Almond Raspberry Cake with Mascarpone Buttercream
This almond raspberry cake is made with almond flavored cake layers that are soaked in an almond liquor simple syrup, filled with fresh raspberry filling and frosted with vanilla mascarpone buttercream.
Why you’ll love this almond raspberry cake
- Five layers of moist, dense vanilla cake soaked in an almond simple syrup!
- Alternating layers of fluffy mascarpone frosting and tart raspberry cake filling makes this cake so fun and interesting.
- The raspberry filling is super quick and easy to make and you can make it seedless or leave the seeds in.
- The recipe is very forgiving and allows for many substitutions and dietary restrictions.
If you like chocolate and raspberry, I have a white chocolate raspberry and a dark chocolate raspberry cake!
For all my raspberry lovers, I recommend trying my white chocolate raspberry macarons, raspberry white chocolate muffins and white chocolate raspberry cheesecake ice cream!
Before we move on, I just wanted to make a quick note about the sponge of this cake. This was the first vanilla cake recipe I ever developed and as much as I loved it then, I prefer my newer 6 inch vanilla cake recipe (which I also have as a 4 inch, 8 inch or a 10 inch size as well).
I Ieft the recipe as it was originally posted in case some people already love it. However, if you prefer my other cake recipe, that can also be used to make this cake with the raspberry filling and mascarpone frosting.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Flour: I use all purpose flour in most of my recipes and I HIGHLY recommend using a digital scale, as flour is so often over measured.
- Baking Powder: I used just baking powder here because it’s more widely available. You can replace it with ¾ tsp of baking soda.
- Sugar: I used granulated sugar in the cake, buttercream and raspberry filling and I don’t recommend cutting any out as it affects the texture and the flavor of the cake.
- Butter: I used unsalted butter for the cake and buttercream. You can also use salted in the cake but I don’t recommend it for the buttercream. Make sure the butter is at room temperature but not soft and greasy.
- Dairy free butter also works.
- Oil: I use canola oil but any type of neutral oil works well.
- Eggs: make sure to use room temperature, large eggs, about 50-60 grams each (weight is without shell lol).
- Pop them in hot water for a few minutes if they’re cold.
- Milk: I generally use 2% or full-fat milk but any milk works, even dairy free.
- Disaronno: this is a delicious almond liquour. It’s totally optional but gives a nice little unique flavor to the cake.
- Raspberry: I used fresh raspberries for this cake filling. You can also use frozen raspberries and no need to thaw them.
- Cornstarch: this will help thicken the filling so it’s not super runny.
- Lemon: I always like to add a little lemon juice to my jams for a sharper flavor.
- Mascarpone: it makes this frosting super light and fluffy but just a little tangy. If you can’t find it, cream cheese also works.
How To Make the Vanilla Cake
This vanilla cake recipe follows a pretty standard mixing method. The butter gets creamed with the sugar, then the eggs get added in, one at a time. Alternate adding in the dry ingredients and the milk until they’re all combined.
I used almond extract and almond liquour in the cake for flavor. The almond extract is more essential than the liquour for flavor. Although I do love the liquour in the simple syrup but again, it’s totally optional and the cake is good with or without it.
This cake does well with dairy free butter and milk if you need that. It also does well with gluten-free flour like King Arthur or Bob’s Redmill 1:1.
How To Make Raspberry Cake Filling
The raspberry cake filling is super quick and simple to make. Just simmer the raspberries with the orange juice until they’re all broken up and mushy. Then remove some of the liquid and make a roux with the cornstarch. Add the roux to the raspberries and simmer for just another couple of minutes.
Make sure to let the raspberry cake filling cool completely before using.
How To Decorate This Cake
I lightly frosted the outside of the cake and just topped with some sugared raspberries.
If you want to decorate and pipe with frosting, personally I don’t like doing that with mascarpone frosting so I recommend making a batch of buttercream for that. Swiss meringue buttercream is my favorite for decorating but traditional American buttercream also works fine.
If you want the buttercream more white, there’s a few things you can do to help brighten the color;
- If making American buttercream, make sure to whip the butter for 5-10 minutes, scraping the edge of the bowl every few minutes. This will significantly lighten the color of the butter by incorporating air.
