This white cake with strawberries and mascarpone frosting is THE cake of the summer. It's light & fluffy with the classic strawberries and cream flavor. I scaled my go-to fluffy white cake recipe down to make a cute little two layer 6 inch cake that's perfect for a small group. This might be the easiest layer cake you could ever make - in less than an hour, you can make the cake layers; for the filling, all you need to do is slice up some fresh strawberries; and for the frosting, all you need are 3 ingredients and less than a minute to whip it up (literally). This cake would be perfect for a bbq party, Fourth of July, or just about any sunny summer afternoon!
Ingredients
- Cake Flour: Cake flour will make this cake perfectly soft, but if you're in a pinch you can use all-purpose flour.
- Granulated Sugar: You'll need a little less than 1 cup of sugar for the cake and some for the frosting.
- Baking Powder: You'll need 2 teaspoon of baking powder for the cake.
- Unsalted Butter: Be sure your butter is room temp, not too cold but not too soft. I like to take a stick of butter straight from the fridge and microwave it for 10 seconds to bring it the perfect temperature.
- Oil: Use any neutral oil, such as vegetable, canola, or light tasting olive oil for the cake.
- Milk: Use whole milk for the best flavor.
- Yogurt: Use whole milk greek yogurt for the best flavor and texture.
- Eggs: You'll need two about egg whites whipped to stiff peaks.
- Heavy Cream: You'll need about 1 ½ cups of heavy cream for the frosting.
- Mascarpone: Mascarpone is what transforms normal whip cream into a super stable whip cream that is strong enough to use for decorating cakes!
- Fresh Strawberries: You'll need about 8oz of strawberries or really as much as you would like for decorating this cake.
FAQ
There are five different methods that ultimately contribute to creating a soft, fluffy, and moist white cake:
1. cake flour
2. a combination of butter and oil
3. a combination of milk and yogurt
4. the reverse creaming method
5. folding beaten egg whites into the batter
The reverse creaming method is the process of beating room temperature butter into the dry ingredients. The fat coats the flour and inhibits the gluten from developing. With this method, the cake is sure to bake up flat without becoming too golden around the edges or on top. In contrast, the creaming method involves beating the sugar and butter together, which adds a lot of extra air into the batter. This is a great method for other bakes, but not with a white cake. With the reverse creaming method, the cake will bake up with an ultra fine, velvety crumb.
Cakes may dome in the middle when they bake because the outside bakes faster than the center, so the center has more time to rise. This is not ideal for layer cakes, because it is a pain to have to trim away the top of the cake. The reverse creaming method helps with baking perfectly flat cake layers. But the best way to ensure your cake layers bake up flat rather than doming is to use cake strips. Soak the cake strips in cold water before wrapping around the outside of the cake pans. This will ensure that the outside of the cake does not bake faster than the center.
Other summer recipes you'll love
- Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Strawberry Galette with an Oat Crumble Topping
- Piña Colada Cake with Coconut Swiss Meringue Buttercream
A few extra baking tips
- Read my tips above for how to bake perfectly flat cake layers!
- If you'd like, you can make the cake layers the day before serving. Either freeze the cake layers overnight or keep them at room temperature. Make the frosting closer to when you will serve it.
- Store leftover cake slices in the fridge.
Happy baking! x
📖 Recipe
White Cake with Strawberries and Mascarpone Frosting
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 2 layer 6 inch cake 1x
- Category: cake
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This white cake with strawberries and mascarpone frosting is THE cake of the summer. It's light & fluffy with the classic strawberries and cream flavor.
Ingredients
For the White Cake:
- 180g cake flour
- 168g granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 76g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 64g neutral oil
- 113g whole milk
- 113g yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 egg whites (whipped)
For the Mascarpone Frosting:
- 360g heavy cream (cold)
- 340g mascarpone (cold)
- 150g granulated sugar
For Decorating:
- 8oz fresh strawberries
- raw cane sugar
Instructions
For the White Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (180 degrees F). Grease and line two 6 inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Cut up the butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until it resembles wet sand.
- Add the oil, milk, yogurt, and vanilla, and mix until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold it into the batter with a rubber spatula until just combined.
- Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake for 26-28 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool completely before frosting.
For the Mascarpone Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream, mascarpone, and sugar.
- Whisk on low speed until combined, then turn up to medium high speed until thick (only about 30 seconds).
For Assembly:
- Spread a thin layer of frosting on the first cake layer, then pipe a wall of frosting around the edge.
- Add 1-2 layers of sliced strawberries.
- Pipe another wall of frosting around the edge and add another layer of strawberries.
- Top with the second cake layer and spread a thin layer of frosting all around for the crumb coat. Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- Take the cake out of the fridge and decorate as desired. To achieve the same petal top design as in the photos, place the remaining frosting in a piping bag fitted with a medium round piping tip (I used Ateco 807). Start at the edge and layer them as you move inward. Add a halved strawberry in the center and sprinkle with raw cane sugar.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 592
- Sugar: 37.1 g
- Sodium: 109.4 mg
- Fat: 40.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 52.2 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 101.2 mg
Keywords: white cake with strawberries, mascarpone frosting, summer cake recipe, fluffy white cake recipe
Alaina says
The cake is very light and moist but not very flavorful.
★★★
Alyssa says
This cake was delicious. It was very light and moist and paired with the mascarpone frosting very well.
★★★★★
Anne says
This cake was delicious! It was very moist and the flavour paired perfectly with the mascarpone icing and the strawberries. It was a huge hit with the family! This recipe is definitely a keeper.
★★★★★
Julia says
As a beginner baker, this recipe was fun to try out. It was simple but delicious with the mascarpone pairing well with the strawberries. My family even said it was their favorite out of previous cakes I've make! I'd definitely make it again.
★★★★★
Almudena says
Really good combination of flavors. Light, fluffy and easy to make. Everybody loved the texture of the cake. I'll do it again!
★★★★★
Jade says
This gorgeous cake is so delish! It's light, refreshing and not too sweet so it's perfect on these hot summer days. My family loved it.
★★★★★