Easy Berry Butter Cake Recipe
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A grown-up version of shortcake, this butter cake is so simple that we decided to finish it with nothing more than berries and a whipped cream topping, making it one of the easiest cakes ever.
What to buy: We prefer almond extract in the filling, but if you only have vanilla extract on hand, add 1/2 teaspoon to the cake and 1/2 teaspoon to the filling.
If you don’t have any mascarpone or can’t find it at the grocery store, use cream cheese instead; it will have a more distinct flavor but be just as good.
This recipe was featured as part of our Oh, Crap! It’s Mother’s Day! story.
INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for coating the pan
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), softened, plus more for coating the pan
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup whole milk
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
To assemble:
- 1 1/2 pounds mixed berries*, washed (if you’re using *strawberries, they’ll also need to be hulled and quartered)
INSTRUCTIONS
For the cake:
- Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat an 8-inch round cake pan with butter and flour, tap out the excess flour, and set the pan aside. Combine measured flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until evenly combined; set aside.
- Place measured butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium high until light in color and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar and continue to beat on medium high until white in color and the texture of wet sand, about 3 minutes more.
- Add eggs one at a time, letting each incorporate fully before adding the next. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer on low, add half of the flour mixture. Mix just until incorporated, then add milk and continue mixing until smooth. Add the rest of the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated, about 2 minutes more.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, about 15 minutes. Run a knife around the perimeter of the cake and turn out onto the rack, right side up, to cool completely. Meanwhile, make the filling.
For the filling:
- Place mascarpone in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add cream, sugar, and almond extract, increase speed to medium high, and whip until ingredients are combined and firm peaks form, about 15 seconds more. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
To assemble:
- Slice cake in half horizontally using a serrated knife. Divide filling evenly between the cut side and the top of the cake. Divide berries evenly over the filling. Stack cakes on top of each other and serve.
Oh my god. My mother use to make this for me when I was a little girl.
I've made this cake several times, and the only time it didn't rise properly was when I forgot to add the milk. I ended up using the tough result as biscotti and it was delicious. Anyway I just wanted to proclaim my love for this cake. If made with an almond buttercream it is virtually identical to Whole Food's Chantilly Cake. just sayin...
There is not enough baking powder in this recipe, hence the lack of rising for those who have tried it. Even your basic high school home ec (for schools that still have it) teaches a ratio of 1 - 1 1/4 teaspoon/s baking powder to one cup flour for a balanced formula.
Mine rose plenty. It's really important to let the butter soften, not melt it, so you can make seed bubbles with the sugar to aid leavening. The only complaint I had about my cake was the texture. The crumb was a little tough. Maybe I overcooked it. Other than that, delicious!
This was a really delicious cake, but it definitely didn't rise very much. I ended up doing a one layer with a whipped cream topping and berries, and it was great, but if you want to do a two layer, I would double the recipe. I also had the problem with the cake sticking, next time I'll use parchment paper! But I'll definitely make this cake again, it was really easy and tasted great.
it definitely was not a high rising cake in the 10 in pan either. and for the record, don't try to combine this cake with chocolate frosting. it's much better with whipped cream and berries.
I'm making this again tomorrow and am going to double the recipe and bake it in a 10 inch pan. I do not live above 2000 ft....actually right at sea level, literally!
I made this cake for Mother's Day. It rose just fine for me and was very easy to make. My problem was that I followed the direction to use butter and flour to grease and coat pan, and my cake stuck to the bottom. I should have known that a fat other than butter would work a lot better to grease the pan for a butter cake. In the end, I did not cut the layer in half and just had extra whipped cream and berries once the top was covered.
Can't you just double the recipe?? Will that solve the rising issue/not enough cake issue?
I think it's really important to beat the egg/butter mixture very very well with the addition of each egg, like you'd do for a Dundee cake.
To those that had problems with rising: Do you live above 2000ft?
I made this cake yesterday, used regular (homemade) whipped cream and strawberries and it was great. raves all around. BUT, it didn't rise very much for me either. used an 8 in pan, and while my BP isn't brand new I do bake regularly so it's fresh and has been used in other cakes in recent weeks. so the layers were thin but it tasted great.
Did you bake it in a 9 inch pan instead of 8 inch? That could explain why it didn't seem to rise enough.
I used baking powder, and I bought a new tin of it, not having baked for a while. Oven is new too. Anyway, I soaked it in rum and nobody noticed it hadn't risen.
Sorry, Pia. It is supposed to be baking powder as listed in the recipe. I wrote the wrong one in my comment, but the jist is still the same: lack of rising is probably due to old baking powder not doing it's job or an oven that's off in temperature. ;)
Is it supposed to be baking soda or baking powder?
cassis: are you sure your baking soda is good? our cake rose to 1 1/2 to 2 inches everytime we tested it so my first suspicion is that your baking soda is old and needs to be replaced. let us know how it goes...
Hm, this looks a lot like a Norwegian bløtkake! Picture: http://gfx.dagbladet.no/magasinet/2002/05/11/blotkake3.jpg Recipe: http://recipes.recipeland.com/recipe/v/Norwegian_Birthday_Cake_Blotkake_7148 I like to add a pinch of ground cardamom to mine. Det smaker godt!
I made this cake yesterday and I am not a novice cook but unfortunately I followed the recipe when it said 3/4 teaspoon baking powder for 1 1/2 C flour, and my cake turned out to be about 3/4 " high, very hard to split...