Raspberry and Strawberry Naked Cake Recipe

A naked cake is essentially a cake without any frosting on the outside. And to be completely honest; I’m not a big fan of frosting because it’s usually too sweet, especially buttercream, so I think this cake is perfect.

It is, no doubt, one of the prettiest yet simplest cakes I’ve ever made, and is decorated with edible flowers. They were difficult to find, but the flowers featured on this cake are called dianthus (click here for an edible flower chart). If you can’t find any edible flowers; you can use fresh berries instead.

The cake layers are a vanilla butter cake and I used my grandmothers recipe. It’s the best cake recipe you’ll ever use since it produces a moist and light cake. It still holds it shape and you are able to trim the layers and everything.

I’m sure you’re wondering- where is the raspberry and strawberry component? Well, to answer your question; on the inside there is a raspberry and strawberry compote filling, and to make it even better, I decided to add some fresh chopped strawberries.

So it’s like an explosion of flavours when eating this cake. Since you have that moist vanilla butter cake, a refreshing raspberry-strawberry filling and then the sweet buttercream. I added a bit of lemon zest and lemon juice to the buttercream to tone down the sweetness; yet it also compliments the cake perfectly.

Raspberry and Strawberry Naked Cake

Layers of vanilla butter cake filled with a raspberry and strawberry compote filling, then decorated with a vanilla buttercream and edible flowers. Makes a 4 x 10cm cakes, or a 3 x 15cm cakes, or a 2 x 20cm cakes.

Please visit 100 Layer Cake to learn how to assemble the naked cake.

Vanilla Butter Cake

• 250g butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cup caster sugar
• Seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean pod (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
• 5 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease and line 4 x 10cm (or 3 x 15cm, or 2 x 20cm) circular cake tins with baking paper.
2. In an electric mixer; cream together the butter and sugar on high speed for 6-7 minutes, or until light and pale in colour, then add vanilla bean seeds (or vanilla extract).
3.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition and scrapping down the sides of the bowl.
4. On low speed, add a third of the flour and half of the milk. Alternate between the flour and milk until everything is just incorporated. Make sure you start with the flour and end with the flour.
5. Distribute the batter evenly between cake pans, and bake for 40 minutes (depends on size of cake pan)
6. Set aside to cool completely.

Raspberry and Strawberry Filling

• 1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped, hulled strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/3 cup water plus 2 tablespoons of water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of cornflour

1.  In a saucepan, combine the raspberries, strawberries, 1/3 cup of water, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally and crushing the berries with the back of a spoon.
2. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the berries have broken down. Remove the mixture from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Return the strained mixture to the heat.
3. Dissolve the cornflour in the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Whisk the slurry into the raspberry mixture.
4. Bring the mixture back to a boil and simmer for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Vanilla American Buttercream

• 250g butter, softened
• 500g icing sugar
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 3-4 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)

1. In an electric mixer, beat butter on high speed for 5 minutes or until pale in colour.
2. Gradually add the icing sugar a third at a time, beating on high speed between each addition.
3. Add the vanilla extract, milk, lemon zest and lemon juice; beat on high speed until well combined (add more milk if the frosting is too thick).
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat on high speed for an additional 5 minutes.
5. Transfer half of the buttercream into a piping bag with a round nozzle.
6. Set aside until ready to use.

Simple Syrup

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar

1. Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool completely.

Assembly

• Edible flowers (such as dianthus or violas. Click here for an edible flower chart)

1. Level and and trim the cakes evenly.
2. Soak each layer with the cooled simple syrup.
3. Add a bit of buttercream to your cake stand or platter. Place one of the cake layers on the cake stand, and pipe a circle of frosting on the edge of the cake. Then fill the circle and spread evenly with an offset spatula.
4. Place the next cake layer on top and pipe a circle of buttercream. Fill the centre with the cooled raspberry and strawberry compote, then add the chopped strawberries.
5. Repeat the process of stacking and filling for the next cake layers.Then frost the top layer with buttercream.
6. Using a large offset spatula, smooth off the sides of the cake and fill in any gaps with the remaining buttercream. Smear the frosting on the sides of the cake to create the “naked” effect and remove any excess buttercream. Decorate with edible flowers.
7. Cut into slices, and enjoy!