Blackberry and lavender flavors come together in this superbly moist and tender blackberry lavender cake. The reverse creaming method guarantees a soft crumb and the lavender milk and soaking syrup promise an aromatic, but not overpowering flavor. This cake is the perfect dessert for any special occasion!
I’ve never been a fan of lavender flavored food. Lavender scented candles? Love them. Lavender lotion? Bring it on. Lavender the color? I love you and you’re gorgeous.
But I think lavender flavored desserts taste like hand soap.
Today I’m eating my words… and another slice of this blackberry lavender cake! It’s buttery soft with a tight crumb, blackberry filling, cream cheese frosting, and delicate flavor of aromatic lavender. Not hand soapy in the slightest. It’s actually become one of my favorite spring dessert recipes. (And makes for one of the prettiest Easter dessert recipes, too!)
If new cake flavors excite you, you are definitely going to enjoy this cake!
Video Tutorial: How to Make Blackberry Lavender Cake
Icing on the Cake Cookbook
This lavender jewel comes from Tessa Huff’s newest cookbook Icing on the Cake. (Page 60) For those not familiar, Tessa is the baker behind Style Sweet CA. Her blog and books are full of dessert and artful frosting decoration– I learned a lot of my skill from her. Even if you’re not a baker, her photography alone is true eye candy. I’m genuinely a huge fan and the only thing sweeter than her creations is Tessa herself. She’s simply wonderful and inspires us all to “live out our pastry dreams!”
It’s my duty to bring you the best of the best and I say with pure confidence that Icing on the Cake is my new favorite book. It’s a masterpiece created for dessert lovers and bakers of any skill-set. With multiple photos for each recipe, she walks us through every single detail, every swipe of frosting, and every turn of the mixer. Her creations are delightful and epic, combining classic flavors with creative colorful design. Each page has a pop of whimsy, as if you were turning the pages of a dessert fairytale. There’s cakes, macarons, pies, and plenty of other desserts to keep your sweet tooth satisfied. Her chocolate banana pie is next on my baking list and if you ever wanted a small, medium, and large batch recipe of vanilla buttercream, this book includes each.
If you’re passionate about pretty desserts, Icing on the Cake belongs on a pedestal in your kitchen. I’m proud to share the book with you today, including a recipe that’s– quite frankly– one of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten. Tessa is a cake mastermind!
This is a very special cake with several different parts. Each takes time to build and prepare, so I encourage you to read through the directions before starting. Each step is totally worth it! Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day… but this lavender cake can be!
5 Parts to Blackberry Lavender Cake
- Lavender Milk – To help flavor the cake.
- Lavender Soaking Syrup – To help flavor the cake and keep the layers extra moist.
- Cake – Tessa uses the reverse creaming method and it yields the softest, most springy cake crumb. One of the best textured cakes I’ve had and I know you’ll love it too.
- Blackberry Jam – Layer the cake with sweet blackberry jam. Paired with lavender, this is an absolutely mouthwatering flavor duo.
- Cream Cheese Buttercream – A light and creamy blend of vanilla buttercream and cream cheese frosting complements the cake without overpowering the delicate flavor.
Lavender for Baking
First, let’s discuss the best lavender to use for baking. I’m new to baking with lavender and wasn’t sure what to purchase when I started. However, a quick search pulled up this wonderful multi-use dried culinary lavender. It’s edible and a wonderful addition to homemade desserts, drinks, essential oils, and more. I actually just used it for lavender scones, too!
Lavender Milk
Pieces of dried lavender don’t leave an ideal texture in the baked cake, so let’s infuse the liquid ingredient (milk) with plenty of lavender flavor. Bring milk to a simmer, then let it steep with a couple teaspoons of dried culinary lavender. Strain the lavender through a fine mesh strainer, then let the milk cool completely before using in the cake batter. I recommend doing this in advance. If you remember, start it the night before. You can also prepare the lavender syrup ahead of time. More on that below.
