best fruitcake recipe

This Berry Mascarpone Layer Cake has layers of fluffy vanilla cake, fresh berry filling and mascarpone whipped cream frosting! It's light, fruity and perfect for spring!

Berry Mascarpone Layer Cake

(325 grams) all purpose flour

(414 grams) sugar

tsp baking powder

salt

(240 milliliters) milk

(120 milliliters) vegetable oil

tbsp vanilla extract

eggs

(240 milliliters) water

tbsp (45 milliliters) water

(155 grams) sugar

cornstarch

(173 grams) powdered sugar

tsp vanilla extract

oz (452 grams) mascarpone cheese, chilled

Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare three 8 inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray and parchment paper in the bottom. These cakes can have a tendency to stick to the pans a bit, so I strongly recommend the parchment paper in the bottom.

. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large mixer bowl and combine. Set aside.

. Add the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and eggs to a medium sized bowl and combine.

. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.

. Slowly add the water to the batter and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.

. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 24-28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

. Remove the cakes from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling. These cakes can have a tendency to stick to the pans a bit so jiggle them a bit to loosen from the sides of the pan before turning the cakes out to cool.
BERRY FILLING

p id=&#8221;instruction-step-9&#8243;>8. To make the berry topping, add the berries and water to a food processor and puree until smooth. You should end up with about 2/3 cup puree.

. Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Stir in the berry puree.

0. Cook over medium heat, stirring consistently until mixture thickens and comes to a boil, about 8-10 minutes.

1. Allow to boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Refrigerate and allow to cool completely.
FROSTING AND ASSEMBLY

p id=&#8221;instruction-step-13&#8243;>12. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until soft peaks form.

3. Add the mascarpone cheese to the whipped cream and whip until stiff peaks form. It will happen fairly quickly. Set whipped frosting in the refrigerator.

4. To assemble the cake, use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes.

5. Place the first layer of cake on a serving plate or a cardboard cake round. Pipe a dam of frosting around the outside of the cake. I use Ateco tip 808 for the dam so that it’s tall.
16.

pread half of the berry filling evenly on top of the cake layer, inside the dam. It should fill the dam about half way full.
17.

dd some additional mascarpone frosting to the top of the berry filling and spread into an even layer to fill in the remaining dam space.
18.

dd the second layer of cake and repeat the filling layer with the remaining berry filling and additional mascarpone frosting.
19.

dd the final layer of cake on top, then smooth out the frosting around the sides of the cake.
20.

rost the outside of the cake, then use an icing decorator (I use this Ateco Icing Smoother ) to add a striped pattern to the sides.
21.

inish off the cake with some swirls of frosting and fresh berries.
22.

efrigerate cake until ready to serve. Cake is best for 2-3 days.

I just made this cake for Mother’s Day and it was a huge success! Beautiful cake, there wasn’t a piece left after the party was over. Great recipe! 

I love this cake, so tasty..have baked it many times. I find it a bit hit and miss...Sometimes even when baked much longer, the top is golden, but the base of the cake still seems slightly stodgy/uncooked. Sadly, I can only tell this once cake is cooled and removed from tin. I tried your other vanilla cake recipe, but prefer the taste &amp; texture of this one when it works out. Do you think it might help to reduce amount of water in recipe? Also batter is so thin, it often runs out the bottom of my tins...even when tightly lined. I'd love to get this recipe more reliable....any helping appreciated.

All components were good but the frosting never got  thick enough..it ended up sliding around and the whole thing turned out to be a big mess..I cut it up and made a trifle..very disappointing since I spent my whole day trying to make this perfectly ..I also think there tablespoons of cornstarch in the berries  is too much..I had to thin it with alot of water to make  work..my husband said it tasted great as a trifle I think I picked too hot of  a day to try and make whipped cream frosting.

