Years ago, my mom introduced me to the best cake I’ve ever had. It was, and I’m not joking, a special-order cake from a grocery store bakery. I’ve eaten a lot of cake in my day and this one was unforgettable. After years of raving about it, I decided to finally try and duplicate it. I sifted through recipes, added my own special tweaks, and finally came up with how to make the best white chocolate raspberry cake EVER.
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This cake recipe features a raspberry filling sandwiched between layers of white chocolate cake. It’s then iced with white chocolate buttercream and adorned with fresh raspberries and white chocolate chips. If that sounds like too much white chocolate, trust me, it’s not! The white chocolate flavor is not overpowering and is the perfect complement to the tangy raspberries.
This particular recipe uses an American buttercream icing which is a little on the sweet side. For many, that’s great! However, you may prefer to swap out the buttercream for a less-sweet alternative such as cream cheese frosting.
You could also use this unique recipe from RecipeTinEats. It’s a version of an Ermine buttercream which uses a cooking method to create a silky icing that’s less sweet than buttercream and smooth like whipped cream!
If you substitute a frosting that’s not white chocolate, you can always stick some white chocolate chips or shavings to the outside of the cake!
Another thing to note about this recipe is that it calls for a boxed cake mix. I like to keep things as easy as possible around here. However, if you have a favorite white cake recipe that you’d like to use instead, simply add the melted white chocolate to it before baking.
When I originally made this recipe, I opted for two layers of cake. However, I highly recommend 3 layers so you can have 2 layers of the raspberry filling. It will be a better balance of tangy raspberries and sweet white chocolate. The amount of raspberry filling I’ve included in this recipe is enough for 2 layers of the filling between 3 layers of cake. If you don’t already have 3 cake pans, I recommend these ones from Amazon:
Lastly, you’re not going to believe how easy this raspberry filling recipe is! I spent a lot of time researching various filling recipes and found that they all, quite frankly, required a lot more work than I was willing to put in. I’m sure they are all delicious but I created a raspberry filling recipe that’s amazingly refreshing and tart. I wanted this recipe to be as natural as possible so I used this Polaner All-Fruit seedless raspberry spread and mixed it with fresh lemon juice. Delicious and easy!
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Here’s what you’ll need to make this cake:
Cake Layers:
- 5 ounces of white chocolate chips, roughly chopped
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 box of white cake mix
- 1 3oz box of instant white chocolate pudding mix
- ½ cup milk (room temp)
- ½ cup sour cream (room temp)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 large eggs (room temp)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
I’ll write this here and in the directions below because it’s so important: Don’t over-mix! Over-mixing your batter will result in a dense cake.
For the Filling:
- 2 10oz jars of Polander All Fruit Seedless Raspberry spreadable fruit (I like this one because it’s sweetened with fruit juice and free from high fructose corn syrup but if you have another favorite seedless fruit spread, feel free to substitute)
- Juice of 1 large lemon
For the Frosting:
- 4oz of white chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups of unsalted butter (room temp)
- 6 cups of powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For Decoration:
- Fresh Raspberries
- 1-2 oz of white chocolate chips
Instructions:
To make the cake layers:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep your cake pans (3 8-inch round cake pans) with cooking spray. You can place a circle of parchment paper in the bottom and give it spray to make removing even easier.
- Place the white chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat at 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and combined. Set aside to cool.
- Mix the rest of the cake layer ingredients together in a large bowl until JUST combined. Be careful not to over-mix as this may result in a dense cake. Then, add the white chocolate/butter mixture and mix until just combined.
- Divide the batter equally between the cake pans and spread with a spatula. This mixture will be very thick so you’ll need to spread it out evenly.
- Bake for 22-28 minutes (depending on your oven) until whatever you use to poke it with comes out clean.
- Remove the cake layers from the oven and allow them to cool in the pans for 15-20 minutes. Then, remove them from the pans and wait until they’re completely cool before assembling the cake.
How to make the filling:
- While the cake layers are cooling, you can make the filling by mixing all of the seedless raspberry spread with the juice of 1 lemon. Simple!
How to make the frosting:
- I recommend waiting until right before you’re ready to put the cake together to make the icing. Buttercream frosting has a tendency to get firm when refrigerated. If you need to refrigerate it prior to assembly, you’ll just need to add a tablespoon of milk and re-whip it again before using. Easy fix!
- To begin making the frosting, place the white chocolate chips in the microwave and heat in 15 second intervals, stirring in between. When the mixture is smooth, set it aside to cool.
- Whip the butter in a medium bowl with a hand mixer until fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla and mix well.
- Lastly, add the white chocolate and mix until incorporated. If you feel the icing is too thick, add a tablespoon of milk, one tablespoon at a time, until you’ve reached your desired consistency. If you feel the frosting is too thin, add some powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix until you’ve reached the desired consistency.
To assemble the cake:
- When the layers are completely cool, place your first layer on your assembly surface and spread a thin layer of icing on top. Then, add a generous layer of raspberry filling. Spread the filling out to about an inch away from the edge of the cake layer. I like to make mini frosting bumpers around the edge so the filling doesn’t spill out.
- Place the second layer of cake on top of the filling and repeat the layers of icing and filling.
- Add the third layer of cake on top.
- Next, apply a thin “crumb coat” of icing over the entire cake. If you have an extra chopstick or skewer laying around, you can insert one all the way through the cake in the middle to keep the layers from sliding while you’re icing.
- Then, apply your “nice” layer of icing over the cake to give it a finished, smooth look. Don’t worry, it doesn’t need to be perfect!
- If you need to transfer your cake to a serving platter, now is the time to do so. Use two spatulas to lift and move the cake gently.
- Now you can decorate! I like to place fresh raspberries around the top outer edge or create a cute pattern on top. Add white chocolate chips and/or white chocolate shavings to the cake as you like!
Because of the fresh fruit on this white chocolate raspberry cake, I recommend storing it in the fridge and then simply removing it an hour or two before serving. Both the cake and the frosting will be much softer when served at room temperature. This white chocolate raspberry cake recipe will last for about a week in the refrigerator.
And there you have it! Now you know how to make the best white chocolate raspberry cake EVER!
Please remember to share this recipe for others to enjoy!
