Raspberry caramel cake

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This raspberry whipped cream cake is a deliciously sweet yet fresh layer cake. This does not have a buttercream filling but one with cream cheese and whipped heavy cream. This is very famous at Finnish parties.

from the side on a white cake board with a cut slice and pink roses.

History

This cake is a famous Finnish filled layer cake. It is often decorated just with whipped cream and a caramel layer. The cake is usually filled with raspberry jam, but this makes the cake overwhelmingly sweet, so I love some fresh raspberries in the filling to give it some freshness.

This cake is eaten at weddings, engagement parties, baptism celebrations, and other events. This is not the easiest to make since cooking the caramel takes some time, though certainly worth the effort.

There is also a buttercream version that is usually sold in confectioneries. This version stores better since it is filled and decorated with buttercream.

Ingredients

For the sponge cake

All-purpose flour
Potato starch
Sugar
Eggs
Baking powder

Filling and topping

Whipping cream
Cream cheese
Vanilla extract
Fresh raspberries
Raspberry jam

Caramel sauce ingredients

Heavy cream
White sugar
Brown sugar
Some butter(optional)

Equipment

You need a 9-inch round cake pan. I used a 24 cm cake pan. A Teflon or other nonstick pan is great for boiling the caramel.

Instructions

Base

Turn on your oven to 350F (175C). Oil or butter your cake pan. Use some breadcrumbs if you like. Beat the eggs and the sugar until very fluffy, approx 7 minutes. Mix the flour and baking powder, strain them into the foam and mix gently. Pour the batter into the pan—Bake on the lower level for 40 minutes.
Allow the cake to cool slightly and set it aside. When the cake is thoroughly cooled, cut it into three parts.

How to make caramel icing

You can start cooking your caramel topping at the end of the baking time of the sponge cake. Mix the sugar and heavy cream in a pot. Boil it gently for 20-40 minutes while at the same time stirring the sauce.
Your caramel should reach the temperature of 230-240 F (110C); it should not be much higher since it can turn too hard. A simple trick to know if your caramel is ready is to drop some in cold water in a glass. If it stays as a firm drop, it is ready. Finally, mix in some butter; this gives glossiness to the caramel.

Assembling and decorating

Whisk 1,5 cups of whipping cream for the filling. Make into a solid foam, add the cream cheese and vanilla aroma and whisk gently. Put the mix in a piping bag.
Place the top layer of the sponge cake on the bottom of the cake tray. Moisten it with ¼ cup of milk.
Mash the raspberries (leave some for decorating). Mix the raspberry mash with the jam. Pipe the edge of the cake with filling. Fill the middle with half of the raspberry mix. Add half of the filling on top and smooth it out with a knife or palette knife. Do the same with the next layer.
Do not moisten the top layer of the cake. Whip the remaining whipping cream 1,5 cups. Flavor it with additional vanilla if you like. Put it in a clean piping bag with a star tip.
Pipe some cream on the edge. Pour your caramel in the middle. If your caramel is quite firm, you don't necessarily need the piping.
Pipe some cream on the sides and even it with a palette knife. After this, you can pipe preferred patterns to the sides and on the cake. Decorate with some fresh raspberries.

Decorations

You need a piping bag and a star-shaped piping tip. With this, you can make different easy pipings with the whipped cream on the sides and to the rim of the cake.

If you are a more advanced "piper," you can make beautiful roses on the rim. Choose if you want to decorate your cake with fresh berries also or not. I used raspberries since they are in the filling.

layered cake from top with cream roses and raspberries.

Variations

Cloudberries. These grow in Finland, and they are a rare delicacy as filling.
Strawberries. These are an excellent alternative for raspberries. Mash them for the filling or use strawberry jam.
Banana. If you use banana in the filling, it makes you think of a banoffee pie.
Apple. Apple jam can be used as filling. Apple also goes well with caramel.

You can replace the whipped cream with buttercream or swiss meringue.

Storing and food safety

You can store this cake for three days in the fridge. It is best kept covered since whipped cream can get some flavor from other foods in the refrigerator.

When you serve the cake, keep it on the table for a maximum of 1-2 hours to avoid food poisoning since it has milk products. Avoid direct sunlight.

Whipped cream does not like warm temperatures, and it might start melting in the sun. Keep your cake in the shade. To keep your whipped cream more firm, you can add 2 tablespoon of vanilla pudding mix.

Can you use frozen raspberries on the cake?

You can thaw some frozen ones as filling, but decorate the cake with fresh ones. We need to wash all fresh foreign raspberries here in Finland and boil all imported frozen ones for one minute. This is the safest to do if you want to be sure to avoid any risk of A-hepatitis or norovirus. So, ones from your garden are safe to eat as fresh or frozen, but imported foreign berries are safest to eat first boiled.

Problem-solving

Caramel curdles

There might have been some water in your pan. Also, if your sugar had molasses, the amino acids in this might cause it. The fatter your cream is, the less likely it curdles. It also needs to be stirred in the pan. You can try to reheat your curdled caramel at a higher temperature and stirring continuously. A separated caramel is okay to eat but does look a bit grainy and not shiny. You might want to do a new batch as the cake icing.

Caramel became too hard.

You can reheat it and add some butter or a tablespoon of cream.

Caramel became granular

You cooked it with too much heat.

Other Finnish desserts