Unfortunately every single element of this recipe was a fail, even though I followed recipe to a t. The sponge was increadibly dense, almost raw like, eveb though I cooked it for nearly and hour, it was just not cooking through properly. Jam was ok though way too sweet and mascarpone cream icing was runny and never set. Eventualy I set it with gelatine overnight, so the cake looked ok, but the taste of the sponge was just wrong. Im not an experienced baker, so not sure what went wrong, perhaps more experienced bakers can use this recipe. I do not recommend it for someone like me, who needs to be instructed every step of a way

This is my 2nd time making this cake. The first was a year-and-a-half ago for my daughter and her husband's wedding cakes which was amazing. I've already have a posted picture of them. This morning I made a two layer 9-inch cake with the recipe for their birthdays because his is Christmas and hers is January 3rd. The cake turned out beautiful one more time.

I absolutely LOVE all of your cake recipes!! So far I’ve made this (it was amazing!) and I’ve made your Nutella Cake that everyone went crazy over! I look forward to making more and more of your desserts!! I was wondering instead of milk could you use buttermilk in this recipe? Does it change the taste or texture? I will be making this for Easter today! So excited!

Hi, I've made this cake several times and loved it. This time, I was wondering if I could do half cream cheese, half mascarpone cheese for the frosting. Do you think it'd work?

For some reason, my cake layers didn't rise..I definitely put in the baking powder, so not sure what was up. It was delicious nonetheless.

I only have 9 inch pans. Do I need to change anything?

Hi ,i made this recipe although i wasnt sure on cake as it seemed dense and not light and spongy.i checked with a toothpick before taking out oven not sure what went wrong.It was still edible the berry filling and mascarpone frosting tasted lovely.Maybe one day i will attempt the cake again.

I never leave a comment but for this I must!! Made this cake over the weekend and I must say AMAZING!!! Cake was moist and frosting was light and delicious!!! I am so glad I stumbled over this website:) thank you for posting such a great recipe. 

Hi Lindsay,
I love your blog and your recipes are just fabulous. I am not a cake/baking kind of person but I decided to take the plunge and try out this berry mascarpone layer cake. I am actually in the process of making it. I followed the recipe to the letter but my vanilla cake is very dense and I am wondering what I did wrong. I was wondering if the lean milk i used might have affected the result. It's 0.4% fat, should the water be cold or lukewarm?
I'll appreciate your feedback so I can do it better next time and get that light airy result.

I cut my 3 cakes into 2 layers each and then doubled the filling as well as the icing. This made for prettier presentation, very yummy cake!

OMG! You're site is amazing. I love the detailed videos. It's very inspiring. May I ask what set up do you use to record your videos and edit them? Thanks for everything sweet!

I have not tried the recipe for the cake thus giving it only a 4 star. However, the berry jam ( I use strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry) and the mascarpone frosting was a really good combo. I made a white sour cream almond cake to go along with the berry filling and the mascarpone frosting and it was a hit! The frosting is not overly sweet so it didn't overpower the sweetness of the cake while the berry jam gives a hint of tartness making it all comes beautifully together. You just want to keep the whole cake to yourself.

I am not a baker! And have never had success with cakes from scratch.   But I bit the bullet and made this.....with great success.  OK, it didn't look perfect as pictured but it was fantastic.  The cake itself was so light and moist.  The directions were easy to follow.  At the end of the day, I FELT like a master chef!  Thank you for sharing!

I have made this amazing cake several times. Everyone loves it!!!
I am now going to make it for my Niece’s wedding. Wondering if you have any tips on slicing it so I get clean pieces?
Also, 1 time I was doing the frosting and i think i whipped it too long......any tips for knowing the perfect time to add the mascarpone? Or can it be fixed if it happens again?
Thank you!!!!

This cake was phenomenal! I made it with 9 inch pans because that was all I had, which made a wider and thinner round cake, BUT that was to be expected. I made no changes to the actual recipe and everyone LOVED it and RAVED about it! The cake was devoured in minutes. It was my first layer cake and i will be making it again for sure!! I will be making more of your recipes in the future! So happy i found your website! 

