White chocolate and raspberry cake is a wonderful combination of white chocolate sponge cake speckled with tiny raspberry chunks, tangy raspberry puree, white chocolate cream cheese frosting and a crown of fresh raspberries. It’s one epic raspberry sponge cake to get your teeth into.
Raspberries also go well with Biscoff – try this combination in my Biscoff cheesecake.
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One bite of this white chocolate and raspberry cake will be all the proof that you need that raspberries and white chocolate go extremely well together. The fresh and tart flavour of those soft summer berries pairs wonderfully with the sweet, creamy yet delicate characteristics of white chocolate.
This raspberry sponge cake comprises:
- Three layers of white chocolate sponge cake studded with freeze-dried raspberry pieces.
- Fresh, tangy and jammy raspberry compote between each layer of sponge.
- Luscious white chocolate cream cheese frosting.
- Fresh raspberries on the top.
In essence, this white chocolate and raspberry sponge cake embraces a triple whammy of the signature berry in three entirely different guises. It’s a rather fabulous cake. In fact, it’s my new favourite layer cake creation, stealing the title from my triple chocolate cake.
Why you’ll love this cake
- Taste: the combination of white chocolate sponge, zingy raspberry flavour and the decadent cream cheese frosting is scrumptious.
- Appearance: this has to be one of the prettiest white chocolate and raspberry cakes around.
- Texture: there’s soft & fluffy white chocolate and raspberry sponge cake, sticky homemade raspberry compote, and frosting that is as smooth as silk. It’s a great combination of textures.
- Simplicity: despite appearances, this is a relatively easy bake to achieve as it’s a basic sponge cake mixture with white chocolate and freeze-dried raspberries added in.
- No fancy piping skills needed: this cake is easy to make look pretty and stylish.
- Various uses: an everyday treat, birthday cake or even a wedding cake, there are no limits for this enchanting raspberry layer cake.
Have you tried some of my other fruity cakes. There’s apple loaf cake, lime drizzle cake, passion fruit cake and a rhubarb and custard cake to name a few. Why not browse my full collection of cake recipes and see what stands out for you?
Ingredients notes
At the heart of this white chocolate and raspberry cake lies a simple sponge cake recipe comprising butter (or baking margarine), white caster sugar, plain flour, baking powder, eggs and a splash of soured cream. Pretty standard stuff. From here, this basic sponge is transformed with white chocolate, raspberries and a cream cheese frosting. Let’s take a look at the ingredients needed for these elements:
White Chocolate: this is melted and folded into the cake batter prior to baking. It’s important to use a brand that you know you can trust to melt without seizing or turning grainy. My favourite is Callebaut, but also consider Waitrose own label, Green & Blacks or Lindt. Ensure that your white chocolate does contain cocoa butter (at least 20% but preferably more).
Freeze-dried raspberries: these are folded into the sponge cake batter and used to decorate the outside of the cake. It’s more economical to pick up a pack online than in the supermarket. Go for whole raspberries if you can find them. Failing that, pieces will work, but avoid the powdered variety.
Fresh raspberries: these are used for the compote and for decorating the top of this raspberry sponge cake. Do not use frozen raspberries as they emit lots of liquid once defrosted and this would negatively affect the consistency of the compote. They also tend to be soft and mushy once defrosted so would not be ideal for gracing the top of this spectacular raspberry and white chocolate layer cake.
White chocolate cream cheese frosting: this is made from white chocolate, full-fat cream cheese, double cream (48% fat content) and white chocolate. Each and every one of these ingredients is essential, so please do not substitute them for low-fat counterparts.
Step by step instructions
Full instructions and measurements are given in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
This white chocolate and raspberry cake is easy to make and the instructions can be broken down into four stages:
- Make the filling.
- Bake the sponge cake layers.
- Make the white chocolate cream cheese frosting.
- Assemble the cake.
Make the raspberry filling
- Cook 300g of the fresh raspberries with sugar and lemon juice in a small pan until the fruit breaks down.
- Let cook to between 102C-105C (use a food thermometer such as a Thermapen to check this).
- Pass through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing down with a spoon to extract the puree. Let it cool.
Make the raspberry sponge cake layers
- Roughly chop 15g of the freeze-dried raspberries.
- Melt 150g white chocolate using a bain-marie or in the microwave. Set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar for around 3 minutes, using electric beaters, until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Next, add the soured cream and vanilla bean paste. Beat in.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and mix well.
- Take a heaped tablespoon of the cake batter and quickly mix it into the melted white chocolate to temper it.
- Now mix the chocolate into the rest of the cake batter (this double-action will stop the chocolate from seizing when it is mixed into the cake batter).
- Scatter the chopped freeze-dried raspberries over the batter and fold in using a large metal spoon.
- Divide the cake batter between three greased and lined 6-inch baking tins (ideally 2-inches deep) and bake for approximately 20 minutes until the cake springs back when lightly pressed or a skewer comes out clean.
- Rest for 2 minutes then carefully turn each cake layer out onto a cooling rack and remove the baking parchment. Let cool completely.
