Every cook should have a cake recipe that is so simple to make they don't have to depend on a boxed mix to come to their rescue when having guests coming over unexpectedly or simply lacking in time. This cake should also taste so phenomenal that guests will beg for the recipe and family members will repeatedly request it. Too much to ask, you say? Not with this cake.
In all the years that we've been making it, it is so popular with friends and family that we make it for many occasions because it is so loved. This is also the recipe that I give out the most. The people have spoken, not just the cook, who is thrilled not to stand in the kitchen for hours toiling over multiple layers, intricate details and elaborate techniques.
The cake is moist and light, but sturdy enough for the frosting. I use my standard frosting recipe that I use for most of my cakes - light, fluffy and creamy. The addition of fresh raspberries gives the cake such a refreshing taste and since I absolutely adore raspberries, I think it gives it the perfect sweet and tart note of spring. The cake is very versatile, so you can adjust it to your taste and add any berries, fruit, nuts, chocolate or candy. Since it's so easy to make and is made up of pieces of cake, this is literally a "Piece of Cake".
Ingredients:
Cake:
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups sour cream
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda dissolved in 1 teaspoon of vinegar
1 ½ cups flour
Frosting:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 can of condensed milk
1 (16 oz) package sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup heavy cream, very cold
1 pint fresh raspberries
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 13x9 inch deep baking pan with aluminum foil.
With a whisk attachment on a standing mixer or using a hand mixer and a large bowl, mix the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. 
Add the sour cream. Dissolve the baking soda in vinegar and also add to the cake batter. Mix to combine. 
Add the flour and mix until incorporated. The batter will still be on the thinner side. 
Pour into prepared baking dish. 
Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes until cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean. 
Cool slightly, just until you can handle it. Tear the cake into pieces. This is the fun part. I always feel like I'm one of the elders in a Russian church breaking bread for communion. The cake should be almost cool when you're done tearing it apart, but if it isn't, just set aside until it's completely cool. 
The texture of the cake is not like a typical sponge cake. It's much more dense. If the cake was light and fluffy and light as a sponge cake, the cake would completely disintegrate when tossed with the frosting. 
Meanwhile, make the frosting.
With a paddle attachment on a standing mixer or using a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese until creamy and it has an even consistency. Add the condensed milk. Mix to combine. Add the sour cream and vanilla and also mix to combine. 
In another chilled bowl with a chilled whisk attachment, whip the very cold heavy cream until stiff but still somewhat soft peaks form. 
Gently fold the whipped cream into the rest of the frosting with a rubber spatula. 
When the cake is cool, pour in part of the frosting and mix.
Keep adding more frosting until all the the cake is completely covered in frosting, but don't add too much or the cake will be mushy. Set aside the remaining frosting to spread over the assembled cake. Add the raspberries to the cake and VERY GENTLY mix to combine. 
You can form the cake into any shape that you like - circle, square, etc. You can also use the sides of a springform pan to help you shape it, by placing the rim on top of the serving plate, putting the cake inside the springform and then taking the springform off. 
You can even form it into a heart for a romantic date or Valentine's Day. You can even do a free form shape by plopping all the cake onto a serving platter and making a rounded shape, covering with the remaining frosting and decorating however you please. 
Cover with the remaining frosting and decorate with chocolate shaving, chocolate glaze, berries, nuts or whatever else you like. I like to use THIS RECIPE of chocolate glaze to drizzle over the cake and then add some raspberries. 
Store the cake in the refrigerator. You can serve it right away, but it is best served after having a few hours to chill in the refrigerator. 
Raspberry "Piece of Cake" Cake
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 1 cake 1x
- Category: Sweets
Ingredients
Cake:
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda dissolved in 1 teaspoon of vinegar
- 1 ½ cups flour
Frosting:
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
- 1 can of condensed milk
- 1 (16 oz) package sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup heavy cream, very cold
- 1 pint fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 13x9 inch deep baking pan with aluminum foil.
- With a whisk attachment on a standing mixer or using a hand mixer and a large bowl, mix the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the sour cream. Dissolve the baking soda in vinegar and also add to the cake batter. Mix to combine.
- Add the flour and mix until incorporated. The batter will still be on the thinner side.
- Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes until cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool slightly, just until you can handle it. Tear the cake into pieces. This is the fun part. I always feel like I'm one of the elders in a Russian church breaking bread for communion. The cake should be almost cool when you're done tearing it apart, but if it isn't, just set aside until it's completely cool.
- Meanwhile, make the frosting. With a paddle attachment on a standing mixer or using a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese until creamy and it has an even consistency.
- Add the condensed milk. Mix to combine. Add the sour cream and vanilla and also mix to combine.
- In another chilled bowl with a chilled whisk attachment, whip the very cold heavy cream until stiff but still somewhat soft peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the rest of the frosting with a rubber spatula.
- When the cake is cool, pour in part of the frosting and mix. Keep adding more frosting until all the the cake is completely covered in frosting, but don't add too much or the cake will be mushy.
- Set aside the remaining frosting to spread over the assembled cake.
- Add the raspberries to the cake and VERY GENTLY mix to combine.
- You can form the cake into any shape that you like - circle, square, etc. You can also use the sides of a springform pan to help you shape it, by placing the rim on top of the serving plate, putting the cake inside the springform and then taking the springform off. You can even form it into a heart for a romantic date or Valentine's Day. I simply plopped all the cake onto my serving platter and made a rounded shape.
- Cover with the remaining frosting and decorate with chocolate shaving, chocolate glaze, berries, nuts or whatever else you like.
I used glass pan.... Last time when I did this cake, I cook around 1 hour, but last time I used glass pan but smaller than yours, so ya podymala vot v etom problema, but this time i choose another glass pan ( ya dazhe ego pomerala by ryletka 🙂 ) any ways, it was same thing, and my mom have new oven, so i don't know what going on :), it is funny, but any ways the buskvit turn pyshustuj really bit brown but it is ok, like after 30 min I cover cake with the foil on top, perezhuvala wtobu ne podgarel 🙂 vot takiye y nas dela s tortom. But thank you so much for this recipe every body love the cake
I'm so sorry to hear that, Natalka! I always use the 9x13 inch glass baking pan and never had any problems with it. I hope it turns out better next time.
Olga, I finally figured out why I was having the same issue! Only sharing in hopes this might help others that may not realize this matters.. I almost gave up ever making this cake but decided to give it another try! My hubs got me this super fancy Samsung range w a dual/double oven which has so many different baking settings & options... there is a 'bake' option and a 'convection bake' option which uses fans to distribute heat evently. I mostly use 'convection bake' for most of my baking however my cakes would not bake through, were sticky and so on... I was so disappointed and couldnt figure out what I was doing wrong b/c I followed your specific recipe to the "t" and just couldn't figure it out what I was doing wrong.. so I decided to try the traditional 'bake' option and finally!! I got a perfect cake! 🙂 Anyways, maybe others are having the same kind of issue I used to have- now I'm so excited I can finally enjoy your cake for real this time lol THANKS SO SO SO VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL & ORGANIZED RECIPES! I TRULY LOVE THEM ALL!!!!!!! 😉 <3
Thanks for your input, Lana.
I've used both types of ovens to bake this cake, but have never had any issues. That's very interesting that you were able to figure it out. Good for you.
Olga - svtoroj raz peky etot tort, tolko on y menya pechetsya more than min like around hour, don't know what happened 🙁 did everything like you, mozhet ya cho to ne tak delayu?
Thank you so much
Hi Natalya!
Hmmm.... I'm not sure how to help you. I've never had any issues with this cake. I don't really know what you could have done wrong, since I don't know how you were making it. What kind of baking pan are you using to bake the cake in?
Olga, I finally figured out why I was having the same issue! Only sharing in hopes this might help others that may not realize this matters.. I almost gave up ever making this cake but decided to give it another try! My hubs got me this super fancy Samsung range w a dual/double oven which has so many different baking settings & options... there is a 'bake' option and a 'convection bake' option which uses fans to distribute heat evently. I mostly use 'convection bake' for most of my baking however my cakes would not bake through, were sticky and so on... I was so disappointed and couldnt figure out what I was doing wrong b/c I followed your specific recipe to the "t" and just couldn't figure it out what I was doing wrong.. so I decided to try the traditional 'bake' option and finally!! I got a perfect cake! 🙂 Anyways, maybe others are having the same kind of issue I used to have- now I'm so excited I can finally enjoy your cake for real this time lol THANKS SO SO SO VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL & ORGANIZED RECIPES! I TRULY LOVE THEM ALL!!!!!!! 😉 <3
Hi, Olga. Great cake. Just made it. Haven't tried yet though :). I feel like the dough part didn't rise all the way. I can never get biskiviti to rise how I would like it. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Lily,
Biskviti are simple to make but also very easy to mess up:). I've had plenty of experience.