There’s a fine line between pleasant lavender flavor and eating potpourri. For a light and lovely lavender flavor, stick with the recipe below! And if you don’t have a fine mesh strainer, pick one up. You need it to sift the dry ingredients, as well as for the lavender milk and lavender syrup.
Reverse Creaming Method
Have you ever heard of the reverse creaming method for cakes? Instead of starting with the creaming butter and sugar together, the reverse creaming method begins with the dry ingredients and ends with the eggs. Tessa says that she favors this method when she’s looking for a lighter, more springy crumb. This cake is tight like pound cake, but it’s not dense. Rather, it’s velvet soft. I’m a fan!
The keys to reverse creaming are to (1) cube the butter and soften to room temperature and (2) slowly stream the egg mixture into the batter at the very end.
And, like most cake recipes, be careful not to over-mix.
Lavender Soaking / Simple Syrup
The secret to ultra moist cake is to brush it with a simple syrup before frosting. The syrup soaks down into the crumb, keeping the cake tender and moist for days. You can do this with mostly any cake recipe and you can even flavor the syrup, too. Today we’ll simmer the syrup with culinary lavender, then let it cool completely and strain it before using.
Make sure you level the cakes before brushing them with lavender soaking syrup. Leveling the cakes slices off the uneven domed tops, which guarantees a stronger and sturdier layer cake. You can level the cakes with a cake leveler, but I just use a serrated knife. It’s convenient and easy.
I used a pinch more lavender than what Tessa’s recipe called for. Like the lavender milk, you can prepare the soaking syrup ahead of time.
Cream Cheese Buttercream
Tessa combines vanilla buttercream and cream cheese frosting together. I did this with my lemon cake and coconut cake, too. The frosting glides on seamlessly and even holds its shape with simple piping. I brought this cake along to a beach weekend with some friends and everyone not only complimented the delicious cake, but the tangy, sweet, silky soft frosting too. Keep this frosting recipe in your back pocket because it’s definitely one of the best parts!!
How to Assemble & Decorate Blackberry Lavender Cake
I bet you’re wondering about that blackberry jam?! We’ll use it when we assemble this lavender cake. Tessa teaches us how to make the most beautiful pattern that can only be seen when you cut into the cake. First, make “dam” around the outside, the same way to start to fill chocolate raspberry cake. Next, pipe a bullseye with the frosting, and then fill with blackberry jam. A large round piping tip is helpful for the frosting.
Blackberry jam is commonly found at most major grocery stores, but if you can’t get your hands on it, any flavor jam would be great or you could even try lemon curd.
Make sure you swipe a thin layer of frosting on the layers first. Otherwise, the jam could create a soggy cake. Apply a crumb coat all around the cake, then refrigerate. If you’re not familiar with a crumb coating, see my naked cake recipe and video. It’s simply a thin layer of frosting all over the cake that catches all the crumbs.
In the introduction to her book, Tessa says that if a portion of a recipe decoration doesn’t inspire or excite you, leave it off. Her blackberry lavender cake features a glorious flower crown and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it justice. Instead, I divided the frosting in half and tinted half light purple using 2 drop of this mauve food coloring. Using an icing spatula, I covered the crumb coat with the light purple frosting and added simple piped border around the top.
Decorate the lavender cake however you feel inspired and don’t forget to check out Icing on the Cake! Lovely cake, lovely book, lovely inspiration. And now I’m looking forward to more lavender flavored desserts!
More Lovely Layer Cakes
- Pistachio Cake
- Birthday Cake with Buttercream Flowers
- Vanilla Naked Cake
- Checkerboard Cake
- 1st Birthday Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
Blackberry Lavender Cake
- Prep Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 22 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Blackberry and lavender flavors come together in this superbly moist and tender blackberry lavender cake. The reverse creaming method guarantees a soft crumb and the lavender milk and soaking syrup promise an aromatic, but not overpowering flavor.
