This recipe is for a light champagne cake filled and frosted with white chocolate raspberry jam buttercream and topped with a white chocolate ganache drip.

About Raspberry Champagne Cake:

This is a soft, white Cake flavored with champagne. It is filled and frosted with white chocolate raspberry jam buttercream frosting. It is finished with a white chocolate ganache drip and a decorative piping of white chocolate buttercream. It’s a perfect New Year’s Eve cake, or for any celebration really. Follow the steps below to create this beautiful cake!

Ingredients for Raspberry Champagne Cake:

• Flour– all purpose flour is used for the best “crumb”
• Sugar– granulated sugar will be used in the cake and powdered sugar in the frosting
• Butter– make sure it’s softened to room temperature, used in the cake and frosting
• Eggs– only the whites will be used
• Champagne– make sure it’s room temperature
• Buttermilk– this will help to make the cake moist
• Salt-helps to bring out all the flavors in the cake
• Baking powder & baking soda– both help the cake to rise
• Vanilla– I recommend vanilla bean paste for the best flavor
• White chocolate– is melted and used in the frosting, I recommend a high quality white chocolate like Lindt or Ghirardelli
• Raspberry preserves– used in the frosting, I recommend a good quality preserve like Bonne Maman
• Fresh raspberries– for a garnish

How to Make Raspberry Champagne Cake:

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add 3 cups of champagne to a large pot. Simmer the champagne on medium-high heat until it has reduced to ½ cup. Let it completely cool before using it in the cake.

Then cream 10 tablespoon of butter and 1 ½ cups of sugar together in a large bowl.

Next add in four egg whites and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix until combined.

Then add in ½ cup of reduced champagne and combine.

In a separate, medium sized bowl, sift 2 ¼ cups of all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 ½ teaspoon of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of baking soda together.

Alternate adding 1 cup of buttermilk and the dry ingredients to the  wet ingredients a little at a time.

Continue until everything is combined together.

Divide the batter evenly between 3 6″ greased cake pans.

Bake the cakes at 350 degrees for 31-34 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the centers.

Let the cakes cool in their pans for five minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

For the White Chocolate Raspberry Jam Buttercream:

Melt 4 oz of chopped, high quality white chocolate and set aside to cool slightly.

Add 1 cup of softened, unsalted butter to a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer until it is pale in color and fluffy.

Add in the slightly cooled white chocolate. It should be still liquid and warm, but not hot as to melt the butter. Mix until fluffy again. (If you wait until the white chocolate is cool to the touch it will solidify when you mix it into the butter so don’t wait too long to add it in).

Then add in ¾ cup of powdered sugar and mix until light and fluffy.

Lastly add in ½ cup + 2 tablespoon of raspberry preserves and combine.

For the Decorative White Chocolate Buttercream:

Melt 2 oz of chopped, high quality white chocolate and set aside to cool slightly.

Add ½ cup of softened, unsalted butter to a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer until it is pale in color and fluffy.

Add in the slightly cooled white chocolate. It should be still liquid and warm, but not hot as to melt the butter. Mix until fluffy again. (If you wait until the white chocolate is cool to the touch it will solidify when you mix it into the butter so don’t wait too long to add it in).

Then add in ½ cup of powdered sugar and mix until light and fluffy.

For the White Chocolate Ganache:

Heat 2 tablespoon of heavy cream just before boiling, about 45 seconds in the microwave.

Add in ½ cup of white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate and let sit for a few minutes. Stir to combine. (If the white chocolate is not melted, microwave again in 10 second intervals until it is melted and smooth).

Set aside to cool before using on the cake.

Assembling the Cake:

Once the cakes are completely cooled assemble the cake. You can simply fill each layer with white chocolate raspberry buttercream, ice the outside with the white chocolate raspberry buttercream, pour the white chocolate ganache over the top and then decorate it how you see fit. However, if you are looking to make a really beautiful cake, follow these extra steps.

For These Steps you Will Need:

• a cake scrapper
• a rotating cake turntable
• a cake frosting spatula
• a sharp knife
• an icing piping bag fitted with a small circular tip
• an icing piping bag fitted with a large star tip, Wilton 1M works great

Getting Perfectly Sized Cake Layers

Once the cakes are completely cooled, wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for a few hours. Once they are frozen, or nearly frozen, remove them from the freezer and begin to make each layer as similar in size as possible. Usually you will only have to cut the tops off of each cake layer. With a sharp knife, remove the tops from each cake layer until each are flat and can be stacked to where the cake is even. So, each layer should sit flat on each other without the cake leaning.

Creating the Crumb Layer

Then place a dollop of white chocolate raspberry buttercream frosting in the center of your cake turntable. Place the first cake layer over it. Then add a generous amount of white chocolate raspberry buttercream frosting on top of the cake layer and even it out with your frosting spatula, turning the cake table as you go. Place the next layer over top and repeat the step. Then place the final layer over the top and place small dollops of frosting on the outsides and top of the cake. Even out the frosting as much as possible with your frosting spatula.

Then with your cake scraper, scrape the icing across the cake, turning the cake table as you go to make this as easy as possible. This layer of frosting should be very thin. This is called the ‘crumb layer’ and will ensure that the cake’s final coating of frosting is smooth and free of crumbs. Freezing the cake layers before frosting them also helps tremendously with this step.

Once the crumb layer of frosting has been applied, place the cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow the frosting to harden.

Final Frosting Layer

Once the cake has chilled in the fridge, remove it and apply the final coating of frosting. Apply generous dollops of frosting on the sides and top of the cake and smooth them out with your cake frosting spatula. Then with your cake scraper even out the frosting, turning the cake table as you go, to give you an even coating of white chocolate raspberry buttercream frosting. Make sure it is not too thin so you do not see the layers underneath, unless of course that it is how you want it to look.

Once the final layer of frosting is applied, place the cake back in the fridge to chill for another 30 minutes, up to an hour.

For the White Chocoalte Ganache Drip:

While the cake chills prepare the white chocolate ganache by pouring it into an icing piping bag fitted with a small circular tip. The white chocolate ganache should be cooled but still come easily out of the icing bag. Once chilled, remove the cake from the fridge.

Go around the top edges of the cake and squeeze the white chocolate ganache so it starts to drip down the sides of the cake. A good tip is to space out your drips about every inch. If at first it doesn’t look like it will be a long enough drip, wait a few minutes. The ganache will continue to drip down the sides of the cake. Also squeeze ganache around the top of the cake and smooth it out slightly with a clean frosting spatula. As it sits the ganache will smooth out and come together to form a beautiful finish on top of the cake.

Place the cake back in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour to let the ganache harden up a bit.

Decorating the Cake:

While it is chilling, place the white chocolate buttercream frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. (I use a Wilton 1M). Once the cake is chilled, remove it from the fridge and go along the top edges of the cake with the buttercream frosting to create a ruffle. Do this by slowly moving the piping bag back and forth in a small zigzag formation. Practice on a cutting board before to get the feel for it. Once your ruffle is on you can decorate the top of the cake with raspberries or whatever else you think would look beautiful!

Serve this cake right away, or keep in the fridge until ready to serve. Store left overs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days for the freshest, best flavor.

If you make this cake please tag me on Instagram @inbloombakery_ so I can see! Follow me on Pinterest for other dessert ideas!

Other Desserts to Try:

Raspberry Lemon Cardamom Loaf Cake

Pink Funfetti Animal Cookie Cake

Dark Chocolate Layer Cake