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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.
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.
Cake is great and looked tantalizing. It could be just me but I had to more than double to icing to get a nice thin layer to cover the cake and do the filling.
Thank you so much Larry! So glad to hear you loved this cake! xT
My second time making this cake and yummm. I wanted to add some notes even though I commented in the summer the first time I made it. I made this for an order using two 9 inch heart pans and was able to use the leftover batter for 6 cupcakes, nice little treat to have when you won’t taste the product haha. My other reason for the comment is that some people may have had trouble because the ingredient list states 1.5 cups of raspberry jam; while the instructions say 3/4 cups. This may have accidentally messed up their batter.
Thanks so so much! Always love to hear when a recipe is enjoyed! Have a great weekend 🙂 xT
This is a favorite at our house! Made it the first time for a birthday in August. We all craved it and I made it again in September. Love the flavor and it’s presentation is very pretty too.
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! So glad you enjoyed it! xT
Happy New Year 2024.
I baked this cake 3 times last year followed the recipe and all 3 times the cakes turning out fabulous..what an amazing recipe!
I do have 1 question though am I able to freeze half the cake and if so for how long?
Thank you 😊
Hi there! Yes you could definitely slice the cake and then freeze it for a few months! xT
We made this for Christmas 2023 and it was a hit! I made it in 2-9” pans because that is what fits in my cake transporter Tupperware. It did take longer to bake in the oven, but was done when my toothpick came out clean. I did serve it chilled and wished I would have let it come to room temperature because the texture was better. Will make again!
HI Elizabeth! So glad you enjoyed this cake! Have a Happy New Year! xT
This cake was a huge hit at Christmas! I’m usually a chocolate for dessert kind of person but this was really delicious. The white chocolate frosting went so well with it too.
I saw previous comments about how much butter to use for the frosting and used 4 oz sticks because I could always add more, but I didn’t need to. It was perfect. I also used vegetable oil instead of coconut oil in the batter because that’s what I had on hand. For some reason my batter was much thinner than the recipe photos and because of that my raspberry jam swirls mixed in more than they were supposed to, but nevertheless still a delicious cake.
Only small issue I had was the cakes had trouble baking at the bottom. They seemed baked (I used a toothpick to check) until I took it out of the pan and saw that the very bottom was raw. I put them back in and they baked eventually but could this be because I didn’t use parchment paper? I only buttered the pans before putting the batter in.
Hi! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have a wonderful New Year! 🙂 xT
Can’t wait to make this! I have 9 inch cake pans instead of 8 inch. Would you recommend altering the baking time at all?
Hi Christina,
I would just stick a toothpick in the cake towards the end to see if you need to reduce the bake time slightly. I hope you love this recipe! xx
Thanks!
Can you make this into cupcakes? If so how long would you recommend baking for?
Hi there! I’m so sorry I haven’t ever made these as cupcakes before! xT
The cake was good but not my favorite. It was very dense and almost a bread-like consistency. I wondered if I did something wrong. The frosting was delicious!!
Hey Megan! Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate it! xT
Can I halve the recipe and then put into 2 6” pans?
Hi Lindi! I’m so sorry, I haven’t ever tried that before so I can’t say for sure! xT
I only have one cake tin, Is the cake batter ok sitting out while each layer is cooking or what would you suggest? Thank you
Hi Hope! Yes, that batter should be okay while you rotate pans! If it’s out for awhile I would maybe recommend refrigerating it and then letting it come to room temp before baking the second layer! xT
Possible to make this without the fresh/frozen raspberries and with just the raspberry jam/preserves?
Hi! I haven’t ever tried that before so I’m not sure! xT
Hi can I use strawberries instead of raspberries? I’m not really a fan of raspberries.
Hi there! I haven’t ever tried that before but I think that should work well! xT
What is the best way to store the layers of cake so you can assemble the next day? Thanks!
I would store in the fridge or store them covered at room temp!
This cake was phenomenallll! I bake a lot for a group that I hang out with often and they also loved it. One of them said it was their favorite I’ve ever made. I also received the best compliment of my life, another lady said it reminded her of something her grandmother would make. 10/10 thank you for sharing your recipes
Thank you so much Alysia! xT
In the middle of making this gorgeous cake and am wondering if I’ve done something wrong with the frosting? Maybe I whipped the 3 sticks of Kerry gold butter (24 oz) and powder sugar too much and it’s like a whipped cream now? Putting it in the fridge and letting it set a bit but it also tastes too buttery/ salty maybe? Should I leave it alone because maybe it balances the rest of the flavors? Maybe it’ll be better when the jam is incorporated? Help!
Hi! So sorry I’m just now getting to this comment! Did the frosting turn out okay for you? xT
Sigh…. The cake itself was absolutely fabulous. My new favorite! The frosting just tasted like straight butter. I had to scrape it off and toss it. Could I have whipped it too much? You’re sure it’s 3 Kerry Gold bars of salted butter?
I’m about to make this so looked up the weight of a stick of butter and the answer I found gave it to be 4 oz so unless you also doubled everything else, it could be you had too much butter?
You have to be correct. Somewhere someone else asked a question about the butter too- the item linked is Kerry Gold which comes in an 8oz block and she said 3 of those. There must have been a disconnect. 3 trad
Love to hear that Morgan! Thank you! xT
I think 3 sticks of butter is 3/4 of a pound of butter ? 24 oz sounds like a lot. Although I’ve always believed more butter makes it better