Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake (video)
This light and delicate lemon berry mascarpone cake recipe is just what you need to make for your next special occasion! It’s elegant and simple, yet full of incredible flavors! The mascarpone cake layers are made with lemon zest, berries and mascarpone; then the cake is frosted with a fluffy, lemony mascarpone cream frosting and garnished with more berries. Every bite of this cake is tender and packed full of lemon and berry flavor! If you’re a fan of light and fruity cakes – this recipe is for! Plus, this cake isn’t too sweet and you can further adjust the amount of sugar in the frosting recipe to your taste.
My Mascarpone Cake Video Tutorial!
This written recipe is slightly different from my original video tutorial. Please follow my updated, written instructions in this post! Watch my mascarpone cake video tutorial to see how I make the cake and put it together! Want new recipe updates? Make sure to subscribe to my website emailing list and to my YouTube channel and turn on notifications!
Ingredients for Mascarpone Berry Cake
Please make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature to ensure that the batter does not curdle, especially the milk. I recommend heating the milk in the microwave for a minute until it’s warm, then adding it! If your batter does curdle, don’t worry!! This will not have an effect on the final cake layers; bake the batter anyway!
Here are some of the main ingredients you’ll need to make this incredible berry cake! You can find the full list in the recipe card below.
- Mascarpone Cheese: soften the cheese at room temperature for no more than 15 minutes, otherwise it can separate. Use chilled cheese for the frosting!
- Whole Milk: I recommend using a full-fat milk for a richer tasting cake. Use warm milk to prevent the cake batter from separating.
- Eggs: you can use just egg whites or whole eggs for this recipe. Have the eggs at room temperature for best results. If you want to use whole eggs, simply add them to the creamed butter and sugar mixture and whisk until well beaten.
- Unsalted Butter: soften the butter at room temperature for 30 minutes. Unsalted butter works best for baking.
- Berries: I recommend using fresh berries for best results. Frozen and thawed berries will also work; just drain off any liquids.
- Lemon Zest: freshly zested lemon will add lots of flavor and aroma to the cake!
Supplies & Tools for the Recipe
Need some supplies to make this recipe? You can get them here online using my Amazon affiliate links:
- I love these 8-inch aluminum cake pans for baking! I use them with these precut parchment paper rounds.
- Use these off-set cake spatulas and this cake scrapper for easy cake decorating.
- A classic KitchenAid stand mixer is a must for every baker’s kitchen!
Making the Mascarpone Cake Layers
You’ll want to start this lemon berry mascarpone cake with the delicate cake layers. These are made with mascarpone cheese, which makes them extra moist and delicious! Feel free to use your favorite berries for the recipe. Here’s how to make them:
- Preheat the oven to 350F/177C. Line three, 8-inch (20-cm) round cake pans and grease the sides.
- Soften the butter at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Soften the mascarpone cheese for 10 to 15 minutes only! It can separate if too warm.
- Prepare the cake batter first. In a large mixing bowl, cream together softened butter, softened mascarpone cheese, sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until creamy.
- The batter will look like it’s separated or curdled – do not panic! This happens because the milk fats in the butter are clumping together. The cake layers will turn out just fine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Add the egg whites to the batter and fold them in gently. Pour in the lukewarm milk into the but do not mix; you will mix it in along with the flour.
Adding the Dry Ingredients & Baking the Cake
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the batter, then whisk gently but thoroughly, mixing just until the flour is incorporated.
- In a small bowl, toss the mixed fruit with the cornstarch until the fruit is well coated. Add the fruit and lemon zest to the batter and fold in gently. Divide the cake batter evenly between the three pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 350F for 28 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the comes out clean. Remove the cake layers from the oven, cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.
Easy Mascarpone Frosting
The mascarpone frosting is simply amazing! It tastes very similar to cream cheese frosting but without the tangy flavor. Also, if you cannot find mascarpone cheese (some stores don’t carry it), or if you want a less expensive alternative, try using cream cheese in place of the mascarpone. I have a separate video recipe for the cream cheese frosting; check out my ‘Back to Cake Basics’ series!
- It’s important that the mascarpone cheese isn’t too soft! This delicate cheese will separate when too warm. Use it straight of the fridge for best results.
- Once layers are cooled, prepare the cream frosting. Place the mascarpone cheese (from the fridge) and vanilla into a mixing bowl and whisk on high speed for a minute, until the cheese is smooth and creamy.
- In a separate mixing bowl, prepare the whipped cream. Pour in the chilled cream into a mixer bowl and add the confectioner’s sugar. Whisk on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes until stiff peaks form. Add the cheese mixture and the lemon zest and whisk for about 30 seconds to a minute, just until stiff peaks form. Keep the frosting refrigerated until you’re ready to assemble the cake.
