This fresh fruit cake is bursting with sweet, juicy seasonal fruit. It's made with fluffy whipped cream, layers of soft Genoise cake, and any fruit of your choice! This cake is just like the beautiful Asian fruit cakes sold in Korean, Chinese, and Japanese bakeries.
Fresh fruit cake showcases colorful, fresh fruit slices beautifully placed atop fluffy whipped cream enveloping soft layers of sponge cake.
It's the perfect cake to highlight sweet, seasonal fruit and is great for birthdays, Easter, Christmas, and any other occasion!
This fresh fruit cake is popular in Asian countries and is commonly sold in Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese bakeries all over the world. If you visit any Korean or Taiwanese bakery like Tous Les Jours, Paris Baguette, or 85 degrees, you'll see beautifully decorated fresh fruit cakes showcasing amazing decorating techniques.
For this easy home cook version, I kept the decorating simple and let the vibrant, colorful fruit be the main feature of the cake.
Ingredients
How to Make Fresh Fruit Cake
- Place the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a heat-proof bowl. Place this inside a larger bowl that's been filled with hot water.
- Beat on high until the eggs get foamy and start to increase in volume.
- When the eggs become pale yellow and fluffy, check to see if the sugar is completely dissolved and the temperature is warm.
- When the volume has increased by at least 3 times, lift the whisk and let the mixture flow down like ribbons. If the ribbons appear for 3 to 4 seconds, it's reached the ribbon stage.
- and 6. Sift in the flour in three parts and fold after each time.
- Before adding the melted butter, mix in about 3 heaping tablespoons of batter. This will help incorporate the butter into the batter.
- Gently add the butter mixture and fold in very gently, taking care not to deflate the batter.
- and 10. When you no longer see melted butter, pour the batter into a cake pan lined with parchment paper. Bake the cake at 350 degrees F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let it rest on a cooling rack, and slice the cake into layers once completely cooled.
Brush the bottom cake layer with cake syrup, then apply a thin layer of whipped cream. Next, top with strawberry slices and apply another thin layer of whipped cream. Top with the next cake layer and repeat these steps.
Decorate the sides and top of the cake with more whipped cream. Then add the fresh fruit topping. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
More cake recipes:
Recipe
Fresh Fruit Cake
Equipment
☑ Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
- 1 cup cake flour
- 4 eggs - room temperature
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 ¾ tablespoon butter - melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cake Syrup
- ⅓ cup hot water
- 3 tablespoons sugar
Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream - cold
- 6 to 8 tablespoons powdered sugar - adjust to taste
Fruit Topping and Filling
- 3 cups fresh fruit - strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, kiwi, mandarin oranges
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom and sides of the cake pan with parchment paper.
- Whip Eggs: In a large heat-proof bowl, add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Place this bowl inside a larger bowl that's been filled with hot water (bain-marie). Using a hand mixer, beat the eggs on high speed until soft, fluffy, and pale yellow ribbons form, about 8 to 10 minutes. Replace the hot water halfway through as it cools down. See Note 1.⅔ cup sugar, 4 eggs, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add Flour: Sift in the flour in three parts, gently folding after each time.1 cup cake flour
- Add Butter: To help incorporate the butter, mix 3 heaping spoonfuls of the batter into the warmed, melted butter. Next, gently fold the butter mixture into the batter. See Note 2.1 ¾ tablespoon butter
- Bake: Pour the batter into your cake pan and bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For one 9-inch round pan, about 25 minutes. For two 6-inch round pans, about 18 minutes.
- Cool: Remove all parchment paper and allow it to cool completely on a cooling rack.
For the Whipped Cream:
- Using a whisk attachment, beat the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy.2 cups heavy whipping cream, 6 to 8 tablespoons powdered sugar
Assemble:
- Cake syrup: Make cake syrup by dissolving the sugar in hot water. Set aside.3 tablespoons sugar, ⅓ cup hot water
- Fill: Slice the cake into even layers using a leveler. Working with the bottom cake layer, brush on a layer of cake syrup, then add a thin layer of whipped cream. Top with sliced fruit, being careful not to overfill. Then top with another thin layer of whipped cream. Repeat these steps for the next cake layer. See Notes 3 and 4.3 cups fresh fruit
- Decorate: Decorate the top layer with more fruit and whipped cream. Serve and enjoy!
✎ Recipe Notes
- Whipping eggs: It is essential the egg mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar is completely dissolved for this step, thus requiring a bain-marie. See step-by-step photos in the post for the proper ribbon stage. If you're looking for a sponge cake that doesn't require a bain-marie, try my Easy Sponge Cake recipe.
- When adding butter, it's very easy to deflate the batter. Make sure the melted butter and batter are still warm. Cold temperatures will solidify the butter and deflate the batter. Fold very gently at this stage until just combined.
- Cake layers: I recommend using no more than 3 layers per cake as it can easily collapse if too tall. If using a 9-inch cake, use 3 layers. If using two 6-inch cakes, create two 2-layer cakes or one 3-layer cake.
- Overfilling the cake with too much fruit or whipped cream can cause it to collapse. Be conservative when placing the fruit and be sure they are sliced the same thickness to have a level layer. I recommend using cake dowels for extra support.
- Storage: Store decorated and filled cake in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is an estimate, calculated using online tools.
Mizzle
Hi! I’m running into a problem where I’m folding the flour in so gently that there are big air pockets of flour. I don’t really know how to get rid of them all without overmixing. I think I had the same problem with butter- I was so afraid of overmixing that I stopped mixing before I was certain everything was well combined. Do you have a video or more photos of what the cake looks like after each step? I don’t think I mixed enough but I’m also not sure what it’s supposed to look like after baking! Thanks!
Jamie
Hi Mizzle, you definitely want to mix in the flour and butter completely before baking. As long as you mix the batter using a gentle folding action, it should be okay to continue mixing. I can make a video of this recipe in the future. I'll add that to my to do list. 🙂