Incredibly moist white chocolate cake layers with a light raspberry frosting and fresh raspberries in between makes for a refreshing and romantic dessert. Garnish how you wish with fresh berries, flowers, macarons, or even just piped buttercream for an elegant touch.
I’m usually not the first to grab something white chocolate, but this cake is a huge exception. This might be my moistest cake from my kitchen. The cake layers stay moist for several days as well and if you’re hoping to spread out the decorating process even more, the cake layers freeze well too! Wrap in plastic wrap and then an additional layer of foil or a large ziplock bag and it’ll stay fresh for a few months in the freezer.
I added a raspberry frosting to these layers for Valentine’s Day but if raspberry isn’t your first choice, you have to check out this cake that has a white chocolate frosting and a fresh whipped cream topping. Again, not a huge white chocolate fan? I promise this cake will change your mind.
Does this convert well?
YES! This recipe works great for cupcakes, 6″ cake, 8″ cake, and a sheet cake if you’re feeding a crowd. Just remember to alter your baking time to match a different size pan. The time suggested in the recipe is for 3 – 8″ cake layers. For cupcakes, bake for 15-20 minutes.
Favorite tools used in decorating this cake
There are several ways to frost this cake, and you don’t need all fancy tools to have delicious results. There are a few helpful tools that I l loved to use while decorating for this specific style. If you’re hoping to replicate this exact look, I hope these tips help. You can find many of them at Walmart, craft stores, or Amazon. The links below are affiliate links, so I get a very small commission when you purchase from here at no extra cost to you. All thoughts and product recommendations are 100% my own opinion and products I own and use regularly. Thanks for supporting my kitchen!
Cake board: cake board are inexpensive life savers. Find them here: 6″ cake board and 8″ cake board.
Parchment rounds: Parchment rounds are game changers for those sticky cakes. My cakes come out clean EVERY TIME when I use these. Find 6″ rounds here and 8″ rounds here.
Icing spatulas: I love having a long flat spatula and an offset spatula. Offset spatulas are particularly handy when spreading in layers and trying to get the top of the cake covered with a crisp, even layer of frosting. Find a flat icing spatula here and a offset spatula here.
Cake scraper: To achieve crisp sides, this scraper is a dream. It’s a must in my baking collection! Find one here.
Piping tip: I chose to use fresh flowers, berries, and macarons to decorate this cake, but if you want to keep it simple, I recommend using this Wilton 1M piping tip to frost the top with some elegant, simple swirls. Decorating bags too!
Turn table: If you are looking to make several cakes a year, I suggest investing in this turn table. It’s a cast iron base and will last you FOREVER.
Strainer/Sifter: I use these as a two in one. They help me strain the seeds out of my raspberry puree and then I use it again to sift my powdered sugar. I use these weekly and love them. Find them here.
White Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- (312 g) 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 small box instant white chocolate pudding mix (3.3 oz box)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¾ cup applesauce
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
Frosting
- 8 oz raspberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 cups unsalted butter
- ¾ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- About 7 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Assembly - optional ingredients
- 6 oz fresh raspberries
- 6 oz white chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- any garnishes as desired (flowers, macarons, additional berries, etc.)
- About 5 drops white food gel (optional - will make your ganache a brighter white; I prefer Americolor brand)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Prepare and grease three 8" pans. Set aside. I like using round parchment liners to round my pan for additional non stick protection.
- Combine all of the dry ingredients, including the dry pudding mix in a large bowl.
- Add applesauce, buttermilk, and egg whites. Beat for 2 minutes.
- Add sour cream and vanilla and gently mix until combined.
- Pour batter into the greased pans until there is an even amount in each.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes, until toothpick comes out with moist crumbs, no batter. Take out of pans and let cakes cool on cooling racks. Do not wrap or frost until cakes are completely cool.