How to Make Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake
To assemble the cake, first level the tops of the cake layers with a serrated knife, if needed. Spread a very generous amount of mascarpone frosting between each layer and add a mixture berries and fruit between the layers.
Apply a crumb coat of frosting on the outside of the cake, then refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes. Smooth additional frosting over the top and sides, then garnish the cake with berries. The cake can be enjoyed right away, or refrigerated overnight.
More Recipes!
Enjoyed this delicious fruit cake? Make sure to check out some of my other recipes you’re sure to enjoy!
- Next, try my ‘Lemon Raspberry Cake’ with raspberry lemon cake layers and cream cheese frosting!
- Strawberry Lemonade Cake – fruity, zesty and sour cake with strawberry lemon cake layers, lemon buttercream and lemon curd!
- And also try my ‘Summer Sangria Cake’ with sangria, fresh fruit and whipped cream frosting!
- No-Bake Strawberry Tiramisu Cake – the best ever strawberry cake with strawberry-dipped lady fingers and fluffy cream filling!
Share it on Pinterest!
Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake (video)
Ingredients
For Cake Layers:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened for 30 mins
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese, softened for 15 mins only!
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk, lukewarm
- 6 large egg whites
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- lemon zest from 2 large lemons
- 1 cup fresh berries
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For Frosting:
- 24 oz mascarpone cheese, chilled
- OR cream cheese will work, too
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream, well chilled
- zest from 1 large lemon
For Filling:
- 3 cups fresh berries
Instructions
This written recipe is slightly different from my original video tutorial. Please follow these instructions!
Making the Cake Layers:
- Preheat the oven to 350F/177C. Line three, 8-inch (20-cm) round cake pans and grease the sides.
- Soften the butter at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Soften the mascarpone cheese for 10 to 15 minutes only! It can separate if too warm.
- Prepare the cake batter first. In a large mixing bowl, cream together softened butter, softened mascarpone cheese, sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until creamy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Add the egg whites to the batter and fold them in gently. Pour in the lukewam milk into the but do not mix; you will mix it in along with the flour.
- At this point, the batter will look like it's separated or curdled – do not panic! This happens because the milk fats in the butter are clumping together. The cake layers will turn out just fine.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the batter, then whisk gently but thoroughly, mixing just until the flour is incorporated.
- In a small bowl, toss the mixed fruit with the cornstarch until the fruit is well coated. Add the fruit and lemon zest to the batter and fold in gently. Divide the cake batter evenly between the three pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 350F for 28 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the comes out clean. Remove the cake layers from the oven, cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.
Making the Mascarpone Frosting:
- Once layers are cooled, prepare the cream frosting. Place the mascarpone cheese (from the fridge) and vanilla into a mixing bowl and whisk on high speed for a minute, until the cheese is smooth and creamy.
- In a separate mixing bowl, prepare the whipped cream. Pour in the chilled cream into a mixer bowl and add the confectioner's sugar. Whisk on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes until stiff peaks form. Add the cheese mixture and the lemon zest and whisk for about 30 seconds to a minute, just until stiff peaks form. Keep the frosting refrigerated until you're ready to assemble the cake.
Assembling the Cake:
- To assemble the cake, first level the tops of the cake layers with a serrated knife, if needed. Spread a very generous amount of mascarpone frosting between each layer and add a mixutre berries and fruit between the layers.
- Apply a crumb coat of frosting on the outside of the cake, then refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes. Smooth additional frosting over the top and sides, then garnish the cake with berries. The cake can be enjoyed right away, or refrigerated overnight.
Tanya , do you remember how tall your cake layers were? Mine came out very thin. Thanks
They were a little over an inch tall. It’s important to fold in the egg whites gently so they don’t deflate and fold in the flour just until it’s incorporated. The egg whites make a huge difference in the texture of this cake!
I wish you would have mentioned that milk has to be room temp. It’s having a hard time coming out smooth. I really hope this cakes works out. And I’m doing whole eggs not egg whites and u said egg whites make a big difference, so while eggs won’t work?
Sorry about that – the batter should still work well. The egg whites add a lot more volume to the cake but the whole eggs will work also; just make sure to whisk them until they’re voluminous and pale, about 6 minutes.
I had the same issue with the milk. After panicking and doing some research, I was advised to heat up the mixture in small increments, mixing in between until it came out smooth. It worked well!
I had the same issue with the milk. After panicking and doing some research, I was advised to heat up the mixture in small increments, mixing in between until it came out smooth. It worked well!
