Dairy

Raspberry Cake With Whipped Cream Filling by Shilpa Uskokovic

May  9, 2023
5
9 Ratings
Photo by Julia Gartland
  • Prep time 3 hours 30 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour
  • Serves 12
Author Notes

When my daughter wished for a strawberry cake for her third birthday, my mom sent me this stunner from Bon Appétit food editor Shilpa Uskokovic. Yes, it officially calls for two kinds of raspberries—fresh and freeze-dried—but they’re easily swapped for their strawberry counterparts (or any fruit and other doodads you like—I also riffed on Shilpa’s genius template in a nostalgic fever dream called Rainbow Jelly Cream Cake, also on Food52). I fell for Shilpa’s genius techniques (an amply make-ahead layer cake! A frosting and cake that are both happier served chilled!); everyone in my family hoped my daughter would request strawberry cake again this year (she did).

As Shilpa writes for Bon Appétit, “This raspberry-filled chiffon cake is inspired by the layered fruit and cream cakes in Japanese bakeries—it’s light, airy, and delicately sweet. It’s both visually striking and startlingly deep in flavor, and as far as most cakes go, it’s fairly make-ahead friendly. Since cakes with whipped cream filling always need to be refrigerated, using chiffon cake—which uses oil, not butter—is a strategic choice as the layers will remain soft and tender even straight out of the fridge. (Butter-based cakes, on the other hand, seem hard and leaden after a stint in the cold.) The whipped cream, which is flavored with freeze-dried raspberries and dotted with whole fruit, stays stable for a few days. Be sure to use ungreased regular (not nonstick) cake pans so that the batter can cling to the sides and rise tall as it bakes.”

A few more tips: Start gently folding the meringue into the batter using the whisk attachment to help incorporate the meringue, then switch to a flexible spatula for the last addition. Freeze-dried fruit can be found online or at some grocery stores (check the snack section); I’ve even had good luck at Target. If you’re using a different fruit than raspberries (without seeds to be strained out), you can simply add the cream, vanilla, and salt and whip right in the food processor.

Lightly adapted from Bon Appétit, 2022Genius Recipes

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Raspberry Cake With Whipped Cream Filling by Shilpa Uskokovic
Ingredients
  • For the cake:
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature, separated
  • 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ½ teaspoon Morton kosher salt or fine sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar, divided
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup room temperature water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (125 grams) cake flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • For assembly:
  • 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups (37 grams) freeze-dried raspberries; plus more crushed for serving (optional)
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ½ teaspoon Morton kosher salt or fine sea salt
  • 1/4 cup (80 grams) raspberry jam
  • 2 cups (170 grams) fresh raspberries
Directions
  1. For the cake:
  2. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350°F. Line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper rounds (do not grease). Beat egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, and ½ cup (100 grams) sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-low speed until egg whites are broken up, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until meringue is glossy and holds firm peaks, 8 to 10 minutes, which can take up to 10 minutes (but most importantly, watch for those visual cues).
  3. Whisk egg yolks and remaining ½ cup (100 grams) sugar by hand in a large bowl until pale, well combined, and ribbony, about 2 minutes. Whisk in oil, vanilla, and ⅓ cup room-temperature water. Sift flour and baking powder over the mixture and whisk vigorously to combine.
  4. Add ¼ of meringue to egg yolk mixture and mix thoroughly to incorporate (this will lighten the batter). Add the remaining meringue in 3 batches, gently folding after each addition until only a few streaks of meringue remain (err on the side of mixing slightly less rather than more to keep the batter billowy).
  5. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and gently smooth surface. Bake cakes 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and continue baking until golden brown and tops spring back when gently pressed, up to 40 minutes more (start peeking through the closed oven door around 20 minutes). Remove from oven and invert pans onto a wire rack. Let cakes cool in pans (cooling them upside down reduces shrinkage), 60 to 70 minutes. Turn the cakes over and run an offset spatula around the sides to loosen them, then invert the cakes onto a wire rack. Peel away parchment.
  1. For assembly:
  2. Finely grind sugar and 1 ½ cups (37 grams) freeze-dried raspberries in a spice mill or food processor (if using food processor, sift powder through a fine-mesh sieve after to remove seeds). Transfer to the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; add cream, vanilla, and salt and beat on medium-high speed until firm peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. (Note: If you’re swapping for a freeze-dried fruit without seeds, you can simply add the cream, vanilla, and salt and whip right in the food processor—take care that it doesn't go above the fill line)
  3. Stir jam in a small bowl to loosen, then gently fold in fresh raspberries.
  4. Place 1 cake on a cake platter or large plate. Scoop a heaping cupful of raspberry cream on top and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Spoon berry mixture on top of cream, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges (this will prevent berries from spilling over the sides). Place second cake layer on top. Spoon a heaping ½ cup raspberry cream into a pastry bag fitted with a tip (or a zippered plastic storage bag with a ½-inch hole snipped in one bottom corner). Frost the top and sides of the cake with the raspberry cream that's still in the bowl, then pipe dollops of the cream around the edges and the top of the cake. Chill cake, uncovered, at least 2 hours.
  5. To serve, sprinkle the top of the cake with crushed freeze-dried raspberries, if desired. Slice cake with a serrated knife, wiping clean between cuts. Do ahead: Cake can be baked 1 day ahead; store tightly wrapped at room temperature, or freeze up to 1 week. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using. Cake (without crushed raspberry topping) can be assembled 1 day ahead. Cover loosely and chill.

