Happy March y’all. The third month of 2024 has begun. That’s a little wild.
I must confess, I’m kind of happy February is over. I don’t know, it just seemed like February was a really long and somewhat grey month. And I like March. We’ve got Saint Patricks day, which is one of my favorite holidays. For me, it’s my mom and my brother’s birthday month which is cool. And at the very end is Easter and SPRING BREAK. Oh yes spring break is the only thing keeping me going right now.
March is kind of a weird month season/weather wise. Some people are ready for spring, but it’s still cold and wintery in a lot of places. I try and make my recipes seasonaly appropriate so that makes my job a little more difficult. So this month’s recipes are somewhat neutral seasonally, except for one Easter themed recipe I have coming at the end of the month.
Anyway, look at this cake. I gotta say, I’m proud of this one. I think it’s pretty, unique, and really dang tasty. BUT. I’m gonna be honest, I’m not crazy about the pictures. I struggle with photographing cakes, I feel like they always look better in person.
Describe This Cake to me
Taste: The cake is a wonderfully balanced chocolate cake, which is perfectly bittersweet and soaks up the blackberry syrup amazingly. Then you have the blackberry compote filling which has some sweetness, but also adds a tartness. Then there’s the frosting, which is sweet and refreshingly fruity. And finally, the ganache whose rich and slightly bitter flavor cuts through the sweet frosting.
Texture: The cake is perfectly spongey and moist, with melted chocolate, coffee, and buttermilk to keep it soft. The filling is juicy and refreshing, made with fresh tart blackberries. And the creamy frosting and melt in your mouth ganache add that perfect finishing touch.
Ease: Ok I’ve gotta level with you, this cake is more difficult and advanced then some others on my blog. There are a lot of components because you’ve got the cake, the filling, the syrup, the frosting, the ganache, and then some sugared blackberries. Because of this, it’s a whole-day kind of endeavor. But none of the steps are really technically difficult, just time consuming.
The Cake
This cake is everything a chocolate cake should be. Moist, spongey, and filled with fudgy chocolate flavor. We use plenty of cocoa powder, and some hot coffee to bloom that chocolate. And to make the cake moist and buttery, we’re using sour cream and buttermilk, plus a little melted chocolate right in the batter. It’s simple, and no mixer required! This cake has a beautiful moist crumb, and it soaks up the blackberry syrup perfectly. Plus, it’s stable and perfect for layering.
The Filling
Now the filling for this cake is a blackberry compote. Compotes are pretty straightforward. Just cook together some blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and water. It’ll turn all jammy and wonderful, perfect for filling a cake. I like to get this done towards the beginning so it has time to cool down before I use it. You could even make it the day before and chill it in the fridge overnight!
The Frosting and Toppings
For this frosting, I used the same base as in my black velvet frosting. It uses butter and vegetable shortening to give you a stable and flavorful frosting. Then I swirl in some blackberry jam and some mushed up fresh blackberries for ultimate flavor. Plus, this gives you such a pretty color for the frosting. For toppings, I start off with a super dark chocolate ganache drip. This cuts through the sweet fruitiness of the frosting and and ties it together with the chocolate cake. Then I top the whole thing off with some pipework, sugared blackberries, and crystalized ginger. The ginger seems a little random, but I promise it tastes amazing.
Blackberry Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Method
- In a small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch mixture over medium heat. Stir constantly, and try to break up the blackberries with a wooden spoon as you stir. Let the mixture cook fr 5-7 minutes or until thick and saucy, stirring almost constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Allow to cool while we make the rest of the cake.
- Melt together ½ cup of sugar and ½ cup of water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Add ½ cup fresh blackberries (not the frozen ones yet!) Let the berries sit in the syrup for about a minute, stirring. Then remove just the berries (keep the syrup in the pot) and toss them in the remaining ½ cup granulated sugar. Let the sugared berries sit at room temperature until ready to use on the cake.
- Add the ½ cup frozen blackberries to the syrup and stir. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes on low heat, covered. Then remove from the heat and let sit until ready to use later. (keep the berries in for now, we'll use them for the frosting later!)
- Grease three 8 inch round cake pans with butter and line the bottoms with parchment paper, then grease the paper. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and buttermilk until smooth and combined. Pour into the dry ingredients and then add the hot coffee. Whisk until smooth and combined. Whisk in the melted chocolate.
- Pour the batter evenly among the three cake pans. Bake for 25-27 minutes or until cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan and bounces back after being lightly tapped. Allow to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack.
- Remove the blackberries from the syrup (save the syrup to brush the cakes with!) . Add them to a small food processor along with another ½ cup of fresh blackberries. Pulse until completely broken up. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip together the butter and shortening until smooth. Add the blackberry mixture, confectioners sugar, blackberry jam, vanilla extract, salt, and food coloring if using. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then turn up to high speed and whip for at least a minute.
- At this point you should have cooled blackberry filling, blackberry syrup, three cakes, frosting, and sugared blackberries. Remove the cooled cakes from the pans and peel off the parchment paper. You may want to trim the tops of your cakes to give you a flat work surface. I use a serrated knife to do this
- Place one cake layer on a cake stand. Brush with the blackberry syrup. Spread a thin layer of frosting on top. Then, using a large circular piping tip, pipe a ring of frosting around the edge to act as a moat for the filling. Spread half of the cooled blackberry filling into the inside of the ring. Place the second cake layer on top and repeat this process, this time using all of the blackberry filling. Place the final cake layer on top and spread a very thin crumb coat of frosting over the top and sides of the cake. You should have about half of the frosting left, which you can place in the refrigerator for now. Place the cake in the freezer for about 15 minutes to set up.
- Once set, spread some of the remaining frosting over the sides of the cake to cover any cake that may be peeking out from under the crumb coat. Use a bench scraper or a spatula to smooth out the sides. Once completely covered, place the cake back in the freezer while we make the ganache. You should have around ½ to 1 cup of frosting left. Return it to the refrigerator.
- Place the chopped chocolate in a liquid measuring cup. Set aside. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering (not boiling!). Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and allow to sit for 3-5 minutes before stirring together. You should have a smooth and glossy ganache.
- Remove the cake from the freezer. Pour the ganache on top of the cake and use a spatula to push it towards the sides to drip down the cake. Don't pour all of the ganache at once, you may not want to use it all!
- Add the remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star piping tip. Pipe spirals on top of the ganache and along the sides of the cake. Top with sugared blackberries and crystalized ginger.
- Cake stays fresh covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days!