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You can bake your own wedding cake and decorate it, especially if you use this simple naked cake technique!
For another stylish cake, try this Earl Grey Meringue Cake!
It is a known fact that the best tasting cake is a beautiful cake. And to me, it’s hard to top just how beautiful a naked cake can be!
These cakes have a gorgeous rustic charm that still manages to stun. Although they have famously become fashionable at weddings, there’s no reason why they can’t be enjoyed at any time of the year!
A naked cake is intentionally left without fancy decorating. This gives it the look of understated elegance, and also means that it is easier to make your own gorgeous naked cake!
Naked cake
In many ways a naked cake is like any other layer cake. The significant difference is that there is little to no frosting on the sides of the cake.
This gives the cake a lovely rustic look, like it has been left artfully unfinished. It also shows off the layers of the cake rather than hiding them behind the frosting.
Naked cakes became a huge trend a few years back as a reaction to the over-styled cakes seen at weddings. The trend inevitably spilled beyond weddings, making naked cakes a common sight in all sorts of settings.
I’m a big fan of naked cakes, and not only for the unique and beautiful way they look when done well. Too much sweet frosting is more than I can take, so a cake with less is just my speed!
The sponge I made is something I come to over and over again when I need a no-fail cake. The sponge is light and fluffy with an intense vanilla flavour and the frosting is made of a mix of mascarpone and heavy cream, the fruit inclusion is variable.
I used strawberries for this one but you can use whatever is in season like Victoria Sponge Cake with Blackberry Compote.
How do you keep a naked cake moist?
For most cakes, frosting serves to keep moisture in the sponges. Because naked cakes have less or no frosting on the sides, moisture can escape easier and can dry out the cake if left too long.
To prevent this from happening, avoid making the cake days before you intend to serve it, or add a thin layer of frosting to the sides as I have done. This thin layer is called a crumb coat.
If you do need to make the sponge days in advance, it is best to freeze it to keep it fresh. Freezing the sponge will lock the moisture inside so it is ready to go when you need it.
I also added a good thick layer of icing between the sponges. I find this adds moisture and compensates for the reduced icing on the outside.
Assembling the cake
Start by preparing the layers of sponge. Make the sponge layers level by trimming off the domes so they are easier to lay flat. A sharp bread knife will do the trick.
Now stack the layers, adding a generous layer of mascarpone icing in between. If you decide to have more than two layers, it may be helpful to very slightly offset the middle layer. This makes it easier to achieve the semi-naked look.
Use an offset spatula to smooth out the top layer of icing. It may be easier to achieve when using a turntable.
Now add icing to the sides of the cake, starting at the bottom and working towards the top. This is a naked cake, so don’t add a huge amount of icing to the sides.
Using a bench scraper, smooth out the icing on the sides, leaving a very thin, fine layer behind. You may need to add very small dollops of icing as you go if any area is scraped too thin.
Once you have a smooth, rustic look on the side areas of the cake, give the top layer one more smooth down. Use a spatula to pull any excess icing coming up from the sides into the centre of the cake.
Time to add the decoration of your choice. I think that flowers are absolutely perfect for a naked cake! (Make sure you find organic flowers so you aren’t transferring chemicals to the cake!)
A lot of you have made this naked cake already and I am so happy about that! However I WANT to see your photos of this gorgeous cake! So if you make this cake, share the photos and tag @vikalinka in your instagram shots!!
More cake recipes
- Black Forest Cake
- Rose Rhubarb Layer Cake
- Elderflower and Lemon Cake
- Black and White Chocolate Cake with Blackberry Compote
Naked Cake with Mascarpone Cream and Crushed Strawberries
Ingredients
For the cake
- 250 g /1 cup butter, softened and unsalted
- 250 g /1⅓ cup caster sugar
- 4 eggs, large
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 250 g /1¾ cup flour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
For the mascarpone cream
- 250 ml / 1 cup mascarpone, chilled
- 60 g / ¼ cup icing sugar
- 175 ml / ¾ cup double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
For the crashed strawberries
- 250 g / 2 cups strawberries, quartered
- 100 g / ½ cup sugar
- Organic flowers, dried rose petals and pink sprinkles for decoration
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350 C, grease two 8″/20cm round cake pans and line with parchment paper, set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer cream softened butter with sugar until light and fluffy.
- Start adding eggs one by one, whipping until well combined after each addition for about a minute. Add vanilla bean paste and lemon zest.
