This White Chocolate Raspberry Cake combines white chocolate cake layers with a white chocolate swiss meringue buttercream, fresh raspberries, and raspberry jam. A perfect flavour combination!
Hi everyone! Sorry it’s been so long since my last post/recipe — this was not intended. For those of you who don’t know, we got a puppy at the end of June and it’s been pure chaos ever since. I knew that puppies were a lot of work, but this is a whole ‘nother level of craziness.
I actually made this White Chocolate Raspberry Cake weeks (months?) ago with the intent to post it in July. That obviously didn’t happen.
In addition to the puppy (who we named Zelda, after our mutual love of the video game franchise), we were also dealing with some unplanned renos due to a water leak in a neighbor’s unit that flooded our basement in early June.
I exaggerate a bit when I say flooded — it was a slow leak in a cracked pipe that cause water to seep up from under the floorboards. But still, one wall and the entire floor had to be ripped up and replaced which finally just happened last week, so we were living in a construction zone for 2 months.
This might not seem like that big of a deal, but the basement is actually where we hang out the most. It’s a walkout with huge windows and a view — it’s where we have our tv, and it’s generally the coziest room in the house. If we had a fireplace down here, I’m convinced we’ve never leave! It’s also the main puppy space, so the whole reno was really disruptive.
Ryan and I opted to do the demo and move all our furniture to save a bit of time/money. We have some rather large pieces of furniture down here that we had to move (giant sectional + chaise, book cases, tv, etc). It was a lot of work! Poor Zelda was confined to her pen for the better part of a weekend, and then got shuffled upstairs while the work was being done.
I’m complaining. I tend to do that. In the grand scheme of things, it could have been a lot worse. None of our stuff was damaged, insurance paid for the whole thing, and we have a nice new floor down here now (the old one was terrible).
Zelda though, she’s a handful omg. Potty training has been a nightmare. I think (hope) that’s mostly due to all the disruption we’ve had with the unplanned renos (literally the worst timing for that to happen). She’s been moved around from downstairs to upstairs and back again. Hoping things calm down a bit in that regard since the renos are officially done (YAY!). Now that that’s settled, I’m hoping to get a bit more consistency for her with everything.
The worst part, though, has been the biting. I know that puppies bite. But she BITES. Like, draws blood if you let her (and sometimes even if you try not to), with those razor sharp puppy teeth. I know it’s her way of playing/teething, but omg, it is brutal. My arms and hands are just shredded and bruised from those puppy teeth. It’s SO painful. Literally nothing we try has worked. We’ve tried redirecting her to toys, disengaging, yelping (which only gets her more hyper). There was honestly a point this weekend where I was like, this is hell. Wtf did we do??
But then there are times where she’s so cute and adorable I can’t imagine that I was ever mad/frustrated with her. My friend Eva said to me yesterday, “Puppies are as cute as they are for survival purposes – otherwise you’d kill them.” There has never been a more accurate statement.
Anyhow, let’s talk about this White Chocolate Raspberry Cake, because it’s crazy delicious.
I’m actually not a fan of white chocolate. It’s not really chocolate after all. It contains no cocoa solids and is made up strictly of cocoa butter, sugar, and milk. But I had a request in my Facebook Group for a White Chocolate Raspberry Cake, and who am I to turn that down? It makes perfect use of those summer berries, too.
Honestly, this cake is now one of my favourites. The white chocolate flavour is there, but it’s not overpowering like straight up white chocolate can be. And the sweet/tart fresh raspberries are a perfect compliment.
How to make this White Chocolate Raspberry Cake
To make this white chocolate cake, I modified the recipe from my White Chocolate Candy Cane Cake. Technically the ratio of sugar in this recipe is too high, because the white chocolate also has sugar in it. I didn’t find it overly sweet though, and I loved the texture, so I’m leaving the recipe as-is. Note that the cake will bake up with a darker golden crust due to the extra sugar. If you like, you can reduce the granulated sugar in the recipe to 1 1/2 cups instead.
I used raspberry jam between the layers along with fresh raspberries for an extra hit, but you can leave the jam out if you like. I used store-bought seeded jam (I like the seeds), but you can use any you like, or even homemade if you prefer!
The decorating style of this White Chocolate Raspberry Cake is very simple. I kept the sides semi-naked and did a design on top similar to my Lemon Elderflower Cake. I piled some fresh raspberries on top, and added some thyme sprigs for a pop of green.
This truly is a delicious flavour combination, and the fresh berries make it so perfect for summer!
Looking for more berry desserts?
