White Chocolate Cran-Raspberry Cake
Over the past few years I have started to love making layer cakes. As I’ve said many times before, I’m not the best at decorating them, but practice makes perfect, right?
Sometimes I feel like you need a special occasion to make a layer cake. It’s usually a decent time commitment and you get a LOT of cake. Hubby and I can’t work our way through a whole layer cake, nor should we. I have done some 6″ cakes that yield fewer servings and still give the satisfaction of making a layer cake.
Recently, I threw caution to the wind and made this layer cake just because. I was browsing through some cookbooks to pass the time and for whatever reason this recipe caught my eye. It was a Friday night (I lead an exciting life, what can I say), so I decided to whip up the cake layers and filling that night and assemble the cake the next day.
Let’s start with this filling. I was surprised to learn that it used dried cranberries. I have never seen a jam/filling recipe that uses dried fruit before. Sure you could just buy some high quality jam at the store instead, but making jam is too easy of a step to skimp on in my mind. I mean hey, if you’re committed to making a layer cake, why would you buy the jam.
Anyways, the dried cranberries plump up from the juices of the raspberries and it all comes together quite nicely. I really enjoyed that the jam was cooked with a vanilla bean. Vanilla is one of my favorite flavors. I did have some leftover after assembling this cake and it was delicious on toast as well. I am tempted to make it again just to have some tasty jam in the fridge. You really could make this jam any time of the year using frozen raspberries and dried cranberries.
The cake layers themselves are a pretty standard buttermilk cake recipe. The cake flour gives them a very tender crumb.
And finally, the frosting. White chocolate is a great way to flavor a frosting so that it’s not too sweet. I think I like the White Chocolate Buttercream from my Purple Ombre Cake better than this one, but both are good.
I made this a full-sized cake and forced our friends to help us eat it. I don’t think they were complaining at my insistence.
One Year Ago: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip and Bacon Blondies and Deviled Eggs
Two Years Ago: Hubby’s 30th Birthday Mustache Bash and Crockpot Pulled Chicken
Three Years Ago: Sesame Crisps
Four Years Ago: Crockpot Beef and Peppers
I am submitting this for this month’s What’s Baking, hosted by Steph of Brownies and Blondies. This month’s theme was to make a convenience food from scratch. I know a lot of people buy jams or other fillings for the cakes, but I always prefer to make them from scratch!
White Chocolate, Cranberry, Raspberry Layer Cake
This buttermilk sponge cake with cranberry-raspberry preserves and white chocolate frosting is perfect any time of year because it uses frozen raspberries and dried cranberries
Yield: Serves 12-15
Ingredients:
For the Cake
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
9 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup + 2 Tbsp buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 Tbsp vanilla
For the Cranberry-Raspberry Preserves
3 cups fresh raspberries or 12 oz frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed completely, with juices reserved
1 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed
2 tsp grated orange zest
1 one-inch piece of vanilla bean
For the White Chocolate Frosting
3 oz white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3 egg whites
3 sticks (12 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Directions:
For the Cake
Preheat oven to 350F. Line the bottom of three ungreased 9-inch round cake pans with parchment. Do not grease.
Sift together the flour, 1 cup of the sugar, and the baking soda. Set aside.
In a large clean mixer bowl, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until frothy with an electric mixer on high speed. Slowly add the remaining 1 cup of sugar and continue whipping until soft peaks form.
In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla until well blended. Spoon one-fourth of the whipped egg whites on top of the buttermilk mixture, then sift a third of the dry ingredients on top.
Fold gently until just a few streaks remain. Repeat two more times, then add the remaining egg whites and fold in gently. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared cake pans.
Bake for 20-22 minutes, until a cake tester or wooden toothpick stuck into the center of each layer comes out clean.
Transfer to wire racks and let the cakes cool completely in their pans, at least 1 hour, before turning out. Run a blunt knife around the rim of the pan. Carefully peel off parchment.
For the Cranberry-Raspberry Preserves
Place all ingredients except vanilla bean into a heave non-reactive pan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise without cutting all the way through. With the tip of a small knife, scrape the vanilla seeds into the saucepan. Toss in bean pod as well.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat slightly and continue to boil until preserves visibly thickens, 15-20 minutes.
Remove and discard vanilla bean pod. Let the preserves cool completely, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use. They will keep well for up to 2 weeks. (You will have ~1/2 cup more than necessary for the cake).
For the White Chocolate Frosting
Melt the white chocolate in a microwave oven on low power for 20-30 seconds, until the chocolate is soft and shiny. It will not look melted until your stir it. Set it aside to cool so it doesn't melt the butter.
In a small heavy saucepan, combine the sugar and water to make a thick paste. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to cook over med-low heat without stirring, until the syrup reaches 238F on a candy thermometer.
Put the egg whites into a large mixer bowl, set the mixer to medium speed and beat for ~30 seconds. Gradually pour in the sugar syrup in a thin stream. Raise the mixer speed to med-high and whipe until the meringue has cooled to body temperature. This will take several minutes.
