Discover how to make this vanilla raspberry cake with this easy and delicious recipe. An incredibly soft and fluffy vanilla cake filled with rich vanilla cream, and fresh raspberries, and topped with a light mascarpone whipped cream frosting.

Indulge in the tangy raspberry flavor paired with the sweetness of a moist vanilla cake that's incredibly light and delicious. A perfect addition to any event, this cake will be the star of the show.

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Why you'll love this cake
Ingredients you need
How to Make Raspberry Vanilla Cake
Storage and Preparation in Advance
Tips for this cake
Recipe Variations
More Cake Recipes
Vanilla Raspberry Cake

Why you'll love this cake

This raspberry vanilla cake recipe is the perfect union of the sweet and tangy flavor of fresh raspberries and the soft, rich fragrance of vanilla in an incredibly soft cake that will delight raspberry lovers.

Made up of three preparations, this raspberry cake features an incredibly soft vanilla molly cake, layered with a sweet vanilla mousseline cream, and topped with a light mascarpone whipped cream frosting.

This raspberry layer cake is an easy homemade delight, even for baking beginners, with my tips to ensure your success. It's a perfect cake for a birthday cake, a delightful dessert for family gatherings, as a wedding cake, Valentine's Day, or a baby shower.

Easy and beginner-friendly recipe with expert tips for success.
A luscious vanilla-rich filling complementing fresh raspberries, easily substitutable with raspberry filling.
A super-light frosting, a refreshing alternative to vanilla buttercream, keeps the cake delightfully light

Craving for more Raspberry recipes? Give these a try: Raspberry chocolate ganache cake and Raspberry cupcakes, chocolate raspberry cupcakes, white chocolate raspberry cupcakes, chocolate raspberry ganache cupcakes.

vanilla raspberry cake sliced on a table

Ingredients you need

*Scroll down to see quantities and full instructions in the recipe card at the end of the page.

Vanilla cake

Eggs: Use medium to large eggs, preferably at room temperature, as this is crucial for the softness of the sponge.
Sugar: Ideally, use extra-fine white granulated sugar.
Flour: Opt for a cake flour blend for a lighter, less dense, and airier and tender cake texture, if you don't have any, use all-purpose flour and add a tablespoon of cornstarch.
Baking Powder: Use baking powder, ensuring accurate measurement and freshness.
Heavy Cream: Use only cold heavy cream with at least 30% fat content, whipped with an electric mixer.
Vanilla and Salt: Essential for flavor; use pure vanilla extract and a pinch of salt for a balanced taste.

Vanilla filling

Egg Yolks: Use only egg yolks for a rich and vibrant yellow filling.
Sugar: Superfine white granulated sugar.
Cornstarch: Or you can use flour to thicken the pastry cream.
Milk: Whole or semi-skimmed milk.
Vanilla: Vanilla extract or half a vanilla bean.
Butter: Unsalted butter at room temperature.
Mascarpone: Just a touch of mascarpone cheese for a smoother filling; you can replace it with whipped cream.
Raspberries: Use fresh raspberries if possible to fill the inside of the cake. If you only have frozen raspberries, let them thaw thoroughly and remove excess water before using.

Mascarpone Frosting

Mascarpone: Use well-chilled mascarpone cheese.
Heavy Cream: Preferably cold, full-fat heavy cream with 30-35% fat content.
Powdered Sugar: Use only powdered sugar for a smooth glaze.
Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste or vanilla powder.