- Strawberry Cake with Mascarpone Buttercream
- Vanilla Custard Cookie Cups
- Raspberry Mango Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Blueberry Shortcake
Tips for making this White Chocolate Cake with Raspberries
- The ratio of sugar in this recipe is high due to the addition of the white chocolate. This will give a darker crust. I did not find it overly sweet, but you can reduce the sugar to 1 1/2 cups instead.
- Try to use the best quality white chocolate you can find. White chocolate chips will do, but the flavour will be better with good quality white chocolate.
- If you don’t like raspberries, this white chocolate cake would be just as delicious with blueberries, blackberries, or strawberries.
- Be sure to check my Swiss Meringue Buttercream post for tips and troubleshooting.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, check out my Flat Top Cakes post!
White Chocolate Raspberry Cake
This White Chocolate Raspberry Cake combines white chocolate cake layers with a white chocolate swiss meringue buttercream, fresh raspberries, and raspberry jam. A perfect flavour combination!
INGREDIENTS
White Chocolate Cake:
- 6 oz white chocolate chopped (or white chocolate chips)
- 2 cups milk
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla
White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 6 large egg whites
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 oz white chocolate chopped, melted, cooled
Assembly:
- 500 g fresh raspberries divided
- 6 Tbsp raspberry jam seeded or seedless (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
White Chocolate Cake:
- Heat milk and chocolate until melted and combined, cool to room temperature.*
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 8" cake rounds and line with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins). Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
Alternate adding flour mixture and milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour (4 additions of flour and 3 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition.
Bake for approx. 40mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
- Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.
White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.**
- Place bowl over a double boiler on the stove and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch (approx. 3mins). Or registers 160F on a candy thermometer.
- Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
- Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.***
Add white chocolate and whip until smooth.
Assembly:
Reserve 1/3rd of the prettiest raspberries (160g) for the top of the cake. Very roughly chop remaining 2/3rds of the raspberries (330g). I basically just made sure each was cut in half.
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread approx. 3 Tbsp of raspberry jam evenly across the layer, right to the edges. Top with 1 cup of buttercream and spread evenly. Press half of the chopped raspberries evenly into the frosting. Repeat with next layer.
Top with final layer of cake and crumb coat. Add 1 cup of buttercream to the very top and smooth until it hangs over the sides. Use an icing smoother to smooth the sides and create a lip on the top with the frosting.
Dollop a bit of frosting on the top and spread out in a rustic manner. Top with fresh raspberries and thyme sprigs if desired.
NOTES
* You can do this in the microwave, stirring between 30 second bursts or in a pot in the stove, stirring constantly, or in a double boiler, stirring occasionally.
** Wipe your mixer bowl and whisk down with lemon juice or vinegar to make sure it is completely grease free and make sure there is no trace of yolk in your whites or your meringue will not stiffen.
*** The buttercream may look like it's curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth. If it looks soupy, place it in the fridge for 20mins and rewhip.
The nutritional information and metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or metric conversion tool.
I ended up buying 8-inch pans and made this cake for my Daughter’s first birthday and oh boy it was a hit. This cake recipe is amazing and will now be a staple for us. Thank you!
Yay! So glad to hear that 🙂 Thanks for the feedback!
Hello! I would like to make a three layer cake using 9 inch pans, would I need to adjust the recipe for that?
Hi Tanya! You would need to increase the recipe. Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
Hi! Does this cake come out moist? How can I ensure that it does? Can’t wait to try it out this week!!!
Kate
Hi Kate! Yes, the cake is moist provided it’s not overbaked. You can always add a simple syrup on the cake layers if you want to help ensure that though!
How do I adjust the recipe if I only want 2 layers?
Thanks!
Hi Darlene! The recipe as is will work in two 8″ cake pans as long as they are at least 3″ tall. Or you can 2/3 the recipe by setting the Servings slider to 10 or 11 – though that will give you some odd measurements.
Made this the other day. I made my own seedless raspberry puree to put between the layers and added fresh raspberries as well. Was told it was the best cake people had ever tasted. So thanks! So yummy. Can’t wait to try some more of your cakes.
Hi Megan! What a compliment, so glad you, and everyone, loved it!
Is it necessary to change this recipe to make cupcakes?
Thanks so much!!
We are making our own wedding cake and would like to make cupcakes to share with our guests…hoping your recipe will work for both?
Megan&Audrey
Hi Megan! No recipe adjustments needed but you’ll need to reduce the baking time. Depending on the size of the cupcakes, I’d check them around 15mins or so.
I just made these as cupcakes tonight! Here are a couple of things I noted:
-They seem to bake better with fewer cupcakes in the pan. I wound up making like 32 cupcakes, but probably could have filled a few of mine a little more. Anyway, when I had a pan of 6, they seemed to get more golden overall instead of just the edges and had a better rise.
