This cake has all of the elements for the perfect moist cake – applesauce, sour cream, and pudding mix. With a white chocolate mascarpone frosting, whipped cream topping, and berries all in between, this tender cake will keep your mouth watering for days.

Berries & Cream White Chocolate Cake

This cake is made up of:

1. Moist, rich white chocolate cake layers

2. Creamy white chocolate frosting

3. Fresh berries (or you can use a berry jam or compote!)

4. Light whipped topping folded with white chocolate pudding.

Its cake layers have some rich ingredients, including white chocolate pudding mix, applesauce, and sour cream. It is a cake for those cake lovers who prefer a rich denser cake rather than a light or dry cake. Measure your ingredients properly and you’ll yield amazing tender results without getting overly heavy.

Recipe tips

• What is mascarpone cheese?: It is a cheese very similar to cream cheese, but lighter and more mild in flavor. I love the lightness of the mascarpone, but they are similar enough you can easily substitute with cream cheese (we do so often!). Mascarpone cheese is often found in the deli area with the specialty cheeses.
• What berries should I use?: Use whatever berries you prefer or what is ripe and looks good at the store! You can choose just one type, or do a variety. You can also substitute the fresh berries for a berry jam or compote! Berries do add weight to the layers, so keep that in mind as you distribute them and cut them.
• Can I make this in advance?: Because of the fresh berries, this cake is best served within 24 hours of assembling. But you can prepare the cake layers in advance by freezing those, then frosting and assembling day of to save time.
• My cake is really heavy. What went wrong?: This cake is built to be a bit of a heavier, moist cake. So if you’re expecting a fluffy airy cake, I will say this is not that recipe. BUT, there are tips to ensure you make it correctly so it doesn’t get more dense than it’s supposed to! A heavy brick is not the goal!First, make sure you measure your flour properly (I always encourage weighing flour!). Too much flour can make it heavy.
  Second, ensure you don’t over mix after you’ve added the dry ingredients.
  Third, make sure you’re using fresh baking powder and baking soda. Expired leavening agents don’t help!

Ways to frost this cake

There are SO many ways to frost and assemble this cake! Here are a few ideas:

1. NAKED CAKE STYLE: This simple, but elegant approach is a great way to simplify the decorating but still have a show stopper cake. When I do it naked style, instead of doing the whipped topping on top of course, I just add it to the center layers. So cake + white chocolate frosting + cream + berries…then repeat with the next layer. (see image below)

2. SPOON SWIRL: One of the easiest decorating approaches out there! Because you’re dealing with a whipped topping, the piping options are bit more limited. Take the back of a spoon, and gently rotate it in a swirling motion all around the cake to get a natural whispy look. (see image below)

3. OFFSET SPATULA: This is the style featured in the main pictures of this recipe page. It’s also a very approachable decorating style that is pretty quick and has a stunning look. Use an offset spatula (my number one cake tool I use, always! It’s soo helpful in spreading frosting!). Gently start from one end and slowly spin the cake around. Once you meet back where you started, move down to the next level to create continuous lines around the cake.

BONUS TIP:

One way I love altering this tip is instead of using fresh berries in the middle, I use a fresh berry compote instead (basically a fresh tart stovetop jam). I mix together 2 cups of berries (usually raspberries, or you could do whatever you wanted) with about 1/2-3/4 cup sugar, a splash of lemon, and this 2 tbsp of EZ gel thickener (or you could sub with cornstarch). Mix it on stovetop for about 8-10 minutes until thickened, chill, and use in your cake. This is fantastic especially for weddings when the berries won’t hold as long.

More cake recipes you’ll love…

• Death By Chocolate Cake
• Lemon Cake
• White Chocolate Raspberry Cake (same base layer as this cake, but with a fresh raspberry frosting!)
• Best Ever Carrot Cake

If you make this recipe, make sure you tag @loskitchenco on Instagram and leave a comment below! You can also save for later by clicking the ‘Pin Recipe’ button on the recipe card. Happy baking! 

Berries & Cream White Chocolate Cake

Lori Vaughn

Perhaps the moistest cake you will ever eat. White chocolate cake layers with a white chocolate frosting and topped with a fresh whipped cream. With the addition of fresh berries, it makes it a winner for all crowds.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Ingredients

  

Cake

• (312 g) 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 small box instant white chocolate pudding
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ¾ cup apple sauce
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla

Frosting

• 6 oz white chocolate chips
• 8 oz mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese) room temp
• 4 TB unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups powdered sugar sifted
• 2-3 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Cream Topping:

• 1 small box instant white chocolate pudding
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 packet whip it stabilizer (optional; holds up the whipped cream longer)

Instructions

 

Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• Prepare and grease three 8" pans. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine applesauce, buttermilk, vanilla and egg whites. Beat for 2 minutes. Add sour cream and vanilla and gently mix until combined.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients, including the dry pudding mix in a large bowl.*
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
• Pour batter into the greased pans until there is an even amount in each.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick comes out with moist crumbs, no batter. Take out of pans and let cakes cool on cooling racks. Wrap cakes in plastic wrap once completely cool.

Frosting:

• Melt the chocolate chips and butter together. Let the chips cool. When it's still runny but not hot, it's ready.
• In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese for one minute until it's slightly whipped. Add the cooled melted chocolate and vanilla. Beat together and slowly sift in the powdered sugar. Add about 2 TB whipping cream to reach a moist, stable consistency. Beat 3-4 minutes till fluffy.

Cream Topping:

• In a large bowl, beat together the dry pudding mix and milk for about 2 minutes, until it becomes a thicker pudding texture.
• In a separate bowl beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.
• Gently fold in the whipped cream with the pudding mixture, being careful not to deflate the whipped cream.**

Assembly:

• Place the first cake layer on a cake board. Spread an even layer of frosting on top of the first cake layer. Layer berries of choice (sliced strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc.)
• Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting, and repeat step one, spreading an even layer of frosting and berries on top of the second layer.
• Place the third layer on top and cover the whole cake with the remaining frosting. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
• After chilled, evenly swirl the cream topping over the whole cake. This can be done with an offset spatula or even the back of a spoon, moving in circular motions until the cake is covered in whispy swirls.***

  Store in fridge until ready to serve.

Notes

*To simplify this recipe, you can substitute the dry cake ingredients for a box of white cake mix. Just add the small box of pudding mix with it. 

**You can substitute the homemade whipped cream with 1 tub of cool whip to save time. Freshly whipped cream is hard to beat though!

***You can also use a piping tip and pipe as desired. In the images I used a wilton ruffle tip to achieve that look. Whipped cream based frosting can be less stable to pipe.