Thanks for the tip! 🙂
Hi Tatyana 🙂
This cake looks lovely. I plan on making it for a friend’s 21st. Has the recipe been amended as per the reviews? If not, are you able to suggest any other lemon cake recipes?
Thanks 🙂
Hello, I made your recipe for the lemon berry mascarpone cake. Wow! It was even delicious before I baked it! I did not have any problems using room temperature ingredients. However, I don’t feel that the cake ended up mixed enough because I can see the mascarpone cheese in an obvious way within the cake as somewhat layered.
Can you see somewhat of a layer of mascarpone cheese within your cake? It looks well mixed from here.
I can say without a doubt that I plan to update and get a stand up mixer with whisk attachments.
However, I am happy to say that I had success with a nonelectric traditional whisk when I stiff peaked the wgg whites!
Thank you so much for sharing your gift. I plan to look for your cookbook at B &N.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake! :)) If you have a problem like that with the mascarpone, try whisking it by itself before adding it into the cake batter. Hope you’re able to get my book – it’s filled with incredible cake recipes! 🙂
This cake did not work for me. I warmed the milk, but my eggs were not peaking as shown in the video, so that’s my fault. But honestly, the flavor wasn’t there either. I could tell the lemon and vanilla wanted to be present, but the cake just did not have that refreshing flavor. Overall, I give this recipe a 3/5. Sorry. I’ll try it again and see how it works.
I’m so sorry that this recipe didn’t work well for you!
I tried the cake yesterday for dad’s birthday, he turned 83. The batter curdled, but turned out fine. The texture and flavor of the cake was amazing, not so much the icing. The icing also curdled, I salvaged the icing with a great deal of effort. I recommend you modify the recipe. From what I can see in reviews it appears there has been limited success. It is an expensive cake and failure should not be an option. I did add additional lemon zest both in icing and cake, wished I had added lemon juice to even bring out the lemon flavor more.
I’m so sorry that the recipe didn’t work well for you! 🙁 I hope your father was still able to enjoy ti!
I’m so sorry that the recipe didn’t work for you! Did you try warming the milk before you added it to the batter? That should help…
This happened for me too! I had to throw my first batch as it curdled terribly. I researched online and found out that if you beat the mascarpone cheese too much, the batter curdles when you add the milk. I made a second batch soon after and the mixture did not curdle. My icing recipe came out fine as well.
So glad the recipe worked well for you on the second try! 🙂 Some cake recipes can be a little finicky!
hi Tatyana,
I am planning to bake the cake over the weekend and wondered, if using 4 whole eggs, should I still beat the whites and then just add the yolks to it?
Thank in advance for your advise <3
Hi! You can mix the egg yolks into the butter and sugar, then whisk the egg whites separately and fold them in after adding the flour 🙂
I made this cake for my mom’s birthday. I made sure all the ingredients were room temperature. It turned slightly curdled, but it didn’t ruin it at all. It turned out beautiful, and it tasted amazing! I used mostly cream cheese instead of mascarpone. The icing was absolutely amazing! The whole cake is not too sweet, but is still full of flavor. I also used only strawberries and raspberries. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Awesome! :)) So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
My mom sent me the link for this recipe, so I decided to make it this Labor Day weekend! I LOVE any dessert with berries, so I was stoked to try this one. I read all of the reviews and, knowing the recipe had a tendency to curdle as people had mentioned, was very careful to follow the recipe to a T and ensure that all the ingredients for the batter were at room temperature. The batter curdled slightly, but once the dry ingredients were added, it came together just fine. The frosting, however, was a different story. Again, I followed the exact directions, but after adding the chilled heavy cream to the softened mascarpone and whipping it, the mixture was a horrible, curdled disaster. Not wanting to waste it, I eventually looked up ways to recover a curdled frosting, and found one that worked perfectly for me. I placed the frosting into a microwave-safe bowl and microwaved it in 10-second intervals for a minute total, mixing it well in between each interval until it was smooth. I then let it cool to room temperature, added the lemon zest, and whipped it up. It totally saved it and I was able to use it for the cake. The taste of the cake as a whole was pretty good, but given that so many people have had major issues, I think the recipe may need some editing!