Here are some tricks I've learned. #1 reason that the cake doesn't rise enough - the eggs are not whipped enough. Start with room temperature eggs. If you don't think ahead, just put the eggs in warm water for 5 minutes, this will work great. Mix the eggs for at least 5 minutes. At first I actually timed myself. I was so surprised because what I though was 5 minutes and what it actually turned out to be was a huge difference:). Beating the eggs until they're light and fluffy is what makes the cake rise. You also don't want to deflate the eggs when you add the rest of the ingredients. This can happen when you add the dry ingredients or when you beat the flour too much. For biskvit (sponge cake) I sift the flour over the whipped eggs and then fold it in carefully with a rubber spatula. For this cake, I add the flour and then mix it only long enough to combine, not a second more. If there are still a few streaks of flour, that's ok, you can finish mixing it with a rubber spatula. You can read more about cake baking tips on this post - 8 Cake Baking Tips.
Have made this twice now. I also add blueberries. Thank you soo much. It's delicious 🙂 I appreciate all your work 🙂 Blessings!!!!
That's awesome, Alla! I'm glad you liked it. Our whole family loves this cake. We put in all kinds of berries in it, or sometimes leave it plain and simple.
How long should I wait until I can serve this cake? Or will it be moist right away?
Hi Alina,
This cake will be moist right away. It's better if you can refrigerate it for at least half an hour before serving, but I've served it immediately and it was fine too. Refrigerating will help the cake set up more, otherwise it isn't as firm. It will taste just as great right away, though.
Made 2 individual cakes to take to 2 different events! such a delicious cake!!!!
”Mm... The sour raspberries make a shocking peek from all the sweetness in the cake, nice!” a guy said while eating.
Thank you Olga, for sharing this yummy reciepe!
Hi olga! Can I subtitute vanilla yogurt when im making the cake mixture instead of sour cream?
Hi Julia! Yogurt will be fine too.
so good and easy my fam loved it! thnx girl
Looks really good! Will definitely make it soon! Can I just use store bought whipping cream, such as cool whip instead of making my own?
Thanks!
Alina, Cool Whip is fine too.
Hi! I made it and it turned out great!! The guests even asked for the recipe!! Thank you!!!
If I replace the heavy cream with cool whip, do I need to use more cool whip? What should the proportions be? Also, would that make the icing too sweet? Seems like my heavy cream always goes bad by the time I want to use it://
Use the same amount of Cool Whip as you would heavy cream - 1 cup of heavy cream is 8 oz, so you would use 8 oz of Cool Whip. Adjust the sweetness to how you like it, adding less condensed milk at first and then adding more if you want to.
Hi, what can I substitute condensed milk with? I wanna make parve cake. Thank you in advance
Just add powdered powdered sugar as much as you like for sweetness and add a bit more sour cream or cream cheese, Yulia.
Gorgeous cake Olga!!! Will definatly make it!!! 🙂
Thanks for posting this Olga, one of my favorite cakes! You gave me this recipe before and I lost it when I moved, so I'm glad you posted it! Can't wait to make it again.
Wow! This s is awesome style of how you made the cake. I love all the ingredients in it.
Delish✿✿✿
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These thing are so useful in any kitchen.
What an interesting idea! I am sure this is why people want the recipe, because it is so unique, and I am sure tastes delicious.
I will be trying this cake for sure. Looks delicious and as usual, great step by step photos.
This looks amazing Olga. Thanks so much for the recipe. Can you use frozen raspberries for this or you have to use only fresh?
I tried using frozen raspberries before, and it works ok, but not great, since the berries unthaw and make the cake around them a little wet.