White Chocolate Raspberry Dream Cake
A tender, moist white chocolate cake layered with a tart, jammy raspberry filling and finished with a silky white chocolate buttercream that's actually easy to make. The cake batter comes together in one bowl with no mixer, and the result looks like it came from a specialty bakery.
Equipment
- Three 8-inch round cake pans
- Parchment paper rounds
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Medium saucepan
- Offset spatula
- Cooling racks
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups cake flour (spooned and leveled)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 cup whole buttermilk, room temperature
- 6 oz good quality white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Raspberry Filling
- 12 oz fresh or frozen raspberries (about 3 cups)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water (slurry)
White Chocolate Buttercream
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened (3 sticks)
- 8 oz good quality white chocolate, melted and cooled
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Position the racks in the center. Grease your cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and grease the parchment too.
- Make the raspberry filling first: Combine the raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir gently until the berries break down and the mixture comes to a simmer. Let it cook for about 5 minutes, then stir in the cornstarch slurry. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until it thickens. It should coat the back of a spoon. Pour into a bowl and let cool completely.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Work in the butter: Add the softened butter to the dry ingredients. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer on low speed until the mixture looks like wet sand, about 2 minutes.
- Add the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg whites, melted white chocolate, and vanilla. Pour about half into the dry mixture and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl, add the rest, and mix for another 30 seconds until smooth. Do not overmix.
- Bake the layers: Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating halfway. Cakes are done when golden around edges and a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool completely: Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks. Peel off parchment and cool completely before frosting.
- Make the buttercream: Beat softened butter on medium-high for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Gradually add sifted powdered sugar. Add melted white chocolate, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Beat for 3-4 minutes until silky and spreadable.
- Assemble the cake: Place one cake layer on serving plate. Spread thin buttercream layer. Pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge to create a dam. Fill center with about ⅓ of the raspberry filling. Repeat for remaining layers.
- Crumb coat and chill: Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the entire cake to trap crumbs. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until firm. Then apply final coat of buttercream and decorate with fresh raspberries and white chocolate curls if desired.
Notes
Melt white chocolate gently in 20-second intervals to avoid seizing. Room temperature ingredients are essential – cold butter or eggs will make the cake dense. Do not skip the crumb coat; it prevents crumbs from marring the white frosting. For clean slices, run a knife under hot water and wipe dry between cuts. The cake keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze unfrosted layers for up to a month.