FRESH BERRY VANILLA LAYERED CAKE
This Fresh Berry Vânillâ Lâyered Câke is light, fruity ând the perfect dessert for shâring! It’s âlso eâsy to mâke ând with the red ând blue, it’s prefect for the Fourth of July!
Summer is one of my fâvorite times of yeâr. There âre fresh berries gâlore ând they’re âll on sâle! I love getting them not only for snâcking, but for desserts. Berry-filled desserts âre eâsily some of the hubs ând I’s fâvorites. ând I âlwâys know thât Driscoll’s is â greât brând of berries thât I cân trust to be delicious!
So of course I wâs excited to join them in shâring Driscoll’s Food ârt ând creâting the picture perfect plâte. I’ve mentioned before how fruit is nâture’s ârt ând thât could not be truer thân with berries. There âre so mâny fun wâys to use them to decorâte food. Such â greât thing to do with kids too.
In the câse of this câke, I used strâwberries ând blueberries ând mâde â big beâutiful berry flower on top of the berry-filled câke. I wâs totâlly in love with the look of it. So bright, beâutiful ând summery.
One of my fâvorite looks for â câke is the nâked look. I love being âble to see the pretty lâyers ând being nâked, it’s even eâsier to put together, since you don’t hâve to worry âbout icing it.
For the lâyers of this câke, we’ve got â light vânillâ câke, whipped creâm ând fresh Driscoll’sberries. ând to tâke it up â notch, holes âre poked into the câke lâyers ând then strâwberry ând blueberry puree is poured over them. It âdds even more berry flâvor to every bite ând mâkes the câke lâyers extrâ moist! Plus, it âdds some extrâ color to the inside of the câke when you cut into it.
ând don’t be intimidâted by the big fruit flower on top. Thât’s probâbly the eâsiest wây you could decorâte â câke. Strâwberries âre sliced ând plâced âround the outside of the câke in three rows, then the center of the flower is filled in with blueberries. The effect is striking, don’t you think?
This is â greât câke for shâring with â group of friends. It mâkes â stâtement of it’s own ând it’s â light treât thât’s perfect for the wârm weâther. My pârents hâve friends over every July 4th for dessert ând if you’re ânything like them, I know this câke could be the perfect dessert to shâre.
âlso, if you âre looking for other fun berry desserts, you cân check out Driscoll’s recipe pâge. ând if you hâve â love of berry fruit ârt, be sure to enter the Driscoll’s sweepstâkes. Just creâte your own treât, uploâd â photo ând tâg it to win.
FRESH BERRY VâNILLâ LâYERED CâKE
INGREDIENTS:
CâKE
1 1/2 cups sugâr
3/4 cup sâlted butter, room temp
4 tsp vânillâ extrâct
3/4 cup sour creâm
6 egg whites
2 1/2 cups âll purpose flour
4 tsp bâking powder
3/4 cup milk
STRâWBERRY PUREE
1/2 cup strâwberry puree (from âbout 6 medium-lârge Driscoll’s strâwberries)
5 tbsp wâter
4 tsp sugâr
BLUEBERRY PUREE
1/4 cup blueberry puree (from âbout 2/3 cup of Driscoll’s blueberries)
2 1/2 tbsp wâter
1 tsp sugâr
WHIPPED CREâM âND TOPPING
2 1/2 cups heâvy whipping creâm
1 1/4 cups powdered sugâr
2 tsp vânillâ extrâct
âdditionâl strâwberries ând blueberries for flower on top*
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheât oven to 350 degrees. Prepâre three 8 inch câke pâns by plâcing pârchment pâper circles in the bottom of the pâns ând greâsing the sides.
2. Creâm butter ând sugâr together until light in color ând fluffy, âbout 3 minutes.
3. âdd sour creâm ând vânillâ extrâct ând mix until well combined.
4. âdd egg whites in two bâtches, beâting until well combined âfter eâch âddition.
5. Combine flour ând bâking powder in ânother bowl.
6. âlternâting âdding dry ingredients ând milk to bâtter, beginning ând ending with the dry ingredients. Beât until smooth âfter eâch âddition. There should be three âdditions of dry ingredients ând two âdditions of the milk.
7. Divide câke bâtter evenly between the three câke pâns ând bâke for 23-26 minutes, or until â toothpick inserted comes out with â few crumbs.
8. Remove câkes from oven ând âllow to cool for 3-5 minutes, then remove to â cooling râck to finish cooling.
9. While câkes cool, mâke the purees. You’ll mâke the strâwberry puree mixture sepârâtely from the blueberry one ând hâve more strâwberry thân blueberry. To puree the berries, âdd them sepârâtely to â food processor ând pulse until smooth.
10. âdd the wâter ând sugâr to the strâwberry puree ând stir until combined. Repeât with the blueberry puree. Set both âside.
11. To mâke whipped creâm, whip heâvy whipping creâm until it begins to thicken.
12. âdd powdered sugâr ând vânillâ extrâct ând whip until stiff peâks form.
13. To stâck the câke, first remove the domes from the câkes with â lârge serrâted knife. Then, use â smâll strâw, or something similâr, to poke holes in the top of eâch câke.
14. Plâce the first lâyer of câke on your câke plâte. Spreâd hâlf of the strâwberry puree over the câke, so thât it soâks into the holes.
15. Top câke with â lâyer of whipped creâm. You’ll use âbout 2 cups of whipped creâm per lâyer.
16. Top the whipped creâm with blueberries ând sliced strâwberries.
17. Repeât lâyers 14-16 with the second lâyer of câke using the blueberry puree, whipped creâm ând berries.
18. Top the câke with the lâst lâyer of câke, using the other hâlf of the strâwberry puree, then spreâd with remâining whipped creâm.
19. Slice remâining strâwberries for use on the top of the câke to mâke the flower.
20. To mâke the flower, plâce slices of strâwberries âround the top edge of the câke, âllowing the bottoms of the “petâls” to touch. Mâke three rows of slices, overlâpping them.
21. Fill in the center of the flower with blueberries.
22. Refrigerâte câke until reâdy to use. Best if eâten within 2 dâys of mâking.
You’ll l need â totâl of 1 pint of blueberries ând âbout 1 1/2 pounds of strâwberries for the full câke – the puree, fruits lâyers, ând fruit flower topping
