Marscapone-Filled Cake. With Berries.

So I finally got back to baking the other day and made some cake.

It was for Mother’s Day…(yes, that means it has taken me thislong to post about it)

And it was pretty much the most amazing cake. Perfect for summer, nice and light. And, NO FROSTING. So getting the cake dressed was a breeze.

You make two vanilla cakes (the recipe says make one and cut it in half, but ain’t nobody got time for that.) And then you whip up a quick but veryveryvery delicious marscapone filling, top with some fresh fruit, and call it a day.

In the recipe (which is out of my epicurious cookbook), it calls for 8 oz marscapone, but I find that most grocery stores only carry it in an 8.6 oz size. And since I have limited use for 0.6 oz of marscapone, and since ain’t nobody got time to measure, I just used it all. I also accidentally added extra sugar to the filling (as in 1 cup instead of 1/4), but it just made the filling extra yum. Things like this happen when you’re trying to wrangle a baby (my niece) who is obsessed with the Kitchenaid mixer and determined to put her fingers into the spinning beaters…

This is one of my favorite things that I have made lately. I could seriously eat this all summer long. Plus, it got rave reviews all around the Sunday dinner table – which is no easy feat.

Marscapone-Filled Cake with Fresh Berries

• 2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking power
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon plus more to taste vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk (or use this easy substitution)

For the filling:

• 8 ounces marscapone cheese
• 1 cup chilled heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sugar

For the berries:

• Mix of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries, cut if large
• 2 tablespoons sugar

The cake is the hardest part of the recipe. Preheat the oven to 350F. Beat together the butter and sugar until creamy, then mix in the vanilla and add the eggs one at a time. Add the buttermilk and mix until smooth. Combine all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, and add to the wet ingredients in batches, until just combine. DO NOT OVERMIX. This will bring out the gluten in the flour and make your cake tough.

When the batter is ready, butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Place a parchment paper circle in the bottom of each pan, and then butter/flour this for good measure. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, and tap on the counter once or twice to bring any air bubbles to the surface. (Alternatively, make one cake and slice it in half. #lamesauce on that.)

Bake the cakes for about 25-30 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched and a toothpick passes the center test. DO NOT put your cakes on separate shelves. Either bake them one at a time, or side by side. Using two shelves in the oven prevents the air from circulating evenly. Cool in the pan for about 5-10 minutes, and run a knife along the cake edge to loosen. Flip the partially cooled cakes onto a plate, remove the parchment, and then flip back right side up to finish cooling on a rack.

In the meantime, mix the sliced berries with one to two spoonfuls granulated sugar. Refridgerate the berries until you need them.

Last, whip together the marscapone, cream, and sugar until stiff peaks form. This takes about 5 minutes. For best results, I recommend refridgerating your bowl and wisk beforehand.

When the cake has cooled, you are ready to assemble. Place one cake as the bottom later, then a generous layer of marscapone, then the second cake. I topped mine with the remaining marscapone, although you could skip this if desired.

If you have patience (which we all know I don’t have), you can artfully arrange the berries on top of the cake. Meh. I like to spoon mine over the slices as it is being served.

Enjoy!

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