Hi! I’m so sorry that you had trouble with the recipe! I’m glad you were still able to enjoy it. The frosting can definitely be a bit tricky. Once the cheese mixture and the heavy cream come together, it’s important to mix just until fluffy; over mixing causes the frosting to separate. Working on an update! 🙂
I made this after having a piece of lemon mascarpone cake at a local restaurant. I was careful to have all ingredients at room temperature. I used 6 egg whites. It turned out perfect! I didn’t add extra fruit between the layers as I was afraid the cake would get mushy. The crumb turned out light and beautiful. I cut the icing recipe in half as we just aren’t big frosting fans. The flavor is light, so if you want big flavor, you may want to add more zest, or flavoring, but it was just right for a light dessert.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! That’s actually how I decided to come up with this recipe, too! I had some cake at a local bistro and wanted to make it for myself! 🙂
Hi Tatyana! When you say that you modified the instructions, would this be the video or the written instructions in the recipe above? Asking because they differ in the frosting part so I want to make sure I don’t over beat my cream again . For example should I beat heavy cream separately and then add to mascarpone mix or do as you say in the video? … Thanks in advance for your help!! Love your all recipes
Hi Vera! So sorry for any confusion! Please follow my written recipe, as the my video recipe didn’t work well for everyone. Whipping the heavy cream separately, then adding the mascarpone mixture is a bit easier and less room for error. Enjoy! 🙂
My cake went so well. I baked it for my friend and they all Love it!! they ordered same cake the following week and again it was perfect.
Im baking another one for my brother ‘s birthday .
Hi Maria! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Happy birthday to your brother! Enjoy! 🙂
I’ve made this twice and it does NOT last long when I do! Delicious!!
It never lasts long at my dinners either! So glad you’re enjoying the recipe!
I can’t quite figure out how this recipe gets 5 stars as an average the way that it is… the recipe does not come together as it is written AT ALL. I was halfway through making the recipe when I started reading the comments because you can’t whip whole eggs into stuff peaks… so as I was trying to figure out how to add the 4 whole eggs I read that this recipe is a disaster waiting to happen. Here’s how I saved it…
Cream the butter, mascarpone and sugar and vanilla. Add the 4 whole eggs, one at a time (looks a little curdled at this point) Add the dry ingredients and stir just until mixed. Add the milk and stir just until mixed. (I substituted about 6 tablespoons blueberry stoli vodka for 6 tablespoons of milk for more berry flavor in the cake) separately, whip 6 egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold into the batter with the cornstarch coated berries. The batter was still not completely smooth, there was a slight amount of separation, but it was not completely separated as some bakers experienced.
Hi Sarah, I’m sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you. If you are using whole eggs, the eggs do not need to be beaten to stiff peaks. You simply need to mix them until they’re well beaten, just a few minutes. If you are using egg whites only, then yes, you need to whisk them separately until stiff peaks form. I have those instructions in step 2. The mixture does look curdled once the wet ingredients are combined, however, this does not affect the end result. Once you add the dry ingredients, the batter should come togehter.
I hope you were still able to enjoy the cake!
This is the BEST cake I have ever made! Thank you. I have made it three times now for both of my kid’s birthday and they are beyond excited every time. My son, who is turning three, has been talking about THIS cake for days already. He remembers!
That’s so wonderful to hear! I’m so happy your kids have been enjoying this cake for their birthdays!
Sadly when I mixed the mascarpone cheese it curled pretty quickly. I was able to salvage it, but when I added the whittled heavy cream it curled again and I couldn’t save it. 🙁 I guess they were not at the same temperature?
The recipe looks good, but I had to modify it now since I ruined the mascarpone filling.
Hi! I’m sorry the recipe didn’t work well for you. Make sure your mascarpone is not too warm before you add it. I recommend taking it directly from the fridge without letting it stand at room temp. I use this mascarpone frosting for several of my other cakes. The temperature of the cheese is key
After 2 hours in the oven my cake is still not baked through. The sides are burnt but still soggy inside. I measured everything with a scale. I don’t know what I could have done wrong.
Hi Helena. Sorry that the recipe didn’t work out for you. 2 hours way too much time for baking these cake layers. The cake is meant to be more moist. If you are unsure when your cake is done, insert a thermometer into the middle. It’s fully cooked at 200F.
Made this once before the holidays and looking to make it again. Do you have an experience with freezing the cake without frosting? I’d like to make it a couple of days I’m advance and then frost the day before.
Hi Amy! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake the first time around. I usually just wrap the cake layers really well and refrigerate them. If you need to make the layers more than 3 days in advance, then you’ll need to freeze them. Otherwise, the fridge is just fine. Have fun baking and enjoy!
Absolutely delicious!! I don’t even really like lemon or blueberries but this was beyond amazing! So summery and the tastes were all there! I did the cream cheese instead of marscapone for the frosting! You could eat it by the spoonful! Definitely making this again! ❤️
Hi Katie! I’m so happy you loved the cake and the frosting! I like to sneak a few spoonfuls of the frosting, too! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!