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Smashed Raspberry White Chocolate Layer Cake. Three layers of light and fluffy vanilla cake swirled with a mix of fresh raspberries and raspberry jam. Each cake layer is frosted generously with vanilla-white chocolate swirled frosting. Every bite is layered with fresh berries, sweet vanilla, and filled with creamy, sweet frosting. This is the perfect berry cake to enjoy anytime. It’s simpler to make than you’d think, so pretty, and so delicious!
Celebrating Father’s Day weekend with cake! It’s been so long since the last time I made a layer cake. There was a point a year or more ago when all I was baking were layer cakes. But then I leaned into the sheet pan cakes and stuck with those for a bit. Today we’re back to a layer cake, and just in time for Father’s Day.
When it comes to both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, we’re not huge celebrators. My brothers and I of course celebrate both parents, but when it comes to going all out with parties, we keep it pretty mellow. A family dinner is usually all my mom and dad really want. They’re pretty simple.
That being said, I kind of like to celebrate. I spoil my mom with gifts (lately it’s been jewelry) and always make her favorite foods and dessert. Always dessert.
And for my dad, while he’s much, much simpler than mom. And to be honest, much harder to shop for. Over the years I’ve kind of given up on finding him just the right gift and instead focus on showing him some love through food.
He’s a big spicy foods guy, so I’ll usually make something with some kick for dinner. A favorite dessert of his would have to be, chocolate peanut butter ice cream cake. It will forever be high up on his list.
But I thought this cake would be perfect for this year, and a fun recipe to share with you all.
Here are all the details – layer cakes are easy
Start with the cake itself. The vanilla cake is pretty standard, but my secret is to use a mix of buttermilk and either sour cream or Greek yogurt to keep the cake extra soft and light. I swear, simply using these ingredients in all of my cake recipes, makes for a perfect cake that’s never dry.
Then mix the wet with the dry and that’s your batter. I add lots of vanilla for really great flavor. Then come the berries. You can use any berry you love or have on hand, but I do think the raspberries add something special. We’ve all made blueberry and strawberry cakes, but what about raspberries?
Stir in fresh berries, then add swirls of raspberry jam for an intense berry-filled cake.
Lastly the frosting. White chocolate is the way to go. This is my standard for fruit-based cakes. The flavor lets the berries really shine in the best way.
Just butter, sugar, and melted white chocolate with a touch of vanilla. Creamy, sweet, and perfect. I frost the cake with a mix of frosting and jam to create swirls of color throughout. I then add lots of fresh smashed raspberries to go on top.
Fancy, but simple at the same time.
Hoping you’re inspired spend a couple of hours in the kitchen baking this up for Father’s Day, or just to enjoy a simple slice of delicious raspberry cake!
Every bite is filled with fresh berries and sweet jam. Each layer is light, fluffy, and layered with sweet vanilla chocolate frosting.
Looking for other summer cake recipes? Here are a few of my go-to’s.
Swirled Berry Ice Cream Butter Cake
Swirled Blackberry Lavender Sheet Cake
Simple Blueberry Basque Cheesecake
Bursting Blueberry Lemon Layer Cake
Blackberry Lavender Naked Cake
Strawberry Chamomile Naked Cake
Lastly, if you make this Smashed Raspberry White Chocolate Layer Cake., be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Smashed Raspberry White Chocolate Layer Cake
Servings: 12
Calories Per Serving: 821 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar (use 2 cups for a sweeter cake)
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups high-quality raspberry jam
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (do not thaw if using frozen)
Frosting
- 3 sticks salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 8 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- raspberries, for decorating
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 3 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter.2. In a large bowl, beat together the coconut oil, yogurt, eggs, sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined. Fold in the raspberries and swirl in 3/4 cup raspberry jam, leaving a few streaks of jam throughout the batter, it shouldn't be fully incorporated.3. Divide the batter among the 3 cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool for five minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan and turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before assembling.4. To make the frosting. In a bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the melted white chocolate and vanilla, and beat until combined.6. To assemble, place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread 1/3 of the frosting over the cake and layer with about 1/4 cup of jam. Repeat with the remaining cake layers. Be careful not to overfill your layers or the cake will be hard to slice. Lightly frost the outside of the cake, then decorate with smashed raspberries. Chill 30 minutes. Serve or store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
This post was originally published on June 17, 2022
I’m an inexperienced baker but decided to give this cake a whirl and I’m so glad I did! It looked beautiful, tasted amazing, however my cakes were SO dense. Anyone know which step in the process I may have gone wrong to cause that?
Hey Mel,
Happy Sunday! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your feedback, love to hear that it was enjoyed! The cakes could have been dense if you over mixed the batter at all. Xx
Awesome recipe! I doubled it and baked it in a 14.4” round for my son’s preschool graduation cookie cake and it baked beautifully and tasted fantastic! Will definitely use this recipe over and over. Thank you!
Thanks so much, Lexi:) So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit! I appreciate you making it:) xT
I made this cake and everyone loved it. It is a pretty cake and very delicious. The only comment I would make is the frosting which others have commented on. It is three sticks of butter and only 1.5 cups of powder sugar. It was too thin. I added another cup of powder sugar which was a little better but still thin. Are the butter and powder sugar reversed? It has to be kept in the refrigerator as the minute it warms up the frosting gets slippery. Great tasting and not hard to make.
