Name: Raspberry Mascarpone Naked Cake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 2 h 55 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 large eggs, at room temperature; 2 egg yolks, at room temperature; 2 tsp vanilla bean paste; 330g whole milk; 120g full fat greek yoghurt; 600g all-purpose flour; 450g granulated sugar; 3 ¼ tsp baking powder; ½ tsp salt; 345g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 250g fresh or frozen raspberries; 50g granulated sugar; 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice; 250g mascarpone cheese; 150g powdered sugar; 1/8 tsp salt; 300ml heavy cream

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This raspberry vanilla cake is simple and so elegant. It’s filled with raspberry compote and frosted with mascarpone cream.

sliced raspberry and mascarpone naked cake

It’s got a tender vanilla cake base, a homemade raspberry filling, and creamy mascarpone frosting. To fill the layers, this cake is filled using a tangy raspberry compote and a light and creamy mascarpone cream. The colors are beautiful, and the flavor combination is excellent.

The cake base for this raspberry mascarpone naked cake is using a recipe from Erin at the blog Cloudy Kitchen. It’s a moist vanilla cake that’s tender, but it still has some structure to it, so it can be stacked and filled easily.

The cake uses a reverse creaming method which is where the butter is mixed into the flour to create sand-like crumbs. This method stops the gluten from forming the cake and it’s what gives it such a tender crumb. The vanilla cakes can be made well in advance (even weeks, months!) and refrigerated or frozen until you’re ready to assemble. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap so they don’t dry out.

Ingredients

Here are all the ingredients needed in this raspberry mascarpone layer cake. The amounts are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Vanilla cake

Eggs
Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Milk
Greek yogurt
All-purpose flour
Granulated sugar
Baking powder
Salt
Unsalted butter

Raspberry compote

Fresh or frozen raspberries
Granulated sugar
Lemon juice

Mascarpone frosting

Mascarpone cheese
Powdered sugar
Salt
Heavy cream

Substitutions

If you can’t get your hands on mascarpone cheese, the mascarpone can be substituted for cream cheese. Cream cheese will make a more tangy frosting.

Raspberries could be substituted with fresh or frozen strawberries.

Equipment

You’ll need 3 x 8-inch cake pans for this recipe. If you don’t have 3 pans you can bake the cakes one or two at a time and reuse the pans.

A stand mixer with a paddle attachment to reverse cream the butter and flour.

A bench scraper and offset spatula to smooth out the frosting.

Method

Batter

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C. Grease three 8” cake pans, and line with parchment paper on the bottom. If you don’t have 3 pans, you can bake the cakes one or two at a time and reuse the same pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, milk, and yogurt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and mix it briefly to combine the dry ingredients.
Now with the mixer on low speed, add the butter a cube at a time, until fully incorporated and the flour mixture looks like sand. This can take a while so be patient.
Add half of the wet ingredients into the mixer and mix until just combined, then add the second half of the wet ingredients.
Mix on medium speed until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and give a few folds with a rubber spatula, scraping the sides of the bowl to ensure that no dry ingredients remain.

Baking

Divide the cake batter between the three cake tins. Bake for around 30-35 minutes, or until the cake springs back when touched.
Remove the cakes from the oven and cool for 15 minutes in their pans, then turn onto a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Compote

While the cake is baking, make the raspberry compote. Add the raspberries to a small saucepan over low heat, along with sugar and lemon juice.
Cook over low heat while the raspberries begin to release their liquid. Stir occasionally as the mixture comes to a simmer.
Once simmering, over low heat, cook the raspberries for around 15 minutes until they break down and the mixture thickens slightly. Take them off the heat and allow it to cool completely.

Frosting

In a large mixing bowl add the mascarpone, powdered sugar, and salt. Using an electric mixer at high speed, whisk it until combined.
Slowly stream in the heavy cream and keep whisking as you do until it is thick and forms stiff peaks. This can happen quickly so take care not to over-mix it or it will split.

Layering the cake

Once the vanilla cakes have been baked and cooled, they’ll need to be leveled in order to create an even cake once it has been stacked.
Let the vanilla cake layers cool to room temperature, then if you can, wrap them up in a plastic wrap and chill them in the fridge for a while before leveling. This tightens the crumb a bit and helps with slicing.
Use a serrated knife to level the cakes and make their tops flat and even.

Place one layer of cake on a cake turntable or cake stand. Pipe a wide ring of mascarpone frosting around the edge. This is going to hold the raspberry compote in place.

Spoon in half the raspberry compote into the middle and smooth it out.

Stack on another cake layer and repeat this process.

Add on the last cake layer. Pipe a frosting spiral on the top of the cake, and pipe all around the edges of the cake.

Use an offset spatula to smooth the frosting on the top of the cake. Use a bench scraper to smooth the frosting around the edge of the cake.

Pipe extra frosting in any holes, then smooth it out again.
The end cake should be smooth and have parts of the cake layers peeping through.

bird's eye view of raspberries and pistachios on cake

Decorate the cake with edible flowers, fresh raspberries, chopped nuts, or whatever else you like. You can also pipe leftover frosting dollops on the top of the cake.

Serving and storing

Refrigerate the cake until you’re ready to serve. Remove it from the fridge about half an hour before serving. Leftover cake can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days.

Related recipes

Here are some other raspberry recipes to try!