Are you tired of everything pumpkin yet? I have to admit I am getting there. As much as I love seasonal baking once in a while I just have to break the mould and do something different. The days are usually dark and dreary in the long autumn months in England and we all crave sunshine to brighten our days and give us much needed Vitamin D. Alas, that is not in the cards for this island dweller. Luckily the Italians have it in abundance, so they gathered and bottled it for us less fortunate people in the form of Limoncello.
My friend was having a baby shower which seemed like a perfect opportunity to try out my new bundt pan and to use up that tub of mascarpone I randomly picked up at the store. The life of a food blogger I tell ya! We often buy things with no firm plan or a recipe knowing that when the inspiration strikes we better be ready!
In this case, inspiration struck me late at night – when my mind was too tired to apply better judgement – causing me to bake not one cake but TWO! That’s right you are in for a treat, my friends. One recipe – two cakes. What could be better?
Ingredients: (For the cake)
- Flour, sifted-2 cups
- Sugar- 3/4 cups
- Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp.
- Baking Soda- 1/2 tsp.
- Salt- 1/2 tsp.
- Greek yogurt, plain- 1 cup
- Milk-1/2 cup
- Vegetable oil- 1/4 cup
- Eggs- 2 large
- Vanilla extract- 1 tsp.
- Limoncello- 1/4 cup
- Raspberries, fresh or frozen- 1 cup
Ingredients: ( For Mascarpone Frosting)
- Mascarpone- 300 gr/ 1 cup
- Whipping Cream/Double Cream- 150 ml/2/3 cup
- Icing Sugar- 1/4 cup
- Limoncello- 2 tbsp.
- White Chocolate, melted for drizzling on top- 50 gr
Method: For the Bundt cake.
Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Grease your bundt pan. I like to use a pastry brush dipped in oil to brush all the little crevices of the bundt pan to make sure nothing sticks and then lightly dust it with flour.
In large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a smaller bowl whisk yogurt, milk, oil, vanilla extract, limoncello and eggs.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and combine until blended, then gently fold in raspberries.
Pour the mixture into the bundt pan, it shouldn’t be more than 2/3 full and bake for 60-65 minutes until the cake tester comes out clean. Cool until safe to touch and remove from the pan. Cool completely and dust with some icing sugar.
Let’s be honest, baking is tricky and one little ingredient can throw off the entire recipe. So when I stumble upon a recipe I love I am very eager to use it in different ways. Why not elevate an every day bundt to a show stopping dessert! All you need is mascarpone. 🙂
Method: For Raspberry Limoncello Cake with Mascarpone
Follow the instructions above for the bundt cake. Pour your prepared mixture into a 9″ pan and bake in the preheated to 350F/180C oven for 40 minutes. I would strongly urge you to not just rely on baking times provided by recipes as oven temperatures vary. Instead, always test your cake for doneness with a cake tester or a tooth pick (I use a long metal skewer).
Cool your cake and remove from the pan. When your cake is completely cooled split it in two layers. (My trick for getting two even layers is scoring the outside of the cake with a sharp knife first, then wrapping a thick thread around the cake so it goes inside the slit and then pulling two ends of the thread while crossing them over each other. It works perfectly every time).
Now let’s make the frosting. I have to say this Mascarpone Frosting is one of my favourites. It’s no fail and as easy as a regular whipped cream frosting but since it’s more stable so if you want to pipe fancy design you can.
Mascarpone Frosting:
In a large bowl whip together your mascarpone, whipping cream, icing sugar and limoncello until firm peaks form but don’t over-beat. It usually comes together in 5 minutes.
Fill your layer cake with mascarpone frosting and decorate the top with drizzled white chocolate and slices of lemon.
I can’t even begin describe how fresh and delicious this cake tastes! Soft and buttery cake dotted with bright red raspberries and then that limoncello frosting. A dream. Try it. Have a tea party.Then tell me all about it.
Melissa says
atHi I was wondering if there was something else you could use instead of the plain yogurt.
vikalinka says
atYou could use sour cream or buttermilk, Melissa. 🙂
Nikki says
atHello,
I made this cake (second time) this past weekend for Easter brunch. It turned out great.
I used cake flour instead of AP flour and I didn’t notice any substantial difference. I did have some minor problems getting the topping to form stiff peaks though. I think it was the alcohol in the limoncello, but I’m not sure. Did you have a specific order for mixing the topping ingredients. I also added, just before serving, some lemon zest in the topping for extra flavour.
Thanks
vikalinka says
atThank you for your feedback, Nikki. I generally mix everything together at the same time. If you want it to be more stiff you can reduce the amount of whipping cream to 1/2 cup. I hope this helps! Extra lemon zest sounds so lovely! 🙂
Kelly says
atLooks amazing! Trying this for Easter. Where do I get limoncello? Is it liqueur?
vikalinka says
atThanks, Kelly! Yes, it’s a liqueur and should be widely available.
Mary says
atWhat type of flour plain, self rising or cake
vikalinka says
atJust plain all-purpose four.
Suzette says
atSo I am thinking about making the bundt cake for Christmas. I was wondering what size bundt pan you used since I have two and they’re different sizes. Also, is Vikalinka your real name? If so, I love it!! 🙂
vikalinka says
atI think a 9″ bundt pan would be perfect for this recipe, Suzette, but it’s hard to be exact because UK baking pans are slightly different.
