A few months ago, my friend Rachel’s babysitter, Maria, made a cake for Rachel’s birthday. I couldn’t stay for the whole party, so Rachel sent me home with a generous amount of cake (that’s a good friend, eh?). The cake was white, the frosting was white…I knew it would be good, but I wasn’t that excited since there was no chocolate involved. Then we ate the cake. Oh. My. Goodness. It was wonderful, and the frosting was amazing…and completely mysterious. We couldn’t quite figure out what it was made of. As soon as we finished our cake, I emailed Rachel asking her to beg Maria for the recipe.
Thankfully Maria likes to share. Below is the recipe for the most wonderful White Chocolate Raspberry Cake this side of anywhere. I hope you love it as much as I do. (Sorry, no picture of a cut slice…we had friends over that night to enjoy this cake with us and the whole thing was gone by the end of the evening, no joke!)
P.S. – I will have a follow-up cake recipe tomorrow. You won’t want to miss that one either.
- 3 oz White chocolate; chopped
- ¾ cup Milk; divided
- 1¾ cup All-purpose flour
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ⅓ cup Butter; at room temperature
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon Raspberry Extract
- 4 Eggs
- White Chocolate and Cream Cheese Frosting {Recipe Follows}
- ⅛ tsp Red Food Color
- 1 cup Raspberries
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8- or 9-inch round baking pans.
- Melt white chocolate with about half of the milk in a small, heavy saucepan over very low heat, stirring constantly until chocolate starts to melt. Remove from heat; stir until smooth. Stir in remaining milk. Let cool.
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; set aside. In large mixing bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until soft and smooth. Add sugar and raspberry extract; beat well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until well-combined. Alternately add flour mixture and white chocolate mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.
- Jane Note: Several people have commented that their cake did not rise when using this recipe. This recipe has worked for me and for the woman who gave me the recipe, as well as for other commenters. Cakes are sensitive in terms of the mixing process and, when not mixed properly, can collapse when cooking. Butter and sugar should be well mixed, eggs semi-mixed, and flour barely mixed at all. I would recommend the following technique when mixing in the ingredients in the above paragraph. Beat the butter for 30 seconds alone on medium-high speed. Add sugar, ¼ cup at a time, beating for 3 minutes between each addition, at medium-high speed. Add eggs one at a time, beating at medium speed for 30 seconds after each egg. When adding the flour and chocolate mixtures (alternating as directed), beat on low speed and mix until just combined. Beat for 10-20 seconds at medium-high speed at the end for one final mix. Following this technique should increase the chances that your cake will NOT collapse in the oven.
- Spread batter in pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until cake tests done. Let cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and let cool completely.
- Stir food color into ⅔ cup of the frosting until well blended (I actually didn't do this part...I just kept all the icing white, mostly because I didn't read the recipe carefully 😉 ). Place 1 cake layer on serving plate. Spread with the tinted frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and side of cake with remaining frosting. Top with raspberries just before serving. Store cake in the refrigerator.
- 6 oz white chocolate (melt as directed on package, then cool 5 mins)
- 8 oz cream cheese
- ¼ cup butter (softened)
- 2 tsp raspberry extract (I'm thinking of leaving this out sometime to use with other cakes/rolls/etc)
- 2 cup confectioners sugar
- Beat cream cheese and buter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium (I used my KitchenAid) until well blended. Add cooled white chocolate and raspberry extract. Mix well. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy (I let the KitchenAid go for several minutes and the frosting truly got light and fluffy).
Hi! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and count on you to share yours! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!
Wow that sounds heavenly. Oh man what am I going to do? I don’t have raspberry extract OR white chocolate!
Are you leaving out an ingrediant? we have tried to make this cake 3x and it does not rise.
Theresa – I went back to double check the original recipe that was given to me by Maria and what I have typed here is correct. This is exactly what she and I did and it came out for us. And other people have commented how the recipe worked for them as well, so not exactly sure what is happening for you. You’re using baking powder and not soda, correct? Are you at a significantly different elevation than sea level? Just trying to think of reasons why it may not be coming out for you…
you’re going to get yourself to the grocery store pronto, amanda! 😉
Yes! I just checked the cupboard and I have raspberry extract! I’m pretty sure I’ll be making this tomorrow. Thanks!
Beautiful cake. I have a bunch of white chocolate right now, so perfect timing too!
that sounds really amazing, I might have to make that soon! I wish there were more people in my house to help eat it!
This looks and sounds amazing! I love that cake stand 😀
This cake is lovely! I’m bookmarking this recipe for sure. Tell your friend that I thank her for sharing the recipe.
makes you want to sink a finger!: DD
Oh yum – I love cream cheese frostings. I’ve never heard of raspberry extract before, though. I’ll have to search it out!