Hey Cindy,
Fantastic! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was a hit! The butter and powdered sugar measurements are correct:) Xx
This looks amazing! I’m hoping to make it with frozen raspberries instead of fresh. Will I need to change any of the ingredients or bake time? Thanks 🙂
The cake came out beautiful. But the texture of the cake was a bit dense. I’m a good baker & follow directions & measure carefully. Wish the ingredients were in grams. The icing is delicious but even if u chill the cake, the icing gets very soft sitting out. Also this cake is pricey to make probably cost close to $20.00. So don’t think I’ll make again.
Thanks so much, Ella! You can follow the recipe as written using the frozen raspberries. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hello! I only have one cake tray this size for baking, do you think it is okay to make one layer at a time and chill the extra batter while each one bakes? Or do you think this will effect the density/texture?
Can’t wait to try it!
Hey Sarah,
Totally! No need to chill the batter, that will be just fine for you to leave out. I hope you love this recipe! xT
Can I substitute anything for the coconut oil?
Hey Cara,
Totally, you can use another neutral oil. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
I’d love to try this! Is the white chocolate for frosting from a white chocolate baking bar or do I use the baking chips? Ghirardelli has both. Thanks!
Hey Emily,
You can use either one for this recipe! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope this cake turns out well for you! xT
Thanks! Also, are all the ingredients supposed to be in room temperature? Only the eggs say it should be room temperature, but it seems that the yogurt and the buttermilk should be too? My daughter used them cold and the coconut oil started solidifying.
Yes, room temp ingredients are always best when baking:)
So excited to make this cake this upcoming weekend! How would you adjust measurements to make a single tier 9-inch cake? Cut recipe in half or thirds? I want to make sure it’s still thick! Thank you!
Hi Emily,
I would cut the recipe in half, that should work nicely for you! I hope you love this cake, let me know how it turns out! xx
I made this for Mother’s Day, and IT. IS. DIVINE!!! My mom said like it was something from a fancy bakery. In addition to being beautiful, the taste is incredible! I went with 1.5c of sugar in the cake. Often, I feel like recipes don’t have you make enough frosting to cover a cake, and this offered more than enough, which was great. Despite following the instructions with the amount of jam for each layer, it was still “slippery” and wanting to slide around, so I took 3 wooden skewers, and placed them in the cake to hold it together. I used a raspberry to hide each skewer :). It worked perfectly. We’ve been storing the leftover cake in the fridge, and I think I actually prefer the taste of it when chilled. It has a fabulous texture, and I will absolutely be making this again! I am actually interested in perhaps trying this as a cupcake recipe.
Lastly, I will be living in Norway this summer with my husband, and I plan on making this cake for my Mother-In-Law for her birthday! I’m just hoping I have no problems finding the correct ingredients! Sometimes it’s a bit tricky shopping in foreign grocery stores, but I’ll figure it out! I can’t wait
If you have any suggestions or tips for making these into cupcakes, I’m all ears!
Hey Allie,
Thanks so much for making this cake and sharing all of your detailed notes! So glad to hear that it was enjoyed!! You could totally make these into cupcakes, I would just reduce the bake time to 25-30 minutes. I hope this helps! xx
I can’t wait to try this for my best friend’s birthday tomorrow! Would it be possible to sub the coconut oil for a different oil? And if so would it be the same measurement? Thanks!
Hi Lexi,
Sure, you can use an equal amount of another neutral oil that you enjoy. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Everyone loved this cake! Mine was way more dense than your pictures show. I didn’t buy enough extra raspberry jam to put some in between the layers. The white chocolate should be added while the mixer is mixing as mine stuck to the side of the bowl and then was slightly lumpy because the chocolate cooled too much. Otherwise, I will definitely make it again. Also, I only used one cup of sugar so it was not overly sweet. I also added a little heavy cream to the frosting, maybe 1-2 tablespoons to get a consistency I liked.
Hey Terah,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! Happy Monday! xT
If you were not doing this as a layer cake but a 13X9 cake or cupcakes would you adjust anything?
Hey Sarah,
You may just need to adjust the bake time, but I would keep everything else the same:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
About to make this cake. What if I added whipping cream to the icing, just like in your life changing one bowl chocolate sheet cake recipe…have you tried it with the addition of heavy cream?!
Hey Kate,
I’ve never tried that with this cake, my only concern is that it would be too soft for a layer cake. But if you wanted to make this as a sheet cake then I think it would work nicely for you! I hope this helps! Let me know if you give it a try! xT
Going to make this for Mother’s Day! We are celebrating tomorrow but I only have time to make it today! Do you recommend making the whole thing and storing in the fridge? Or making just the cakes, frosting and assembling the next day when we plan to eat it?
Hey Emily,
You can make the whole thing and store in the fridge, that will work well for you:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
Hi!
I’m sorry excited to make this cake for Mothers Day. I’m curious would it taste just as good to sub the frosting with a white chocolate butter cream? If so can you give pointers for the frosting? Thank you!!!
Hey Payton,
Sure, I don’t see why not! You could use the buttercream recipe from this cake:
https://fett-weg.today/blackberry-lavender-naked-cake/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT