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Gluten Free Raspberry Vanilla Bean Layer Cake

This is an elegant tower of vanilla raspberry cakes, layered with raspberry buttercream, whipped cream, fresh raspberries, and vanilla bean buttercream
Prep Time3 hours
Cook Time35 minutes
Chilling time1 hour
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free
Keyword: buttercream, elegant, gluten free, layer cake, raspberry, vanilla, vanilla bean
Servings: 16 people
Calories: 500kcal
Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

  • 9-inch round cake pans
  • Electric mixer
  • Pastry bags
  • Cake leveler - optional

Ingredients

For the cakes:

  • 2 1/4 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum in it (if your mix does not contain xanthan gum, add 1 tsp of it now)
  • 1 1/2 Cup blanched almond flour
  • 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 4 large eggs plus 1 egg white
  • 1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp canola oil
  • 1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp sour cream
  • 1 1/2 Cup white sugar
  • 4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 Cup milk
  • 1 1/2 Cup fresh raspberries - torn into pieces

For the raspberry buttercream:

  • 1 Cup salted butter room temperature
  • 2-3 Cups sifted powdered sugar
  • 1/4 Cup sifted powdered freeze dried raspberries instructions below
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the vanilla bean whipped cream:

  • 1 Cup heavy cream
  • 2 Tbsp sifted powdered sugar
  • the seeds from 1/2 a vanilla bean pod instructions below

For the vanilla bean buttercream:

  • 4 Cups salted butter room temperature
  • 6-7 Cups sifted powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • the seeds from 1 whole vanilla bean pod instructions below
  • 1 tbsp cream

For decorating:

  • 1 Cup fresh raspberries

Instructions

  • First, make your cakes! Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and grease three 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray or butter, then set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Then, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, and milk until smooth. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk to combine. Add in the torn raspberries (I choose not to chop the raspberries so that their juice doesn't bleed into the cakes) and stir with a spatula to combine. Pour the batter evenly into the three pans, and bake for 33-38 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Let cakes cool completely, and then use a sharp, long knife to carefully slice off the rounded tops of each cake so that they are flat - eat or discard the tops!
  • While the cakes are cooling, make the two buttercreams and whipped cream. First, the raspberry buttercream. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter on high for 1-2 minutes. Add in the powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla and beat again to combine. Use a nutribullet or food processor to blitz up a bag of freeze dried raspberries until they're a find powder. Sift the raspberry powder to remove seeds and add powder to the buttercream. Beat until smooth and fully combined. Set aside.
  • Then, make the vanilla bean whipped cream. In another medium bowl, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar and beat to combine. Finally, take one of your vanilla beans and slit it long-ways with a small knife. Peel open the pod and scrape out the seeds from one half of the pod and add seeds to your cream. Beat until combined, then set aside.
  • Finally, make your vanilla bean buttercream. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the room temp butter on high for at least 5 minutes. This may seem like a long time, but the butter will change color and get whiter the longer you beat it, giving you a much whiter buttercream to decorate your cake with. After five minutes of beating, add one cup of powdered sugar at a time, beating in between each add until smooth. Once all the powdered sugar has been added, add your vanilla extract and scrape the seeds from one whole vanilla pod into the buttercream and beat to combine. If the buttercream is too stiff, add a tablespoon of cream. Beat to combine, then set aside.
  • Now, assemble your cake. Place one cake layer onto a cake board or a serving plate. Scoop some of the vanilla bean buttercream into a pastry bag and pipe the buttercream in a circle as an edge around the top of the cake layer. Spread a thin layer of vanilla buttercream over the layer, then spread about a 1/4 of an inch of the raspberry buttercream on top, staying within the barrier you piped around the edge. Finally, top that with 1/2 cup of the whipped cream, then place a second cake layer on top and repeat this step on that layer.
  • Finally, place the final cake layer on top, and crumb coat the entire cake - top and sides - with the vanilla bean buttercream. Freeze the entire cake for 1 hour to set the crumb coating, then remove, and finish frosting the cake with the vanilla bean buttercream. I use a cake leveler to ensure sides and top are smooth and straight. Mash 1/2 cup of the remaining fresh raspberries and spread the berries over the top of the cake, then use the last of the vanilla bean buttercream to decorate the top and bottom edge of the cake. Place the last fresh raspberries on the top edge of the cake and then serve.