Learn how to make the best framboisier cake, a twist on the classic French layer cake called fraisier. The fraisier is two layers of sponge cake filled with mousseline cream and fresh strawberries, while the framboisier is made with fresh raspberries. The cake is traditionally topped with marzipan, dyed a lovely shade of pastel pink. However, sometimes it is simply topped with a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar.
Fraisier and framboisier cakes are my favourite type of cake. Growing up, they were the cake we always got from the local French bakery to celebrate any and all occasions, mostly birthdays and baptisms.
Sadly, the local bakery we used to order them from shut down, so here is my version of the classic fraisier made with raspberries, mousseline cream, and layers of my mom's hot milk sponge cake recipe.
The recipe may seem overwhelming with many components, but you can actually make it in an afternoon, so don't panic! This cake is worth the time spent!
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Meaning Of The Name
The framboisier cake is the raspberry variation of the fraisier cake, a traditional French layer cake made with strawberries. The fraisier is named after the French word for strawberry, which is "fraise." Similarly, the framboisier is named after the word "framboise," which is the French word for raspberry.
This French dessert is designed to showcase summer's most popular berry because the sides of this layer cake are not frosted, allowing you to see the strawberries that are layered inside.
Framboisier is also the French word for a raspberry bush, as the word fraisier can also refer to a strawberry plant. So, if you look up either of these words, you might get mixed results, some articles about gardening and others about baking!
Components Of Framboisier And Fraisier Cakes
The fraisier is made from two layers of sponge cake (often thin layers of génoise), brushed with a simple syrup, and filled with mousseline cream and fresh strawberries. The framboisier cake, on the other hand, is made with raspberries. Both are topped with either a dusting of powdered sugar or with a thin layer of marzipan.
As you can see, the fraisier and framboisier cakes are the French equivalent of the Victoria sponge cake recipe, which is a British layer cake made from two layers of sponge cake, filled with whipped cream, jam, and fresh berries.
To make a framboisier (or a fraisier), you will need:
- two layers of sponge cake or vanilla cake (traditionally, the recipe would be made with a génoise or even a biscuit joconde)—I like to use a hot milk cake because it's easy!
- soaking syrup that is made from 2 parts water and 1 part granulated sugar, by weight—you can leave the syrup plain or flavour it with a little spiced rum, Chambord, or another sweet fruity liqueur.
- vanilla mousseline cream, which is a French baking term for a filling made from pastry cream lightened with butter—alternatives for it include Italian meringue buttercream or a diplomat cream, which is a pastry cream lightened with whipped cream and stabilized with gelatin
- fresh raspberries if you are making a framboisier (or strawberries if you are making a fraisier)
- marzipan or icing sugar (I like to use German marzipan that is clearly labelled with the quantity of almonds so that you know you are using the good kind)
What You Need To Make Homemade Fraisier
- milk—ideally, use whole milk (3.25 % fat) or 2 % fat milk. Fat-free milk could work, but the texture of the cake may be drier, and the mousseline cream won't be as rich.
- flour—you will need both bleached all-purpose flour (for both the sponge cake and pastry cream) and a little cornstarch (to thicken the pastry cream)
- leavening—you will need baking powder for the sponge cake for the lightest texture. Read about baking soda versus baking powder if you aren't sure of the difference
- salt—I always bake with Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount to avoid the cake being too salty
- eggs—I bake with large eggs. Smaller or larger eggs will affect the texture of this dessert.
- sugar—I made all the components with granulated sugar to avoid adding any unwanted molasses flavour to the cake and filling.
- butter—I bake with unsalted butter, but if using salted butter, you may want to adjust the salt content in the cake
- flavour—I used pure vanilla extract for the sponge cake and the syrup, and vanilla bean paste for the pastry cream (a vanilla bean would also work). I also added a splash of spiced rum to the syrup for extra flavour
- marzipan—preferably a marzipan that is high in almonds
- berries—since I opted for raspberries, I used fresh raspberries for the filling and topping and freeze-dried raspberries to colour the top of the marzipan. Strawberries are the classic option (pair with freeze-dried strawberries for decor).
Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.
Special Baking Tools
The beauty of framboisier and fraisier cakes is that they are "naked cakes" with unfrosted sides that reveal the layering. To create the neatest naked cakes, without any stress, you will need to invest in a few special tools:
- cake ring—I use 6-inch cake rings for the Milk Bar cakes and for framboisier cakes and fraisier cakes, I like to make them in 8-inch cake rings
- acetate—the cake ring is lined with acetate to make unmoulding easy and completely stress-free. The acetate prevents the cake from sticking to the mould and it also creates a perfect, smooth edge.
