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This Frostbitten raspberry cake is the cake for any celebration in any season! Three layers of vanilla sponge filled with raspberry compote and mascarpone frosting, covered in a creamy white chocolate frosting.
Find more delicious treats in our Christmas Dessert Collection!
I love all cakes I bake but some make the effort more worthwhile than others. This raspberry cake is off the scale magnificent!
I can’t even begin to describe the greatness of vanilla sponge cake filled with mascarpone and raspberry compote and frosted with white chocolate buttercream. It’s glorious.
After I took the first bite I was not at all resentful that I’d spent a good portion of Christmas Eve fussing in the kitchen. If this is what it takes for an amazing birthday cake then it is worth it!
To me a perfect cake should have at least two layers of moist sponge, a lovely compote and a luxuriously creamy icing that isn’t sickly sweet. Having these elements in perfect balance is the secret to a memorable cake.
But it also has to look the part. It should not look out of place on a festive table, with all the right colours and decorations. Personally, I think a white cake with raspberries and rosemary absolutely looks the part!
What is Frostbitten Raspberry Cake?
In coming up with this cake I had to draw on my Russian roots. The cake I made was reminiscent of the ones I ate as a child, baked by my dad.
The recipe for this raspberry cake is a mix of things: the sponge is Russian “biskvit”- my dad’s recipe, the raspberry mascarpone filling was inspired by Sweetapolita.
For a bit of help in making the sponge, check out this video for White Christmas Truffle Cake. The sponge is the same and following the same method will help you achieve great results!
And finally the white chocolate buttercream frosting was my own invention, made to taste very similar to my dad’s frosting. It’s lovely and creamy without overwhelming with too much sweetness.
Because this was made for Christmas, I chose toppings that gave it a holiday look. Rosy red raspberries and a green sprig of rosemary land perfectly on the snowy white frosting. A dusting of icing sugar adds to the effect.
It all looks so wintery! But this cake isn’t only for Christmas. It’s also perfect for New Years and, with a different mix of toppings, could be used at other times of the year as well!
More holiday cake recipes
- White Christmas Truffle Cake
- Black Forest Cake
- Cranberry Christmas Cake
- Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Tart
- Christmas Chocolate Cake with Cranberries
Frostbitten Raspberry Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 5 eggs, room temperature, large
- 1 cup / 200g sugar
- 2 tsp This is an affiliate link.vanilla
- 1 cup / 120g flour
For the Syrup (for soaking the sponge layers)
- 1/4 cup / 60ml raspberry liqueur
- 1/4 cup / 60ml simple syrup
For the Mascarpone Cream
- 1 cup / 250g mascarpone
- 1 cup / 250ml whipping cream
- 1/4 cup / 15g icing sugar
- 2 tsp gelatine
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tsp This is an affiliate link.vanilla
For the Raspberry Compote
- 1 1/2 cups / 190g raspberries, fresh or frozen (I used frozen)
- 1/2 cup / 100g sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 cup / 125g fresh raspberries
For the White Chocolate Buttercream
- 5 oz / 150g white chocolate, chopped (not chocolate chips)
- 1/4 cup / 60ml whipping/double cream
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
For decoration
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1/4 cup / 30g raspberries
- Icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
- Grease 3 8″ cake pans and line them with parchment paper. (Russian sponge is very delicate so it’s important to use parchment paper for easy removal.)
- Crack 5 eggs at room temperature to a bowl of a stand mixer and add sugar and vanilla, beat at high speed for 5 minutes until the mixture is pale and triples in volume.
- Fold in flour through a sifter in 5-6 additions blending it in gently after each addition. Your goal is to keep the volume of the egg mixture so be very careful in this step of the process.
- Divide your cake batter among 3 pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until cake tester or tooth pick comes out clean and the cakes have risen to the top of the pan. (I baked 2 layers and then 1 later).
- Cool for 10 minutes and then run a knife around the edges of your pans to release the cakes and flip them over on a wire rack to cool completely.
- (After your cakes have cooled you can individually wrap them in plastic wrap for later use. You can bake you sponge layers a day ahead.)
For Raspberry Compote
- Combine 1 1/2 cups of raspberries and sugar with water in a small saucepan and cook on low heat until thick and mixture coats the back of a spoon. It will take about 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and process in a food processor or a blender until smooth.
