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    You are here: Home / Desserts / Cake / Raspberry Cake Filling

    Raspberry Cake Filling

    June 1, 2020 By Sam 53 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    A simple recipe for raspberry cake filling. Today’s recipe is easy and can be made on the stovetop with fresh or frozen raspberries. 

    raspberry cake filling in white bowl

    A quick and easy recipe to start off the week.

    I wasn’t originally going to make a standalone post for raspberry cake filling, I actually developed it as part of Thursday’s recipe. But enough people have asked me for cake fillings that I thought it might make the most sense to give this recipe its own post, and here we are. 

    Sweet, tart, and simple, you can prepare your own filling in 15 minutes (just keep in mind you’ll need about an hour to let it cool completely). This recipe is great for filling a standard 2-layer cake or 12 of your favorite cupcakes.

    Ingredients for raspberry cake filling

    What You Need

    • Raspberries. Fresh or frozen will work. I generally tend to prefer frozen when making raspberry cake filling because they’re never out of season and they’re often less expensive.
    • Sugar. Necessary to properly thicken the filling and to keep it from being too tart. Regular granulated or caster sugar will work.
    • Corn Starch. Also key for a filling that’s not too runny. 
    • Water. Just a splash helps everything to combine nicely and keeps the berries from burning on the bottom of your pan before they have a chance to release their juices.
    • Lemon juice. Optional, but I like it for the best flavor. Fresh is great, but bottled will work just fine.

    Quick Tips:

    • Whisk together your sugar and cornstarch first, before adding any other ingredients. Whisk well. This will prevent any cornstarch clumps in your raspberry cake filling.
    • Keep stovetop heat on medium. If you start out with heat that’s too high, the berries will burn and you’ll have a thick paste OR the sugar won’t melt properly and your filling won’t achieve the proper consistency.
    • Why no vanilla? I don’t like to add vanilla extract to my filling because I find it takes away from the tart, fresh taste of the raspberries and gives the whole thing a sort of… candied? flavor. If you’re desperate to add vanilla, a small splash (¼ teaspoon) after cooking the mixture would be my most generous recommendation.

    raspberries and sugar in silver-colored saucepan

    How to Store

    Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. If the filling is too firm to easily spread when you go to use it, you can briefly (5 seconds at a time) stir it until the consistency is spreadable. Don’t heat it so much that it’s runny!

    How to Use For Filling a Cake

    This recipe will fill a standard 2 layer 8″ or 9″ round cake. It can be doubled or even tripled for larger cakes or cakes with more layers, though sometimes I find I need to add a bit more water when cooking more berries.

    Always allow your cake and your filling to cool completely before assembling. I strongly recommend using a sturdy frosting dam around the border of your first layer of cake (Swiss meringue buttercream, buttercream frosting, and my cream cheese frosting are all great sturdy decorating options).  This will keep your cake from sliding and will keep the filling from oozing out the sides. 

    The photo below is actually a photo from my strawberry cake but the same exact technique applies and I thought the visual might be helpful.

    spooning strawberry jam into frosting dam on strawberry cake layer
    Cake layer with frosting dam and berry filling

    I’ll be using today’s recipe to make petit fours for Thursday’s post, so if you want to whip up a batch today you can store it in the refrigerator until then! Hint: you’ll also need a batch of my lemon curd!

    How to Use For Cupcakes:

    My preferred method for filling cupcakes with raspberry cake filling is to carve a 1″ wide, 1″ deep hole into the surface of a completely cooled cupcake. Remove the core you just carved, slice off the bottom saving a ¼″ thick surface. Fill your cupcakes and then replace the reserved surface before piping.

    I use this technique in my pinata cupcakes and gender reveal cupcakes (and you can watch me carve the gender reveal cupcakes in the video in the recipe card, it starts around 6:26). The filling I use there is different but the same concept for carving applies.

    How Many Cupcakes will this fill?

    You can fill 12 cupcakes with this recipe. 

    freshly cooked raspberry sauce in saucepan

    What If I Don’t Like Seeds?

    Good news for you! You can eliminate some or all of the seeds from your raspberry cake filling. To do so, immediately after cooking the filling on the saucepan, press all of the filling (or only part of the filling, if you don’t mind some seeds) through a fine mesh strainer.

    Use a spatula and you will want to repeatedly press, stir, and press again to squeeze as much of that precious juice through the strainer as possible. Keep in mind that if you strain out the seeds you will have much less filling than the recipe indicates, so if you intend to do this I recommend doubling the recipe.