Using a cake ring and acetate allows you to build a "naked" cake with perfectly smooth, straight edges. It's the same technique that is used for the Milk Bar recipes, like the Milk Bar birthday cake, the blackberry almond cake, and the banana split cake.
How To Make Fraisier Cakes
The beauty of fraisier and framboisier cakes is that the edges of the layer cake are not frosted. The cut berries are lined up all the way around the edge of the cake to feature them, otherwise, the mousseline cream would hide them.
A classic génoise cake works perfectly well here, but I'm a big fan of the hot milk cake, which is what we use for most of our summer cakes and desserts, like berry trifle.
The hot milk cake is lighter than a génoise because it's leavened with both whipped eggs and baking powder. It's also more tender because of the higher sugar content in the cake batter and the milk, which yields a softer cake with a more open crumb.
Step 1—Start by making the hot milk sponge cake by whipping the eggs and sugar until thick and fluffy (image 1), then fold in the flour alternating with the hot milk mixture (image 2). Bake until the cake is golden brown in a tall cake pan (image 3). Once the cake has cooled completely, you can split it into two equal layers (image 4).
Tip: Don't confuse baking soda and baking powder in this recipe. If you are unsure, read this comparison of baking soda versus baking powder.
Step 2—Heat the water and sugar (image 5) in a small saucepan until the sugar has dissolved, then add flavourings (rum and/or vanilla extract) off the heat to flavour the syrup and the cake (image 6).
Note: Layer cakes made from sponge cakes often feature a soaking syrup or a simple syrup made from water and sugar (in a 2:1 ratio, by weight). The liquid is brushed onto each layer of cake, sometimes on both sides, to lock in moisture and to add a little flavour. Of course, you don't have to add alcohol to the syrup.
Step 3—Make the pastry cream by whisking the eggs and sugar (image 7). Then, pour the hot milk over the eggs to temper them (image 8). Cook the mixture on the stove until it boils and thickens. Pass the pastry cream through a sieve to remove any lumps (image 9), then mix in the butter and vanilla (image 10). The pastry cream should be thick and emulsified.
Step 5—Rewhip the pastry cream after it has cooled to room temperature until creamy and smooth (image 11). Meanwhile, whip the butter until creamy and soft (image 13) before adding in the pastry cream slowly (image 13). Whip the mixture until fluffy, smooth, and light (image 14).
Tip: If the pastry cream was chilled in the fridge, let it come to room temperature before attempting to make the mousseline filling. If not, the mixture will end up lumpy and curdled, and you will have to use heat to melt a portion and adjust the texture (see the next section).
Step 6—Assemble the fraisier cake in a cake ring, set on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and with a piece of acetate fitted inside the walls of the ring (image 15). Start with a bottom layer of cake brushed with ⅓ of the syrup, then line up raspberries along the perimeter (image 16). Fill with most of the mousseline cream and more fresh berries (image 17), smoothing any leftover mousseline cream on top to hide the berries inside (image 18).
Step 7—Place the last layer of sponge cake on top, being sure to brush both sides generously with the remaining syrup (image 19). Meanwhile, roll out the marzipan into a 9-inch round (image 20) and place it on top of the last layer of sponge cake. Chill the cake as is for at least 4 hours to set the filling before unmoulding the cake onto a cake plate and removing the acetate.
You can colour some marzipan a pastel pink with food dye, kneading marzipan and working the colour in by hand. I prefer to leave the marzipan uncoloured, and then to sprinkle the top of the cake with freeze-dried raspberry (or strawberry) powder to add a pop of colour. You can use a mini strainer to evenly sprinkle the ground berries on top.
Tip: Many bakeries mix the marzipan with a small amount of gel food colouring to dye it a pale pink or pale green. I prefer to leave the marzipan the way it is, a pale beige. For colour, I like to sprinkle (or grate with a Microplane) some freeze-dried raspberries.
The key to the marzipan layer is to roll it out and cut it to exactly the size of the cake. In fact, you can use the cake ring you build the cake in as a giant cutter for the marzipan layer. Just make sure to do this step before you start building the layer cake!
