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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 made this cake today. It was delicious.
Hi, just wanted to say that your recipes are amazing and very easy to follow. Thank you so much for this platform.
I’m so glad you enjoy them!
I just took this out of the oven, so can only comment on the cake. I doubled the recipe, put most in a long Wilton loaf pan and a cup or so in a reg loaf pan — couldn’t resist, I had to taste the little one. I love this cake! It is unlike any recipe I’ve ever made and I love the texture and the flavor. It is not “Betty Crocker”-like fluffy, but a firm, you-know-it’s-homemade texture. I plan to slice the long loaf into layers and follow your recipe for the fruit filling and the icing. Thank you!!
Took the completed cake to a family Thanksgiving and it was, by far, the favorite!! It truly is one of the most delicious cakes I’ve ever made. I’m making another for a Christmas party. So good!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Made this cake (2 of them as I had a large crowd) for my Dad’s birthday celebration. I received so many compliments on the cake. Everyone loved it! Thank you.
So glad to hear everyone loved it! Thanks Julie!
Hi Lindsay, I’ve made this cake a few months ago and it was so good. I’m planning on making a berry vanilla 3-tiered cake for January, and thought of this cake. Would you think the cake would hold up? Thanks.
I haven’t made a tiered cake in quite a while and haven’t tried it with this cake, but I’d imagine that if things are well doweled and supported, it should be fine.
Made it few times! So easy and delicious! Absolutely hit! My friends love it and think I am so good in baking ???? But the cake is so easy to make! Thank you so much for the recipe! I am going to make it again today with my friend’s daughter ❤️
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it!
I wonder if I can use the cake as my base cake for a rainbow cake? Thanks 🙂
I would think it’d be fine.
Will this make enough frosting and filling to cover a 3 layer 10″ cake… or should I double it?
Thank you!
Depends on how have handed you are with frosting. It might be fine, or you might need a little more.
I tried the sponge for the Mascarpone Berry cake a couple of times but ended up with an undercooked middle both times. The cakes sank as soon as they came out of the oven. What am i doing wrong? Also I find it a bit too sweet. Is it ok to reduce the sugar?
A few people seem to have had that issue with the cakes sinking. I honestly have no idea why. It’s never happened for me, so it’s tough for me to troubleshoot it. It could be anything from elevation or oven type to something having to do with ingredients. I’mm sorry I’m not more help. If you’d like to try an alternative vanilla cake, the recipe for the cake layers in this cake are a great option.
Can the frosting be made in advance? I’m talking about a few hours and chilled?
I think it’s best when fresh and can loose a bit of it’s consistency when stirred again, but you could do it.
You are amazing……I’m trying to learn how to bake..lol How do you get your cake rounds so light and fluffy? I have messed up plenty cake mix ..Hahaha Always overcooked or undercooked. Is there a certain pan recommended to bake in? Thank you for your time. Lady(beginner)
I made this cake for my daughters birthday it was amazing ???? Everyone loved it, I made chocolate cupcakes aswell because I thought kids would prefer them more and grown ups will go for the cake but everyone wanted a piece from the yummy cake????♥️ Thank you for the recipe I can’t wait to try another recipe from your blog
I found this cake on Pinterest and I just finished making it! Your recipe was easy to follow and your video made it even easier. I’m looking forward to eating it this evening at my mother-in-laws birthday dinner. AND, I can’t wait to make more of your fabulous recipes!
Thanks Kim! So glad you enjoyed it!
Just wondering if this freezes well. Need to make a cake with a mirror glaze in October and this looks perfect. but I need it to freeze well. So does this recipe freeze well? like does the sponge stay nice and not go dry or soggy?
I would imagine that’s somewhat a matter of opinion. I think it freezes fine, but if you’re looking for something specific, you might want to try it out.
Made this cake (with a different frosting) for my sister’s birthday today and it was a huge hit! People loved it. I followed the cake and berry recipes to a T except I didn’t have any 8 inch pans on hand so used 9 inch. I do think 8 inch would have been better because the cake was a little dense and there was just generally more cake to go around (which who says is a bad thing ;). The berry filling was amazing, but I made the minor mistake of not pureeing the berries completely and next time I may strain the seeds out. Overall great recipe – thank you!
The vegetable oil in the cake threw me off a bit. I wanted to say that I would choose a butter cake for next time, but the cake was so darn good! The berry compote and mascarpone whipped cream are spot on!