A few days ago was my grandmothers 95th birthday. I wanted to make her a giant birthday cake which would be a show stopper. She loves raspberries and grows them in her garden at home. So I knew I had to incorporate raspberry filling in the cake. I decided to go with a standard vanilla cake as to not upstage the raspberry filling. And pair it with a buttery cream cheese frosting.
The uniqueness of this cake is the flavor combinations and the technique here is in how the cake is constructed. I made this cake with 4 layers. 4 layers may be a little overkill for the average cake, So feel free to adjust as needed. The recipe below is meant to be for only 2 layers. So multiply or divide as needed.
Honestly if you are stretched for time, just use a box cake mix. The difference between a good vanilla cake batter and a bad vanilla cake batter is how well it’s baked and what filling and frosting it’s paired with. The cake is just the base here. Which is why the raspberry filling is the star. The cream cheese frosting is the perfect butter pair for this
Vanilla Bean Raspberry Cake
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- Filling:
- 2 cups raspberries if frozen, thaw to room temperature
- 4 TBSP water
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 TBSP +½ tsp cornstarch
- Frosting:
- 16 oz cream cheese room temperature
- ¾ cup butter room temperature
- 10 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease two 8 inch cake pans with butter/ cooking spray/ oil. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.
- In a large mixer combine the butter and sugar, then gradually add in the milk, eggs, vanilla, oil.
- Gradually add in the dry mixture until combined.
- Pour the batter into the two greased 8 inch cake pans
- Bake in the over for 20-25 mins or until a toothpick comes out smooth. Set aside to cool completely.
- Remove the cakes from the pan and cut off the bump on top of the cake with a knife.So that the top of the cake is completely level. Set aside.
- Then make the filing
- Filling:
- Add raspberries and water to the food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
- Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in Puree. Stir continuously until mixture thickens and comes to a boil, about 10 mins.
- Put a thick layer of the filing in between each layer of cake.
- Keep the filling towards the center of the cake so it doesn't ooze out. We will be putting the frosting on the edge so that it doesn't escape.
- Frosting
- Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large mixer, beat until combined and smooth
- Add half the powdered sugar and mix until combined and smooth
- Add vanilla extra and salt and mix until combined.
- Pipe the frosting on the edge of each layer.
- Then put a thin layer of frosting on the outside of the assembled cake. (This will act as the crumb coat to seal in the cake crumbs, filling and frosting structure. We will be adding more frosting to the outside later)
- Put it in the fridge for about 2 hours.
- Then take the cake out and put on the rest of the frosting.