- Push through a fine sieve to get rid of the seeds.
- Combine the compote with fresh raspberries and set aside.
For the Mascarpone Cream
- Mix gelatine with water in a small bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes until it goes spongy.
- Heat the gelatine mixture in a microwave for 10 seconds until runny and smooth.
- Combine mascarpone, whipping cream, sugar and vanilla in a bowl of a stand mixer.
- Start whipping on medium speed until combined.
- With the motor of a stand mixer still running drizzle your gelatine mixture over the cream and whip for 2-3 minutes until well combined.
For the Syrup
- Combine raspberry liqueur with simple syrup (water and sugar mixed in equal parts).
- Drizzle over the cake layers. (Russian sponge really benefits from being drizzled with a flavoured syrup since there is no fat mixed into the batter and it can taste on the dry side without the syrup.)
How to assemble the cake
- Load your mascarpone cream in a large piping bag with a plain round tip.
- Pipe a border around the first drizzled with syrup layer, it will keep your raspberry compote from leaking out of the sides.
- Fill with half of your raspberry compote. ( It won’t cover the entire layer, the berries will be spread sparsely.)
- Then pipe in the mascarpone cream in the empty spaces and smooth it out with a spatula. You shouldn’t have any gaps.
- Top with another layer and repeat the process.
- Finish with the third layer.
For the White Chocolate Buttercream
- Heat 1/4 cream in a saucepan until it just simmers but not boiling.
- Take off the heat and pour over chopped white chocolate in a medium sized bowl.
- Let it sit for a couple of minutes and then stir until chocolate is melted into the cream.
- Cool for 10 minutes and then start whipping in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. (Hand mixer works better here because of the small amount).
- Mix for 10 minutes until light and fluffy, then start adding softened butter by a tablespoon, mix well until entirely incorporated into the frosting after each addition. (You will have enough frosting for a thin layer around the cake. If you like more frosting on your cake simply double the recipe but it will make a very sweet cake.)
- Spread 1/2 of the buttercream over the cake and let it chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Coat your chilled cake with the other half of the frosting and decorate with rosemary and raspberries.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Stunning cake! I love Biskvit it’s my favorite type of cake. Question: how much water & sugar is needed for the simple syrup. I’m not sure how to make it. Also, do you think I can use corn syrup instead of the simple syrup. Corn syrup is after all water with sugar.
Thanks!
Thank you, Yana. I wouldn’t recommend using corn syrup, it’s much thicker than simple syrup which is very easy to make. Just mix hot water and sugar in equal parts. For example- 1 cup water to 1 cup sugar. Whenever I use simple syrup I usually add some type of flavouring to it-vanilla, rum essence etc. Hope it helps! 🙂
Would you recommend ap flour or cake flour? The cake is beautiful!
Thank you Christie, I usually use all-purpose flour.
Do you think cake flour would negatively affect cake?
I don’t think so but I haven’t tested it with cake flour so I can’t be certain. 🙂
In the UK all purpose flour is plain flour is that what you mean? If so, will the cake still rise or should I add some baking powder?
Many thanks,
Hi Kiran, yes plain flour. You don’t need to add baking powder. The whipped eggs give this sponge a rise.
What a beautiful cake Julia! Love the name too, frostbitten raspberry… gorgeous. I know what you mean about cooking in the evening. I do the same thing frequently, it’s frustrating not to have the right light for photographs. Your finished product photos are absolutely gorgeous though. LOVE the dusting of powdered sugar on the raspberries. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
This cake looks absolutely scrumptious! I will have to make it for a friends birthday coming up in February, she will love it! Do you think I could use champagne/wine instead of the water for the mascarpone cream?
Also, is it the white chocolate that is giving the frosting a yellow/orange color, or just the lighting? It’s very pretty to say the least! Cannot wait to try this out!
Maggie, I used water to dilute gelatine, I’ve never done it with wine but I would think all you need is liquid so it will probably work with champagne as well. That being said I cannot vouch for what it will taste like, it might be a step too far because it already has raspberry and vanilla but if you go for it I would love to hear how it turns out. The frosting colour is true colour and yes,it does come from white chocolate. You can use a regular buttercream if you want it white but I really don’t like the taste. 🙂 I hope you enjoy the cake.
