Berry Cake

This triple berry cake is everything! Tender cake layers floating between thick bands of light-as-air mascarpone whipped cream frosting with gorgeous ripe strawberries, blackberries and blueberries! It’s such a seasonal treat and even though this cake is massive, I guarantee it won’t last a day! This post is sponsored by ALDI. As always, I only partner with brands that I love and truly believe in, all opinions expressed are my own. They’re one of my favorite grocers, for this post and I have to say how fun it was to shop there, I swear my dollars stretched reaaalllll far and I loved the quality of the produce! Click HERE to find a location near you! Have any of you shopped there and loved it? Tell me what you love about them  in the comments!

If you’ve ever thought OMG that cake is just too sweet or rich then you NEED to try making a mascarpone whipped cream frosting! It’s sweet but not cloying and much lighter than a buttercream, meaning those fresh berries get to be the star of the dish! I get tons of questions regarding whipped cream layer cakes and while they are delicious, the cream just isn’t stable enough for building, but if you add the mascarpone in everything changes for the better! The taste is similar to whipped cream but the texture is more substantial.  I will caution you that over-whipping this frosting will cause it to become grainy and your cake will be best if eaten the same day. Taste-wise nothing changes but the frosting becomes a bit yellow the next day.

Start off by getting those ingredients together! I stopped by my local ALDI for the bulk of my ingredients and was happily surprised that this giant cake wasn’t going to bust my budget. And by the way, that confectioners  sugar had NO lumps! Make sure to let all of your ingredients come to room temperature.

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour three 8-inch pans. Add damp cake strips. Zest a lemon. Melt the coconut oil. Let it cool. Add the maple and honey to a small bowl. Heat for a few seconds in the microwave. Lighten and leaven or sift the flour. Sift the other dry ingredients together in a large bowl and whisk together. Give the sifted mixture a whisk. Make sure all the lumps are gone. 
2. Add the wet ingredients into a medium bowl and mix. Make sure to distribute the honey mixture well. 
3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Add lemon zest. Pour the batter into the cake pans and distribute evenly. I like to use a kitchen scale for precision. Bake for 35 minutes or until the centers are done. 
4. Add the cream to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. 
5. Add in confectioner’s sugar. 
6. Whip the cream until it just starts to thicken. Add the mascarpone and beat on low, bringing the speed up to high as the mascarpone is incorporated into the cream. Add the vanilla. Beat until the mixture holds firm peaks. Overbeating can lead to a grainy texture. 
7. Add the filling to the first layer. 
8. Cover with berries. 
9. Add more cream on top and smooth out. Add the second cake layer, and repeat steps then add third layer, cover with frosting and smooth out.
10. Push berries into the filling on the side of the cake then smooth out with an offset spatula and a bench scraper. Hull some strawberries.
11. Pipe dollops of cream on the top edge with a large star tip. 
12. Top each dollop with blackberries and strawberries.