This Ultimate White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake is a made-from-scratch nod to the Nothing Bundt Cakes’ famous flavor combination. It is a decadent white chocolate batter swirled with homemade raspberry filling and topped with a white chocolate ganache frosting. Included are all the tips and tricks to make sure your cake comes out beautiful and stays ultra moist!
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One of Nothing Bundt Cakes most famous flavor combinations is their white chocolate raspberry cake. If you are partial to this flavor profile try our Baked White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake in an oreo crust. Love at first bite!
Fair warning - this is an image heavy post. But I want you to be super successful, so I’ve included pictures of each step along the way. I’ve also included lots of tips and tricks throughout so that your bundt cake will turn out perfectly every time!
My family used to serve this white chocolate raspberry bundt cake (but with a homemade raspberry swirl) from BakedinAZ. It's a good cake, but it's a small cake. In my opinion, bundt cakes are best when they are tall and full looking. So I set out to make a from-scratch version of a raspberry-filled white chocolate bundt cake that is full-sized.
Our final cake was inspired by the white chocolate raspberry bundt cake at Nothing Bundt Cakes, the cake above, and this bundt cake.
If you prefer a cream cheese frosting instead of the white chocolate frosting, try the lightened cream cheese frosting on this Hummingbird Carrot Bundt Cake. It’s absolutely delicious!
🥇 Why it’s great!
- Bundt cakes that are made from a cake mix usually come out on the short side. This cake fills the pan and looks amazing on a cake plate. Nothing vertically challenged about this bundt cake!
- The flavor is spot on. White chocolate in the batter and frosting help it to play a leading role while the raspberry filling adds a pop of fresh.
- Often bakery cakes have a certain artificial flavor to them. Not that I won’t eat them...but this from-scratch cake has that extra special homemade flavor.
🍓Ingredients
A full list of the ingredients is in the recipe card below, but here are a few noteworthy tips.
Butter: Salted butter that has been softened is best. Butter is perfectly soft when you can gently press it and it leaves the impression of your finger, but it doesn’t smash. If your finger goes right through it the butter is too soft.
White chocolate chips: Either Nestle or Ghirardelli white chocolate chips work well in this cake.
Buttermilk: Either full-fat or low-fat will work. Just be sure to have the buttermilk at room temperature. It really does affect the texture of the cake.
Raspberries: Fresh or frozen produce a delicious homemade raspberry pie filling.
Cream: Cream is the best option for the white chocolate frosting. If all you have is half-n-half it might not take as much to get the frosting to the correct consistency.
🥣 Instructions
Making raspberry filling
- Combine the ingredients in a saucepan.
- Boil on the stove until it is very thick (5-6 minutes).
- Pour it through a mesh strainer to remove any lumps and seeds.
- The resulting sauce should be smooth, glossy, and thick. Set aside half a cup for serving time.
Making white chocolate batter
Before making the batter, be sure the white chocolate is melted and slightly cooled and that the dairy products are at room temperature.
Creaming
- Start by beating the butter and sugar until nice and fluffy in a stand mixer (affiliate) with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer (affiliate) in a large mixing bowl. This takes about 2 minutes.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. The batter will be quite fluffy at this point.
- Add in the melted white chocolate and mix on low until thoroughly combined.
- In a small bowl mix together the flour, powder, soda, and salt. Whisk thoroughly. Then mix together the buttermilk and vanilla extract.
- Incorporate in the flour mixture and buttermilk by thirds. Incorporating by thirds means that you divide the dry ingredients into thirds and the liquid ingredients in half. Then you add them into the batter like this:
Incorporating dry and wet ingredients by thirds
- One third of the dry ingredients. Mix well. (see picture A below)
- One half of the liquid ingredients. Mix well. (see picture B below)
- One third of the dry ingredients. Mix well.
- One half of the liquid ingredients. Mix well.
- One third of the dry ingredients. Mix well.
Layering in the pan
The key to getting the raspberry filling incorporated without exploding out the sides took quite a bit of trial and error. Carefully follow these directions for the best results. It will result in raspberry flavor throughout.
- Place half the batter in a well-greased bundt pan. Using the back of a spoon create a well in the center of the batter all the way around the pan. Fill with half a cup of filling.
- Use a toothpick or long skewer to swirl the filling throughout the cake batter. Be careful to get it close to the edges but not all the way to the edge.
- Carefully place large dollops of remaining batter on the top of the swirled batter. Gently press with a spoon to make sure the second layer of batter goes all the way from the inside edge to the outside edge. Create another well and fill with half a cup of sauce.
- Swirl again, keeping in mind the same points as before.
Baking a bundt cake
Baking a bundt cake is super easy. In order to make sure that the bundt cake doesn’t stick, here are a few tips on the best way to grease a bundt cake pan (affiliate).
