Raspberry Cream Cake

In a return to the always delicious Vanilla Bean Baking Book, I made Sarah’s outstanding raspberry cream cake, a yellow cake with a raspberry whipped cream cheese frosting for a friend’s baby shower party last weekend. The cake (and accompanying frosting) was a huge hit with everyone, and it couldn’t be easier to make. You can find the yellow cake recipe in a separate post, here I want focus all attention on this indulgent yet light cream cheese-based frosting.

I made a few small changes to the original recipe, replacing granulated sugar with confectioner’s sugar because I’ve never understood granulated sugar in frostings that aren’t cooked. I also halved the amount of fresh raspberries I used down from the 12+ ounces listed, in part because that’s all I grabbed at the grocery store but also because that’s all that really fit on my cake. Even with half the number of raspberries, slicing this cake without severing all the raspberries was a bit of a challenge.

Updated 8/29/2018: Since this frosting relies on whipped cream, it should be made and served almost immediately. If you can’t do that, it is possible to assemble the cake ahead of time, then store it in the refrigerator until just before you're ready to serve it. Due to multiple inquires, I've tested this several times, and haven't had any trouble with my frosting weeping or my cake becoming soggy. Note that I've only waited about 16 hours between assembly and serving, so I can't be sure how long the cake will survive past that point. If you need to go longer, I would highly recommend skipping the fresh raspberries and using freeze-dried raspberries in the frosting instead. They pack a powerful raspberry flavor and gorgeous color.

Any leftovers should be stored in the fridge as well.

Also, note that frozen raspberries will release icy water into the frosting, ruining the texture of both the frosting and the cake, so they shouldn’t be used here.

Raspberry Cream Cake

Prep time does not include time for making the cake!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cream cheese frosting, easy cake topping, raspberries

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 1 8 or 9-inch two-tier layer cake

Ingredients

• 1 recipe yellow cake* made into 2 8-or-9-inch rounds, cooled completely, leveled
• 6 ounces (170 g) full-fat cream cheese at room temperature
• optional: 25 grams (0.85 oz) freeze-dried raspberries (e.g. from Trader Joes) or 2-3 drops pink food coloring
• ¾ cup + 1-2 tablespoons (99 g) confectioner’s sugar
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla seed or another 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, seeds scraped
• ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 6 ounces (160 g) fresh raspberries

Instructions

• Make sure your cream cheese is truly room-temperature (assuming a kitchen temperature of 65-70 F).
  
• If using freeze-dried raspberries, place in a clean spice grinder and pulse to grind into a fine powder. Sift the raspberry powder into a medium-sized bowl to remove the dried raspberries seeds. Sift the powdered sugar into the same bowl. Add the salt to the bowl, then whisk gently to combine.
  
• In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Add the sifted dry ingredients, food coloring (if using), vanilla bean seeds, and vanilla extract to the beaten cream cheese. Beat on medium speed until light and completely smooth, about 3 minutes. Do not short-change the time you give to this step - the frosting should visibly thicken and lighten in color during this time.
  
• Scrape down the bowl and replace the paddle attachment with a whisk. With the mixer running on low, add the cream very slowly, pausing every 5-10 seconds to scrape down the bowl, until it is fully combined. Increase the speed to medium high and whisk until stiff peaks form, scraping down the bowl as necessary (at least several times), about 2-3 minutes total.
• To assemble the cake, place one layer of the yellow cake on a serving platter. Top with a generous 1 cup of the whipped cream frosting (or half the frosting if you’re making a naked cake). Spread evenly over the surface, then dot about ½ the raspberries on top of the frosting.
• Cover with the remaining cake layer. Frost the top and sides (or just the top as I did) with the remaining whipped cream frosting. Dot the surface with the remaining raspberries.
• Serve immediately or chill for up to 12-18 hours prior to serving.

Notes

*recipe from Vanilla Bean Baking Book, on this site as Yellow Cake: the Reverse Creaming Method

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