Marbled Zesty Triple Driscoll's Berry Layer Cake
There is nothing better than berries in the summer. Fresh, healthy and a burst of natural sweetness to cure that heat ridden-body. But do you have similar problems to me; you can’t seem to maximise those berries to their full potential in the short time period you have access to them and you can’t even find a punnet of any berries that doesn’t include a rotten, squished or unripe berry. I’m here to solve all those problems for you in only two steps.
Ah, hello! Driscoll’s berries are the only supplier world wide who uses local farmers to ensure little to no travel time to get to your shops and thus, your mouths. As well as being the only company to have quality punnets of berries that do not contain what I call the RSU berry (rotten, squished or unripe berry). Take it from me, I bought a lot and can ensure you that NONE of the one’s I purchased in my time, contained any RSU berries. Supporting local farmers and getting the berry best quality and taste for yourself… what more could make you a berry happy camper?
You can get berries in breakfasts, lunches, side salads, sauces and dinners. So let’s top it off with a berry good dessert, I introduce to you this mouth watering, eye popping, finger magnet-of-a-cake… the marbled zesty triple berry layer cake which of course uses three kinds of Driscoll’s berries. Shall I say more?
The reason for incorporating lemon with berries is the acidity complements the natural sweetness in the berries and creates an even, well rounded flavour. You can of course leave the lemon out but I sometimes find it just a little too sweet especially with the delicious icing made from actual berries (no artificial flavour or colour).
Now, for all my single ladies and gentlemen out there, don’t think this isn’t a cake for you either because of it’s size. Most certainly a party of one can still enjoy this summer berry burst. Simply cut the cake up into slices and freeze one half, keeping the other half to nibble on. When you are ready to attack the second half, remove from the freeze the night before or at least 12 hours before the cake cravings hit. Leave in a dry place that is room temperature and allow to defrost. The following day you have cake ready as if it was freshly baked.
If the marbling seems too annoying, even though I do it the “cheats way”, just leave it out. Simply don’t marble or swirl through the berry puree but mix into the whole batter. This is a delicious but very low maintenance cake. It has the flexibility of a young gymnast but the decadence of a mature lady. I am going to say it has a little edge of sexiness as well to really add that zing into your day.
So there it is… all that must be said about this berry beauty before you get a glimpse at the recipe and get baking yourself. It will seem like lots of steps but they are very simple. No heating sugar to certain temperatures or gently whisking egg whites to stiff peaks, by hand. You don’t even have to strain the berry puree or even fold it into the batter to avoid deflation. Blitz, mix, pour and ice - simple.
Enjoy chefs
xx
Marbled Zesty Triple Driscoll’s Berry Layer Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
1 cup Discoll’s Fresh Blueberries
1 cup Discoll’s Fresh Raspberries
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp table salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup caster sugar
1 lemon, juiced
2 bio eggs
1 1/4 cups sour cream
For the Icing
1/2 cup Discoll’s Fresh Strawberries
3 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter
Pinch of sea salt
Fresh berries for serving
Method
For the Driscoll’s Berry Cake
Butter and flour two 6 inch round cake tins (this stops the batter sticking)
In a hand held blender, blitz the blueberries and raspberries until smooth (not all the blueberry skin will be blended so it’s ok to leave this as it will actually add an extra texture and visual component to the final cake). Set aside
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter and sugar for 6-8 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Add one egg at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each. Add the lemon juice, mixing until incorporated
In a seperate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Tip half of this in, mix until well incorporated. Add half of the sour cream and repeat until both the flour and sour cream have been beaten in. Make sure to scrap down the edges of the bowl
Pour in the pureed berries and using a spatula, gently fold to incorporate but leaving some of the edges and bottom without the berry mix (very rough marble)
Evenly split the batter into the two cake tins, smooth the surface and bake for 40-45 minutes at 180℃.
Remove from the oven, leave to cook for 5 minutes before removing the cake pan.
For the icing
Puree the strawberries by themselves until smooth (4-6minutes)
Melt the butter in a small bowl (in the microwave) or in a small pot on the stove top for 5-8 minutes (then pour into a room temperature bowl)
Add half of the icing sugar along with half of the pureed strawberries. Gently mix until incorporated. Repeat with the other halves (the resulting icing should be thick with a slight run - add more icing sugar if it is too runny or more strawberries or hot water is it’s too thick)
To assemble
Using a bread knife, carefully cut the top part of the cake off so you have an even surface rather than a raised centre part. Eat the cut cake as a pre-snack (don’t tell anyone else… call it the chefs treat).
Place one of the cakes on a serving plate or cake stand, bottom down. Generously spread about 1 cup of the icing over the surface. Top with the second cake, leaving the cut side up.
Pour the remaining icing over the second cake and gently spread over the top, allowing to run down the sides.
Top with extra fresh Driscoll’s blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. Cut yourself a large slice and enjoy
