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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.
So pretty! I intend upon making this on x-mas eve to enjoy as dessert on x-mas day. I have a question for you though… I notice that the mascarpone cream calls for “vanilla essense” opposed to “vanilla extract…” Typically, I use vanilla extract. So, I googled vanilla essense and found a few different definitions. One stated that vanila essense is merly a synthetic version for vanilla exract. Another definition said it is 2-3x’s stronger than extract. Therefore, I am at a standstill and decieded it would be in my best interest to consult the author of the receipe to clarify. HELP! 😉 Thank you!
Rachael, thank you for a good question. You are absolutely right to use vanilla extract. That’s what I use too, I never use artificial vanilla. I have no idea why I wrote vanilla “essence” there, I might’ve done it absent-mindedly! Here is the stuff that I use for all of my baking. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nielsen-massey-Pure-Vanilla-Extract-118/dp/B0000VLU1W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1419191302&sr=8-3&keywords=vanilla+extract
This cake is stunning and seems perfect for Christmas Eve. I am an experienced cake baker, but have never made this particular type. My only concern is the fact that there’s only one cup of flour for three layers…I’m wondering how it can bake up such tall layers!
Sandy, the cake is only 8″ in diameter but it is tall. In order to get tall layers you have to whip eggs and sugar until it triples in volume, which is key to this particular sponge.
This looks delicious and gorgeous! I love the rich, festive look of the creamy ivory frosting, forest green rosemary, and deep crimson raspberries with a light dusting of sugary snow. I’m currently working on figuring out how this would translate into cupcakes! I can’t wait to try it out!
Thank you, Alyssa. Let me know when you do, sounds like a worthy cause. 😉
This looks wonderful! Can I assemble the cake a day early? Will it keep well enough overnight to eat the next day?
Absolutely, Katie. I would keep it chilled though since it’s filled with mascarpone. 🙂
I made this cake for a dessert bar at a friend’s wedding and it was absolutely delicious! It disappeared about 20 minutes after the first slice was taken. Friends are still raving about this cake weeks later…thank you for the recipe, I will definitely be making this again!!
So happy to hear it, Misty! Thank you for sharing and check out the newest cake I just posted yesterday! 🙂
Thanks for the great recipe! I just wonder if I could replace the white chocolate with dark chocolate? Will the steps be the same?
Jessica, white and dark chocolate react slightly differently when heated. I haven’t tried this recipe with dark chocolate so I can’t be certain. If you want to use dark chocolate instead of white I would go for a dark chocolate ganache. Here is the recipe-https://vikalinka.com/2014/09/13/autumn-mississippi-mud-pie/ or you can experiment with dark chocolate if you feel brave. Good luck. 🙂
Thanks for the advice. I guess I will just stick to the original recipe with white chocolate 🙂 Also, I don’t have raspberry liqueur, could I replace it with something else that is not liqueur ( I cannot buy liqueur ) , or use only simple syrup for soaking the cake layers? Thank you.
You can definitely use simple syrup, it won’t have the same complex flavour as raspberry liqueur but it will do.
Hi, thanks for the great recipe. I love your cake, it looks so wonderful!!!
I want to make one for my crush’s birthday. He likes raspberry, and he loves basketball, so I’m thinking of making this cake, but decorate it with orange and brown reese’s pieces (instead of raspberry) to make it look like a basketball ( like this cake : http://clementinebean.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/178-2.jpg?w=529&h=352 ). I don’t know if that will affect the flavor of the cake? Does it taste weird with raspberry inside and chocolate butter candies on top? I haven’t made any cake before, and this would be my first experience baking something, so I’m really worried. I’m thinking of confessing to him on his birthday too, so I don’t want to screw up with anything 🙂
Also, I think he doesn’t like super sweet stuffs, so how could I make it less sweet? Could I change the recipe somewhere? Please give me some advice, thank you very much 🙂 Have a nice day.
Tracy, I am not sure what you can do to make it less sweet. If you decorate it with reese’s pieces it will be very sweet. The only thing I can suggest is to leave them out. Good luck!
Hi, I would love to try this but am a vegetarian and won’t use gelatin. Is it necessary? If so, can you recommend a substitution? Thank you!
Hi Mary Ann, you can try a vegetarian gelatin, depending on where you live different things might be available. Here is the link to your options.http://www.thekitchn.com/vegetarian-alternatives-to-gelatin-189478 That being said, I think you can just skip gelatin altogether. I think that whipped mascarpone is thick enough to hold its shape without it, it just needs to be whipped really stiff. Let me know how you get on. 🙂