Also, what a lovely cake stand – where did you get it?
Raspberry!!! Love it so much:)
This is my biggest temptation.I like to eat the cake very much.
raspberry season is only a few months away!!!
mmmmmmmmhmmmm
wow! I’m so excited to try this cake!!
I got my cake stand from Cambria Cove…and right now they’re on super sale!!! http://www.cambriacove.com/catalog/search.cmd?form_state=searchForm&keyword=milk+glass&search=Search&omniPageName=Entertaining:Entertaining:Serveware&search.x=0&search.y=0&search=Search
mine is the large. it’s really tall. but I love it.
Fresh fruit and a creamy, rich frosting. It doesn’t get any better than this. I’m going to have to hunt down some raspberry extract now.
This cake looks amazing! I love the simple raspberry decoration on top. I now know what I’m going to use that white chocolate in my pantry for!
It looks really lovely and sweet. 🙂 Yummy!
Ingredients going on the grocery list for next week! It’s been far too long since we’ve had cake for dessert. YUMMMMM!
Looks fantastic, can’t wait to try!
I made this tonight and it was very good. I did, however, have to add extra powdered sugar as it was a bit too soft without it. Definitely make sure you wait the 5 minutes to let the chocolate cool.
This cake is great I made it and i invivited all my neighbors. Hey and post more cakes i want to make all of them known……. 🙂
Hello there…just found your delicious blog while searching for the ‘perfect’ birthday cake for a dinner tomorrow. Am super excited to give it a try. It’s beautiful!
What an amazing recipe! Unfortunately I couldn’t find raspberry extract so I used lemon extract instead and put a layer of seedless raspberry jam between the two tiers of the cake.
I’ve just made this into 2 4 inch cakes and a batch of 12 small cupcakes, nowhere in my whole town sells raspberry extract so instead I used a bit of vanilla extract and stewed some raspberries and put The juice in…. I haven’t tasted them yet so I can’t comment on how that went! I’m planning on doing the same for the frosting… x
you are so culinarily creative! you need to comment once you’ve tasted them and let us know how it came out! 🙂
I just tried this today! It was great! The frosting is amazing!!
awesome – so glad you liked it!
I tried to make this as a vegan version – I used vegetable oil as an egg replacer (as followed by other online references), vegan margarine instead of butter, and almond milk instead of cow milk. I also went to two different grocery stores and neither had raspberry extract, so I used crushed raspberries and their juices at approximately the same amount as was called for the extract.
It tastes great but doesn’t rise, is of a very thick consistency, and didn’t really mix very well – the oils of the butter, oil, and chocolate seemed to separate so when it came out it was sitting in a pool of oily stuff.
Now, oil is usually a fine replacement for eggs and I know that almond milk and margarine wouldn’t have made a difference. Do you think that it was the raspberry juice that messed it up, or perhaps the oil didn’t mix well with the chocolate?
I’m thinking of trying it again as cupcakes tonight with applesauce as an egg replacement and instead of putting raspberry juices in the batter, just putting a little raspberry jam filling in the middle of them. Do you think this would work better? Any suggestions?
the only thing I can think is it must have been the oil. I don’t think the raspberry juice could have made that much of a difference. it must have been an issue with the chocolate and oils mixing properly – especially since it’s substituting for four eggs, which is quite a bit.
for egg substitute – have you ever tried using ground flaxseed? seems like that might be better texture-wise and I hear it works great as an egg substitute in the right recipes.
raspberry jam filling would be yummy! but if you really want the raspberry flavor in the cake, I truly think that the raspberry juice didn’t have any impact on the texture of your cake.
of course – I’m only guessing on all of this since I’ve never done any of the above! but those are my thoughts, and brainstorming is always a good thing, right? 🙂
Thanks, Jane! I think you must be right about that. I have used ground flaxseed before.. perhaps I’ll try that again for this recipe.
Just an update on my second attempt of the cake:
I used ground flaxseed and water instead of eggs and I found raspberry candy flavouring that I used instead of extract. I made the batter into cupcakes, half of which I put a raspberry jam filling in the middle. They turned out beautifully! Fluffy, moist, and delicious!
yay!!!!!!! that makes me happy! 🙂
I found a different recipe for a white chocolate cake and it looks very similar to yours. Please look at it and tell me what you think.
http://www.mccormick.com/recipes/desserts/raspberry-white-chocolate-cake.aspx
I too made the cake & it didn’t rise!! I took “all purpose flour” to mean plain – did you mean self-raising?!
Please explain urgently the quantities.
how much in either ounces or kilsgramms is 1 3/4 cup self rasing flour???
How much is 1/3 cup butter.
Assume 1 cup granulated sugar is 5 ozs.??
Help from the U.K. needed badly.