This looks amazing! I'm thinking about making this for my birthday in a few days. I was wondering if I had to cut the recipe if I use 6in round pans? Maybe if I use 4 6in pans it would be ok but I don't want to make it too tall.

If I could give it 6 stars, I would.  This was pure heaven!!!

My husband made it, and took it to a party last night.  The hostess said "That cake, in my opinion, is the best I have ever tasted!  Please do not lose that recipe."

Hi, I got only one mold, so can the cake wait for the other cake baked? Then only continue with the second and third layer of cake?

I made this for my daughter's 15th birthday. She loves berries so it was perfect. My whole family absolutely LOVED this cake. It was so fresh tasting. The sponge itself is surprisingly moist. We are not frosting people, but it  was delicious. We cleaned our plates. Thank you for this recipe. It will become our go-to fancy cake recipe.

This cake is amazing!!!   My husband doesn't show much emotion, but he is still raving about this cake.   My mother (who is 80) said it was the best cake she ever had.   I followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfect.    I'm new to baking and this recipe has given me the confidence to keep on baking.   Thank you!

Such a great recipe! And so simple! And that frosting is to die for, never tasted any frosting I like better!

First cake from scratch I ever made. Thank you for the delicious recipe. My family love it and appreciate it very much!

what lacked in looks (my own amateur decorating skills are to blame) was made up for in flavour. loved it and will make it again as soon as i burn off what i've eaten today

I’ve made this recipe several times now and my oldest son has declared this to be the cake he wants me to make him for his upcoming 40th birthday along with his favorite meal of grilled marinated chicken on focaccia bread. His wife has asked me to make this cake for a bridal shower she is hosting for her niece.  My husband &amp; grandson loved it too.

I've made this recipe 3 times already and it has been a huge hit every time!  I want to make this into a 2 tier cake, and was wondering if you think any differences would need to be considered to bake this as a 6 in layer cake to be stacked on top of the 8 inch.

I LOVE this cake.  I was worried because the batter was very watery. My icing turned out a little soft, not sure if I beat it too much. It was still delicious.  This cake is the best.  It has a light spongy texture and is so moist!  I bought the book as well and I can't wait to try out more cakes.

I have made this cake three seperate times for birthday party’s. There’s never anything left. Everyone loves it!! Thank you so much for the recipe!!

I made this today as a dry run for a 4th of July party. So happy I did. Honestly, did not like this cake at all. The method of adding wet to dry is unusual &amp; resulted in uneven mixing &amp; incorporation of wet &amp; dry. The batter was very thin. I did not like the texture of the cake &amp; the edges became brown &amp; crunchy before the cake fully cooked even at the instructed temperature. I had no issues with sticking. With regard to the frosting, I whipped the mascarpone with the sugar for a few minutes &amp; slowly added the cream to incorporate- no separation or lumps. I prefer a chunkier, fresher fruit filling but I believe in making a recipe as written the first time &amp; tweaking later if desired. I wish I hadn’t as the filling was too gloppy for my taste.  It was pretty but I would not make it again.

I made this for our daughter and son-in-law's baby shower cake last year for about 70 people.  It was so good, they've requested it for his first birthday party cake this weekend.   When I made this cake last year, I received so many compliments and requests for the recipe!  I had to admit it was one of the best cakes I've ever had.  I only had 9" cake pans, so I 1 1/2 times the recipe and it turned out great!  I ended up using strawberries, Thank you for such a fantastic cake recipe!

My husband made a request for me to duplicate our June 19th  wedding cake. We had almond flavor yellow cake with marionberry jam and crème fraîche filling with butterceam frosting. So I googled the basic ingredients and found this recipe. I followed your recipe as stated except changed almond for the vanilla. It turned out beautifully....it’s Setting up in the fridge as I write this and can’t wait to taste it!

This is the best cake I have ever made! It is definitely a go to for me and apparently for my friends as well. I took it for a beach trip last year and my girlfriends requested a repeat this year! I'm a little torn because that triple lemon cake looks amazing! It may win for this trip.

