I wanted to try baking some sort of a layer cake, and after searching through pinterest and getting inspired... (and Andrew gently hinted that he'd enjoy something like this), I pulled a few recipes together and created this!
Ingredients:
Cake
- 1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 & 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375g) all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk
- zest + juice of 2 medium lemons
- 1 and 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh (258g)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (to be used on the blueberries
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 12 ounces full fat cream cheese (about 1 & half package of cream cheese) softened to room temp
- 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temp
- 3 and 1/2 cup (420g) confectioners sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons (15-30ml) heavy cream
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Sugared Blueberries (on top)
- 1 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries
- 1 egg white
- granulated sugar (for rolling)
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray 2 9inch cake pans with nonstick spray and set aside.
2. Measure/weigh all ingredients. I always prefer to gather everything first before starting the mixing, that way you're not scrambling for ingredients and you can just enjoy the process.
3. Start making the cake! I use my kitchen aid stand mixer, but you can also use a hand mixer. Beat the butter on high until creamy (amount 1-2 minutes).
4. Add granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
5. Add eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed until everything is combined. About 2-3 minutes.
6. In a large sized bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt and mix. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed for 5 seconds. This cake can become very dense, so be careful not to overmix. (mix just until combined).
7. Remove bowl from the mixer and add the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice and stir until just combined.
8. Toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of flour (this will help to keep the blueberries from bursting open in the cake and turning the cake blue). Add the blueberries to the batter and gently mix. Batter will be very thick (but this will help keep the blueberries from sinking to the bottom).
9. Spoon the batter into the two prepared cake pans and bake them for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let it cool before frosting.
Frosting:
1. Using a handheld or stand mixer beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed. About 3-4 minutes.
2. Add confectioners sugar, 2 Tablespoons of cream, vanilla extract and salt and beat on high for about 3 minutes. (add more cream to thin out if needed).
Sugared Blueberries:
1. Dip the blueberries into the egg white, and then place them on parchment paper so they will not be soaking wet when you roll in the blueberries. (this will create wet/clumpy sugar)
2. Roll in sugar and leave to try for 20 minutes.
Put the cake together:
1. Using a serrated knife, trim the tops off the cakes to create a flat surface.
2. Place 1 layer on the cake stand and evenly cover the top with cream cheese frosting. Then top with the second cake and frost the entire cake and the sides.
3. Then top with the sugared blueberries in the center of the cake and enjoy!!
This was a fun recipe to try together! Mine was still a bit too dense so I think we may have overmixed slightly. But the sugared blueberries really add something special to this cake.