- Combine sifted flour, baking soda and powder and salt in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well, stopping the mixer and scraping sides and the bottom of the bowl.
- Divide the batter between two pans. Weigh them to get exactly the same cake in size. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely.
For the mascarpone cream
- Whip chilled mascarpone with icing sugar and vanilla bean paste for 1-2 minutes until well combined.
- Then add double/whipping cream and whip for 2 more minutes until stiff.
For the crushed strawberries
- In a small bowl mix 1 cup of quartered strawberries with ½ cup of sugar and crush them gently with a fork until they resemble a rough, juicy mash, add the remaining cup of strawberries for more texture and mix.
Cake assembly
- To assemble the cake spread 1/4 of mascarpone cream on top of the bottom layer of the cake. Dab the crushed strawberries all over, they shouldn’t cover the entire cake, then add more mascarpone cream directly on top of strawberries and level everything with a cake spatula. Cover with the second cake layer.
- Cover the entire cake with the remaining mascarpone cream, making pretty swirls on the top of the cake, and then using an offset spatula scrape the mascarpone cream off the sides of the cake to reveal the sponge, thus creating the “naked cake” effect. Decorate the top with organic flowers, rose petals, sprinkles etc.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I use Blackberries instead of Strawberries. I am allergic to them.
Thanks, Robbie
You absolutely can, Roberta.
Hi! Just found this amazing recipe and I am making it for my sons christening on sunday (one large cake at the bottom and one small sat on top supported by dowels) . I have made the 4 sponges and wrapped and frozen each one all ready. My plan was to take them out friday night to defrost, then make the frosting and ice them saturday evening and pop the iced cake in the fridge over night. Then on sunday decorate it with the flowers ready to eat at lunch time. Would this be possible? I am worried I wont have much time on sunday morning to make the icing as I will have children running around and have to get ready. Fingers crossed you think my plan will work! I will make sure to keep the strawberries quite central so they dont leak. xxx
Hi! I really wanna try to make this cake for my daughter’s first birthday, it’s in two days, planning to bake one day before, and assemble in the morning. Can I prepare frosting day ahead too and keep in it the fridge? Also I want to use two 6” trays, and bake it twice to make naked cake slim and high. I recon if I just double it all it would be enough? Can I tag you in insta once it’s done? 🙂 also any tips how can I make it more baby friendly? I want to use agave syrup instead of sugar for strawberries, a bit scared to change anything else, no to mess the result! Thank you xx
Hi Liza, you can certainly make this cake in 6 inch pans but if you double the recipe, I would recommend to divide the batter into 5 layers, not 4. I don’t recommend making the frosting a day ahead because it will get too stiff in the fridge to spread, so you’d have to whip it again, which will take as much time as making it from scratch. It’s a very quick frosting recipe. Yes, you can absolutely tag me in your Insta. I would love to see your creation. I think replacing sugar with agave syrup will be okay for the strawberry filling. Just make sure it’s not too wet when you add it to the cake. Good luck!
Hello,
I made this cake for my son’s 25th birthday. The sponge middle sank halfway through baking. 😥 However once covered with cream and a variety of fruit came out quite impressive. Family loved it, shame the sponge wasn’t how it should have been. I’m quite self critical.
Any idea where I went wrong?
Hi there, it might be that your oven runs too hot, most of them are very inaccurate. The cakes bake from the outside in and if the temperature is too high, they rise quickly and look done, but later fall in the middle because they aren’t actually cooked all the way through. I have an internal thermometer in my oven (very cheap on Amazon)to monitor temperature as mine is too low! It could also be due to over mixing or opening the door of the oven halfway through the baking when the cake is too unstable. So many reasons, so they only way to know is to try again? 🙂
I made this cake (actually I made three of them, one would have not been enough) for my sister’s wedding, they were beautiful and everybody loved them ! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe !
I am so happy everyone loved the cake, Jeanne! That is so impressive that you made your sister’s wedding cake!
Can the cake “sponge” be baked and frozen; then defrosted and frosted with the cream at a later date?
Yes, it absolutely can Phyllis. I usually wrap mine in several layer of cling wrap to avoid it being freezer burnt.
Can we use regular instead of caster sugar
Hi Erica, caster sugar is simply superfine sugar and using it yields better results. Sugar needs to dissolve in the batter making process for the sponges to be fluffy and superfine sugar does it better. I hope this helps!