- First, make sure that you liberally grease and flour every inch of the pan, paying special attention to the grooves. The main reason that a bundt cake sticks to the pan is not enough baking spray. I have had good success with both Pam Baking and Baker’s Joy. If you don’t have baking spray (which is my preferred method), you may use softened butter, shortening, or oil and then sift a couple tablespoons of flour over the top. Dump out the excess four and your cake pan should have a well prepared bundt pan.
- Do not allow the cake batter to sit in the pan for more than a couple minutes before placing it in the oven. It is best to put the cake batter in the pan just before baking.
- Bake at 350º for 50-60 minutes.
- Once the cake is finished baking, allow it to cool for 20 minutes before flipping it out. In other bundt cake recipes we advise allowing them to cool for 10 minutes, but because this cake is a little heavier it benefits from an extra 10 minutes in the pan to prevent it from falling. Invert cake onto wire cooling rack (affiliate). The outside will be golden brown.
Making white chocolate frosting
This frosting is a hybrid of a ganache and a frosting. It’s not as thick as buttercream or cream cheese frosting but not as thin as a white chocolate glaze or ganache. It holds its shape which makes it the perfect choice for decorating a bundt cake.
- In a glass measuring bowl melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring thoroughly after each time, until they are completely melted.
- Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla until well combined.
- Add in 6-7 tablespoons of cream until the frosting reaches the correct consistency. If it is looking lumpy, beat on high for 1 minute until it smooths out.
- To test the frosting take a spoonful and drizzle it off the end of the spoon onto itself in the bowl. It should take about 2-3 seconds for the “drizzle” to melt back into the frosting.
Decorating a bundt cake with white chocolate frosting
Wait until the cake is completely cool before attempting to frost it.
There are many ways to decorate a bundt cake. For the simplest approach, pour the white chocolate frosting into the center (not the hole in the middle) of the bundt cake so that it falls down either side.
To take it to the next level, which would be perfect for a wedding cake, bridal shower, baby shower or any elegant party, there is one additional step.
Place some of the frosting in a heavy duty zip top bag. Press all the frosting into one corner. Then cut a small hole off the bottom corner. You want it to be delicate. Too big of a hole will produce a line that won’t look right. Start small, you can always cut more.
Starting on the inside of the cake, drizzle the white chocolate frosting over half the cake. Don’t go all the way across the whole cake. Once you have the look you are going for, sprinkle with small edible pearl decorations (affiliate).
Pro-tip: If you need this to look great and have an extra minute, turn an empty bundt cake pan over and practice on it until you get it the way you like it.
Serve on a pretty cake serving plate for an extra special presentation.
👨👩👧👦 For a crowd
Of all desserts, bundt cakes are naturally great for serving crowds at special occasions. This Ultimate White Chocolate Bundt Cake is no different! I find that they typically serve 15-16 comfortably, especially when you add a small scoop of ice cream on top. If you are serving this at a party, I highly suggest making it ahead and freezing (see instructions below).
🙋 Questions and Answers
Incorporating by thirds means that you divide the dry ingredients into three parts and the liquid ingredients into half. Then you add them into the batter like this:
1. One third of the dry ingredients. Mix well. (see picture A above)
2. One half of the liquid ingredients. Mix well. (see picture B above)
3. One third of the dry ingredients. Mix well.(picture A)
4. One half of the liquid ingredients. Mix well. (picture B)
5. One third of the dry ingredients. Mix well. (picture A)
Bundt cakes are great when made ahead and frozen. First decorate the cake completely, then freeze unwrapped on a baking sheet. Once it is frozen solid, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and then a layer of foil. Freeze for up to 6 months.
To serve, remove from the freezer and unwrap completely. Allow to thaw on the countertop for several hours before serving.
To make bundt cakes as moist as possible, cool completely, then place in an airtight cake keeper like this one and store overnight.
The lightened cream cheese frosting on this carrot cake bundt is perfect. It won’t decorate the same way as the white chocolate frosting, but it will be scrumptious.
👨🏼🍳 Tips & Tricks
- Please read the whole post. There are too many tips and tricks to be listed here.
- Whether using baking spray or your own grease/flour mixture, be sure to coat the pan thoroughly and generously.
- Allow the cake to cool for a full 20 minutes before flipping it out. Then allow it to cool thoroughly before frosting.
- A secret to making any cake more moist is to refrigerate it overnight or freeze it. I highly recommend making this cake ahead to allow time for one of those options - it really does make a difference!
- Move the cake from the cooling rack to a cake plate using a cake lifter like this one. It makes moving cakes SO easy!
📖 Other great recipes
- This bundt cake would be amazing with this Orange Glaze instead of the white chocolate frosting. Yum!
