Let’s talk cake for a second. Specifically, let’s talk about this chocolate blackberry cake that I not so subtlety made to celebrate my birthday tomorrow.
I’ve had this thing for chocolate and blackberries for the last couple of weeks and couldn’t pass up the chance to bring them together in a cake. Three layers of decadent chocolate cake filled with a Swiss meringue blackberry frosting, all coated in a blackberry buttercream, topped with chocolate ganache, more Swiss meringue, and a bunch of blackberries.
You guys, I had a slice before I started writing it and if I had no self-control, I’d definitely be going back for another slice. It’s even better than I imagined.
Now, before you ask me why I’m baking my own birthday cake, let me tell you that my brother and sister got together and also baked me a birthday cake. I just like having new things to put on the blog and the cake they made me has already made an appearance on here.
And this is a fun, extravagant cake. The one they made me is simple and much more my speed.
Extravagance for the blog, simplicity for real life.
This cake looks intimidating, but I promise it isn’t. It just requires a lot of steps. I personally LOVE Swiss meringue frosting, but if you want to just use the blackberry buttercream for the whole cake, you totally can.
As you can tell, I’m definitely not the world’s best cake froster and I let my ganache get a little too think before I drizzled it on the cake. But I think both of those things give this cake a kind of rustic charm that it would otherwise be missing. And the taste more than makes up for it, so I’m going to take that win and run with it.
This cake might be gone by the time my birthday comes, so we’ll just call this a birthday week cake. And if anyone wants to make me another one, I’m totally cool with that, too!
Ingredients
- !Chocolate Cake:
- Butter or nonstick cooking spray, for the pans
- 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp. all purpose flour, plus more for the pans
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 cup hot strong-brewed coffee
Swiss Meringue Frosting:
- 1/2 cup egg whites
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2-3 spoonfuls blackberry puree
Blackberry Buttercream:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup blackberry puree
Glaze:
- 2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 oz. heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- !Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 6-inch cake pans and set aside.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the oil and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes. With the mixer on, add the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the flour in three batches, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stop and scrape down the bowl. With the mixer on low, stream in the coffee. Mix on medium-low for no more than 30 seconds, or until combined.
- Evenly divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Let them cool on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes before removing the cakes from their pans.
- !Swiss Meringue Frosting:
- Place the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk them together by hand to combine. Fill a medium saucepan with a few inches of water and place it over medium high heat. Place the mixer bowl on top of the saucepan to create a double boiler. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water.
- Whisking intermittently, heat the egg mixture until it registers 160°F on a candy thermometer or is hot to the touch. Once hot, carefully fir the mixer bowl onto the stand mixer.
- With the whisk attachment, beat the egg white mixture on high speed for 8-10 minutes, until it holds medium-stiff peaks. When done, the outside of the mixer bowl should return to room temperature and no residual heat should be escaping the meringue out of the top of the bowl. Stop the mixer and swap out the whisk attachment for the paddle.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the butter, a few tablespoons at a time, then the vanilla. Once incorporated, turn up the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until the buttercream is silky smooth, 3-5 minutes.
- Mix in the blackberry puree and beat until silky smooth.
Blackberry Buttercream:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar, the salt, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated. Add another 2 cups sugar, the cream, and blackberry puree. Add additional powdered sugar as needed to thicken the frosting. Beat on medium speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Glaze:
- Put chopped chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 20 seconds, stir, then heat for 10 second increments, stirring, until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool and slightly thicken.
Assembly:
- Once the cakes have completely cooled, level them and choose which layer will be at the bottom. Place it on a cake plate or serving dish. Spread on 3/4 cup of the Swiss meringue frosting with an offset spatula. Place the next layer of cake on top and repeat. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the blackberry buttercream. Drizzle on the chocolate ganache and decorate with dollops of remaining Swiss meringue frosting and fresh blackberries.