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Recipe by: Genius Recipes

10 Reviews

swry June 17, 2024
omg, delish! the perfect indoor activity to stay cool on a sweltering 100-degree day. while i was making it i wished i had measured out the ingredients ahead of time, and would have loved weights for the oil and water. i also used 9" pans (the only not non-stick ones i have) and while of course, the cake wasn't the same shape as photographed, they were totally fine. lastly, i used 2c cream and 1/2c sugar for the whipped cream and it was just the right amount for us. i love that this could be turned into any number of flavors. curious if anyone has tried swapping in a liqueur for the water?
mstv March 31, 2024
Second time making this cake. Made a double recipe of the cake and cooked in two quarter sheets pans. Used frozen raspberries (semi thawed upon assembly) and jam for the filling. I made one and half times the frosting recipe and used just 1 cup of sugar for the frosting. Perfect level of sweetness and amount of frosting for us. Put together as a quarter sheet cake. Lovely and delicious for an early spring birthday.
KR December 29, 2023
made this today.... wonderful, wonderful cake!! didn't have the freeze-dried raspberries, and subbed with FD strawberries.... gorgeous texture and taste!!
also, for anyone who would like to make this smaller... using 2 x 6" pans....the two 1/3C measures work out to approx a scant TBS... worked well for me this time (@ sea level)....
baked up MUCH faster tho... so check first at the 10 min mark maybe? & then turn the oven down... I think it was done in about 20-22 min total....
again... lovely cake! ( I also added a bit of milk choc ganache in the middle...scrumptious, per the Birthday friend comments)
looking forward to making this again soon!!
Thx again for sharing this with us!
janecf December 2, 2023
Delicious, and impressive looking birthday cake! Kristen’s video was helpful for knowing how much to whip the meringue and to see when the cakes were cooked.
Rosie October 22, 2023
I love this cake. It’s so light and airy and yum.
I have made it a couple of times and have noticed that my layers are going brown on the top very quickly. Is this meant to be baked on conventional or fan bake? I think I need to reduce the temperature a little but that may just be my oven (although I don’t usually have to do that with recipes)
ashpop June 12, 2023
A lightly sweet dessert that felt perfect for a summer birthday!

The cake turned out nicely airy and moist. Heads up that the recipe makes a LOT of the raspberry whipped cream, I put a very thick layer (1/2 in) on the cake and still had extra. Good thing it was delicious and my family was happy to eat it by the spoonful!
AUresti May 29, 2023
I made this cake yesterday for a birthday party and it was a huge hit! The cake was moist, light & airy and the whipped cream frosting was refreshing. Not at all heavy. The birthday girl was already planning to have her 2nd slice for breakfast the next morning.
ahchavez May 29, 2023
I made this recipe for my birthday and it was spectacular! I made two batches of cake to get 4 tiers, but kept the frosting amount the same. I ended up with some leftover frosting that was happily eaten on its own. In between the layers of cake, I used homemade passion fruit curd because I cannot get fresh raspberries here. The passion fruit with the raspberries was delicious. The freeze dried raspberries perfectly stabilized the whipped cream and added a beautiful pop of color and punch of flavor. My raspberries were already in powdered form so I just sifted them to get the seeds out and added them directly to the bowl. I used 1/4 C (we prefer lightly sweetened desserts) of powdered sugar instead of the granulated sugar because it was fine enough to add directly to the cream. I definitely recommend this recipe.
beenz May 9, 2023
The recipe asks for ONE large egg. Surely that can't be correct.
Kristen M. May 10, 2023
You are absolutely right—thank you for catching that. It should be 4 large eggs, and I just corrected the recipe, thanks to you!