This Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake is made with light, tender mascarpone cake layers, unbelievably delicious blueberry frosting, and filled with the flavor of fresh berries and lemon zest throughout. It's the perfect way to celebrate long summer nights and any special occasion that needs a sweet gluten free treat!
This cake combines three of my favorite things - fresh lemon, sweet berries, and tangy, rich mascarpone cheese. There's truly nothing better during the summer months. The mascarpone brings out the tanginess in the fresh lemon and adds so much moisture and richness to the gluten free cake layers.
If you love mascarpone as much as I do, you have to try these Gluten Free Vanilla Bean Donuts next!!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's so flavorful! This cake is the perfect balance between rich, creamy mascarpone cheese and light and bright lemon zest and fresh berries. If you love my Gluten Free Spiced Carrot Cake or Gluten Free Vanilla Orange Cupcakes, you're going to love this citrus packed summer cake!
- Easy to prep ahead. If you're hosting a summer celebration or special occasion, bake this cake well in advance and freeze. Then on the day of, simply thaw, frost, and serve! So simple, yet impressive.
- No piping bag! Baking and frosting a cake from scratch can be intimidating, but this cake is perfect for beginners. There's no intricate frosting details. Simply layer and dollop frosting in between. You can even leave the outside of the cake bare if preferred!
- It's gluten free. Everyone can enjoy this cake, gluten free or not! Thanks to the mascarpone filling, there's no dry, crumbly gluten free cake layers here. It's everything you love about a delicious slice of cake without the gluten.
Tools You'll Need
- 2 8-inch cake pans
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer fitted with paddle attachment
- 2 mixing bowls
- 1 set of dry measuring spoons
- 1 set of liquid measuring cups
- 1 set of dry measuring cups
- 1 rubber spatula
- 2 cooling racks
- 1 serrated knife
- 1 offset spatula
- 1 bench scraper/cake scraper (optional)
Ingredients
Here we'll discuss everything you need to make the mascarpone filled cake layers. If you're interested in learning more about the ingredients in my Blueberry Frosting - click here and view the ingredients!
The cake layers start by creaming together the lemon zest, sugar, butter, and soft mascarpone cheese.
To complete the creamy, bright tasting base, we're using a combination of whole milk, whole eggs, vanilla extract, and fresh lemon juice.
For the dry ingredients, all you need is your favorite gluten free all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt.
Finally, throw your favorite fresh mixed berries on top of the batter then gently fold them in for the perfect sweet, fresh berry flavor.
Substitutions
- Substitute in any type of berry. I prefer a mix of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, but feel free to use your favorite combination of berries. If desired, you can stick with 1 type of berry such as 2 cups fresh blueberries. Avoid frozen berries - these berries contain excess moisture content and will make the cake batter too wet.
- Butter variations: All of my Dessert Recipes and Gluten Free Recipes are made using unsalted butter. Using unsalted butter gives me full control over the sodium content in my baked goods and creates more consistent results across the board. Salted butters aren't all made equal, meaning if you change the brand it can change the result of the cake. If you only have salted butter it can be substituted but omit the additional Kosher salt and note that it can change the texture of the final cake.
How to Make Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake
- Combine the sugar and lemon zest. Place the granulated sugar and lemon zest in a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Using your hands, rub the mixture together between your fingers until the mixture resembles wet sand.
- Add the butter and mascarpone cheese. Cream the butter, mascarpone cheese, and sugar mixture together on high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically as needed.
- Add the eggs. One egg at a time, add them to the bowl, mixing as you go until well combined.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix the remaining wet ingredients. In another small mixing bowl, combine the milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry and wet ingredients to the stand mixer. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture and mix on a low speed until just combined. Add ½ of the milk mixture, then mix until combined. Repeat until the final ⅓ of the flour mixture is added and mix until just combined.
- Fold in the berries. Remove the mixing bowl from the stand mixer, add in the berries of choice, then gently fold them into the batter.
- Bake. Divide the batter evenly between two round cake pans and bake in a preheated oven for 35-45 minutes. When the cakes are ready, a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes should come out clean.
- Cool. Place the baked cakes on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes. Once slightly cooled, turn them out onto the cooling rack and let cool completely. Wrap each cake tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to use.
- Prep the blueberry frosting. If using, follow the instructions in my Blueberry Frosting blog post, then come back to this recipe and prepare to frost the cake.
- Slice the cakes in half. Once ready to ice and layer, remove the cake layers from the freeze and let thaw until soft enough to slice each cake through the center. Once complete, you should have 4 cake layers.