    Use in Any Of These Recipes:

    • White Cake 
    • Dark Chocolate Cupcakes (I’d go with a different frosting other than the peanut butter that’s listed, maybe chocolate cream cheese frosting instead!)
    • Chocolate Cake
    • Vanilla Cake
    • Coconut Cake

    Be sure to watch the video in the recipe card before beginning, and please leave me a comment if you try the recipe!

    raspberry cake filling in white bowl

    Raspberry Cake Filling

    This recipe is simple and adds fresh flavor to your favorite cake or cupcake recipe! It will fill one 8" or 9" two layer cake or 12 cupcakes. This makes about 1 ¼ cups of filling.
    Recipe includes a how-to video!
    5 from 32 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes
    Cooling Time: 45 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
    Servings: 12 servings
    Calories: 37kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • ⅓ cup granulated sugar (65g)
    • 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
    • 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries 8oz (226g)
    • 2 Tablespoons water
    • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice optional, but recommended for best flavor

    Recommended Equipment

    • Small saucepan
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Combine sugar and cornstarch in small saucepan and whisk until combined.
    • Add raspberries, water, and lemon juice and stir together until all ingredients are combined.
    • Turn stovetop heat to medium (Important! don’t increase the heat above this, you want everything to heat slowly so the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens properly) and cook, stirring almost constantly, until berries release their juices and mixture begins to bubble (it usually takes about 7 minutes for my mixture to begin to bubble).
    • Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until thickened (this usually takes me about 2 minutes). Remember that the filling will continue to thicken as it cools, you don’t want it to become pasty in the saucepan or it will be too thick after cooling
    • Transfer to a heatproof container and allow to cool to room temperature before spreading over cake. If not using immediately, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. If mixture is too thick to spread over cake after refrigerating, briefly heat it in the microwave for several seconds until it is a spreadable consistency.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving (about 1 ⅔ Tablespoon, there are about 12 servings total) | Calories: 37kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 30mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 7IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tabitha

      January 07, 2023 at 3:35 pm

      5 stars
      Perfect! I doubled recipe and it still came out perfect. Used between four layers lemon cake. It was delicious!

      Reply
      • Sam

        January 08, 2023 at 9:05 pm

        I’m so glad to hear this! Thank you for trying my recipe, Tabitha!

        Reply
    2. Janice

      September 21, 2022 at 12:07 pm

      5 stars
      Great recipe. Every time I serve it I get rave reviews.

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        September 21, 2022 at 2:53 pm

        We love comments like these, Janice! Thanks so much for your five-star review 🥰

        Reply
    3. Ines

      June 15, 2022 at 6:36 pm

      5 stars
      Can I use strawberries or blueberries instead of raspberries?

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        June 16, 2022 at 9:40 am

        Hi Ines! That should work. Depending on how juicy your fruit is, you may need more or less water 🙂

        Reply
    4. Luci

      June 03, 2022 at 11:15 am

      5 stars
      Wonderful recipe! Great timing guidance. Thanks!

      Reply
    5. Nancy Hogan

      March 22, 2022 at 10:24 am

      I followed recipe exactly and it seems to Runny. Should i have left a tablespoon of water out due to lemon juice

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 22, 2022 at 1:56 pm

        Hi Nancy! It may have just needed to simmer for a few more minutes. 🙂

        Reply
        • Nancy Hogan

          March 22, 2022 at 2:14 pm

          I put back in pan and recooked. Worked perfectly. Thanks

      • Nancy Hogan

        March 22, 2022 at 2:15 pm

        5 stars
        Excellent

        Reply
    6. Jenni

      March 15, 2022 at 7:16 pm

      This was absolutely divine! I used this filling for a poppyseed cake I made for my Mother in law’s wedding. It was delicious!

      Reply
      • Jenni

        March 15, 2022 at 7:17 pm

        5 stars
        I forgot to mention that I froze the remaining raspberry filling and after thawing, it was still amazing!

        Reply
        • Sam

          March 16, 2022 at 9:30 am

          I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jenni! 🙂

    7. Rena

      October 01, 2021 at 4:13 pm

      5 stars
      Can the leftovers be kept in the freezer for another time?

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        October 04, 2021 at 9:49 am

        Hi Rena! That should work just fine. 🙂

        Reply
    8. Sandy Fath

      August 06, 2021 at 7:16 pm

      5 stars
      Would you be able to use this as a topping for cheesecake?

      Reply
      • Sam

        August 06, 2021 at 9:59 pm

        Hi Sandy! You can, but it’s not going to be the best option. It’s a bit thicker than a sauce you’d typically top a cheesecake with. I would recommend my checking out my strawberry sauce. 🙂

        Reply
    9. Milagros

      July 03, 2021 at 9:53 am

      I accidentally left this out over night, will it still be okay to serve? It was in an air tight container and my house is pretty cold.

      Reply
      • Sam

        July 03, 2021 at 1:06 pm

        Personally I would be comfortable using it, but I’m not sure what food safety guidelines would say.

        Reply
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    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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