Berry Berry Berry Lemony cake

This winter has been the longest, by far. We're seeing hard freeze days here in the south in March. That's way too cold for tropical creatures like me. I love the summer months, primarily because of the wide variety of fruits that hit the market - including all the yummy berries, lemons and of course, mangoes! :)

One of the few days when Houston weather was nicer, I saw some wonderful berries in the local market. I knew I had to buy them the moment I set my eyes on them. It was probably my attempt to feel that warm summer days are here again! One of my friends has the sweetest tooth I know. She loves cakes with fruit in them, so I decided to bake one with lots of berries for her birthday. It turned out to be 'Berry Berry Berry Lemony'! Based on a recipe by smittenkitchen, here it goes: 

Ingredients:

Cake

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed.
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon (I used a zester, but a small cheese grater works well, too)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 cups mixed berries, rinsed and dried (I used blackberries, raspberries and blueberries)

Glaze

2 cups powdered or confections’ sugar Juice of 1 lemon 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, very soft.

Method:

·    Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 10-cup Bundt pan with softened butter and set aside. I used my favorite Fleur-de-Lis bundt, for added pizzazz.

·    In a medium bowl, whisk or sift 2 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside. I used my newly acquired flour sifter.

·    In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest until fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. It is crucial that the butter is at room temperature, so the butter and sugar fluff up nicely.

·    Now, with the mixer on a low speed, add eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla extract.

·    Add 1/3 flour mixture to batter, beating until just combined, followed by half the buttermilk, another 1/3 of the flour mixture, the remaining buttermilk and remaining flour mixture. It is important to start and end with the flour mixture. Don’t forget to scrape the sides of the bowl from time to time.

·    In a small bowl, toss the berries with 2 tablespoons of flour and gently fold the berries into the cake batter. The batter will be very thick.

The batter is very thick

·    Spread cake batter in the prepared baking pan and spread the top smooth. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. The cake is done as soon as a tester comes out clean of batter.

·    Set cake pan on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes, before inverting the cake onto a serving platter. I find that taking the cake out before it cools completely helps unmold a Bundt cake easily. Cool completely.

·    Once cooled completely, prepare the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and butter until smooth and thick, almost like crepe batter. Spread carefully over top of cake, letting it trickle down the sides.

·    Serve at once or keep it covered at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. I garnished the cake with some more berries with the help of my friend’s 3 year old! 

Glazed Berry Berry Berry Lemony cake

Berry Berry Berry Lemony cake

Bon Appétit!

Hetal from Houston

Dark Chocolate & Blackberry Cake

It was a lovely, still cool saturday morning when I baked a dark chocolate cake to bring to a potluck at a friend's place. I paired it with blackberries -both preserved and fresh. It turned out to be a moist chocolate cake with a hint of blackberry. Everyone at the potluck loved it - even those who dont dig chocolate cakes. I was delighted, to say the least. Here it goes.

Serves: 10-12
Preparation time: 15 minutes

Bake time -35 minutes

Ingredients
3/4 cup dark cocoa (I used dutch processed)
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
3 large cage-free eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus more for greasing pans
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp instant coffee
1 cup blackberry preserve or jam
1 cup fresh blackberries for topping/ decoration

Method

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper. Avoid using pans with removable bottoms, since the batter is very thin - it might leak into the oven. Set aside. 
• Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla and whisk to combine. If you dont have buttermilk, you can substitute it with 1 tsp vinegar added to a cup of skimmed milk and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then proceed with the recipe. 
• Stir instant coffee into the boiling water and whisk this into the batter until incorporated. The batter will be thin, so gently pour the batter into prepared pans.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the middle rack of the oven or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Remove the parchment. Cool completely. Leave the cake at room temperature for an hour if you wish to frost it with ganache immediately.

Blackberry preserve spread

NOTE: You can make this cake the day before serving, sandwich it with blackberry preserve, and keep it covered in the fridge.

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup heavy cream
10 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped fine or chocolate chips.

Blackberry preserve sandwiched between two layers

• Set a heat proof bowl over a pot of boiling water (It works like a double boiler). Add chocolate chunks/chips to the bowl. 
• As the chocolate begins to melt, whisk in the cream until well incorporated. Stir gently - avoid beating the mixture for a bubble free glossy finish. Set aside for 20 to 30 minutes to thicken to a spreadable consistency. Alternatively, refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes to hasten the thickening process.

Assembly

• Place one cake layer on plate/ cake stand. My cakes had risen a lot, and I had to trim off the top so  I could stack them evenly. In hind sight - I think I should have trimmed them further.
• Spread 1 cup blackberry preserve. Sandwich the other cake layer on top. 
• Ice the cake using a metal spatula. If the ganache is still thin, you can gently drizzle it to cover the cake. If you have baked ahead - allow the cake to come to room temperature before icing with the ganache.



Ready to go

• Garnish with blackberries and serve. I garnished it once we reached our friend's place, and were ready to eat dessert.

Note- This cake can be made using any jam or preserve of your choice. Garnish with the same fruit. Raspberries or strawberries would add a splash of color as well. :)

This recipe is based on Serena Bass' Cheating Chocolate Cake

Dark Chocolate Blackberry Cake

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston