The Icing on Top : August 2015

I have been getting really into baking layered cakes this summer. They are easier than you think and there are so many different combinations of flavors that you can work with. In the summer, I love baking with fruity and light flavors. For this cake, I made a vanilla cake, filled it with blackberry jam, and iced it with a blackberry frosting. It was moist and delicious.

First you want to make the vanilla cake: Makes two round 8 inch cakes

1 stick of unsalted butter

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 tbs of baking powder

1/2 tsp of salt

1 1/2 cups of sugar

3 eggs

1 cup of milk

1 tsp of vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350, then grease your cake pans with vegetable spray. Then, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined.

Beat the sugar and butter until combined.

Add the eggs and beat until combined.

Then, add the flour mixture in slowly and beat until combined.

Add the milk and the vanilla extract and mix until just combined.

Split the batter between the 2 cake pans.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Then, start on the blackberry jam filling.
4 cups of blackberries
1 cup of sugar
2 tbs of corn starch
1/2 tsp of lemon juice
Heat the blackberries and the sugar in a saucepan and let the blackberries break down. Then, add the corn starch and the lemon juice and stir and heat until the blackberries are broken down. Take it off the heat and refrigerate it while the cake is baking.

After the cakes cool, place them on separate plates.

Then, make the icing:
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of blackberries
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 ts of lemon zest
dash of salt
1 16 oz package of powdered sugar
In your mixer, beat together the butter, blackberries, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and salt.