Vanilla Bean Cake With Blackberry Buttercream Frosting

Three layers of vanilla bean white cake with homemade blackberry buttercream frosting slathered in between and then topped with fresh blackberries – well, now this is how you do cake!

I had bought some blackberries last weekend, for what, I don’t really remember anymore. But I knew I had to use them in a hurry because they would be going bad soon.

So what do I do, make a delicious, high as a mountain, cake! A vanilla bean cake with blackberry buttercream frosting to be exact.

I think I told you about these snazzy new 5″ pans that I scored, and I’m really loving them.  I love to make layer cakes, but when you start piling up 3 and 4 layers of a 8 or 9-inch cake it becomes quite a beast and really too much cake for me.

Even this cake at 5″ and three layers was pretty massive!  But it was so much fun!

And that fresh blackberry buttercream frosting is literally the frosting on the cake.  It is so delicious and creamy with the wonderful taste of fresh fruit and just a hint of tartness.

This would be a beautiful cake to make for a fancy ladies brunch or a beautiful baby shower or you could even knock off a layer and just make a nice, after dinner sweet.  It’s so perfect for summer that I insist you really just must go make it!

vanilla bean cake with blackberry buttercream frosting

Ingredients

• 2¼ cup cake flour
• 1 cup milk, at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites, at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean, sliced in half and seeds scraped out
• 1¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

• ½ cup fresh blackberries
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 2-4 teaspoons milk

vanilla bean white cake

• 2¼ cup cake flour
• 1 cup milk, at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites, at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean, sliced in half and seeds scraped out
• 1¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

blackberry buttercream frosting

• ½ cup fresh blackberries
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 2-4 teaspoons milk

Instructions

vanilla bean white cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare three 5-inch pans or two 8-inch pans by spraying with cooking spray, coating with flour and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, combine milk, egg whites, almond and vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds and mix until blended.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and start mixing on slow. Slowly add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, and beat on low for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add all but ½ cup of the milk mixture to the stand mixer bowl and continue to beat for another 90 seconds. Add the remaining milk mixture and beat for an additional minute.
5. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.
6. Bake until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean, between 27-35 minutes depending on the cake pan you used.
7. Allow cakes to cool completely on a wire rack.

blackberry buttercream frosting

1. In a small bowl combine blackberries, sugar and lemon juice. Mash with the back of a fork or a muddler until the blackberries are all broken down.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Slowly add the vanilla and beat to combine.
3. Add half of the confectioner’s sugar and continue beating until combine.
4. Slowly add the blackberry mixture and then add the additional confectioner’s sugar.
5. If the consistency is too thick, add a few teaspoons of milk to smooth out.

to assemble

1. To frost cake, place a dab of frosting on your desired surface. Level the cakes if they are uneven.
2. Stack one layer of cake and add a good amount of frosting to the top. Smooth across the top and then add the next layer. Continue for each layer.
3. For the top of the cake, add a good amount frosting and frosting the top. Slowly bring the frosting down around the edges and slightly frosting the sides. You’re going for a naked cake look, or just a crumb coating.
4. Smooth out the top and refrigerate for 30 minutes (cake is easier to cut when chilled).