- Using cheaper, low quality butter is much more pale in color than butters like Kerry Gold (granted they don’t taste as good lol).
- Using half or all shortening instead of butter will make the whitest color because there’s no yellow hue like butter (which certainly won’t taste better than butter).
- Add vanilla beans to the buttercream – the black speckles will give it a cool toned perception but it’ll be speckled up close.
- Add a TINY drop of purple food coloring to cool down the hue.
How to make frosted raspberries
Raspberries are very delicate so you certainly can’t do this the same way you do cranberries, by placing in hot sugar syrup and then rolling in sugar. This would just make the raspberries mushy so you’ll need to use egg whites to bind the raspberries to the sugar.
Whip up an egg white with a fork until it becomes nice a foamy. Then use a spoon to remove the foam on top. Dip the raspberry in the egg white, let the excess drip off and then roll it in granulated sugar. Allow the raspberries to dry for several hours (best overnight) before using.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this dairy free?
You can use dairy free butter, sour cream/yogurt, milk to make any of my cakes. You can also use dairy free butter and white chocolate to make the buttercream.
Can I make this gluten-free?
All my cake recipes work well with a 1:1 gluten-free flour like Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur Flour.
How do I know when it’s done baking?
Just like all the rest of my cakes, I test if it’s done baking by pressing gently on the tallest part of the cake. The cake will spring back if it’s done baking. If it stays indented, give it a few minutes in the oven, before testing again.
You can also insert a toothpick into the center of the cake (the tallest part) and make sure it comes out clean or with a few crumbs but without any batter on it.
Can I make this in a different size pan?
Three round or square 8 inch baking pan
Two (or three) round or square 9 inch baking pan (will be thinner than the cakes in the photo) – reduce bake time by 5-10 minutes
A 9×13 inch pan – increase bake time by at least 10-15 minutes, look for cues – frosted with mascarpone frosting and dollop swirls of raspberry filling on top.
Cupcakes – use my vanilla cupcake recipe and fill cupcakes with raspberry filling and frost with the mascarpone frosting.
How to make ahead
To make the cake ahead of time you can make the cakes the day before and leave them covered on the counter overnight or even a few weeks in advance. When you remove them from the oven, let them cool for about half an hour and then wrap them individually in plastic wrap. Then place them in a freezer bag, squeezing out all the excess air.
You can frost them while they’re frozen but the frosting may start to set so you’d have to work quickly. If the cakes are frozen, it’s best to let them sit out at least 30 minutes before frosting.
The Mascarpone Frosting: I don’t recommend making the frosting ahead of time. Mascarpone needs to be refrigerated and doing that, then bringing it back to room temperature to rewhip and frost can make it less stable. It’s definitely possible but I don’t recommend it.
The raspberry filling can be made even 1-2 weeks in advance and stored covered in the refrigerator.
How to store finished cake
Any cake frosted with mascarpone frosting needs to be refrigerated.
It’ll stay well covered in the fridge for 4-7 days but it dries out quicker than the freezer so I recommend freezing after a few days in the fridge.
To freeze the whole cake, refrigerate it until it’s firm. Then wrap it in plastic wrap so it’s completely covered. Then wrap it in aluminum foil and freeze.
To freeze slices, place the slices in an airtight container and then place the container in a freezer bag, squeezing out all the excess air or do the above with each individual slice.
Bring it back to room temperature by thawing at room temperature for a few hours before serving.
Ok loves, you know this cake will be a show-stopper for all your guests this holiday season so you might as well give it a try *winky-face emoji*. If you do, please let me know if you have questions and make sure to leave a star rating or review!
As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!
Love, B
Almond Cake with Raspberry Filling Recipe
Almond cake with mascarpone buttercream and a raspberry jam filling!