Tips For Perfect Mousseline Cream Filling
Mousseline cream is a pastry cream that is whipped with a generous amount of butter. Ironically, the extra butter gives this filling a lighter texture than straight pastry cream!
In order to successfully make a mousseline cream, like with other real buttercreams, it's important that the butter and the pastry cream are similar temperatures:
- If the pastry cream is too cold (like if you chilled it in the refrigerator for hours), the softened butter will harden as you whip the two together. This lead to a grainy frosting with tiny chunks of butter.
- To fix this, you will have to warm the mixing bowl with a hair dryer or a heat gun to warm the filling and whip the mixture a lot (images 22-23).
- If the butter is too warm (and if your kitchen is too warm), the emulsion in the filling will break, and the fat may separate out of the filling, leading to an overly shiny, greasy texture.
- To fix this, you may have to chill the filling in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes to cool it down and then whip the mixture a lot.
Either way, the filling needs to be whipped/whisked extensively to emulsify it and achieve a lighter, more airy texture and taste.
Storage
Given this raspberry cake is made with fresh berries and a mousseline cream, it's best to store it in the fridge. If you've cut into the cake, just cover the cut edges with pieces of parchment to prevent them from drying out. Cover the whole thing loosely with aluminum foil. You can store this cake for up to a week in the refrigerator, or freeze slices for later. The berries will break down if you defrost this cake, so it's best stored in the fridge and eaten within a week.
For a detailed explanation, read about how to store cake.
Other Berry Recipes
When it's peak berry season, here are a few other berry baking recipes to try:
If you tried this recipe for the best framboisier cake (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Framboisier Cake
Ingredients
Vanilla bean pastry cream
- 115 grams unsalted butter room temperature (softened)
- 5 mL vanilla bean paste
- 500 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat) or 2 % fat
- 100 grams granulated sugar divided
- 2 large egg(s)
- 24 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 16 grams cornstarch
- 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
Hot milk sponge cake
- 125 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat) or 2 % fat
- 15 grams unsalted butter
- 5 mL pure vanilla extract
- 125 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 5 mL baking powder
- 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
- 2 large egg(s)
- 200 grams granulated sugar
Syrup
- 100 mL water
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 15 mL spiced or dark rum or a splash of vanilla extract
Mousseline cream
- 1 batch vanilla bean pastry cream (room temperature) recipe above
- 115 grams unsalted butter room temperature (softened)
Framboisier assembly
- 300 grams Fresh raspberries
- 200 grams marzipan rolled out and trimmed into an 8-inch circle
- freeze-dried raspberries optional, either ground or grated on a microplane
Instructions
Pastry cream
- Place a strainer over a large bowl that contains the butter and vanilla bean paste. Set aside.
- Place the milk in a medium saucepan. Stir in half the sugar. Heat over medium–high until the milk is almost boiliing.
- Meanwhile, whip the eggs with the remaining sugar until light in colour and fluffy. Whisk in the flour and cornstarch until smooth.
- When the milk is hot, turn off the stove and, whisking constantly, pour the milk over the egg mixture.
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Heat it on medium—high heat until the mixture comes to a boil, whisking constantly.
- Boil the mixture for 2 minutes until very thick, then immediately take off the heat and pour the custard over the strainer and push it through. Whisk the strained pastry cream to incorporate the butter (which has likely melted) and vanilla at the bottom.
- Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap and let cool to room temperature.
Hot milk sponge cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Butter and flour an 8-inch (20 cm) cake pan with 3-inch (7.5 cm) sides or an 8-inch (20 cm) springform. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan (or in a microwave safe bowl), heat the milk with the butter until the butter is melted on low heat. Add the vanilla and let cool slightly.
- Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs with the sugar until very light and fluffy. The mixture should at least double in volume, if not more.
- Add dry ingredients alternately with wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry. You can fold it in or just whisk it in.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and smooth it out. Tap the cake pan on the counter a few times to release any big air bubbles.
- Bake the cake until golden brown. A cake tester inserted into the middle should come out clean. The cake will be spongy and light and spring back when gently pressed. This takes about 35 minutes.
- Let cool slightly before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool completely. You can cool the cake upside down to flatten the top.
Syrup
- In a small saucepan, combine the water and the sugar. Heat it on medium until the sugar is dissolved.
- Remove from the heat and add the rum (or vanilla). Let cool.
Mousseline
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the butter until creamy and smooth.
- Rewhip the pastry cream to loosen it up, then gradually add it to the stand mixer, whipping constantly.
