Blackberry and Fig Buttercream Cake
Blackberry and Fig Buttercream Cake
Ingredients
For the vanilla cake
375 gr butter, room temperature
500 gr granulated sugar
5 large free range eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla paste/extract
374 gr all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
125 ml milk
125 ml sour cream
For the buttercream frosting
250 gr butter, room temperature
500 gr icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla paste/extract
For the syrup
zest + juice of 1 lemon
100 gr blackberries
50 gr sugar
15 ml water
Blackberry jam for layering
Fresh blackberries and figs to decorate
Directions
For the cake
Preheat oven to 165 C.
In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
In a standing mixer, beat butter until light and pale, about 8 minutes.
Add the sugar to the butter and beat for another 4 minutes.
Add the eggs, one by one, mixing in between.
Add the vanilla.
Add the flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk and sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
Grease two small sized baking pans with butter and divide the cake mixture evenly.
Bake for 1 h and 40 minutes, or until fully cooked through and golden brown. (Test with a tooth pick, if it comes out clean, they’re done)
Let the cakes cool completely.
For the buttercream frosting
In a standing mixer, beat butter until light and pale, about 8 minutes.
Add the sugar gradually.
Add the vanilla and beat for another 10 minutes.
Store in the fridge until ready to layer the cake.
For the syrup
In a small saucepan, add blackberries, zest and juice of a lemon, sugar and water.
Boil down until thickened. Strain and put aside.
To layer the cake
Trim your cakes so that they’re the same size. Cut in 3 thin equal layers.
Give all layers a crumb coat: a thin layer of buttercream frosting to help the crumbs stick to the cake instead of your outer layer of buttercream.
Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes to set.
Place one of the cakes on your serving plate. Place about 3 tablespoons of buttercream frosting on top and spread it out a bit. Add a tbs of blackberry jam and spread this out.
Place another cake layer on top and repeat but only add buttercream this time.
Repeat until all layers are stayed on top of each other.
Cover the seams of the cake in a generous layer of buttercream frosting and spread this out slightly to create a 'naked cake' effect.
Top cake with fresh figs and blackberries. Pour the syrup over the cake, letting it drip down the sides a bit.
Enjoy!