Hi! I've made this recipe many times before and absolutely loved it. I was going to attempt a chantilly cake though and was wondering if you think I could substitute 8 oz of cream cheese for 8 oz of the mascarpone in this frosting recipe. I know it's guesswork, but your guess would be way more educated than mine!

Hi, Lindsay. I made this cake recipe for a co-worker's birthday. She loves fruit, so this was the perfect cake for her. Not only was the cake flavorful and moist, but the filling was really delicious and the mascarpone frosting was light tasting and perfect. Thank you for another great recipe! My favorite is your chocolate pumpkin cheesecake, my second is your oreo cake, and this cake is my third favorite. Thank you for sharing!!!  😋🎂👍👍

Hi Lindsey!  I love this recipe. I’ve made it a few times and it’s always a huge hit. I’m making it again for my friends 50th bday. I’m wondering if I make it Friday will it still be fresh looking and tasting for Sunday if kept in the refrigerator. 

Thanks
Kim

Made this cake 3x's. One for a birthday...but I never baked it before so I baked an extra one for myself and to share. It was such a big hit that I baked it a third time! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Hello!

Can I make this cake in two 9 inch pans? earlier comments says to reduce fruit filling to half. How about frosting.. should I adjust for 2 layers? Finally, can fruit be reduced whole with sugar instead of puree and eliminate cornstarch? Thank you very much in advance!

I made 2 out of the 3 components to this cake. The berry filling and the frosting. I read many of the comments but didn't feel comfortable using the sponge recipe so I used one that I've made before. In that recipe it calls for just vanilla but I also added almond extract because I wanted an almond sponge. As for the filling and frosting? Both came out beautifully. I will admit I was worried about the frosting. Because so many people had issues with it yes, I was nervous. Here's what I did.  First off, at the time of making the frosting it was 80 degrees in my house. I did chill my bowl and beater for a few hrs. I also sifted the powdered sugar onto a piece of parchment paper. Once I placed the cream and vanilla into the bowl that's when I took out the mascarpone. Before I turned on my mixer I grabbed a spoon and lightly worked over the cheese just to loosen it up a bit. Then I began to beat the cream and slowly pour the sugar in. Once it almost hit soft peaks I ran a spatula through it then continued beating till I got soft peaks. Doing that step ensured that all of the sugar and cream was fully incorporated. Then I added the cheese, turned my mixer to its highest speed. I stopped the mixer before it got to full stiff peaks so I could once again use my spatula to make sure everything was incorporated. I turned it back on and in about 30 seconds it was done. I couldn't believe how light and fluffy the frosting came out. Don't get me wrong. I love the texture and taste but next time I make the frosting I'm either going to add about 1/4 cup of sugar or add 1/2 tsp to a full tsp of vanilla extract just so there's a bit more flavor. I haven't had a slice yet. I know, crazy right? LOL But there's a good reason for that craziness. I plan to share this beauty with my sisters. Today one sister will be dropping by to pick up most of the cake and tonight I'll finally be able to enjoy my slice. Thanks for such an amazing frosting and jam recipe!! I haven't added the fresh berries yet (didn't want the bleeding to happen before my sister arrived) but my cake looks so beautiful. I'm not good at decorating either but that frosting made doing a crumb coat, a final icing and piping some basic decor so easy. Sorry for the novel but I just wanted to share my experience with the hope that it can be of some help to someone down the line. Happy baking.....

I made this a few years ago and now requested to make it.
For tweaks.... I use box of vanilla cake but add some lemon zest and very little juice to add extra flavor.  I use a jar of Bonne Maman jam Four Fruits as my filler.
Everyone loves it-even my mom who says she hates cheese.

