Fresh Fruit Cake

5 from 146 votes

This fresh fruit cake is bursting with sweet, juicy seasonal fruit. It's made with fluffy whipped cream, layers of soft sponge cake, and any fruit of your choice! This cake is just like the beautiful Asian fruit cakes sold in Korean, Chinese, and Japanese bakeries.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 437kcal

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

US Customary - Metric

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!

Notes

Makes one 9-inch or two 6-inch cakes (the photo shown is of a 6-inch cake).

I highly recommend using a kitchen scale and the metric measurements provided for the best results. Click on "Metric" under the ingredients list to access gram measurements.

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