I normally never leave negative comments, but this is not a recipe I enjoyed. It came out flat like a pancake and the cream mixture was a little sour so the mix tasted weird to me. With two bites my stomach started to hurt. I guess this is more of a cultural recipe that natives enjoy more, because I know of some other recipes that don’t travel across cultures too well. I’m sorry. If I ever do this again, I will have to make a lot more adjustments.
So sorry to hear that, Olivia. It’s, of course, difficult for me to say what went wrong with the execution as you can see in my pictures the sponge is far from being flat. The eggs and sugar need to be whipped for at least 5 minutes for the sponges to rise well. As far as cream mixture tasting sour and your stomach not feeling well, I’d guess either mascarpone or whipping cream were off. Mascarpone is an Italian cheese that tastes like very thick cream, not sour at all, and is widely used all over the world in desserts.
Your recipe says to grease the cake pans. The pans should not be greased for a Russian sponge. We figured this out last night after the 3rd try. The batter needs the sides to hold onto as it rises. When the pans are greased the cakes slip off the sides and it collapses.
Also, the egg/sugar mixture needs to be whipped a minimum of 5 minutes, but more like 8-10. I’m excited to finish the recipe tonight!
Thanks for your feedback, Ryan. The method actually does work with greased pans. I have made this Russian sponge hundreds of times and sometimes I grease the sides but once in a while I don’t with the same result. My Russian father, who baked this cake always greased the cake pans, so I tend to follow his method. When it comes to the length of time for the egg/sugar mixture, it really depends on how powerful your mixer is, that is why the instructions state “until it triples in size”. Thanks.
You may have used ingredients that went bad, the could’ve been past their expiration date, or the may not have been kept at the right temperature at the store or your fridge (might want to check the temperature of the fridge). But the ingredients here wouldn’t give you a stomach ache from a bite or two unless you have an intolerance/allergy, this is definitely a sign of an ingredient gone bad, especially since something tasted sour. Like she said, mascarpone isn’t sour, and actually has a lighter taste than cream cheese. And as a baker with a business, for sponge cake you definitely need to beat the egg mixture for at least the amount of time stated. You need to aerate it, like if you were making a meringue, but this includes the egg yolks.
I made this for my son’s birthday yesterday. it was delicious. I didn’t frost with the white chocolate buttercream but put a third layer of the mascarpone cream on the top with a mixture of raspberries, blueberries and strawberries on top. It looked beautiful. Wish I could send a photo. Everyone wants me to make it again. Thank you!
You are so welcome! So glad you all enjoyed the cake. I would’ve liked to see the picture. You can always post it on my Facebook page. 🙂 My family is asking me to make it again as well!
Looks very delicious! FYI 150 grams is more like 5.3 ounces, for the white chocolate. Will be making this for my son’s birthday!!
You are absolutely right, Janet! I am not sure where 12oz came from! It’s corrected. 🙂
I was wondering if the raspberry liqeuor can be substituted and what you would suggest.
Rhonda, you can substitute it with a raspberry syrup or a simple syrup (sugar and water in equal parts) and maybe a splash of vanilla or rum essence if you want it alcohol free.
I have a question,the marscapone I used cream cheese,sour cream and cream.I added the powdered sugar. and vanilla.I think I whipped it too much. does it need the gelatin? as it looks firm?
I think you can safely skip gelatin if it looks firm, Laura. I don’t actually add gelatine anymore as I fine mascarpone I use here in the UK is stable enough.
ok Also I have another question,I love this cake.I want to make this again for more people.Can I double the recipe and use a 3-9 inch pans? I could pour in a 9inch but not good at slicing layers. ?
Beautiful cake, Julia! I love the raspberry and mascarpone pairing. Hope you had a wonderful birthday!
I love this cake,I made the 8inch version .I want to make this cake for more people. So if I use 3- 9inch pans can I just double the ingedients from the 8inch recipe?
Hi Laura, I would increase the recipe by a third rather than doubling it, at least for the sponge. I am afraid doubling it would cause the layers to overflow when baking. Let me know how it goes! Best Julia
Hi
Such an impressive cake. I am looking forward to trying it this weekend after having pinned it ages ago!
Should i use white cooking choc or will any white choc do?
Congrats on such a masterpiece btw
Teresa
Hi Teresa, I tend to not use baking chocolate as I don’t like the taste. I use regular white chocolate of the best quality I can afford as it really affects the overall taste in the buttercream.