-I baked them for about 20 minutes. I started with 15, then added a few to 18, and then 20, and for me 20 minutes at 350 seemed to be just right (regardless of number of cupcakes in the pan).
-I cored the cupcakes and put raspberry preserves in them.
-This made PLENTY of buttercream…like I have a considerable amount leftover and feel like I put a generous amount of buttercream on all of them.
-I considered added some of the berries to the buttercream but didn’t. I didn’t want it to curdle, and I considered freeze dried raspberries but opted not to. I’m actually glad I didn’t because with the tart preserves in the middle, it adds the perfect bite of sweet and tart. I put a raspberry on top for garnish!
This buttercream recipe was SO easy, it’s been years since I’ve made a Swiss buttercream and I’m happy to see how it really is easy! Mine did start to get a little soupy after getting almost done with all of the butter, but I just gave it a whip on a higher speed for ~5 minutes and it was perfect again. Whipped it again for a good 30-60 seconds after adding the white chocolate, popped it in the fridge for MAYBE 10 minutes and then piped it.
Great recipe, as always!
Thanks so much for all your tips Brittany!! I really appreciate them, as I’m sure other readers do too. I’m so glad they worked well for you!
Hi. Your cake looks amazing. I have a gluten free wedding cake to make. I am looking to add fresh raspberries to the batter. Baking the cake on the Thursday, ganache and fondant then delivering the cake on the Saturday. Do you think The timescales would work. Or could I make it and freeze then decorate on the Thursday?? Thank you
Hi, I’m from the UK. This looks a delicious recipe. I’m not that sure what all purpose flour is. We have self raising and plain flour here. As you use baking soda in the recipe I’m wondering if all purpose would be the equivalent to our plain flour which is generally used for biscuits, dough etc. What do you think? Also we usually follow ounces/grams and note that you include a conversion (thank you) but the baking soda is in ml – we usually use teaspoons of those – maybe I could find something small to measure that in ml on Amazon. Thanks in advance
Hi Judles! I’m honestly not totally sure. I would be inclined to say plain flour, but I baked a cake with plain flour before when I was in Sydney and it was a total fail (dense and dry), but it also shouldn’t be self raising flour. If you take a look through the comments on my Lemon Elderflower Cake (https://livforcake.com/lemon-elderflower-cake/) there is a lot of discussion about UK flour and troubleshooting.
The baking powder should be about 12g, not sure why it shows in ml!
Made this for a family celebration, went down a treat! A real crowd pleaser! Was catering for 24 so increased quantities by 1.5 and despite everyone having generous servings there were still some leftovers so it goes far! I found the cake light and refreshing and although it took a little while to make I didn’t run into any problems during the cooking process. Will definitely make it again, thanks for the great recipe!
SO happy to hear it turned out and thank you liked it!
Hi , just wanting to know I making this for a wedding cake, how long can I make the butter cream before hand is 3 days ok?
Hi Emily! Yes, that’s totally fine. Just refrigerate it and bring it to room temperature before using on the cake. You’ll need to rewhip it as well.
Hi there, I love this recipe, the only issue I had was the batter formed a strong crust on the tops and I had to tort them to remove that layer. I made 4 9” cakes and made two batches of the recipe with the same result. Do you have a suggestion as to the culprit? The sponge is delicious however and I made a layer with raspberry syrup and folded in fresh raspberries and it came out pink and lovely. I turned it into a four layer cake with raspberry buttercream flavored with syrup, homemade raspberry lemon jam and white chocolate ganache, so each filling is different. It is wonderful
Hi Yvonne! The crust is due to the extra sugar in the recipe from the white chocolate. You can try and reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe to 1.5 cups or even a bit less. That should help with the crust. So glad you liked it though!
Hi, I tried this recipe and it turned out really well, however i added freeze dried raspberries to the batter. They all floated to the top of the cake, is there a way of stopping the raspberries from going to the top and keeping them evenly dispersed throughout the cake? Thanks
Hi Hannah! So glad you liked it. Additions to cake batter are notorious for sinking but the FD raspberries are so light they must have floated up! You can try tossing them in some flour first next time and gently folding into the batter to see if that helps them stay put.
Thanks! I’ll try covering them in a little bit of flour next time.
I loved this cake. I just made it this past weekend for my daughter’s 25th birthday. She loved it as well. It was a hit! Thanks
Hi Tania! So glad to hear you both liked it!
How do you make the crumb?
Hi Lori! I’m not sure I understand your question. Can you clarify what you mean?
I love this recipe! How long can you make the cake and have it iced in advance?
Hi Kate! It will keep for a couple days in the fridge.