Vikalinka is my daughter’s nickname, which comes from Victoria or Vika for short. My name is Julia. 🙂
Suzette says
atThank you! I have a 9″ fleur de lis bundt pan, so that’ll be perfect. Julia is a nice name, too. 🙂 One more thing….am I missing the “Print” icon or isn’t there one?
vikalinka says
atSuzette, this recipe is one of the older ones I posted so it didn’t have the print option at that time.
Patty says
atHi there,
Very excited to make next week for thanksgiving holiday. For the mascarpone frosting, when you refer to whipping cream, do you mean liquid heavy whipping cream or the whipped cream already prepared in cans or tubs?
Thanks!!
vikalinka says
atPatty, I meant liquid heavy cream. 🙂
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
atuh, YES . . so tired of pumpkin!! LOVE this gorgeous gorgeous raspberry limoncello cake with mascarpone!!! this is seriously beautiful. . and I love your cake stand!!
vikalinka says
atThank you, Alice! I love pumpkin but come on, people! 🙂
LeeAnn says
atJust wondering if you could had lemon zest or something else to get more lemon flavor to it?
vikalinka says
atHi LeeAnn, I haven’t in that recipe because I was relying on Limoncello’s strong flavour to give the cake that lemon kick. The frosting also has limoncello and I didn’t want to overdo. That being said, the flavour turned out to be quite mild which I quite liked (it also has raspberries in it), but if you like things very ‘lemony” then by all means add some zest to it.
BiblioNinja says
atHi
For the cake, did you use white sugar or Demerara?
This looks absolutely delish! Can’t wait to try it, but I was wondering about the comment about the sugar and was wondering which you’d used and if it would make a difference in texture?
Thanks!
vikalinka says
atI did use Demerara sugar but you can use regular white sugar, I didn’t notice any difference in texture and I use it often in my baking. I hope it helps!
Jessica says
atJust wondering can I cover this cake with icing and fondant my sisin law loves cakes like this but want to ssurprise her with a cool custom cake
vikalinka says
atAbsolutely, you can do whatever you like, Jessica. 🙂
Meghan says
atI’m making the round cake to take into work tomorrow … nothing better to ease the wintertime blues of coworkers like fresh baked goods! I’m wondering though, can I frost it tonight? Was thinking since its mascarpone may need to be refrigerated but that might compromise the baked cake. OR whip up the frosting and refrigerate and ice tomorrow?
Looking forward to its deliciousness! (I used a glutenfree flour that I get here in Austria and use in all my baked items, only fail so far was a batch of scones, so I hope its ok in the cake!) Thanks for the recipe:)
vikalinka says
atMeghan, making the frosting the night before and refrigerating it until needed does seem to be the best way to prepare things ahead of time, however the frosting needs to be whipped again as it will be hard to spread right out of the fridge. Another option is to frost it the night before and put the whole cake in the fridge if you have space available. I hope you love the cake. 🙂
Vicki says
atLooking forward to making the bundt cake. Do you defrost the frozen berries or leave them frozen?
vikalinka says
atNo defrosting, Vicki, just tossed them in as is. 🙂
Letha Boust says
atI found this on Pinterest and making the bundt cake right now. I went to the state store for the Limoncello so I could make this. I substituted the oil with applesauce and may try substituting the flour with white wheat flour with the next cake. I’ll have to think about if or how to substitute the sugar with coconut, date, turbano sugar. There’s nothing more delicious than a recipe with flour, butter and sugar but hard on the waistline if not an exercise junkie and have a sugar addiction. I would think one could cut the bundt cake in half to do the mascarpone icing in between layers instead of cutting a 9″ cake in half so I may give that a try. I was just going to lightly dust with confectioners sugar with the first try. I found a substitute recipe for mascarpone if not available that I’ll try. I can’t wait to taste it with my coffee in the morning. Pastry is my favorite food group. If I wasn’t so vein, it would be at the bottom of my food pyramid instead of a teeny tiny tip at the top.
vikalinka says
atThat sounds like quite a project! Let me know how you get on with all the substitutes. If I use sugar I do use Turbinado or as it’s called in the UK Demerara Sugar, it’s not purified and all the nutrients and minerals are still intact plus it has a lovely caramel flavour. My philosophy with baked goods is moderation and portion control 🙂 Whenever I bake I only have 1 small piece and let my kids and friends finish it off. 🙂
Massar says
atAn amazing cake I love it
Ilke says
atLooks like a lovely cake and I have homemade limoncello that I can try with. One quick question, flour is sifted before it is measured or after? Is there a significant difference?
Vikalinka says
atI always sift after I measure, I am not sure if there is a significant difference. Thanks for stopping by!
Jan says
atYummy! Thank you!
And thanks for the conversions.
Vikalinka says
atYou are so welcome, Jan. Thank you for stopping by!
Deb Z. says
atI will make this, have a tea party & tell you all about it.
Vikalinka says
atSounds like an awesome plan to me, Deb. 🙂
Deanna says
atThis looks awesome! I’m definitely a little tired of pumpkin myself 🙂
Vikalinka says
atNo kidding! Give it a rest already maybe use it in a soup. 😉
consuelohoneyandfigs says
atOoooh, this cake looks amazing! I’d love to have a piece with a warm mug of tea right now 😉
Vikalinka says
atA piece of this cake and a warm cuppa is all you need for an afternoon “pick-me up”. 🙂
Shanna says
atlooks great!! soooo want to try it, but i am not a cup baker 😉 . Could you maybe give the recipe in weight?
Thxxxx!!!
Vikalinka says
atHi Shanna, I will try to give my recipes in weight as well. For now here is a conversation chart you can use. Thanks for stopping by! Julia http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/BritishEquiv.htm