- Whip the mixture until it is light and fluffy.
- Transfer the mousseline to a large pastry bag and use immediately.
Framboisier assembly
- Using a serrated knife, trim the top of the sponge cake if necessary so that it is flat and levelled. Slice the sponge cake into two equal layers.
- Place the bottom layer on the bottom of the ring and press it gently so that it fits flat.
- Brush the cake with one third of the syrup, roughly 50 mL (a little more than 3 tbsp).
- Slice 13 to 14 raspberries in half and arrange them neatly on top of the bottom layer of cake, pressing them gently against the acetate to set them in place.
- Pipe half the mousseline in the middle and smooth it from edge to edge, gently pushing it against the berries to lock them in place.
- Scatter raspberries over the mousseline (you'll need 50 to 60 berries depending on their size). Press the berries into the cream, gently.
- Pipe the rest of the mousseline over the berries, then smooth it from edge to edge with an offset spatula. The berries should be completely covered.
- Brush the underside of the top cake layer with 50 mL of syrup, then place over the mousseline cream, pressing gently to make sure there are no gaps of air.
- Brush the top of the cake with the rest of the syrup.
- Place the marzipan on top and press it gently to smooth it out.
- Chill the cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
- Before serving, remove the cake ring and gently peel off the acetate.
- Let the cake sit at room temperature for 30 minutes so that the mousseline isn't too cold.
- Sprinkle the top with a generous amount of ground freeze-dried raspberries or freeze-dried raspberry powder.
Notes
- This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
- For the sponge cake:
- For detailed step-by-step photos and instructions, read about the hot milk cake recipe.
- If you have the patience, you can beat the eggs and sugar to the ribbon stage. If you don’t have the time, just make sure that they are frothy. I’m not sure that beating them to the ribbon stage is necessary, but this time I did go the extra mile and was pleased with the extra sponginess that it gave the final cake.
- When adding the wet and the dry alternately, remember to start and end with the dry. Thus: dry, wet, dry, wet, dry. This is one of the golden rules of baking, although I’m not quite sure why.
- We always butter (or spray with cooking spray) the inside of the pan and coat it with sugar (not flour) because sugar is delicious. Flour works best to prevent sticking so that's what I did in this recipe.
- For the mousseline cream:
- Look over the pastry cream recipe to review the detailed step-by-step photos and instructions.
- If the pastry cream or the butter is too cold, the texture will be lumpy. Use a blowdryer to heat the outside of the bowl, melting a portion of the filling. It will look even worse, but then when you whip it, it will come together into a light, fluffy, creamy, smooth mixture. Repeat this process until you achieve the desired texture. It takes some time, but it's worth it!
- You can make this exact recipe, replacing the raspberries with strawberries.
- You can dye the marzipan with a small amount of gel food colouring (traditionally, it is dyed pale pink or pastel green). Instead, I opted to leave the marzipan as is and dust it with ground freeze-dried raspberries for a pretty effect on top.
- Let the cake chill for 4 hours before unmoulding it to solidify the layers. At that point, you can place it on a plate and remove the cake ring. Let the cake sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving for the optimal texture and flavour.
- Store the leftover cake in the fridge, wrapped tightly.
Donna says
I just found this recipe, but I have a question. Two different pictures one shows that it looks like it has powdered sugar sprinkled on the top but the other one is red on top. Can you tell me what the red top is? Thank you. I look forward to trying this.
Janice Lawandi says
Hi Donna,
The first time I made this recipe, I skipped the layer of marzipan on top and simply dusted with powdered sugar. Technically, fraisiers and framboisiers always have a thin layer of marzipan on top so I retested the recipe and opted for the more classic marzipan topping. I ground freeze-dried raspberries to sprinkle over top to give it the bright red colour on top! Hope this makes sense and sorry I skipped that step in the directions!
katherine says
When do you use the freeze dried raspberries? You have them listed in the ingredients but I can’t seem to see when you use them in the method.
Janice Lawandi says
Hi Katherine! They are sprinkled on top of the marzipan just before serving. Definitely optional but it gives the top a nice punch of colour without having to use food colouring.
Cyndi says
When and where do you add the vanilla bean pastry cream?
Janice says
Hi Cyndi,
You make the mousseline from pastry cream plus butter, so the vanilla bean pastry cream you make at the beginning of the recipe is used later in the steps to make the mousseline. I hope that helps! I apologize for the confusion!