Make the white chocolate cream cheese frosting
- Melt the chocolate using a bain-marie or in the microwave. Set aside.
- Beat the cream cheese with the vanilla bean paste & salt until smooth.
- Pour in the double cream and beat until firm.
- Take a heaped tablespoon of the creamy mixture and quickly stir it into the melted white chocolate.
- Now spoon the chocolate into the rest of the frosting mixture.
- Beat until smooth and thick.
Assemble the cake
- Crush the remaining freeze-dried raspberries using a pestle and mortar.
- Put the cream cheese frosting into a piping bag fitted with a 1A nozzle and pipe a circle around the edge of 2 of the layers of sponge cake. Fill the centres with the raspberry puree and spread it right up to the frosting.
- Place one of the layers on top of the other and then add the empty third layer on the top.
- Pipe the rest of the cream cheese frosting around the side and top of the cake and spread it out using a palette knife.
- Press the remaining fresh raspberries into the top of the cake to cover it entirely. Scatter a little grated white chocolate over if desired.
- Put a small amount of the powdered raspberries into the palm of your hand and swiftly throw it at the cake. Repeat until the cake is covered all over.
How to increase the quantity for larger baking tins
The recipe works on the basis of adding the following quantities of ingredients per egg:
- 60g butter, sugar and flour.
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract.
- ½ teaspoon baking powder.
- 1 tablespoon soured cream.
- 50g white chocolate.
- 5g freeze-dried raspberries.
These quantities are sufficient for baking in one 6-inch cake tin, so for this triple-layer raspberry sponge cake, these ingredients are tripled.
If you have the more typical 8-inch tins then the quantity of each ingredient will need to be multiplied by 6, giving the following measures:
- 6 eggs
- 360g butter/ sugar / flour
- 3 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 tablespoon soured cream
- 300g white chocolate
- 30g freeze-dried raspberries
Fill the cake tins ⅔ full and if there is any leftover batter then make a cupcake or two with it. Do not overfill the tins as they may overflow in the oven.
You will also need to increase the amounts of cream cheese frosting, the raspberry puree and garnishes needed to fill and cover this larger raspberry sponge cake. I’d suggest the following changes:
- Cream Cheese frosting: Make 1½ times as much as listed in the recipe (use 300g cream cheese, 300g double cream, 180g white chocolate and 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste.
- Raspberry puree: increase the quantity by 50% so use so pick up at least 450g of raspberries, 4½ tablespoons of caster sugar and ¾ teaspoon of lemon juice.
- Raspberry garnish: you’ll need more to cover the top of the larger cakes. Play it safe and pick up around 450-500g.
- Freeze-dried raspberries: crush 20g for splashing around the side of the cake.
Expert tips
- Grease the tins and line them with baking parchment even if they are non-stick tins. Sponge cakes are always easier to unmold if you do so.
- Always use digital scales and gram measurements. It’s the easiest and most accurate way to measure the ingredients when baking.
- Teaspoon and tablespoon measures are based on dedicated baking spoons not general household spoons. They differ considerably.
- Always use the correct tin size. If the tins are too large for the quantities listed then the cake layers will be thin.
Frequently asked questions
Of course. To turn this into a four-layer raspberry sponge cake, increase all ingredients for the sponge cake and cream cheese frosting by a third and increase the quantities listed for the raspberry puree by half as much again. You won’t need any extra raspberries for decorating the top of the cake.
It is imperative to temper the chocolate before adding it into the bowl of cake batter. This is done by briskly mixing a little of the batter into the chocolate before adding it to the rest of the cake batter. There is still a risk that the chocolate could seize, but it’s a much lower risk. Read more of my tips on how to prevent the chocolate from seizing here.
Yes, you can. Add in 150g of fresh raspberries (toss them in a bit of flour to help stop them from sinking).
I’m afraid not. Candy melts do not contain cocoa butter so they are not the same as white chocolate. They are extremely sweet and taste vaguely milky. white chocolate has a much better flavour.
If the cake is going to be eaten within 24 hours, then it is fine to store it (covered) at room temperature. However, if you know it will be several days before the entire cake is used up, then it is better to store it in the fridge to help preserve the raspberries. Allow the cake to come back up to room temperature before serving it.
If you would like to freeze this cake then it is best to leave the raspberries off as they will turn mushy once defrosted.
Variations
- Try teaming the white chocolate sponge cake with other freeze-dried fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries or blackberries.
- Opt for a simple buttercream to decorate the cake instead of the cream cheese frosting.
- You could also colour elements of this cake pink – try adding a dab of food colouring to the cake batter or the cream cheese frosting.
- Garnish the top of the cake with edible flowers.
- Poke shards of white chocolate into the the top of the cake.
- Make a little extra compote and drizzle it over the top of the raspberries adorning the top of the cake.
- Scatter chopped pistachio nuts over the top of the cake.
