Raspberry and White Chocolate Cake

A festive raspberry and white chocolate cake, this moist and delicious cake is irresistible, a fantastic treat for special occasions.

I love combining raspberries and white chocolate; I find that the tartness of the berries complements the mellow white chocolate flavor and sweetness perfectly, making any baked good featuring them something extraordinary. Check out this White Chocolate and Raspberry Loaf, the Raspberry Tartlets, or the White Chocolate and Raspberry Muffins, for instance.

Today’s raspberry and white chocolate cake is indeed unique, a cake worth spending a little bit of time making. With three layers of soft cake, tangy raspberry filling, and sweet white chocolate frosting, it can hardly get any better. The perfect cake for Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, a baby shower, or a bridal shower.

Expert tips

Most important tip: Please use a digital kitchen scale in baking (Amazon affiliate link). Baking is a science, and it requires precise measurements. Measuring by volume can produce such different results, especially when it comes to flour, cornstarch, and butter. And if you use those inaccurate amounts, you’re more likely to get inaccurate results. A kitchen scale will give you the most precise measure ensuring the best bake possible.

Time management: Work methodically and follow each step in precise order.

• Start with baking the base for the white chocolate and raspberry cake; it needs to cool completely before slicing. It’s even better if you can bake it a day ahead, it will be even easier to cut into clean slices.

• Make the white chocolate frosting next. If you make it in advance and keep it refrigerated until needed, make sure it has a couple of hours to come to room temperature. Otherwise, you will not be able to spread it nicely.

• Make the raspberry sauce when you are ready to fill the layers; the sauce needs to be used while still hot before it sets.

• The whole cake can be baked, filled, and decorated one day in advance. Keep it refrigerated and if decorating it with fresh raspberries, place them on top of the torte before serving.

Temperature: All the ingredients needed for the batter and the frosting should have room temperature.

Recipe ingredients

Cake batter ingredients

• I use my go-to recipe, the one I use for all the fondant cakes I make and for many other layered cakes. It’s moist and delicious; it cuts perfectly, holds any filling, and is economical and super easy to make.

You will need:

• Flour: I prefer to use cake flour, but all-purpose flour is also fine.
• Oil (room temperature): it makes and keeps the cake moist for longer; I love baking with oil. You will need a neutral-tasting oil like canola.
• Other ingredients: eggs (room temperature), buttermilk (room temperature), sugar, and baking powder.

Frosting ingredients

• I adore this frosting; I filled more cakes with it than I can even count. Check out the Chocolate Cake or the green Spinach Cake; they are both delicious.
• You will only need three ingredients: white chocolate, cream cheese, and unsalted butter.

Raspberry sauce ingredients

• I always use frozen berries to make the sauce, fresh would be way too expensive, and you will not notice any difference in taste or texture.
• Syrup: Its use is optional. If you use it, thin it with water 1:1; if not, use water; the sauce will still taste great.
• Other ingredients: cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, and more water.

Decoration:

• Fresh berries, sugar pearls, white chocolate shaves, icing sugar. All optional and replaceable.

Step-by-step instructions

Cake base

• Preheat the oven and prepare the baking tin (greased and floured) (1).

• Wet ingredients: Beat the eggs and the sugar in a large mixing bowl and add buttermilk and oil in two batches. Mix well with the electric mixer (or in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment) (2).
• Dry ingredients: Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl and sieve them over the wet ingredients. Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture with a spoon or spatula (3).

• Pour the batter into the prepared tin (4).
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes; the baking time depends on your oven. Check with a toothpick; it should come out clean.
• Rest in the tin for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (5).

White chocolate cream cheese frosting

• Finely chop the white chocolate and place it in a small heatproof bowl.
• Bain-marie: Pour some water into a saucepan that can hold the heat-proof bowl on top (6). Place the bowl with the chopped chocolate on top of the saucepan containing the water, but make sure that the bowl doesn't touch the water (7).

• Melt the chocolate slowly, stirring often. Set aside while you prepare the rest (8).
• Combine: Mix cream cheese shortly to make it softer. Add the soft butter and mix well with the hand mixer until pale and creamy (9).

• Slowly add the melted chocolate, one tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition (10).
• Once you have incorporated all the chocolate, mix well until fluffy (11).

Raspberry sauce

• Place thawed raspberry, syrup mix (or just water) in a small saucepan. Simmer for about 10 minutes, often stirring (12, 13).
• Push the sauce through a fine-meshed sieve to remove the seeds.
• Return the sauce to the saucepan, and add sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and water. Whisk well until the mixture is smooth.
• Bring to a simmer and cook gently on low heat for about 4-5 minutes or until the mixture thickens.

Assemble

• Cut the cake into three even layers using a long serrated knife (14). Place the bottom cake layer on a serving plate or platter and the middle one on a plate. Leave the third one (the nicest one) alone for the time being.
• Fill: Pour ½ of the still hot raspberry sauce on the cake layer on the platter and the rest on the middle cake layer. Let the sauce cool and set slightly; it might take about ½ an hour. The sauce should be cool when you add chocolate frosting (15).

• Add about two heaped tablespoons of the chocolate frosting to each layer covered with raspberry sauce. Gently distribute the frosting evenly over the sauce. It works well with an offset spatula or a spoon, and it’s okay when the sauce and the white chocolate are slightly combined (16).
• Tip: You can add a bit more frosting on the sauce-covered cake layers; make sure you still have enough left to cover the top layer at the end.

• Place the middle cake layer on top of the first one and press gently.
• Place the last layer (the one that’s still “naked”) on top. Cover it with the remaining white chocolate frosting.
• Decorate the raspberry and white chocolate cake with fresh raspberries, sugar pearls, or white chocolate curls. Dust lightly with powdered sugar if desired.

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