Ingredients
Lavender Milk
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 2 teaspoons dried culinary lavender
Lavender Syrup
- 1/2 cup (120ml) water
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons dried culinary lavender
Cake
- 1/4 cup (60g) sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 and 1/2 cups (295g) cake flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks; 230g) unsalted butter, diced & softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
Cream Cheese Buttercream & Assembly
- 1 cup (2 sticks; 230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- one 8 ounce block (224g) full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature*
- 5 and 1/2 cups (660g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) whole milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 – 1 cup (120ml-240ml) blackberry jam
- optional: purple or mauve food coloring
- optional: blackberries for garnish
Instructions
- Make the lavender milk: In a small saucepan over low heat, bring the milk to a simmer. Remove from heat and immediately add the lavender. Set aside to steep for 20 minutes. Strain the milk through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, then discard the lavender. Cool milk completely before using in cake batter. Can be made 1-2 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before using.
- Make the lavender syrup: In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the sugar and 1/2 cup water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and add the lavender. Simmer the syrup for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and steep until completely cool. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, then discard the lavender. You will use this “soaking syrup” in step 8. Can be made 1-2 days ahead. Cover and keep at room temperature until ready to use.
- Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 8-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Stir the sour cream and cooled lavender milk together until combined. Set aside.
- Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. (Or if using a handheld mixer, any large mixing bowl.) With the paddle attachment, beat the ingredients together on low speed for a few seconds to gently combine. Add the butter, vanilla, and about 1/2 of the lavender milk/sour cream mixture. Mix on medium speed until the dry ingredients are moistened, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl.
- Whisk the eggs into the remaining lavender milk/sour cream mixture. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the egg mixture in 3 additions, mixing for about 15 seconds after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl, then mix for about 15 more seconds until batter is completely combined. Avoid over-mixing. Some small lumps are OK.
- Pour batter evenly into cake pans. If desired, weigh them to ensure accuracy. Bake for around 20-22 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before leveling and frosting.
- Using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Generously brush lavender syrup on the top of each cake. I use every last drop!
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin, more milk if frosting is too thick, or an extra pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. Frosting should be spreadable and creamy, not runny. If desired, divide frosting in half and tint half light purple. I used 2 drops of this mauve food coloring.
- Assemble and decorate: Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Spread a thin layer of white frosting on top. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (I used Wilton 1A piping tip) with 1/2 cup of white frosting. (Or use a zipped-top bag with the corner snipped off.) Pipe a ring around the outer top edge of the cake to create a “dam.” Pipe a second ring of white frosting a couple inches in from the outer ring to create a “bull’s eye.” Spoon and spread blackberry jam in the gaps. Top with 2nd cake layer and repeat, then place 3rd cake layer on top. If there’s any remaining, spread a thin layer of white frosting all over the top and sides of cake to create a crumb coat. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Finally, spread the purple frosting all over the top and sides. I use and recommend an icing spatula to apply the frosting. If there’s any extra frosting, pipe decor on top. I piped a swirled border with Wilton 1M piping tip. Garnish with blackberries.
- Refrigerate cake for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, brushed with syrup, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. When ready to decorate, let the frosting sit at room temperature to slightly soften for 15 minutes, then give it one more mix with the mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute before frosting cake. Frosted cake or unfrosted cake layers can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before brushing with syrup, decorating, and serving.
- 9-inch Cake Pans: This recipe uses three 8 inch cake pans. If desired, you can prepare three 9 inch cake pans in step 3 instead. Bake time will be about the same, but keep a close eye on the cakes at 20 minutes and check for doneness with a toothpick. 9-inch cakes will be a little thinner.
- Cupcakes: You can use this recipe for lavender cupcakes. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 19-21 minutes. Yields about 2-3 dozen. Brush cooled cupcakes with lavender syrup and fill with blackberry jam, if desired.
- Cake Flour: If you can’t get your hands on cake flour, use this cake flour substitute.
- Cream Cheese: Use block cream cheese, not cream cheese spread. Not a fan of cream cheese frosting? Frost with this vanilla buttercream instead.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read here for more information.
