Blackberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream

If you are a regular Cakeyboi visitor then you may be familiar with the fact that I am not averse to using food colouring and artificial flavourings on occasion.
Some of you may baulk at that, but I can honestly say it’s not something I have sweated over very much in my life. If it were that bad, I’m sure the Food Standards Agency would have banned it all by now.
I thought I would try and give a cake natural ‘pop’ for a change however and my initial plan was a blueberry cake. As my local supermarket were fresh out, I plumped for plump, juicy blackberries instead. And I’m glad I did.

I used pureed blackberries to add the flavor to the cake, plus the intense dark purple of the berries changed the cake batter to a lovely shade of mauve.

The flavor and the color were both quite subtle, quite a contrast to the sometimes garish colours and flavourings I use.
To go with the lilaccy cake, I decided to pair it with a lemon buttercream. Flavoured with real lemon juice and zest, I really was going au natural! The buttercream was not subtle though and the lemon flavor was so tangy, it puckered one’s lips.

Here’s how I made this lovely, natural flavoured cake…

Blackberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream

Cake flavoured with blackberries 
and decorated with lemon buttercream

Cuisine: Dessert Category: Cake Yields:  8" cake

Prep Time: 20 Mins Cook Time: 35 Mins Total Time: 55 Mins

 
Cake Ingredients

• 400 grams granulated sugar
• 113 grams unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (it's natural)
• 250 grams plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 250 ml milk
• 120 grams pureed blackberries (about 125 ml) (plus more to garnish)

  Buttercream Ingredients

• 113 grams unsalted butter
• 30 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Zest of one lemon
• 500 grams icing sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and flour two 8” cake tins.
2. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla then the eggs, one at a time until incorporated into the batter.
4. Add one third of the flour mix and stir in. Add half of the milk, mix this in then repeat the process with the other third of the flour, the other half of milk, finishing with the last third of flour. Mix in the pureed blackberries and stir them through completely.
5. Divide the batter between the two cake tins and bake in the oven for 35 mins. The cake is ready when a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
6. Allow the cakes to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the cake pan. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
7. In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and icing sugar until smooth. Add the lemon juice and zest and incorporate fully.
8. Decorate the cake with the frosting. I split each cake in half to have four layers and covered each layer with buttercream.
9. However you decorate your cake garnish with blackberries and enjoy!!

I am entering this cake into this month's Love Cake hosted by Ness at Jibber Jabber UK. The theme this month is 'Colour Me Pretty' and as this cake is naturally coloured I think it fit's the bill perfectly.