This White Chocolate Raspberry Cake features layers of soft, airy, buttery vanilla cake, delicious raspberry filling, and creamy white chocolate cream cheese frosting! The bakery-style white cake is unbeatable — it’s the ultimate white cake recipe you’ll ever use.
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You’ll adore this cake because of its:
- Soft, airy, cloud-like texture achieved through the reverse creaming method
- Tender, fluffy, and moist layers that are sturdy enough to support the filling without being too eggy
- Vibrant, sweet raspberry flavor — and plenty of it
- Luxurious silky white chocolate frosting sandwiched between each cake layer
- Option for either a homemade raspberry jam filling or a shortcut version
- Detailed recipe instructions and video for a foolproof baking experience
- This White Chocolate Raspberry Cake is simply divine. It boasts the fluffiest texture you’ll ever taste.
For this White Chocolate Cake recipe, you’ll need three key components: the white cake, the raspberry filling, and the white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
FOR THE WHITE CAKE
- Cake Flour: Cake flour is much finer than all-purpose flour, about 30 times finer! It has less protein (8-9%) compared to all-purpose flour (10-13%), resulting in lighter, softer cake layers with a delicate crumb. You can usually find it in the baking aisle, but I’ve also provided an easy substitution.
- Egg Whites Only: Using only egg whites keeps the cake white. Egg yolks would tint it yellow and alter the texture due to increased fat and lecithin from the yolks. Egg whites give the cake its soft, airy texture.
- Milk: Any type of milk works, but 2% or whole milk yields the moistest cake.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the cake.
- Baking Powder: Tenderizes the cake and helps it rise in the oven. Ensure it’s fresh for best results.
- Salt: Enhances flavors and balances sweetness. Regular table salt works fine.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is typically preferred for baked goods so you can control the saltiness. If using salted butter, reduce the added salt in the recipe.
- Almond Extract: Adds a subtle sweet almond flavor. Be cautious not to add too much, as it can overpower the cake.
- Vanilla Extract: Opt for pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Substitute for Cake Flour: You can replace cake flour with 3 cups of all-purpose flour plus ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp of cornstarch.
RASPBERRY JAM FILLING
- Raspberries: The riper they are, the more flavor they pack! You can use fresh, very ripe raspberries or thawed frozen ones. I like to have extra fresh raspberries for decorating the cake, but that’s optional, purely for looks.
- Sugar: Use granulated sugar to sweeten the raspberries into jam.
- Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice is ideal, but bottled will also work. It boosts the fresh berry flavor and balances the sweetness.
- Cornstarch: This thickens the jam. Without it, you’d need twice the sugar and more time to reduce it.
WHITE CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
White Chocolate: You’ll need three 4-ounce white chocolate baking bars, typically found in the baking aisle, totaling 12 ounces. Quality chocolate chips from Guittard or Ghirardelli can also be used, as other brands may not melt well due to low cocoa butter and additives. Note that 8 ounces of chocolate chips roughly equals 1 ⅓ cups, not just one cup.
Heavy Cream: Melting the chocolate with heavy cream prevents scorching and ensures creamier chocolate. Using normal milk won’t yield the right consistency and may cause the chocolate to seize.
Cream Cheese: Its tangy flavor complements the sweet white chocolate perfectly, so it’s preferred over using all butter. Opt for full-fat brick-style cream cheese for the best results.
Butter: Use unsalted butter or reduce the salt in the frosting accordingly.
Vanilla: Quality vanilla extract enhances the flavor.
Powdered Sugar: Depending on its texture, you may need to sift the powdered sugar. Adjust the amount to achieve the desired consistency.
VARIATIONS
You can’t make too many changes to this Chocolate White Cake recipe (baking is quite precise!), but here are some subtle variations you can try:
- Alternate Berry Filling: Instead of raspberries, try strawberries, blackberries, or a mix of berries for a different filling.
- Raspberry Almond Filling: Mix 1⁄2 cup of blanched slivered almonds (toasted and roughly chopped) into half of the raspberry filling. Use this mixture to spread on the first layer of the cake for a delightful twist.
- Lemon Curd: Add a layer of lemon curd or use it in place of the raspberry filling. You can follow a separate lemon curd recipe for this variation.
- Chocolate Filling: Experiment with layering the cake with dark chocolate frosting while keeping the outside frosting white chocolate — it’s a heavenly combination.
Here’s how to freeze vanilla cake with raspberry filling:
- To freeze individual cake layers: Wrap each individual cake layer tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months.
- To freeze crumb-coated cake: After crumb coating, tightly wrap the cake in a couple of layers of plastic wrap followed by a couple of layers of foil. Freeze for up to two months.
- To freeze frosted cake: After frosting the cake, tightly wrap it in a couple of layers of plastic wrap followed by a couple of layers of foil. Freeze for up to two months. When ready to serve, allow the cake to thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Then, unwrap it and let it come to room temperature on the counter for 1-2 hours before serving.
Love cakes? Be sure to check out these other delicious cake recipes!
Lemon Blueberry Cake
Hummingbird Cake
Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
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