- Special Tools: Icing on the Cake Cookbook | KitchenAid Stand Mixer | KitchenAid Hand Mixer | Culinary Lavender | Fine Mesh Sieve | 8 Inch Cake Pans | Pastry Brush | Food Coloring | Reusable Piping Bags or Disposable Piping Bags | Bench Scraper | Icing Spatula
Reprinted with permission from Icing on the Cake Cookbook by Tessa Huff
Keywords: lavender cake, cake
I made this cake using sour cherry jam instead of blackberry. It was so yummy I had to wrap it up and give it away to friends so I wouldn’t end up eating it all myself. I even got texts back stating it was Delicious which surprised me as lavender is not a flavor everyone loves. I did make a little adjustment as I didn’t have cake flour or the ingredients to make it at home I used all purpose flour instead and added 1/2 teaspoon baking soda because for some reason whenever I make a butter based cake it iyhout baking soda it ends up way too dense. Any thoughts on what I’m doing wrong there? Anyway. It was a wonderful cake Thank you
★★★★★
This was incredible! I have Celiac disease so I substituted my favorite gluten free cake flour and it turned out perfectly. I had issues with the frosting not holding but that was my own issue letting it get too warm. Even though it wasn’t as pretty as yours, the taste was incredible. I appreciate your recipes so much, every single one I’ve tried so far using GF flour has held up beautifully. Thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks for the recipe Sally. Looks fantastic. Could you help understand if I can substitute gluten free flour for regular flour and flaxseed meal for eggs? Thanks!
Hi Lavanya, I haven’t tested this recipe with either but large changes like that will greatly affect the taste and texture. Here are all of my naturally gluten free recipes and egg free baking recipes if you’re interested.
I was wondering if there was any way I could turn the frosting into a blackberry cream cheese buttercream? I want more of the blackberry flavor to come through but something thicker than just the blackberry cream cheese frosting.
Hi Emberly, I can’t see why not. I recommend using my blackberry cream cheese recipe (found with these lemon cupcakes) and substituting some of the cream cheese for softened butter. Let me know how it turns out!
I am thinking about making this delicious cake but I was wondering if you think it would be a good idea to do a layer of blackberry jam and then a layer of lemon curd. Do you think the flavor combination of lavender, blackberry, and lemon goes together?
I think that sounds delicious! Lemon and lavender pair beautifully together and both work so well with blackberry, too.
This is an absolutely fabulous cake! The taste is totally unique, subtle and satisfying. The crumb is moist and flavorful and the frosting is not too sweet thanks to the cream cheese. Don’t shy away from attempting to make this due to the numerous steps- they are easy and the recipe is very well written. My daughters and I made this for my wife’s birthday and it was a huge hit – it really helped to make her big day even more special. Thank you Sally for this wonderful cake recipe!
★★★★★
Hi, I was wondering if there’s anything I can substitute for the lavender? I have to make this today and can’t get my hands on any. Some have suggested using rosemary? What are your thoughts?
There is no good substitute for the lavender here. You can make a different cake and use the same frosting and jam as this recipe to fill and cover your cake. I suggest either my Best Vanilla Cake or even my Lemon Layer Cake.
This cake turned out tastily… but the layers didn’t rise. I couldn’t level them because they were so flat, so I used as-is. New baking powder, everything room temperature… what do you think could have gone wrong? (When I put them into the pans the batter only really covered the base of the 8 inch pans, but I was accurate with all measurements).
★★★★★
Hi Layla! So glad you enjoyed Tessa’s cake recipe. I’m concerned that your batter barely fit into the 8-inch pans because this recipe yields quite a lot of batter. (And not enough batter is likely why your cakes are so flat and dense.) Did you substitute any ingredients or make any changes? Make sure you are spooning and leveling the flour and I know you’ll find my How to Prevent a Dry or Dense Cake post very helpful, too!
I made this cake last night, and I believe it is now one of my favorites. My hubby, who is not much of a cake fan even loved it. It is so moist and the lavender flavor is just enough to know it is there, and not to over bearing. I have a small cake pop business and I am always looking for new flavors so when I saw this cake, I thought it might be a winner. I am so excited to try it out on my customers. Thank you.