- This chocolate bundt cake with buttermilk is an all time family favorite. Or try these mini bundt cakes based on the same recipe.
- MOIST Orange Loaf Cake (with oil) is full of fresh orange flavor and topped with the best glaze. It's honestly a dessert, breakfast, and snack all in one.
- Try this blackberry cheesecake the next time you have to take a dessert somewhere. It gets rave reviews!
👋🏻 Connect with us!
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating to let us know how it is! We’d also love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Tag @borrowedbites or hashtag #borrowedbites to show us your food!
📋 Recipe
Ultimate White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Raspberry Filling
- 12 oz raspberries fresh or frozen
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
White Chocolate Batter
- Baking spray
- 4 oz white chocolate chips melted and cooled to room temperature
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
White Chocolate Ganache Frosting
- 4 oz white chocolate chips
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 7 tablespoon heavy cream room temperature
- white sugar pearl sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Read over the ingredients and be sure that each is at the proper temperature.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Liberally spray a 10-inch bundt pan (12 cup capacity) with baking spray or butter and flour thoroughly.Baking spray
Raspberry Filling
- Combine raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce is very thick, about 5 minutes. Pour into a mesh strainer and strain thoroughly to remove seeds, stirring with a spoon to help it strain and scraping the bottom of the strainer to collect all the sauce. Continue straining until you have about 1.5 cups of smooth sauce.12 oz raspberries, 2 tablespoon cornstarch, ⅓ cup sugar, ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- Set aside ½ a cup for serving. Allow the remaining filling to cool.
White Chocolate Cake Batter
- In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a bowl with a hand mixer, combine the butter and sugar until fluffy, approximately 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl halfway through. Add in vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Scrape bowl as needed.1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 1½ teaspoon vanilla, 4 eggs
- Mix in melted and cooled white chocolate.4 oz white chocolate chips
- Incorporate the flour and buttermilk in by thirds. See the notes or post for a complete explanation.1 cup buttermilk
Assemble and bake
- In a prepared bundt pan, carefully spread half of the batter. Make sure it touches the sides and the center. Using the back of a large spoon make a well all the way around the center of the pan. Take ½ a cup of raspberry filling and spread it evenly in the well.
- Use a toothpick or long skewer to swirl the filling through the cake batter. I find it best to "pull" the filling into the batter. Be careful to get it close to the edges but not all the way to the edge.
- Be careful to gently place mounds of batter evenly around the pan. Then spread out to the edge. Make another well and fill with ½ cup of sauce. Swirl as before. There should be ½ a cup of raspberry filling left for serving.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes in the pan. Carefully flip the cake over on a cooling rack, remove the pan, and allow it to cool completely.
Ganache Frosting
- Place white chocolate chips in large glass measuring bowl with pour spout and microwave for 1-2 minutes. Stir every 30 seconds until smooth and melted.4 oz white chocolate chips
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla to the melted white chocolate. With hand beaters, or in a mixer, beat until fully combined.2 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Add 6-7 tablespoons of cream, mixing well after each addition, until the frosting reaches the correct consistency. To test the frosting, take a spoonful and drizzle it off the end of the spoon back into the bowl. It should take a full 2-3 seconds before it melts back into itself. If the frosting seems lumpy at this point, beat for an additional 1-2 minutes until smooth.7 tablespoon heavy cream
Decorating
- Once the cake is completely cool place it on a cooling rack that is set over a tray to catch the drips.
- To decorate simply, pour the ganache frosting into the center of the cake so that it falls down both sides. *See picture in post.
- If you want to decorate it as pictured, take the remaining frosting and place it in a heavy-duty zip top bag. Carefully snip one corner of the bag. Starting on the outside of the cake drizzle the white chocolate frosting over half the cake looping on the outside. Don't go all the way across. Before it hardens add small edible pearl decorations.white sugar pearl sprinkles
- Serve with additional raspberry sauce if desired.
- We love comments! Please come back and leave us one after you’ve tried this recipe.
Notes
- Please read the whole post. There are too many tips and tricks to be listed here.
- Whether using baking spray or your own grease/flour mixture be sure to coat the pan thoroughly and generously.
- Allow the cake to cool for a full 20 minutes before flipping it out. Then allow it to cool thoroughly before frosting.
- A secret to making any cake more moist is to refrigerate it overnight or freeze it. I highly recommend making this cake ahead to allow time for one of those options - it really does make a difference!
- Move the cake from the cooling rack to a cake plate using a cake lifter like this one. It makes moving cakes SO easy!
Add Your Own Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition information is provided by a third party and is an estimate only. Use your own nutritional calculator for more specific measurements.