How to Make Raspberry Vanilla Cake

Cake batter

Preheat the oven to 329°F/165°C and prepare three 6-inch/15 cm diameter x 2inch/7 cm deep cake pans by lining the bottoms with parchment paper.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whisk the eggs with the sugar and vanilla for 10-15 minutes until the mixture triples in volume.
Gently fold in the mixture of dry ingredients, previously combined and sifted: flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt, using a spatula.
Then, carefully fold in the cold heavy cream, previously whipped into whipped cream using an electric mixer, until you have a homogeneous cake batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until they are golden and cooked in the center. (check the doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake; it should come out clean)
Let the cakes cool slightly before removing them from the pans and placing them upside down on a cooling rack

Vanilla cream filling

Heat the milk in a saucepan with the vanilla or the half vanilla bean, previously scraped, until it simmers.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and cornstarch for a good minute.
Pour the hot milk into the bowl with the egg yolks and whisk to obtain a homogeneous mixture.
Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium heat while constantly whisking by hand until you get a thick pastry cream.
Remove from heat, add the pieces of butter, and vigorously mix to melt them.
Pour the hot pastry cream into a gratin dish, cover it with plastic wrap directly in contact with the surface, and refrigerate to cool.
When the vanilla cream is completely cold, place it in a large bowl with the mascarpone cream and mix with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes until you have a smooth cream.

Whipped mascarpone frosting

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl, the cold mascarpone, the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla.
Mix with an electric mixer at medium speed for 2-3 minutes until you get a smooth and firm frosting.
Refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Cake assembly

Assemble the layer cake in an adjustable pastry ring with a diameter matching the cake's size or in a 4-inch deep cake pan.
Trim any domed tops from the cake layers using a cake leveler or a large knife, if necessary.
Place the first cake layer and create a border with the mascarpone frosting, fill the center with vanilla cream, and add fresh raspberries.
Cover with the second cake layer and repeat the previous step until you reach the top cake layer.
Chill the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 15 minutes.

cake pan with layer of cake and fresh raspberries

Frosting and decoration

Unmold the cake and cover it with a thin layer of mascarpone frosting, smoothing it with an offset spatula and a cake scraper.
Decorate the top of the cake with the remaining frosting using a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
Top it with raspberries and serve immediately with a drizzle of raspberry sauce

layer of vanilla cake on a cake turntable

Storage and Preparation in Advance

In the fridge: Leftover cake should be stored in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container, for 3-4 days.

Can it be frozen? Unfortunately, the frosted vanilla cake with raspberry inside cannot be frozen, as the fillings are too delicate to withstand freezing and may lose their texture upon thawing.

Preparation in advance: The molly cake sponge can be prepared 1-2 days in advance and should be stored wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge. The pastry cream can be made the day before, and the frosting should be prepared on the day of assembly.

Tips for this cake

Cake: Use room temperature ingredients for the vanilla cake and whip the eggs for at least 10 minutes to achieve a fluffy texture.

Mascarpone Whipped Cream: Place the bowl with the ingredients in the freezer for 10 minutes before whipping. Always mix at low speed to medium speed and keep an eye on the texture, as it can quickly become grainy.

Assembly: Use an adjustable pastry ring or a deep cake mold for assembly to ensure a straight cake. Avoid using thick layers of filling between the sponge cakes, as the whipped cream is not as firm as buttercream or ganache and can cause the layer cake to sag under the weight.

Recipe Variations

Raspberry buttercream: to make raspberry buttercream it's easy, just follow my strawberry buttercream recipe, replacing the strawberry puree with raspberry puree.

Vanilla Buttercream Option: If you're more comfortable with buttercream frosting, you can replace the frosting with my vanilla whipped buttercream recipe, Swiss meringue buttercream, or Italian meringue buttercream.

Raspberry filling: Make a vanilla cake with raspberry filling adding raspberry jam or homemade raspberry filling. Or replace the vanilla cream with my raspberry mascarpone frosting.

Lemon flavor option: Add a touch of lemon with some homemade lemon curd, like in my lemon meringue layer cake.

White Chocolate Ganache: Use this raspberry ganache or this white chocolate vanilla ganache or a whipped chocolate ganache.

Replace raspberries with strawberries, blueberries, mango, and more.

Tiramisu flavored cake: With vanilla sponge coffee soaked and mascarpone cream like this tiramisu cake.