★★★★★
Hi Sally,
This cake was incredible. I absolutely loved the flavor and the process of making all the different parts was a lot of fun. I had to use 9″ pans but watched them carefully as you said. However my batter did not rise much and although delicious, the layers ended up very thin and dense after cooling. Any idea what I might have done wrong?
★★★★★
Hi,
I made this as a 21st birthday cake. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfectly. The flavor is not too over the top lavender and it is a beautiful cake. The black berry flavor came through perfectly and the swirly jam and icing technique worked really well.
Thanks Sally!
★★★★★
I made this yesterday, following your recipe exactly. Loved the subtle flavor of the lavender with the blackberries not to mention how beautiful the color of the icing turned out. Thank you!
★★★★★
I made this and everyone loved it! They were skeptical at first due to lavender being in the cake, but they all loved it once they tried it!
My simple syrup solidified. Can it be saved by adding water and reheating? Or shall I start from scratch?
Hi Erika! That’s an easy fix- simply reheat in the microwave until liquid again.
Thank you so much. I served it today at a baby shower – definitely a hit!
★★★★★
I made this today, with lavender we had picked earlier this summer.Subbed Greek yogurt for the sour cream. Turned out fantastic and the reverse creaming technique did create a nice cake texture.
★★★★★
I’ve been waiting to try this recipe – we visit my in-laws in Seattle every July. My MIL has *THE most* amazing lavender bushes in her yard. And blackberries growing everywhere.
We love your recipes and will make this cake for a family get together this week!
Do you think we’ll be okay to use her home grown lavender?
Hi Bailey! Dried lavender is best for this recipe, though you could use fresh too. Rinse them well before using. If you’re interested in drying though– look up a quick tutorial for drying lavender at home– it’s easy!
Can’t wait to make this! How much does the blackberry flavor come through? I was thinking of doing a blackberry cream cheese frosting to amp up the flavor, but would this overpower the lavender?
Hi Adam! The blackberry flavor is really just in the jam, so if you’d like a lot of blackberry flavor, you can use a blackberry cream cheese frosting.
Hi Sally,
This recipe looks amazing, I’m going to try it for my bday next month. XD
Also would you mind to recommend a wedding cake recipe please? I couldn’t find one on your site.
Many thanks as always!
Hi Shelly! I don’t have a big wedding cake recipe published on my blog, but this vanilla naked cake makes a lovely small cake for a wedding!
I can highly recommend this cake! This reverse-creaming method does make a super soft crumb, extremely delicious. For anyone who wants to bake this cake, these are my tips:
#1 I only had two 9-inch cake pans and I still managed to get three layers, a bit thinner, I assume, but still fine.
2# I baked one cake layer as instructed in one 9-inch cake pan for 22 minutes and the other two in another 9-inch cake pan. This one took about 35 minutes. After cooling I cut in half. It was not hard to cut, still thick enough to get two nice cake layers.
3# I always reduce the amount of sugar and I felt it was perfect with 200 grams of sugar. No problems with structure.
#4 The lavender flavor is very subtle, as Sally writes, use ALL of that syrup, you will not overpower the cake with lavender flavor.
★★★★★
Hi Sally,
Any advice how can I alter this to fit a 2x8inch cake instead?
Thank you!
Hi Angela! You can use 2/3 of the cake batter for the cake pans, then use the remaining batter for a few cupcakes on the side. Or if you have 2 9-inch pans, use those instead. There’s just a little too much batter for only 2 8-inch pans.
I have never cooked or baked with lavender before, so I was excited to try this recipe. I made 24 cupcakes, filled them with the blackberry jam and added a touch of lemon juice to the frosting. These cupcakes were lovely, moist, fluffy and the flavors melded well together. I sent some into work with my hubby and everyone who tried them loved them and some even said they were the best cupcakes they ever had! There have been requests for more, so that is on my agenda today. Thank you, Sally for another amazing recipe!
