Total Time: 55 minutes | Yield: 10–12 servings | Diet: Vegetarian
A luscious, fruit-forward velvet cake layered with blackberry cream cheese frosting soft, rich, and naturally tinted for show-stopping elegance.
Ingredients
Cake Batter:
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
- 1½ cups fresh blackberries (lightly mashed)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
- Several drops purple food coloring (optional)
Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 4 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
- 3½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup fresh blackberries
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Garnish (optional):
- Fresh blackberries
- Edible flowers
- Fresh mint leaves
Instructions
**Cake Batter: **
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease two 9-inch round cake pans.
- Mash blackberries lightly until juicy but still chunky; set aside.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs one at a time.
- Mix in vanilla, lemon zest, and food coloring if using.
- Add dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately, mixing just until combined.
- Gently fold in mashed blackberries.
- Divide batter between pans and bake 30–35 minutes, until set.
- Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.
**Frosting: **
- Cook blackberries over low heat until thick, strain seeds, and cool.
- Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth.
- Gradually add powdered sugar, then mix in blackberry puree, vanilla, and salt.
**Assembly: **
- Frost one cake layer, top with second layer, and frost the entire cake.
- Decorate with blackberries, flowers, and mint if desired.
Notes
- Room-temperature ingredients give the softest cake.
- Don’t overmix once flour is added.
- Straining the blackberry puree keeps frosting silky.
- To intensify the blackberry flavor, make extra of the cooked puree and add to cake batter.
- Lemon zest brightens the flavor.
Recipe derived from a recipe by Elena Rhodes.