More Cake Recipes

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Vanilla Raspberry Cake

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Author: Fadela
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 8 parts

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Description

Delicious raspberry vanilla layer cake with a soft sponge, vanilla filling, fresh raspberries, and a light mascarpone whipped cream frosting (serves 8-10, 6 inches /15 cm cake).

Ingredients

Molly Cake

3 Eggs - medium-sized at room temperature
190 g (1 cup) Granulated sugar - superfine
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
190 g (1 ⅓ cups) Flour - Cake flour
1 1:2 tsp ( 7 g) Baking powder
½ tsp (3 g) Salt
190 g (¾ cup) Heavy cream - full-fat and cold

Vanilla mousseline cream

250 ml (1 cup) Milk - whole or semi-skimmed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ vanilla bean pod
40 g (¼c cup) Granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp (20 g) Cornstarch
2 tbsp (25 g) Butter - unsalted
160g (¼ cup) Mascarpone cheese - cold

Glaçage chantilly mascarpone

200 g Mascarpone cheese - cold
270 ml (1 cup + 2 tbsp) Heavy cream - full-fat and cold 30-35%
50 g (¼ cup) Powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Instructions

Cake batter:

Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and line three 6-inch x 2.75-inch cake pans with parchment paper only in the bottom (or bake the batter all at once in a 4-inch deep pan or in three batches in the same pan).
In a large bowl, mix and sift the dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a whisk, beat the eggs with granulated sugar and vanilla on high speed for about 10-15 minutes until they triple in volume.
Meanwhile, whip the cold heavy cream with an electric mixer until it forms stiff whipped cream.
Gently fold in the mixture of dry ingredients with a spatula without overmixing.
Then add the whipped cream and incorporate it gently with a spatula until you get a homogeneous and smooth mixture.
Divide the batter into 3 parts and pour it into the prepared cake pans.
Bake the cakes together in the middle of the oven for 40-45 minutes without opening the oven door until they are golden on top. (check the baking by inserting a knife blade or toothpick into the center of the cake, it should come out clean without crumbs or liquid batter).
Let the cakes cool slightly in their pans before gently unmolding them and placing them upside down on a cake rack until they are completely cooled.

Vanilla filling:

Heat the milk with the vanilla bean or vanilla extract in a saucepan over medium heat until it simmers.
Meanwhile, whisk the sugar with the egg yolks and cornstarch in a large bowl.
Pour the hot milk over the egg yolk mixture and whisk to incorporate thoroughly.
Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a hand whisk until the pastry cream thickens.
When it begins to boil, continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes.
Off the heat, add the butter pieces and vigorously stir to melt them, achieving a homogeneous mixture.
Pour the pastry cream into a small gratin dish, covering it with plastic wrap directly in contact with the surface. Place it in the refrigerator until it cools completely.
Just before assembling, whip the mousseline cream with the cold mascarpone for a good minute until it has a creamy texture.

Mascarpone frosting

Place all ingredients in a large container or in the bowl of your stand mixer, cold mascarpone cheese, cold heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
Leave the mixing bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Beat with an electric whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium low speed for about 2-3 minutes until smooth and firm.
Place the mascarpone whipped cream in the fridge for about 20 minutes before assembling.

Cake Assembly

If necessary, cut the bumps off the 3 vanilla cakes (and remove the crusts if you wish).
Assemble in a pastry ring adjustable to the size of the cakes, or in a 6x6" (15cm x 10cm) cake tin lined with plastic wrap to make unmolding easier.
Place a first layer of cake and apply a boudin of mascaprone whipped cream to the outer edges, then fill the inside with mousseline cream and add a few fresh raspberries.
Cover with the second layer of cake and repeat until you reach the final layer.
Place the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes or 10 minutes in the freezer before finishing the frosting.
If necessary, whip again the mascarpone whipped cream at slow speed to firm it up a little and apply it with an angled spatula over the whole cake, smoothing with an angled saptula, decorate the top with the remaining mascarpone whipped cream and a star tip and garnish the top with fresh raspberries for decoration.
Serve immediately with homemade raspberry coulis, or store in the fridge.