- Frost. Dollop about 1 cup of the Blueberry Frosting on the bottom layer. Spread the frosting in an even layer, leaving about a ½" border around the edge of the cake. Top with a second cake layer and repeat until all layers have been topped with frosting. Lastly, spread a thin layer of frosting on the outside of the cake or leave the cake bare.
- Serve. Transfer your beautiful cake to a serving plate, top with additional fresh berries, then slice and serve!
Prep Ahead Options
Both the lemon berry cake layers and the Blueberry Frosting can be prepped and frozen ahead of time. Feel free to make them up to 1 month in advance then simply thaw and frost as usual!
Serving Suggestions
This lemon blueberry cake is the perfect cake for any special occasion. We particularly love it during the summer months when it's peak berry season, but it's delicious year round!
Serve slices of cake alone or with additional fresh berries on the side. You can also take it to the next level and serve with a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream or a dollop of fresh whipped cream.
If you're new to cutting cakes, learn the secrets to How To Cut a Round Cake the Right Way. Hint: A serrated knife is your friend!
Recipe FAQs
While both mascarpone and cream cheese are soft, spreadable cheeses that are commonly used in both savory and sweet recipes, they differ in terms of their ingredient list, texture, and flavor. Mascarpone cheese is made from fresh cream and an acid such as vinegar or citric acid.
Cream cheese is made from a combination of milk, cream, and lactic acid bacteria. This difference makes mascarpone cheese lighter, fluffier and a bit tangier compared to thick, cultured cream cheese.
Yes! An electric hand mixer paired with a large bowl will work equally as well.
Freezing the cake layers before slicing is beneficial for a number of reasons. Most importantly, frozen cake layers are more stable, making them easier to slice without creating crumbs or breakage. Freezing the cake layers also helps to enhance their flavor and lock in the moisture. I find this particularly helpful when baking gluten free cakes.
With that being said, if you do not have time to freeze and defrost the cake layers, refrigerate until sufficiently chilled before slicing and frosting.
No - this cake is made with a mascarpone filling. My homemade Blueberry frosting is a powdered sugar-based frosting. If you're interested in a richer frosting, try this Lemon-Mascarpone Frosting or this Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting.
Tips and Tricks for Success
- Do not attempt to frost a warm cake! It may be tempting to short cut the cooling time, but it's not worth it. Frosting a warm cake will melt the icing and end in a messy disaster. For best results, plan ahead to make sure you have enough time to cool the cake layers properly.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Depending on the season and internal temperature of your home, butter, eggs and mascarpone cheese can take anywhere from 30-90 minutes to soften to room temperature. When the butter is ready, it will still remain a solid, yet if you press your finger into it, it will keep an indentation mark.
- Measure your flour using the spoon and level method. No measuring the flour by digging your measuring cup into the bag of flour. Instead, spoon flour into the measuring cup and gently level it off with the back of the knife. This will ensure the correct amount of flour is used and leave you with the perfect, fluffy cake layers.
More Recipes You'll Enjoy
Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature (1 ½ sticks)
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese room temperature
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 3 ⅓ cups gluten free all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups berries of your choice I used ⅔ cup each blueberries, raspberries and strawberries
- Blueberry Frosting
- More berries for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour 2 8-inch cake pans, placing a parchment circle in the bottom of each pan.
- Place the granulated sugar and lemon zest In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Using your hands, rub the mixture between your fingers until the sugar resembles wet sand. Add the butter and mascarpone cheese, and cream on high speed until it is light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until well combined. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the gluten free all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. In a measuring cup, mix together the milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
- Beginning and ending with the flour mixture, add ⅓ of the flour mixture. Mix until just combined, and add ½ of the milk mixture, mixing until just combined. Repeat with another ⅓ of the flour mixture and remaining milk mixture. Finally, add the remaining flour mixture, and mix until just combined, again scraping down the bowl as needed. Gently fold in the berries.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and place in the oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and place on a cooling rack to cool for about 30 minutes. Once the cakes are slightly cooled, turn out onto the cooling rack to cool completely. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to use.
- Once the cakes are ready to be iced, remove from the freezer and let thaw slightly. Once thawed enough to slice through the center, cut each cake into two layers. Dollop about 1 cup of Blueberry Frosting on the bottom layer, and spread to within ½ inch of the edge of the cake. Top with a layer of cake, and repeat until all the layers have been topped with frosting. If desired, spread a thin layer of frosting on the outside of the cake. If you would like, you may also leave the outside of the cake bare. Top with additional berries before serving.
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