Frosting
- First prepare your raspberry puree by blending up your defrosted or fresh raspberries. Pour the blended raspberries through a fine strainer to leave the seeds behind. Add lemon juice to your now puree. Gently mix and set aside.
- Beat your butter on medium for about 2 minutes until light and fluffier. Then when the mixer is turned off, add a heaping ½ cup of the seedless raspberry puree made in the previous step to the butter. Mix until combined.
- Add salt. Alternate adding sifted powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream until you reach desired consistency. If the frosting is to your desired sweetness but it's softer than you'd like, you can also stick it in the fridge to let it chill, and then rewhip before frosting the cake.
Ganache*
- Heat together white chocolate chips (high quality like Ghirardelli or Guittard will melt best) and heavy whipping cream in the microwave until chips are almost melted, but not all the way. Remove from microwave and whisk together allowing the chips to finish melting as you mix. Add white food gel if desired to achieve a brighter white color. Set aside to cool slightly before you add to your assembled cake.
Assembly
- Put a cake board down and put a small dollop of frosting on the cake board to act as a glue for the first cake layer.
- Add first cake layer, then spread an even layer of frosting on top. Place raspberries on top of the frosting to cover the layer. If your raspberries are larger, I recommend slicing them in half before placing.
- Then add the next cake layer, and repeat frosting and raspberries.
- Add the last cake layer and frost the entire outside with a light coat of frosting, like naked cake style where the layers are still somewhat visible. This is your crumb coat. Place the cake in the fridge (NOT FREEZER) to allow the frosting to set for about 15 minutes before adding your next layer of frosting.
- Once crumb coat has chilled, frost the outside with an even coat of frosting.
- Using a spoon or drip bottle, add a ganache layer to the top.
- Using a favorite piping tip (I like Wilton 1M) pipe the top of the cake with remaining frosting if desired.
- Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
I’m normally not a huge cake fan, but OH MY GOSH! I made this and it tasted DIVINE! My husband said it’s the best cake he’s ever had. My boy/girl twins requested it for their birthday cake. I died the ganache blue to give it a blue/pink look for my twinners. Turned out great! Also, huge thank you to Lo who answered all my questions via Instagram DM!
Hi this cake is amazing!!! What flowers do you use to decorate? And are they edible? Many thanks
So glad you love it! Thank so much Jess! I just used some fresh flowers from my local grocery store – pink roses, baby’s breath, and some greenery. I made the macarons from scratch but if you want to add those and don’t want to make them, an easy cheat is just to buy some (they often sell some in the freezer section at some grocery stores or at a local bakery).
Absolutely delicious! I made this for a party, not having made it before, and it worked perfectly. It was gone in literally minutes.
Hi Lori, I’m needing to make a white chocolate cake with raspberry for a wedding – 2 tiers. I noticed that you have this cake recipe as well as another called “berries & cream white chocolate cake.” Which recipe has more of a stronger white chocolate taste, is sturdy enough to be stacked, but also not like a mud-cake in texture? I appreciate and await your answer. Thank you!
Hi Christina! Both base cake layers for those recipes are identical. The leavening amounts are slightly different between baking soda and powder, but outcomes are identical. Same recipe, I just swapped the frosting. I’ve made the berries and cream cake several times now for weddings cakes and its a HUGE it. I highly recommend it. I just recommend doing the whipped topping in the middle (and don’t go crazy with it) and the frosting the outside with the white chocolate frosting as you’ll have more support and it will be easier to decorate.
I’ve also swapped out the fresh berries for just a berry compote for wedding cakes, as it holds up better overnight to make ahead of time. The fresh fruit in the layers is tricker to stack and doesn’t hold up as long. Happy baking, hope that helped!
Thanks so much for your answer, that helps a lot! Yes, I noticed the only difference was the baking soda and powder. I have one more question, please. You mentioned a small box of white choc pudding. Is that 1oz or regular 3.4 oz box?
That is the 3.4 oz box! I’ll clarify that in the recipe, thanks!