Awesome recipe !
I have made it many times over the last year.  
I used fresh berries and I have made it with frozen berries. 
The cake turned out awesome every single time so I’m puzzled over why some people had issues with the recipe. 
The frosting is my all time favorite. It’s perfect. 
Thank you for this recipe ❣️

Hi I've just bought three 10"x3" cake tins, would you recommend to doubling this recipe and extend cooking time as I need to make a larger cake. Many thanks

My mom loves to bake in her free time and has been wanting to try a cake like this for some time. She followed the directions exactly as stated and the end result was PERFECT! Initially she was super hesitant bc she read a lot of comments saying they had an unsuccessful bake or the frosting wasn’t right. Her cakes came out as they should as well as he frosting.  Everything was a total success as she just decided to keep to following to the recipe as exactly stated and didn’t rush the process. The cake not only looked beautiful but tasted so unbelievably delicious. This is definitely a keeper. 

This cake is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! It is so delicious. I made it for the first time and served it to family. The berry filling and the mascarpone cream is so delightful. Thank you! 

This recipe looks beautiful and there are so many varied comments that I had to give it a try to see how it went. 
I made the cake as specified in the recipe. It was super easy but very thin batter so I was pretty skeptical. I did spoon the flour instead of scooping as well. I baked it in large cupcake tins and it was fine. Slightly dense for a cupcake but for a three layer cake it would be perfect. I did add a little lemon zest to the batter for half of them and that was also delicious! 
The berry filling was easy and good. I used frozen berries so just thawed them first. The filling set up a little thick but that is completely dependent on how juicy the fruit is. I piped the filling into the middle of the cupcakes once they cooled. 
The frosting was very easy as well. I made it exactly to the recipe. I was not familiar with mascarpone cheese so had to try it. It was very light and fluffy and the flavor is fantastic! If you leave it at warm temperature it will get soft pretty quickly so something to consider if you’re displaying at a party. 
Overall it was delicious and beautiful. Would definitely make again

I would like to update you on this recipe. I found your website about three or four years ago. I was looking for a cake with berries for Mother's Day. I have been making this cake ever since. It is a huge hit whenever I serve it. It looks beautiful and it tastes amazing. We are foodies, and my sister-in-law, who is very particular, has asked for this cake every year since for her birthday. Now my teenage daughter who always asked for my chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, is asking for this. Thank you so much! I also, love your strawberry poke cake.

It says to put the frosting in the fridge. For how long? Also, once I take it out of the fridge, do I have to thaw it, or can I use it right away?

Absolutely delicious! I bake a lot and I was really nervous about how thin the cake batter was, but I trusted the recipe and the layers came out so light and so fluffy.  After mixing the icing, I popped it in their fridge raider for about 15 minutes and then woke it up with another 20 seconds in my standing mixer. That really helped the icing form those perfect stiff peaks that make it easy for piping.  My whole family was amazed. I ended up making another batch and turning at cupcakes for my neighbors and those were also a hit. I followed the recipe to a T except I changed the jam in the middle to be a blackberry orange jam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t1KD2QslP8

This Berry Mascarpone Layer Cake has layers of fluffy vanilla cake, fresh berry filling and mascarpone whipped cream frosting! It’s light, fruity and perfect for spring! Recipe: https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/berry-mascarpone-layer-cake/

3. Add the mascarpone cheese to the whipped cream and whip until stiff peaks form. It will happen fairly quickly.

Loved it! I usually don’t like frosting too much but this one is perfect, light and creamy but not overly sweet. I added a little less powdered sugar. One of my new favorite cakes

I love this recipe! Similar to a gentilly cake that our local rouses makes but even better. I added almond flavoring to the cake and I must admit it’s my family’s new favorite. Not overly sweet but the fresh fruit keeps it very moist. Made it for Easter dinner this year at my sisters request.

This is my favorite cake. I love the flavor’s and the texture. The frosting is so good, not too sweet, it’s the best I ever had.

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Berry Mascarpone Layer Cake

Berry Mascarpone Layer Cake

Top 2 best fruitcake recipe recipes from across the web

The most viewed best fruitcake recipe recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Berry Mascarpone Layer Cake

Berry Mascarpone Layer Cake

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