Want to make this as a birthday cake tonight?????????
xxx
Hi Liz!
1/3 cup butter = 2.67 ounces = 75 grams
As for the flour and sugar, here are two different conversions that are pretty close to one another…
These are based on this table: http://uktv.co.uk/food/stepbystep/aid/574225
– 1 3/4 cup flour = 201.25 g (I think 200 is probably close enough!) = 8 oz
– 1 cup granulated sugar = 225 g = 9 oz.
And these are based on this table: http://www.deliaonline.com/home/conversion-tables.html
– 1 3/4 cup flour = 262.5 g = 8.75 oz
– 1 cup granulated sugar = 225 g = 8 oz
good luck!!! let us know how the cake turns out! 🙂
Hi Jane, was that 350 degrees for a fan forced oven?
jacqui – I thought I replied to this comment – so sorry! that is for a standard oven, so probably lower temp by about 25 degrees for the fan forced ovens would be good.
My cake did not rise either. I made sure I used only fresh, quality ingredients as I wanted this to be for a special dinner. I double checked and made sure all of the ingredients had been used- in the proper amounts. How disappointing!
I am so sorry, mary! I honestly don’t know what to say. it’s a friend’s recipe and it always worked for me and for her. I really am just so sorry it didn’t come out for you!
I just found this GREAT article about why homemade cakes often don’t rise. I am going to memorize each of these things for myself, too!
http://www.bhg.com/advice/food/baking/flat-cakes/
for those of you who have had trouble with the cake not rising/collapsing, I have added more detailed instructions regarding the mixing process. this should increase the chances of success!
I just used this recipe and mine rose beautifully. Thank you for sharing your friends genius!
you’re welcome! and so happy it rose just fine for you – yay!
I made this last year for my step-daughter’s birthday and it was a big hit thanks! I am planning on making it again tomorrow for part of my son’s birthday cake but can’t remember if I made it in 2 pans last time, or as one larger cake.
Would this work as one higher cake in a 20cm pan? It would be much easier to cut and shape if it was only the one layer.
I’m so glad it was a hit!
now, I’ve only ever done two pans…but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work in one pan. I feel like cake batters are always so versatile in terms of the cake pan size, etc. If I were doing one pan, I would just make sure that pan was wider as well as taller.
if you try the one pan, let me know how it goes! sorry I don’t have a more firm answer for you!
Thank you for your quick response Jane 🙂
I made it today using a 9inch springform pan instead of 2 pans and it turned out well. It took about 1hr 15mins to cook but seems to have come out ok. We won’t be eating it until tomorrow but I’m sure it will taste as good as it smells 😉
oh good!
you inspired me to make the cake myself, so I ended up making it yesterday, too! I’m so glad you commented! 😉
I used one 9 inch pan twice. It just took a bit longer
This cake was absolutely lovely. I made it for my daughter in law to take to the hospital to congratulate her on the birth of my 11lb 9 oz grandson.She shared it among the staff at the hospital, and my son of course and they all thought it was great. So thank you for the recipe.
I couldnt get raspberry extract so made some juice in the juicer from fresh raspberries. That seemed to work fine. I used self raising flour, and used the baking powder, and the cake rose well.I wrote “Well done” in raspberries on the top. I put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes before I left for the hospital as it was a hot day and I didnt want the frosting to melt.
sue, I am so happy the cake was lovely for you! and that is so sweet what you made the cake for!
congratulations! and good job to your daughter in law on having an 11 lb 9 oz baby – my goodness! 🙂
Hi
What a brilliant cake !! A bride sent me this way as she swera by it !! I’m now using this for her wedding cake. I have one question though, does the cream cheese frosting have to be refidgerated constantly?
Many thanks
hi sharon!
I hope this goes well for her wedding cake – how special! 🙂
it will be like any cream cheese frosting – since it contains the cream cheese, it should be stored long-term in the fridge, but it should be fine for the day I would imagine. I would maybe do a quick google search about wedding cakes and cream cheese or call another baker to get their opinion!
good luck!
Just made this, oh wow!!!! Had no way to get raspberry extract quickly enough to satisfy the cravings once I saw this recipe, so I reduced a little over a half cup of raspberry preserves and split it between the cake batter and icing as a substitute. Although I worried it might mess up the chemistry, it was perfect. Great raspberry balance to the white chocolate, and added a subtle texture and color to the cake and icing (I too omitted the food coloring).
Yay! I am so happy you loved the cake as much as I do! And I am especially delighted the raspberry extract substitution worked well, that is fantastic! Thank you for your comment!
this was great I made it for my friend who is ill in hospital absolutely loved it I had a peace myself it is gorgeous . she said to me definitely better than hospital food
thank you for the recipe great sucsess rised fine aswell