More fruity cakes to try out
Have you made this white chocolate and raspberry cake? Please let me know how you got along by leaving a comment and/ or recipe rating. It’s always lovely when I hear from my readers.
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📖 Recipe
White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake
Equipment
- 3 6-inch baking tins approx 2-inches deep (these are smaller than regular cake tins – see notes on scaling up the quantities for 8-inch tins)
Ingredients
Raspberry puree
- 300 g Raspberries fresh
- 3 tablespoons Caster sugar
- 1½ teaspoons Lemon juice
White chocolate sponge cake layers
- 180 g Baking margarine or butter
- 150 g White chocolate with at least 20% cocoa butter
- 180 g Caster sugar
- 180 g Plain flour (all-purpose)
- 1½ teaspoons Baking powder
- 3 Eggs large, free-range
- 3 tablespoons Soured cream or Greek yoghurt
- 1½ teaspoons Vanilla bean paste or extract
- 15 g Freeze-dried raspberries
White chocolate cream cheese frosting
- 125 g White chocolate with at least 20% cocoa butter
- 200 g Cream cheese full-fat
- 200 ml Double cream fat content of 48%
- 1½ teaspoons Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
Decoration
- 300 g Fresh raspberries
- 1 tablespoon White chocolate finely grated
- 15 g Freeze-dried raspberries
Instructions
Make the raspberry puree
- Cook 300g raspberries with 3 tablespoons of caster sugar and the lemon juice in a small pan until the fruit breaks down.
- Stirring often, let the fruit cook to between 102C-105C (use a food thermometer such as a Thermapen to check this).
- Pass through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing down with a spoon to extract the puree. Let cool.
Make the sponge cakes
- Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ GM4 and grease and line three 6-inch cake tins (they should be around 2-inches deep).
- Roughly chop 15g of the freeze-dried raspberries with a sharp knife
- Melt 150g of white chocolate using a bain-marie or in the microwave. Set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar for around 3 minutes, using electric beaters, until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Next, add the soured cream and vanilla bean paste. Beat in.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and mix well.
- Take a heaped tablespoon of the cake batter and quickly mix it into the melted white chocolate to temper it.
- Now mix the chocolate into the rest of the cake batter (this double-action will stop the chocolate from seizing when it is mixed into the cake batter).
- Scatter the chopped freeze-dried raspberries over the batter and fold them in using a large metal spoon.
- Divide the cake batter between the prepared cake tins and bake for approximately 20 minutes until the cake springs back when lightly pressed or a skewer comes out clean.
- Rest the cakes in the tins for 2 minutes then carefully turn each cake out onto a cooling rack and remove the baking parchment. Let them cool completely.
White chocolate cream cheese frosting
- Melt the chocolate using a bain-marie or in the microwave. Set aside.
- Beat the cream cheese with the vanilla bean paste & salt until smooth.
- Pour in the double cream and beat until firm.
- Take a heaped tablespoon of the creamy mixture and quickly stir it into the melted white chocolate.
- Now spoon the chocolate into the rest of the frosting mixture. Beat until smooth and thick. If it's a hot day you may need to chill the frosting to help it firm up before using.
Assembling the cake
- Crush the remaining freeze-dried raspberries using a pestle and mortar until powdery.
- Put the cream cheese frosting into a piping bag fitted with a 1A nozzle and pipe a circle around the edge of 2 of the layers of sponge cake.
- Fill the centres with the raspberry puree and spread it right up to the frosting.
- Place one of the layers on top of the other and then add the empty third layer on the top.
- Pipe the rest of the cream cheese frosting around the side and top of the cake and spread it out using a palette knife.
- Press the remaining fresh raspberries into the top of the cake to cover it entirely. Scatter a little grated white chocolate over if desired.
- Put a small amount of the powdered raspberries into the palm of your hand and swiftly throw it at the cake. Repeat until the cake is covered all over.
Notes
- Always use digital scales and gram measurements. It’s the easiest and most accurate way to measure the ingredients when baking.
- Teaspoon and tablespoon measures are based on dedicated baking spoons not general household spoons. They differ considerably.
- Always use the correct tin size. If the tins are too large for the quantities listed then the cake layers will be thin.
- Grease the tins and line them with baking parchment even if they are nonstick tins. Sponge cakes are always easier to unmold if you do so.
- 6 eggs
- 360g each of butter, sugar and plain flour
- 3 teaspoon vanilla extract/ vanilla bean paste
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 tablespoon soured cream/ Greek yoghurt
- 300g white chocolate
- 30g freeze-dried raspberries
- Cream Cheese frosting: Make 1½ times as much as listed in the recipe (use 300g cream cheese, 300g double cream, 180g white chocolate and 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste.
- Raspberry puree: increase the quantity by 50% so use so pick up at least 450g of raspberries, 4½ tablespoons of caster sugar and ¾ teaspoon of lemon juice.
- Raspberry garnish: you’ll need more to cover the top of the larger cakes. Play it safe and pick up around 450-500g.
- Freeze-dried raspberries: crush 20g for splashing around the side of the cake.
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