Tuesday 12 August 2014

Summer Berry Cake


I baked this cake last week for a birthday at work. It was so good I made the same cake again at the weekend and it's all gone! It's a vanilla sponge cake filled with fresh berries topped with creme fraiche and more fresh berries. The birthday girl wanted something with fresh fruit so I loaded the cake with lots of it! I used fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.  The sponge was really light and moist and the vanilla flavour really lifts the fruits. Everyone enjoyed the creme fraiche topping which was flavoured with ground vanilla beans as it was lighter than cream and helped cut through the sweetness of the cake and fruit. 

As fresh berries are still in season, I'm entering this to Simple and in Season hosted this month by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary for Ren from RenBehan.com.




I'm also sending this to Celebration Cakes & Bakes hosted by Mummy Makes Cakes as this was made for a birthday celebration and it's perfect for any celebration. 


And to Bake of the Week run by Casa Costello which is guest hosted by Kirsty from Hijacked By Twins


And to Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too.


I think it will also fit in with with month's Tea Time Treats hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage and co hosted by Jane from Hedgecombers. The theme this month is Picnic Food and Picnic Treats. When I think of picnics, I think of summer and this cake definitely screams summer! 




 adding vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract 

 toss the berries in flour 

 press a few fresh berries on top

 ground vanilla beans in the creme fraiche

 fresh from the oven - you can clearly see the berries

 add a layer or sweetened vanilla creme fraiche

 top with fresh summer berries

 add a sprinkling of vanilla dusting sugar 



 I love how you can still see the berries inside the sponge 

I used my usual weigh your egg method for the sponge - use the same weight for your butter, sugar and flour
For the cake
4 large eggs = 266g in weight 
266g butter
266g caster sugar
266g self raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
60mls milk
366g fresh summer berries tossed in 2 tablespoons of flour

For the topping
300mls creme fraiche
ground vanilla beans
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
selection of fresh berries

  • Preheat the oven to 180C. 
  • Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. 
  • Add in the eggs, one at at time, mixing well between each addition. 
  • Add in the vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract.
  • Add in the flour and then the milk. 
  • Toss the berries in 2 tablespoons of flour and stir them into the cake mixture by hand. Set aside a small handful of berries. 
  • Pour the batter into a 23cm cake tin. Press the reserved berries into the cake before baking. 
  • Bake for approximately 45 - 50 minutes or until it's golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. It's a large cake so may even need an hour to cook!
  • Allow the cake to cool completely before decorating. 
  • Use a vanilla bean grinder to grind vanilla beans into the creme fraiche. 
  • Add in 2 tablespoons of icing sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
  • Spread the creme fraiche on top of the cake.
  • Pile lots of fresh berries on top. 
  • Sprinkle with vanilla dusting sugar or plain icing sugar. 




26 comments:

  1. What lovely cake! Look delicious:)

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  2. Love this seasonal berrilicious cake . Looks so appetizing ! YUM ;)

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  3. This is my kind of cake. Utter perfection. Look at that sponge!!

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  4. Beautiful!
    Who wouldn't be thrilled to get a birthday cake like this? I could manage a slice or two right now!

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  5. What a lovely cake for a summer birthday!

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  6. This looks gorgeous! A beauty of a summer birthday cake. I've been absolutely obsessed with vanilla bean paste since discovering it earlier this year. It really does lift a sponge to another level.

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  7. Wow looks gorgeous and full of summer flavour!

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  8. Gorgeous cake, love the use of creme fraiche too, it pairs so beautifully with fruit :)

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  9. I'm loving fruity cakes at the moment, and this one looks scrummy. A sweet treat but not heavy and sickly- would love a piece right now! #bakeoftheweek

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  10. Oooh you can almost pretend its healthy with all the fruit on top! Looks delicious!

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    1. Yes I'm sure there's at least 1 of your 5 a day in there!

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  11. This looks amazing. I love anything piled high with Summer Fruits and cake does seem to be the perfect accompaniment

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  12. This cake looks sooooo yummy! I love summer berries and this cake is the perfect way to enjoy them. Thank you for sharing and linking up with #BakeoftheWeek x

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  13. I think summer berries look so beautiful..... and this cake is no exception. It looks absolutely divine. Please send some over!!!

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    1. I made 2 large cakes and there was none left! I think I'll have to make it again before the berries are completely out of season

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  14. A STUNNING cake Ros - you are so talented at baking! Karen

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  15. I love the look of this for a summer birthday. Thanks for linking to #CelebrationCakesAndBakes.

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  16. A beautiful cake - those berries on top are stunning! I can just taste it now :) Thanks for linking up with Simple and in Season :)

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  17. That looks SO impressive! Thanks so much for linking up with #recipeoftheweek. Sorry I was particularly slow getting over for this one. I've pinned it to my food board and a tweet will go out shortly :)

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