★★★★★
Hi Sally,
Made this cake for my mom for Mother’s Day and everyone loved it. It was my first time baking with lavender as I also was afraid of lavender tasting like soap. The cake was moist and the lavender flavor was subtle and not overpowering. Now I will be trying lavender in future recipes. Couldn’t find blackberry jam, so I made my own. Great recipe.
★★★★★
Hi Sally! I’m super excited about this recipe but have a question about the lavender milk. Is the goal to have 1 cup or 240 ml of the lavendar milk after it has cooled? I started with a cup of milk but now have a little less after simmering. I want to make sure I have the correct amount!
A little less than 240ml AFTER simmering is totally fine. As long as it’s near 240ml, you’re good!
Question, rather than making lavender simple syrup, can I use torani lavender syrup? Also, can I use the syrup to make a lavender milk rather than steeping the flowers? Granted it feels a bit less authentic, but it sure would save me some time in consideration OfThe other food prep for Mother’s Day.
Hi Shandaleia! You can use that prepared lavender syrup as the soaking syrup. However, I’m unsure about using it for the lavender milk. Let me know how the cake turns out!
So the cake turned out amazingly! I made the lavender milk as instructed and used the torani syrup for the cakes and it was terrific. I also increased the recipe by one half since I wanted to make one cake for my family’s mother’s day celebration and a small one for a bday gift. It fit perfectly in four round 8 inch, .59 deep pans, and four 6 inch, .59 high pans. It got RAVE reviews with the family, the bday girl, and with the office for leftovers. Thanks for bringing us such a great recipe. And, I bought Tessa’s book too ☺️
Lovely cake. I was looking for something blackberry to bake my for my sister’s birthday in two weeks, and this sounds perfect.
Just wanted to mention that the alternating rings of buttercream and fruit filling serves an even more important purpose than aesthetics. Purées, jams, and even custard fillings can be very slippery, especially when they warm up. Even if a tier is damned and doweled a jam/fruit or custard filling can cause layers to slip in transit. There’s been much discussion of slippery cake layer disasters among event cake bakers over the years. Most advanced cake bakers use some form of alternating pattern of buttercream with fruit and custard fillings to avoid a slipping cake disaster. When chilled, the extra rings of buttercream hold everything in place, and when the cake is sliced and plated, there’s no unsightly sign that the cake was assembled to prevent the cake layers from sliding. This alternating ring pattern is my standard for slippery fillings.
★★★★★
This cake is soo good. Such a unique flavor and the lavender is definitely not overpowering-not like lavender soap at all! It gives a sweet floral flavor and aroma and the blackberry is fabulous. I made my own jam and colored the frosting with about two tablespoons of it.
★★★★★
I made this cake yesterday. I have to say this is the most wonderful cake I have ever made/tasted. the subtle taste of the lavender with the blackberry is pure heaven., as is the texture of the cake. I would be interested in trying other cakes using this method as well. Yet again Sally you amaze us with your recipes.
★★★★★
Isn’t it fantastic?! Truly one of the best cakes I’ve ever had too. Thanks Fiona!
This looks so good! How many cups of batter do you think this makes? I’m trying to fill a train shaped cake pan with this and wondering if it’ll be enough batter to fill it.
I have not measured the batter – but my best estimate would be about 18 cups (generally 8 inch pans hold about 6 cups each).
Hi Sally! I know you’re strawberry cake is special because you kind of make your own strawberry jam/reduction to keep it all from scratch. Can I do the same thing with the blackberry jam?
Thanks!
You absolutely could make your own. But the difference is that in the strawberry cake the strawberry reduction was going into the cake batter to flavor it, so we wanted a thicker pure strawberry paste – here it is simply layered between the cakes like a filling so you can use either store bought OR homemade jam!
You always inspire me to bake on my busiest work days! That is a beautiful looking cake. Love the idea of blackberry jam mixed in with the buttercream!
★★★★★
This cake is absolutely stunning! Perfect for birthdays and special occasions! I love the flavors combo – lavender and blackberry sounds so good!
★★★★★