Raspberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

 

Raspberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Delicate sponge cake layers filled with creamy sweet cream cheese frosting and raspberry Jello made with real fruits. Gorgeous, tall and impressive cake for any occasion.

Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

Sponge cake:

6 large eggs at room temperature

1 cup 200gr sugar, divided

½ teaspoon cream of tartar optional

1 ½ cups 180gr plain cake flour

½ teaspoon salt

Simple Syrup:

1 cup water

¾ cup 150gr sugar

Raspberry Jello Layer:

1 packet 7gr/about 2 teaspoons gelatin powder (1 packet = 0.25oz)

3 tablespoons 50ml cold water

10 oz 300gr raspberries fresh or frozen

¾ cup 150gr sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting:

16 oz 500gr cream cheese, at room temperature

½ cup 110gr unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon freeze-dried raspberry powder* optional (Note 1)

Instructions

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line bottom of 1 9-inch springform pan (at least 3 inches tall) with parchment paper. No need to grease the pan.

Separate egg whites and yolks, making sure not even a little bit of egg yolk gets into the whites. (Tip: It’s easier to separate the egg when they’re cold right out of the fridge.)

In a mixing bowl with whisk attachment, whisk together egg yolks and ½ cup of sugar until pale and tripled in volume, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift flour and salt.

In another mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium low speed until foamy.

Stir in cream of tartar, if using.

Add remaining ½ cup of sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and continue to whisk until stiff peaks, gradually increasing the speed to medium high, 7-10 minutes.

Using a spatula, add 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture and gently fold until mostly smooth. Add the remaining egg whites and gently fold until smooth.

Add sifted flour into the batter in 3 stages, whisking the batter well after each addition.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake the cake until inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Don’t open the oven for at least the first 30 minutes!

Let the cake cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Then run a knife around the edges and invert onto a cooling rack. Cool completely. Once cooled, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate, preferably overnight. It’ll be easier to slice it when the cake is thoroughly chilled.

To make raspberry Jello layer, spray two 7-inch round cake pans with a cooking spray.

In a small bowl mix together gelatin powder and water. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

In a small saucepan, combine raspberries and sugar. Cook it over medium high heat, until sugar is melted, stirring frequently and mashing the berries.

Stir in gelatin and cook over medium low heat until the gelatin is fully melted.

Run the mixture through a sieve to remove seeds. Divide the mixture into the prepared pans. Refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight to set.

To make the simple syrup, in a small saucepan, combine 1 cup water and sugar. Bring it to a boil and simmer until sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat and cool completely.

To make the cream cheese frosting

Combine the cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl with a handheld mixer on medium high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. The slowly add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for a minute. Then increase the speed to medium high and continue to beat until smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Transfer the frosting into a large frosting bag. You can use a round piping tip, if you have it, but it’s not necessary.

To assemble the cake, slice the cake into 3 even layers. (I use this cake slicing kit, but this’s a cheaper version.)

Place the bottom cake layer on a serving platter. (TIP: Place 3 strips of parchment or wax paper on the bottom to keep the serving platter clean.) Brush on 1/3 of chilled simple syrup evenly on the cake. Pipe the cream cheese frosting all over and smooth it with an offset spatula. Place the raspberry Jello in the middle. Pipe frosting around the Jello, creating a border. Pipe more cream cheese frosting over the Jello and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Place the next cake layer and repeat.

Place the top cake layer upside down so that the top of the cake is nice and flat. Coat the entire cake with frosting and smooth it with an offset spatula.

Mix the remaining cream cheese frosting with freeze-dried raspberry powder and decorate the cake as desired. I used a Wilton M1 piping tip to pipe the decoration on top.

 

Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of experience in writing with 12 of those years in the online content sphere. Author of 5 books and a Graduate with an Associate of Arts from Phoenix University in Business Management, then a degree. Mass Communication and Cyber Analysis from Phoenix University, then on to Walden University for her master’s in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology. Her work portfolio includes coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist in her spare time, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pen and ink, Gouche, and pastels. As a political operative having worked on over 300 campaigns during her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 6 blogs that range from art to life coaching, to food, to writing, and opinion or history pieces each week.