Gradually beat in the butter a few tablespoons at a time. Add the melted white chocolate and beat until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
To Assemble the Cake
Put on layer, flat side up, onto a cake stand or serving plate.
Spread 3/4 cup of preserves over the cake, leaving a 1/4 inch margin around the edges. Top with the second layer. Cover with another 3/4 cup of preserves. Finally, put the third layer in place and frost the sides and top of the cake with the frosting.
Recipe from Sky High by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
This looks amazing, Jen. I think both my husband and I are slowly becoming more lactose intolerant as we get older. Goat milk ice cream may be something we’ll try soon. Can’t wait to see what other non-dairy ice creams you come up with!
beantownbaker — June 19th, 2013 @ 10:23 am
Thanks! Like I said, coconut milk has been my go-to so far, but it’s definitely fun to try new milk varieties.
Looks incredible, I need to find a local goat milk supplier…
beantownbaker — June 19th, 2013 @ 10:24 am
Yea, I definitely want to find someone local to get my goat milk from. For now, I’m just happy that I can find it at all. Even back in Boston, it wasn’t on the shelf at my grocery store.
This looks amazing and I love that you used goat milk..so interesting!
i had to give up gluten a few months ago and just realized a few weeks ago that i also must give up dairy. i am not sure if it is lactose or casein that i am intolerant of, but i love that you are doing stuff that i may be able to eat someday! (also, we bathe Olive is goat’s milk. it’s great for her eczema!).
beantownbaker — June 20th, 2013 @ 6:58 am
Going dairy free isn’t too bad honestly.
Oh wow, bathing in goats milk sounds so luxurious!
Oh wow, this looks so perfect! I’d love to try this soon 🙂
Sounds delicious, I’ve not thought about using goats milk in ice cream before but would love to try it!
beantownbaker — June 24th, 2013 @ 8:24 pm
You should definitely try it!
Thank you so much for posting this!! I gave up cow dairy in the winter (makes me break out) and have been glaring at my ice cream maker, because sorbets are just not the same and coconut ice cream is good, but so coconutty! I’ve been wondering if I could make ice cream with goat’s milk and now I know I can! The canister just went into the freezer 🙂
beantownbaker — June 24th, 2013 @ 8:23 pm
Nice – glad I could help. I don’t find coconut milk very coconuty… I assume you drink goat’s milk so you’re familiar with the flavor? It definitely has a distinct taste.
Goat milk?? I bet it goes fantastic with chocolate. I love this combination, I can’t wait to try it, yum!!
In the ingredients, you say condensed goat milk, but the directions say heavy cream. Which did you mean? Really excited to try out this recipe!
beantownbaker — July 22nd, 2013 @ 1:14 pm
Sorry about that. I used condensed goat milk, not heavy cream. I’m updating the recipe now.
Hello,
I want to place an order from you to our store in The Netherlands.I want to know if you can ship here and accept credit card as a form of payment.
Reply back asap
Thanks
beantownbaker — September 4th, 2013 @ 9:27 am
I don’t sell anything.
My wife and I raise a couple of dairy breed goats for home milk use. I don’t find that the milk tastes goaty, it’s actually richer and better tasting than cows milk in my opinion. Although before we discovered that we should pasteurize the milk asap after filtering, we did notice a musky kind of taste…… but with pasteurization started within a minute or two after milking, our milk is just as good or better than the flavor of cows milk. I just ordered an icecream maker. We will definitely use this recipe. Thanks for posting it.
beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:15 pm
Fresh goat milk is not something I have tried. I would love to get my hands on some though!
I’m looking forward to trying this! We got hooked on Laloo’s goat milk ice cream several years ago, but it’s been increasingly difficult to find, and very expensive ($7.79 a pint as of 2 days ago). It would be great if I could find a homemade alternative.
beantownbaker — January 2nd, 2014 @ 1:36 pm
I agree – Laloo’s is good, but quite expensive. Let me know what you think of this recipe if you try it out.
GOOD NEWS!! Laloos is filling the pipeline and more flavors are coming soon to you your local Whole Foods store.
I have dairy goats so will toss in my 2 cents worth 😉 Not all goat milk is the same!!! If you like the goaty taste, go ahead and buy your milk at the store. Personally I find the goaty taste vile and disgusting! So for those who want to try goat milk but don’t like that nasty goaty taste, you want raw milk, and the breeds vary in taste a lot. Nigerian Dwarf goats have the highest butterfat and do not have the goaty taste. Their milk is really good! Nubians are second best. It would be worth your while to find a local source of nice raw milk from either of those breeds. Healthier too, as raw milk has all the nutrients nature intended.
With rare exceptions – goat’s milk should not taste goaty. I can’t comment about grocery store milk, but would urge you and your readers to look for direct-from-the-farm sources. There are a few goats with funny tasting milk – and those work great for making blue cheese! If a goat is healthy, has a good diet with the right balance of vitamins and minerals (very important!), and the milk is handled in a clean manner with quick cooling, it should have a rather sweet taste. I have Nubians and like Cindy above, appreciate the high butterfat. If you’re looking for a milk source – try realmilk.com. There’s also tips there for buying safe milk.