Summer is winding down in Oregon, and most of the harvest is over. We just have aronia berries left. This summer went so fast, but the weather was also so weird and caused all of the crops to be much later than expected. The only crop that was “on time” was raspberries. This past week we wrapped up harvesting on the blackberries, and with the few last fresh ones I made this delicious cake to celebrate a harvest well done.
I used a white sponge as a base for the cake, with layers of buttercream and fresh blackberries bursting with sweetness in the middle.
What You’ll Need: 
For the Cake
- 1 C Salted Butter, Softened
- 1 1/2 C Sugar
- 2 TSP Almond Extract
- 3 1/2 C Flour
- 4 TSP Baking Powder
- 1/2 TSP Salt
- 6 Large Eggs, Room Temp
- 1 1/2 C Milk, Room Temp
For the Frosting
- 1 1/2 C Butter, Softened
- 1 1/2 TSP Vanilla Extract
- 6 C Powdered Sugar
- 6 TBSP Heavy Whipping Cream
- Food Coloring (optional)
- Extract for Flavor (optional)
I used about 2 cups of fresh Blackberries, our cake is 9 inches in dimeter. You can use more or less depending on your cake size and shape.
What You’ll Do:
-
- Grease three 9-inch pans. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in almond extract.
- Use a fork to combine the eggs and milk together in a bowl or 2 cup liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
- In another mixing bowl stir together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix in until just combined. Add in half of the milk mixture and combine. Add in another ⅓ of the dry ingredients until combined followed by the remainder of the milk mixture. Add in the remainder of the dry ingredients and mix with the hand mixer until just combined, using a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom to make sure everything is mixed in.
- Divide the batter among the three prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Let sit in pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before layering and frosting.
- To make the frosting: Use mixer (hand or stand) to whip softened butter and vanilla extract together. Slowly add in powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time. Thin out with milk if it gets too thick.
This is a short little post on some delicious scones I just had to share! This summer is so weird for where I live. Usually blueberries are in season from late June to mid July, then peaches come in to season with blackberries in August. Not this year though, all three are over lapping this year which is so exciting! I got to use fresh blueberries, and fresh peaches in these scones. I usually used dried blueberries, and dried fruit, so it’s a bit of treat to use fresh fruit. I like using local produce, usually organic, or I get produce from farmers I trust. The blueberries are from my parents farm, 
Aronia berries are a fun ingredient to experiment with. Sunset Valley Organics’ Aronia berries are unique in that they are so packed full of nutrients that the brix (natural sugar content) is actually a lot higher than average (which is around 15-18, while Sunset Valley Organics is averaging 22), and this makes the tannins in the berry not so much at the for front of the taste. Instead a sweetness starts to come through, which is highlighted more through any heating process. Not just baking, but also jams, syrups, or juice. 