Joanne says
The directions are very detailed and the pictures were helpful. Despite following the directions exactly, the cake broke on me. I make bundt cakes regularly and grease/flour the pan generously. It did not get stuck in the pan, it broke and the filling sunk to the bottom. A total disappointment given the time I took to look at the pictures each step while following the directions. I will not be making this recipe again.
Danielle says
Joanne,
So very sorry to hear that this didn't work out for you. We definitely work hard to make sure anyone using our recipes can be a successful as possible. I am going to make this cake for my son's rehearsal dinner. I will make it as if I haven't ever made it before and see if I can determine what might have gone wrong for you. If I figure something out I will respond here again.
Kal says
Please for the love of God DO NOT use baking spray! Bottom of cake got stuck and my whole cake was ruined. I redid the recipe but buttered and floured the pan, it was delicious!
Danielle says
Kal,
In our experience the outcome was the opposite. As long as your baking spray contains both butter or oil and flour, and you spray liberally, the cake will slide right out. However, if you prefer to butter and flour the pan that is a fine solution. Glad you enjoyed the cake!
Cathy says
I am wanting to try this recipe and I was wondering if raspberry jam could be used in place of the raspberry filling in the recipe?
Danielle says
Cathy,
To be honest, we haven't tried that but feel that raspberry jam might be too thick. If you do decide to experiment with that be sure to thin the jam a touch. Please, let us know how it turns out!
Savannah says
Good afternoon! I’m prepping everything to make this cake after dinner tonight (to eat at church this weekend). The raspberry filling is having a VERY hard time straining. It’s almost too thick I think, and it’s been cooling for about an hour. Any tips?
Misty says
Hi Savannah! Yes, the raspberry filling should be very thick. The picture in the post shows the consistency. I typically use a spoon to stir it and help it strain. If you still think it is too thick, you could add a tiny bit of water. But be careful, because if it is too thin the cake won’t cook. Once you have about 1.5 cups of it strained, you’re all set!
Ron says
I have made this twice. Both times the raspberry filling has completely sunk to the bottom. The cake still tastes great, just disappointed when cut and see all the filling at the top just barely covered with about 1/4" of cake.
Danielle says
Ron,
We definitely want you to be successful! Let's see if we can troubleshoot this. The first things I would do is make sure the filling was thick enough and that it was completely cool before adding it to the batter. Then just double checking that you reserved 1/2 cup of the filling for serving time? If too much filling is in the cake the weight of it will cause it to fall to the bottom. Also, try putting a little more cake batter into the bottom of the pan first. I hope those tips help. Thanks for your feedback and I hope the next attempt is perfect!
Sandra Borges Caetano says
Made this today for my family. What a hit.
Instructions are laid out beautifully
Definitely a household favourite from now on
Sandra caetano
Misty says
We're so glad you enjoyed it!
Taryn says
Hi, step one says to add water to raspberries but there is no water in the ingredients. How much water do you add? Also, when you layer batter, it says put half batter in but then it suggests you do 2 separate layers of raspberry filling. Can you clarify how much batter you put in at each step? If you use half the batter, do you END with the raspberry filling on the very top? Thx.
Danielle says
Hello! The recipe card was meant to say lemon juice - not water. Thanks for catching our mistake! I edited the recipe card to say lemon juice. Yes, You have two layers of raspberry filling and end with the second layer of raspberry filling on the top. In the post there are detailed notes and pictures for the layering process. They are labeled with numbers 1-4 and below them are the corresponding instructions for each number. If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask.
Taryn says
wonderful! thanks so much! I made this for Valentines day and took it to work. I had many compliments and people asked for the recipe. thanks again!!
Danielle says
So very happy it turned out so well for you! Thanks for taking the time to let us know! Happy Eating!
Gail Griffith says
Just made this today for my Christmas dessert. My only issue so far is that I didn’t have enough raspberry sauce to make a double layer. Barely had a cup total. Saved less than half a cup for serving. Only had half cup to swirl thru the cake. Sure hope it turns out ok. Cooked it for 5 minutes as instructed. Sauce was thick.
Danielle says
Gail,
I am sorry to hear you didn’t have enough raspberry sauce. We try very hard to make sure our recipes are easy to replicate. Just wondering if once you pressed all the sauce out, did you scrape the bottom of the strainer to get the excess from there? I am asking in order to to determine if the raspberry sauce needs tweaked or if our instructions need tweaked. Thank you so much and I sincerely hope it turns out well. Merry Christmas!
Kim says
Absolutely incredible for a Bundt cake especially! Love it!!!
Misty says
So glad you liked it!
Kolleen says
Where is the water measurement for the raspberry filling? Do you mean the lemon juice?
Danielle says
Oh my goodness. So sorry about that. Yes, we mean lemon juice. I will fix that in the recipe card. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Susie says
haven't tried it yet but looks delicious
Danielle says
Thanks! Once you make it we would love to hear back!