Name: Raspberry Cake With Whipped Cream Filling
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 4 large eggs, room temperature, separated; 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt; ½ tsp. cream of tartar; 1 cup (200 g) sugar, divided; ⅓ cup vegetable oil; 1 tsp. vanilla extract; 1 cup (125 g) cake flour; ½ tsp. baking powder; 1 cup (200 g) sugar; 1½ cups (37 g) freeze-dried raspberries; plus more crushed for serving (optional); 3 cups heavy cream; 1 tsp. vanilla extract; 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt; ¼ cup (80 g) raspberry jam; 2 cups (170 g) fresh raspberries; A pastry bag and a ½"-diameter tip

Raspberry cream cream cake on a cake stand next to slices of cake on small plates

Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Summer Moore

This raspberry-filled chiffon cake is inspired by the layered fruit and cream cakes in Japanese bakeries—it’s light, airy, and delicately sweet. It’s both visually striking and startlingly deep in flavor, and as far as most cakes go, it’s fairly make-ahead friendly. Since cakes with whipped cream filling always need to be refrigerated, using chiffon cake—which uses oil, not butter—is a strategic choice as the layers will remain soft and tender even straight out of the fridge. (Butter-based cakes, on the other hand, seem hard and leaden after a stint in the cold.) The whipped cream, which is flavored with freeze-dried raspberries and dotted with whole fruit, stays stable for a few days. Be sure to use ungreased regular (not nonstick) cake pans so that the batter can cling to the sides and rise tall as it bakes.

Watch Shilpa make the cake and talk through her decisions here, or at the bottom of this recipe.

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What you’ll need

Piping Bag and Tips Set
$9 At Amazon
Stand Mixer
$349 At Amazon
8-Inch Cake Pan
$16 At Amazon
Scale
$27 At Amazon
Silicone Spatula
$13 At Amazon
Mesh Sieve
$15 At Amazon
Whisk
$12 At Amazon
Offset Spatula
$14 $13 At Amazon
Food Processor
$70 At Amazon

Recipe information

Yield
12 servings

Ingredients

Cake

4 large eggs, room temperature, separated

1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt

½ tsp. cream of tartar

1 cup (200 g) sugar, divided

⅓ cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup (125 g) cake flour

½ tsp. baking powder

Assembly

1 cup (200 g) sugar

1½ cups (37 g) freeze-dried raspberries; plus more crushed for serving (optional)

3 cups heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt

¼ cup (80 g) raspberry jam

2 cups (170 g) fresh raspberries

Special equipment

A pastry bag and a ½"-diameter tip

Preparation

Cake
Step 1
Position a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Line two 8"-diameter cake pans with parchment paper rounds (do not grease). Beat egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, and ½ cup (100 g) sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-low speed until egg whites are broken up, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until meringue is glossy and holds firm peaks, 8–10 minutes.
Step 2
Whisk egg yolks and remaining ½ cup (100 g) sugar by hand in a large bowl until pale and well combined, about 2 minutes. Whisk in oil, vanilla, and ⅓ cup room-temperature water. Sift flour and baking powder over and whisk vigorously to combine.
Step 3
Add one fourth of meringue to egg yolk mixture and mix thoroughly to incorporate (this will lighten the batter). Add remaining meringue in 3 batches, gently folding after each addition until only a few streaks of meringue remain (err on the side of mixing slightly less rather than more to keep batter billowy).
Step 4
Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and gently smooth surface. Bake cakes 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325° and continue baking until golden brown and tops spring back when gently pressed, 35–40 minutes more. Remove from oven; invert pans onto a wire rack. Let cakes cool in pans (cooling them upside down reduces shrinkage), 60–70 minutes. Turn cakes over and run an offset spatula around sides of cakes to loosen, then invert cakes onto wire rack. Peel away parchment.
Assembly
Step 5
Finely grind sugar and 1½ cups (37 g) freeze-dried raspberries in a spice mill or food processor (if using food processor, sift powder through a fine-mesh sieve after to remove seeds). Transfer to the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; add cream, vanilla, and salt and beat on medium-high speed until firm peaks form, 5–7 minutes.
Step 6
Stir jam in a small bowl to loosen, then gently fold in fresh raspberries.
Step 7
Place 1 cake on a cake platter or large plate. Scoop a heaping cupful of raspberry cream on top; spread evenly with offset spatula. Spoon berry mixture on top of cream, leaving a 1" border around the edges (this will prevent berries from spilling over the sides). Place second cake layer on top. Spoon a heaping ½ cup raspberry cream into pastry bag fitted with tip. Frost top and sides of cake with raspberry cream still in bowl, then pipe dollops of raspberry cream around edges of top of cake. Chill cake, uncovered, at least 2 hours.
Step 8
To serve, sprinkle top of cake with crushed freeze-dried raspberries if desired. Slice cake with a serrated knife, wiping clean between cuts.
Do ahead: Cake can be baked 1 day ahead; store tightly wrapped at room temperature, or freeze up to 1 week. If frozen, thaw in refrigerator overnight before using. Cake (without crushed raspberry topping) can be assembled 1 day ahead; cover loosely and chill.
Watch Shilpa make the cake