Now that Spring is kinda, sorta here (you can never be too sure with Toronto weather), it’s officially time to bring out the bright and fruity desserts! I recently shared a recipe for Homemade Raspberry Sauce and Dreamy Raspberry Buttercream. Today, I’m sharing the perfect fruity and flavourful dessert to make with those two recipes.
VANILLA RASPBERRY CAKE
This Vanilla Raspberry Cake has moist and fluffy layers of vanilla cake. Between those layers is a vanilla buttercream with a raspberry sauce. Decorated with a raspberry and vanilla buttercream watercolour design, raspberry buttercream border, garnished with fresh raspberries and more raspberry sauce in the middle.
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INGREDIENTS
1 recipe of my Homemade Raspberry Sauce
MARBLED CAKE LAYERS:
3 and ¼ cups cake flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 and ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
6 large egg whites, room temperature
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 and ¼ cups buttermilk, room temperature
Pink gel food colouring
1 recipe of my Dreamy Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM:
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup Hi-ratio Shortening
⅛ tsp salt
4 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 and 1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp Pure Almond Extract
INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare one recipe of my Homemade Raspberry Sauce and allow to chill completely, preferably overnight.
FOR THE MARBLED CAKE LAYERS:
Preheat oven to 350° F (177°C). Prepare three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment rounds, and grease the sides. Set aside.
In a large bowl, sift cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine, set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 4-6 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add egg whites one at a time, mixing after each addition until just combined. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
Alternately add dry ingredients in thirds and buttermilk in 2 additions to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat after each addition just until combined.
Split the batter in half and tint one half pink, leave the rest white. Spoon a dollop of white batter into each pan, then spoon a dollop of pink. Repeat alternating between white and pink until you run out of batter. Then, using a toothpick or a butter knife, swirl the batter together.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and cake springs back when lightly touched.
Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.
Meanwhile, prepare one recipe of my Dreamy Raspberry Buttercream Frosting.
FOR THE VANILLA BUTTERCREAM:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter, shortening and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 5-6 minutes).
Turn the mixer to low, and gradually add the sugar one cup at a time. Once incorporated, add heavy cream, vanilla and almond extract and beat until combined.
Increase speed to medium-high and whip until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes.
ASSEMBLY:
Reserve about 1 - 1 and 1/4 cup of raspberry buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Set aside.
Trim the browned tops off of each cake layer. Place one layer on a serving plate or cake board on a turntable. Spread about 1/2 cup of vanilla frosting on top using an offset spatula.
Pipe a dam around the edge of the cake and fill with 1/2 cup of raspberry sauce. You can use less if you prefer. Place the second layer on top and repeat. Place final layer top side down.
Frost the entire cake in a thin layer of raspberry buttercream. Place cake in refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.
Remove cake from refrigerator and frost the entire cake with the rest of the raspberry buttercream.
To make the watercolour effect: use an offset spatula to add random smudges of vanilla buttercream all over the cake. Using a bench scraper, smooth the sides and top of the cake. Add more smudges if needed and keep smoothing.
Using the piping bag filled with raspberry frosting, pipe a fluffy shell border on top and bottom of the cake (here's a great tutorial on piping borders). Pour remaining raspberry sauce in the middle of the cake. Decorate the bottom with fresh raspberries. Slice and serve!
NOTES
Store cake in an airtight cake container in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Serve at room temperature.
If you don’t have cake flour, you can substitute by sifting together 2 and 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Tbsp of all purpose flour with 6 Tbsp of cornstarch.