This Italian Berry cake is a delicious vanilla cake with mascarpone frosting and fresh berries. It is easy to make and perfect for Summer.

About this Italian Cake with Fruit

This Italian cake with mascarpone filling is almost as easy as making a trifle and any imperfections in the cake can easily be covered up when assembling. This cake is an Italian sponge cake that is layered with more creamy goodness from the mascarpone and then adorned with fresh berries.

This Italian berry cake is a great recipe to have on hand when you want to quickly throw together a delicious layer cake but want it to look like it took a long time.

It is perfect for any occasion.

The ingredients

All Purpose Flour: The base of the cake.
Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the cake.
Honey: Honey lightly sweetens the mascarpone frosting.
Mascarpone cream (you can find this in the refrigerated specialty cheese section of your grocery store).
Fresh berries: A mix of in-season fresh berries.
Sour Cream: the sour cream is added to the mascarpone frosting for a little extra zing.
Eggs: Large eggs work best.
Vanilla: The vanilla adds flavor to the cake and frosting.
Baking powder: This gives lift to the Italian cake.
Salt: I prefer to use kosher salt.

Variations

While this is an Italian berry cake, you can also substitute any fresh seasonal fruit that is soft and requires no cooking. Figs make a great fruit that would look beautiful.

Just slice the figs into slices for the middle and leave them whole for the top!

For this Italian cake recipe, I used a mix of summer berries but you could also make this with just one type of berry. It is fully customizable!

How to make this Italian berry cake with mascarpone filling

Here are the basics to making this cake. The full recipe is below:

You sift all your dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Add your wet ingredients and mix well with a hand or stand mixer.
Pour your batter into 2 prepared baking pans.
Bake.
Cool.
Decorate. Add the mascarpone and fresh berries.

Making the Mascarpone Filling

The mascarpone filling (frosting) is actually more of a cream layer than a frosting and is so easy to make. You are just taking room-temperature mascarpone cheese and sour cream then adding vanilla and honey to it and whipping it until it is light and airy.

This mascarpone frosting is sandwiched in between and on top of this Italian layer cake and it is very light and not too sweet. It makes the perfect partner for the berries.

Storing And Making Ahead Of Time

I like to store this cake at room temperature under a cake dome on the day I am serving it so it stays nice and creamy. After that, it is best to refrigerate it since it has cream in the frosting. It will last for up to 3 days in the fridge.

If you want to make this ahead of time, I suggest making the cake and frosting separately and storing the cake layers between parchment paper and leaving on the counter covered. The frosting can be stored in the fridge.

Assemble right before serving.

For more easy dessert ideas

Italian berry cake on a cake stand on a blue table

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Italian Berry Cake with Mascarpone

This Italian Berry cake is a delicious vanilla cake with mascarpone frosting and fresh berries. It is easy to make and perfect for Summer.

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

rest and decorating30

Total Time1 5

Servings: cake

US Customary - Metric

Author: Melissa Oleary

Equipment

9 inch round cake pans

Ingredients

Cake

1 ⅓ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 ⅓ cups all purpose flour
1 ⅓ cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt

Cream Filling and Decorating

16 oz fresh berries I use a mix of blackberries, strawberries and raspberries
16 ounces mascarpone at room temperature
½ cup fresh preserves raspberry or mixed berry preserves works great!
½ cup honey or more to taste if your like your cream more sweet
8 ounces sour cream at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees.
Prepare 2, 9 inch round cake pans by greasing them and then dusting them with some flour and set aside.
Now, sift all of your dry ingredients for your cake mix into a large bowl.
1 ⅓ cups all purpose flour, 1 ⅓ cups sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
Next add your eggs, vanilla and butter and mix with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute. Your batter should be thick but not too thick to spread in the cake pans.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 large eggs, 1 ⅓ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
Now divide your batter into the 2 cake pans evenly. If it is not spreading easily, grease the back of a large spoon and use that to spread the batter around on the cake pan to reach the edges
Place into the oven for 25-30 minutes until the cake is golden on top and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
When done, place on cooling racks for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, run a knife along the edges of the cake to make sure it is not sticking to the side and then turn the cakes upside down onto the cooling rack and give a few good taps to the bottom of the cake pans to loosen them from the pan. They should pop out easily after doing this! If they do not, keep giving the bottom of the pans a few more good taps until they do.
Let sit until completely cooled, about 30 minutes.

Cream Filling

In a medium bowl, add your mascarpone, sour cream, honey and vanilla and mix on medium speed with a hand mixer until it is smooth and creamy.
16 ounces mascarpone at room temperature, 8 ounces sour cream at room temperature, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, ½ cup honey

Assembling

Take one of your cakes and place it on a plate. Now add a few spoonfuls of your preserves and spread it all around on the cake in a thin layer.
½ cup fresh preserves
Next take ½ of your mascarpone cream and spread that over top of the preserves. Next, add ½ of your fresh berries evenly over the cream.
16 oz fresh berries
Add your next cake over the top of this and gently press it into place.
Repeat the steps above with the preserves, cream and berries. optional: dust the top with powdered sugar before serving
Enjoy!

Nutrition