Equipment
Ingredients
Raspberry Filling
- 8 oz (225g) raspberries fresh or frozen
- 2 Tbsp (1oz) orange juice or lemon juice
- 2 tsp (7g) cornstarch
Almond Cake
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups (450g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (6oz) vegetable oil or canola oil
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 1 Tbsp disaronno amaretto liqueur *optional*
- 2 cups (16oz/480mL) whole milk room temperature
Mascarpone Buttercream
- 1/2 cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 oz mascarpone room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) powdered sugar spooned and leveled
- 2 Tbsp Disaronno amaretto liqueur *you can substitute for 1-2 tsp. almond extract*
Instructions
Raspberry Filling
- Combine the raspberries and orange juice in a medium saucepan, over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Let the mixture simmer for a few minutes until the raspberries are all broken up.8 oz (225g) raspberries, 2 Tbsp (1oz) orange juice or lemon juice
- Remove a couple of tablespoons of liquid from the sauce pan and mix with the cornstarch in a separate bowl. Add in the cornstarch mixture and let it simmer for a few more minutes.2 tsp (7g) cornstarch
- Remove from the heat, pour it into a small bowl or jar and allow the filling to cool completely before using.
Almond Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F/177C convection (325F/163C conventional) and grease and line three 8-inch pans or five 6-inch pans with baking spray and parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, 1 Tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together, at high speed, for 2-3 minutes. Scrape the edge of the bowl and add in the oil. Beat for another 1-2 minutes, until it's pale and fluffy.1/2 cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, 2 1/4 cups (450g) granulated sugar, 3/4 cup (6oz) vegetable oil or canola oil
- With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs to the mixture, one at a time, beating until each one is fully incorporated. Add in the almond extract and liqueur.3 large eggs, 2 tsp almond extract, 1 Tbsp disaronno amaretto liqueur
- Alternate adding in the milk and the dry ingredients in three intervals, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix just until the last streak of flour is combined.2 cups (16oz/480mL) whole milk
- Divide batter between the pans and bake for 30-40 minutes, until it's golden brown, releases from the edge and springs back when you press on it gently.
- Once they are cooled completely, level each cake if they're domed.
Mascarpone Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the flat beater to cream together the butter and mascarpone, for 1-2 minutes just until they're combined.1/2 cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, 8 oz mascarpone
- Add in the powdered sugar and the extract and/or liqueur and beat for another 2-3 minutes, scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.3 cups (360g) powdered sugar, 2 Tbsp Disaronno amaretto liqueur
Assemble
- Place the first layer of cake on a board and top it with a layer of mascarpone buttercream. Place the second layer of cake on top and pipe a border of the buttercream around the edge of this layer, then fill it with raspberry filling.
- Repeat with alternating layers until the cake is assembled. Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes.
- Use half of the left over frosting to do a light crumb coat and then refrigerate the cake for another 30 minutes. Finish frosting the cake with the left over frosting.
- Place some fresh raspberries dusted with powdered sugar on top of the cake.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 945kcalCarbohydrates: 137gProtein: 7gFat: 40gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 116mgSodium: 442mgFiber: 2gSugar: 110g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Hello! Question, For the Almond Raspberry Cake with Mascarpone buttercream. I would like to make cupcakes, injecting the filling inside the cake and frosting it with the mascapone. Can this be done with this recipe? If yes, how long would I need to bake the cake. How many tbsp would I fill a cupcake liner? Your cake looks absolutely amazing!!!!! Thank you in advance. Sharon
Hi Sharron, last time I made this cake as cupcakes they didn’t turn out very nice. I recommend making my vanilla cupcakes and just using the filling and frosting as you said 🙂
https://baranbakery.com/vanilla-cupcakes-with-vanilla-buttercream/
L❤VE all of your recipes I’ve tried in your book so far! For this cake. Do you use AP or cake flour?
Thank you so much! I used all purpose flour, I will update that 🙂
Hi there.
Is there an option to convert your recipes to grams?
Hi, unfortunately this is an older recipe that I haven’t gotten to update yet but the cake is very similar to my 6” vanilla cake, if you want to use that one it has the grams measurements 🙂
https://baranbakery.com/6-inch-vanilla-cake-recipe/
Do you have any recommendations if I were to make this Gluten Free? What flour I should use?
Hi Elena, I would use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend substitute like King Arthur or Bobs red milll 🙂
Thank you! 😁
From your photos, the cake looks narrow. Did you use a 6” pan?
Hi Sunny, yes I did.