swiss Meringue buttercream instead. Thanks in advance for your help!
This whipped cream frosting is not like American buttercream, but more like a bit thicker whipped cream. It definitely is not too sweet.
I love this recipe!! Can I frese the jam for future use?
Glad you enjoy it! Sure, that should be fine.
Hello! I was wondering if we would be able to make this with 3 6 inch pans instead? & If you maybe knew what the temperature & cook time would be?
Thank you!
Yes, that should be fine. I would probably cut the recipe in half, unless you want a very tall cake. The temperature should be the same. Not sure of the bake time. Maybe 15-20 minutes?
Please; I need to cut this recipe in half. We are only two people and I really want to make it. Need a detailed recipe for half.
Pease respond tomorrow 6-26-24 Best, LInda