Cake is good. This Berry Butter Cake, loaded with fruit, is very good.
This cake features a tender, moist crumb that provides a delicious cushion for things like strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries. It’s not fancy.
I modified this a lot from Bake from Scratch Magazine, adjusting some ingredients and other directions. The bake time was way too long, for starters. I was also perturbed that they call for vanilla extract in the glaze, but obviously used clear vanilla extract for their picture, because using regular extract muddies the glaze.
This cake is great to freeze and thaw later, even weeks later. It stores beautifully sealed up in the fridge or at room temperature.
Bready or Not: Berry Butter Cake
This buttery-fresh is a single layer loaded with berries of your choice, fresh or frozen! Greatly modified from Bake from Scratch July/August 2023.
Equipment
- 9-inch springform pan
- parchment paper
- nonstick spray
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup buttermilk or soured milk, see note
Fruit:
- 1 3/4 cups fresh or frozen berries such as raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries (210 grams)
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
Vanilla Glaze:
- 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar plus more if needed
- 1 Tablespoon milk or half & half, plus more if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Prepare springform pan by cutting a piece of parchment paper to fit inside. Use nonstick spray on interior of pan, then place cut parchment inside and spray again.
- Beat together butter and both sugars until they are light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter bowl alternatively with the buttermilk/soured milk. Scrape the bottom of the bowl a few times.
- In another bowl, stir the flour into the fruit to coat it. Reserving 1/4 cup of fruit, fold most of it into the batter. Spread batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the reserved fruit over the top.
- Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until the cake looks golden brown and the middle passes the toothpick test. Let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then pop open the springform ring to remove it. Let cake cool completely on rack.
- Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl until they are smooth. Add more confectioners’ sugar or milk, if necessary, to achieve a thick but good consistency for drizzling. Immediately drizzle across the top of the cake. Let set at least 20 minutes before slicing in.
- Cake keeps well in sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days. It can also be frozen in individual slices for weeks or kept in fridge.
OM NOM NOM!
Notes
Make soured milk by pouring about a Tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a liquid measuring cup, then add milk or half & half to reach the 3/4 cup line required by this recipe. Let it sit about 10 minutes. It should start to thicken and curdle. Add all of that acidic goodness to the batter.
