Berries & Cream Cake

Strawberry cream, raspberry jam, nilla wafers, and a raspberry vanilla yogurt cake make up this whimsical Berries & Cream Cake. If my birthday was in May, this is the cake I would make for it!

Can I swap out the berries?

Yes! You may have to make a few adjustments depending on moisture levels but blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries will all work for this recipe!

What sized bowl should be used for this cake?

I can’t find where I originally bought these mixing bowls but I used a bowl that is approximately a 10 cup bowl volume wise with an 8″ diameter. With a little planning and math you can adjust the recipe according to your bowl size. Adjust and bake your cake in a pan that matches the size of the opening of the bowl.

Can I make this cake in advance?

Yes! This cake should be made the day before if possible and allowed to set up in the fridge overnight. If you can’t make it all in one day, you could make the cake base, the strawberry puree and the raspberry jam at least two days in advance. Store the cake wrapped up tight at room temperature and the strawberry puree and raspberry jam in the fridge.

Tips for making a Berries & Cream Cake

• Fresh or frozen strawberries will work for the strawberry puree but make sure to use fresh berries for the ones folded into the cream.
• You may have to make a few adjustments depending on moisture levels but blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries will all work for this recipe!
• With a little planning and math you can adjust the recipe according to your bowl size. Adjust and bake your cake in a pan that matches the size of the opening of the bowl.
• Make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature for a soft and fluffy cake.
• It’s important to cook the strawberry puree until very thick – this will indicate that the corn starch has fully cooked out.
• If you don’t have nilla wafers you could use any other butter cookie or graham crackers!
• This cake should be stored in the fridge when not being served. This is not the kind of cake you want to let sit out for too long as it will begin to melt.

Additional Birthday Cakes to try!

• Rhubarb Chiffon Cake
• Raspberry Semla Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Cake

Ingredients for Berries & Cream Cake

• Strawberries: Strawberries are used both in the puree and chopped up in the strawberry cream. Frozen can be used in the puree but it’s important to use fresh for the chopped strawberries.
• Sugar: White granulated sugar is used in the all of the elements!
• Corn Starch: Corn starch is used to thicken the strawberry puree but I believe tapioca starch would work too.
• Raspberries: I’ve used frozen raspberries for the raspberry jam and fresh for the actual cake but either will work for both!
• All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for this cake, I use King Arthur all-purpose flour! The flour is used in the cake batter.
• Baking Soda & Baking Powder: These both help make the cake rise – make sure to check the expiration date! If they are expired, they won’t be very effective.
• Salt: Fine sea salt helps balance out all of the sweetness in the cake and enhances the flavors.
• Full fat greek yogurt: Full fat greek yogurt is used in the cake to keep it tender and light. Sour cream would work too!
• Butter: Butter adds moisture and richness to this cake. I use salted butter but you could use unsalted too for this cake.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds flavor and enhances the sweetness of the cake and the strawberry cream.
• Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store, make sure it is at room temperature for the cake.
• Heavy Cream: Heavy whipping cream makes the strawberry puree into a light and fluffy cream. It is also used to make the fluffy whipped cream frosting.
• Nilla Wafers: Nilla wafers give this cake a banana pudding/trifle kind of feeling but something like graham crackers would work too.

How to make a Berries & Cream Cake?

Strawberry Puree

• Take the tops off of the rinsed strawberries, add them into a blender and blend until smooth.
• In a medium pot, whisk together the corn starch and sugar. Pour in 1/3 of the strawberry puree and whisk until smooth (if you pour it all in the starch will clump).
• Pour in the remaining puree and whisk again.
• Heat over medium low heat, whisking constantly until thick. At first it will just thicken a little. Keep cooking for about 3-4 more minutes until it’s so thick it’s almost hard to whisk.
• Turn off the heat and press the thickened puree through a fine mesh sieve into a container. It will be hard to pass through but just keep spreading it through the sieve and it will go.
• Cover the surface with a sheet of plastic and place in the fridge to cool completely.

Raspberry Compote

• In a medium pot, add in the raspberries and sugar.
• Cover the pot with the lid and place it over medium low heat. Allow it to come to a simmer, then remove the lid and stir frequently while it reduces. Continue to reduce until it becomes thicker and the liquid looks more thick and syrup like.
• Once reduced, take the pot off the heat and pour the compote into a large shallow bowl to let it cool down.

Raspberry Sponge

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the center.
• Line the base of an 8″ cake pan with a parchment round.
• In a medium bowl add in the sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine.
• Add in the butter, sour cream, eggs, milk, and vanilla.
• Use a mixer to mix the ingredients first on medium low until 90% combined.
• Toss the rinsed raspberries with a couple tablespoons of flour in a small bowl. Pour the coated raspberries into the cake batter.
• Use a flat rubber spatula scrape the bottom and edges of the bowl and fold in the raspberries.
• Pour the cake batter into the pan. Smooth out the cake with a rubber or offset spatula.
• Bake the cake in the hot oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, rotate the cake and bake again for another 15-20 minutes until golden brown on the edges and set in the center.
• Take the pan out of the oven and leave them to cool for 15 minutes. Flip the partially cooled cake out and leave it to cool completely on a wire rack.

Strawberry Cream

• Rinse and chop the fresh strawberries into 1/4″-1/2″ chunks and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, add in the cooled strawberry puree. Whip with an electric mixer until smooth. Add in about 200 grams of heavy cream and whip on medium speed until smooth and thick.
• In a separate bowl, add in the remaining 250 grams of cold heavy cream along with the salt and vanilla. Whip until medium stiff peaks form.
• Add the plain whipped cream into the strawberry cream and fold to combine. Pour in the chopped strawberries and fold again until dispersed.

Assemble

• Fully line the bowl you plan to use for this cake with plastic wrap. I used a 10 cup metal mixing bowl with an 8″ diameter.
• Add about 2″ of the strawberry cream into the lined bowl. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the cooled raspberry jam overtop of the cream and spread it out with the back of a spoon. It’s ok if it mixes in slightly with the cream.
• Add a single layer of nilla wafers with the flat side face up.
• Top with about 2 more inches of strawberry cream, then raspberry jam and finally nilla wafers.
• Finally top with the remaining strawberry cream and raspberry jam.
• Use a serrated knife to trim off the rounded top of the cake. Flip the cake over so the cut side is face down and lay it into the bowl on top of the last layer of raspberry jam.
• Take the excess plastic wrap and cover the top of the cake. Put it into the fridge to set overnight.

Whipped Cream Decoration

• In a medium mixing bowl, whip the cold heavy cream with the yogurt, vanilla, salt, and sugar to stiff peaks. Be careful not to over whip and split the cream.
• If you’re unsure, put the bowl in the fridge for 5-10 minutes, then whisk by hand until stiff.
• Take the cake bowl out of the fridge and pull the plastic wrap off the surface of the cake.
• Place a big plate upside down over the top of the bowl, making sure the plastic wrap isn’t tucked under. Holding onto the plate and bowl, flip both over. The cake should gently fall out of the bowl. Remove the bowl and peel away the plastic.
• Add the whipped cream into a piping bag. Pipe the cream in any way that you want over top of the cake. Decorate however you want with flowers, sprinkles, raspberries – anything works!
• Slice and serve immediately or place back in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
• Store leftovers in the fridge.

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