Fresh Fruit Cake

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.

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Ingredients

• Eggs – Use large, room-temperature eggs. Set them out on the counter 30 minutes before using them.

• Cake flour – Cake flour has less gluten and protein which results in a fluffy, lighter sponge cake.

• Sugar – Use granulated, white sugar.

• Butter – Butter gives this cake richness and flavor.

• Vanilla – Use a good quality vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.

How to Make Fresh Fruit Cake

1. 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.
2. Beat on high until the eggs get foamy and start to increase in volume.
3. When the eggs become pale yellow and fluffy, check to see if the sugar is completely dissolved and the temperature is warm.
4. 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.

5. and 6. Sift in the flour in three parts and fold after each time.

7. Before adding the melted butter, mix in about 3 heaping tablespoons of batter. This will help incorporate the butter into the batter.
8. Gently add the butter mixture and fold in very gently, taking care not to deflate the batter.

9. 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!

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Recipe Tips

• Dry the fruit very well before filling and topping the cake. This will help it last longer.

• 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.Avoid overfilling the layers. It can cause the cake to collapse if too heavy.

• Cake syrup – To keep the cake moist and delicate, brush the cake syrup on each cake layer. This technique is used by many commercial bakeries and pastry chefs, including in my own family.

• Store fresh fruit cake in the fridge for up to two days for the best flavor.

More cake recipes:

Fresh Fruit Cake

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.

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Prep Time

15

mins

Cook Time

30

mins

Total Time

45

mins

Course

Dessert

Cuisine

American

Servings

8

Equipment

• Hand Mixer
• Cake Leveler Attachment

☑ 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

Cook Mode

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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

  : 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

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

Metric” under the ingredients list to access gram measurements.

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

1. 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. 
2. 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.

3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Storage: Store decorated and filled cake in the fridge for up to 2 days. 

Nutrition

Calories:

437

kcal

|

Carbohydrates:

45

g

|

Protein:

7

g

|

Fat:

27

g

|

Saturated Fat:

16

g

|

Polyunsaturated Fat:

2

g

|

Monounsaturated Fat:

7

g

|

Trans Fat:

0.1

g

|

Cholesterol:

156

mg

|

Sodium:

141

mg

|

Potassium:

125

mg

|

Fiber:

1

g

|

Sugar:

32

g

|

Vitamin A:

1088

IU

|

Vitamin C:

1

mg

|

Calcium:

58

mg

|

Iron:

1

mg

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*Nutritional information is an estimate, calculated using online tools.