Sweet Marsala Cake with Berries & Cream
Late Spring and Summer are a great time to create desserts with sweet seasonal berries. Strawberries are among my favorites, but feel free to use other ripe tasty morsels to top this cake. The cake is lightly scented with the addition of Sweet Marsala wine, long with hint of orange. The filling is creamy and the Mascarpone adds a nutty tang. The cake easily serves 8, and is equally good if one substitutes peaches or nectarines for the berries.
Equipment
- Two 8" cake tins
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (298g)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (114g)
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil (177ml)
- 3 whole grade A large eggs
- 1/3 cup Sweet Marsala wine (79ml)
- 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream (158ml)
- 1 tsp Neilsen-Massey vanilla extract (4.3g)
- 1/2 tsp Neilsen-Massey orange extract (2.1g)
- 2 1/3 cups King Arthur Cake Flour (280g)
- 2 tsp baking powder (9g)
- 1 tsp salt(6g)
FOR THE CREAM FILLING
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (237ml)
- 1 cup Mascarpone (240g)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (60g)
- 1 tsp Neilsen-Massey vanilla extract (4.3g)
- 1/2 tsp Neilsen-Massey Orange extract (2.1g)
BERRY TOPPING
- 2 cups sliced strawberries (330g) or mixed berries of your choice
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar or to taste
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE
- 1. Line two 8" cake pans with parchment paper.2. Preheat your oven to 350°3. Set our your butter, eggs and cream ahead of time so these ingredients can come to room temperature.
- Place the sugar and the room temperature butter in the bowl of your mixer. Use the paddle attachment. Beat for a minute. Next add the vegetable oil, vanilla and orange extracts. Beat one more minute to combine all ingredients. Start adding the eggs, one at a time, completely incorporating each before adding the next. Now add the Marsala and whipping cream and switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. The mixture should have increased in volume and is light and airy.
- Use a fine mesh strainer or sifter to sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Scoop the sifted ingredients into the cake batter and beat at low speed just until combined. Stop – use a rubber spatula t scrape the sides of bottom of the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on once again to low-medium speed and beat for about 30 seconds or until you have a smooth creamy batter. Avoid over mixing , as this can result in a dense or heavy cake.
- Divide the batter equally between the two cake pans, and place on the center rack of your preheated oven. NOTE: SET TIMER FOR 15 MINUTES – THEN REDUCE OVEN TEMPERATURE TO 325°. Bake cake another 10 to 15 minutes. When the cake is baked it should be a golden brown on top and spring back when gently pressed in the center with your finger.
- Allow the layers to cool for 20 minutes. Run a knife along the outer rim to loosen the cake from the sides and invert the layers on to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting. At this point you may also wrap each layer in plastic wrap, place layers in a ziplock freezer bag and freeze for up to one month.
FOR THE CREAM FILLING
- Place the whipping cream, Mascarpone, vanilla and orange extracts in the bowl of your mixer. Fit mixer with the whisk attachment and beat until all ingredients are combined.Sift in the powder sugar. Increase or decrease the amount of sugar depending on personal preference. Beat to firm peak stage.
FOR THE BERRIES
- Wash and slice the strawberries, or berries or fruit of your choice. If the strawberries are very small, I prefer to leave them whole, just remove the stem. Toss with the sugar. Allow to set at least 30 minutes before topping the cake.
TO ASSEMBLE
- Spread about one half of the cream filling on the bottom layer of the cake, place the second layer on top and spread the remainder of the cream filling. Arrange the sugared berries in the center. Keep chilled. Cake is best if you remove it from the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to serving.
- NOTE: SOMETIMES I DRIZZLE JUST A BIT OF VERY GOOD OLD BALSAMIC VINEGAR OVER THE BERRIES AT SERVING TIME. IT ADDS A LOVELY TOUCH.