Hi! I was wondering if I could make the cake two days in advance and ice the day before an event? I want to make it for my daughters birthday but won’t have much time on the day of the party! Yummy recipe by the way!
HI Katie! That should be fine, just store it in the fridge and take it out 2-3 hours before serving.
I only baked the cake portion of this recipe – the crumb was beautiful and the white chocolate taste was delicate but so delicious!
I doubled this recipe and baked in two 10″ tins that were 3″ in height. The two tins torted to equal 4 perfect layers! I baked at 300F for 30 minutes and then upped the temperature to 325F and baked until done.
Thank you for another great recipe, Liv!
Hi Jennifer! Thanks for the great feedback and tips, I’m so glad you liked it!!
It looks like a delicious cake. I was wondering can the cake (without the frosting & filling) be frozen?
Hi Stephanie! The cake layers can totally be frozen! I do that with all my cakes. Double wrap in plastic wrap once the cakes are cool then freeze for up to 3 months.
Brilliant, thank you!
I had lots of fun stacking the cakes as my daughter doesnt like fruit so we just had the meringue buttercream and jam. the weight of the cakes pushed some of the meringue out. I still wrapped the cake in the buttercream but added a nest milk chocolate cake sleeve and bourbon crumbs sprinkled on top to finish. I loved the contrast of colours and everyone loved the flavour. Thanks for sharing such a yymmy sponge and buttercream mix.
Thanks so much for the feedback, Jo! So glad you guys liked it 🙂
How should this be stored? Just made it but not serving until tomorrow. It looks great
Hi Lauren! I like to refrigerate all my cakes and take them out 2-3 hours before serving. I hope you liked it!
I’m a teacher and today our staff had our first day back together for the school year. I made this to celebrate our return to school and everyone loved it! I used your design idea here — I used a sour cream lemon cake instead of your cake — the buttercream along with the jam and fresh raspberries was delicious! I love your elegant and simple designs!
Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
Thanks so much Claudia! And hello fellow Canadian! I grew up in Edmonton 🙂
Hi liv, someone has asked me for a white chocolate mud cake. Would this be classed as a mud cake?
Hi Chloe! I’ve never actually made a mud cake before so I’m not sure. I don’t think it’s as dense as mud cakes tend to be though.
Hi Liv,
I made the cake and the batter came out dense and chewy. Is that how its suppose to be? Or did I do something wrong?
Hi Lezzlie! The cake baked up that way or the batter was too thick?
I am using 12 inch cake tins and want a 2 tier cake, hopefully about 5/6 inches high. Will doubling this recipe be enough?
Hi April! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
Can raspberries be added to the batter? Will that work? Would I need to toss them in flour?
Hi Amanda! Yes, that should work fine! Fresh or frozen (not thawed) tossed in some flour. Let me know if you try it!
Looks great Liv. When do you use buttermilk instead of milk. Is it ok to use low family.
Hi Mary! Buttermilk vs milk is just a flavour preference — the one with milk will be a bit sweeter.
This looks delicious, and I will be making them for my upcoming housewarming party!
Always love reading your recipes for inspiration.
Thanks!
What a gorgeous summer cake! There’s always one or two people in your group that love white chocolate so I can definitely see a reason for this cake. I’m sure it’s delicious. And I totally feel you on the puppy growing pains. Our new dog, Bailey, was a small pup when we got him and definitely a hand full. But that unconditional puppy love, puppy kisses and cuddles help lessen the biting pain. It takes patience, for sure!
It’s true! The puppy love makes up for it. Patience is not one of my virtues, so I’m working on it! 😉
Hi Liv. This cake looks delicious! And so beautiful. I love the raspberries peeping out between the layers. I love your puppy story. I love dogs. But puppy teeth are vicious. So painful. But puppies are soooo cute. What can you do. Teeth and potty training are part of the puppy package.
Hi Kim! She IS super cute — I’m sure I will miss the puppy phase when it’s gone 🙁
Reading through the recipe I note peppermint extract being added to the cake ….I’m assuming that is a typo and should be vanilla….please confirm as I want to make this for the weekend. Thanks!!
Hi! Yes, that should be vanilla 🙂 I’ve updated the recipe! Please let me know how you like it 🙂
Can you half the batter recipe for two 6 inch layers?
Hi Gigi! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html I suspect that half would make three 6″ layers or you could try two but they would be taller (adjust baking time if so).
Another delicious filling and topping is 50% white chocolate and 50% vanilla yoghurt. Melt the chocolate and mix it gently with the yoghurt. Could we call it white ganache?
Ohhh I love that, I’m going to have to try it! Similar to a ganache for sure. Thanks for the tip 🙂