Blackberry Chocolate Cake

Add the blackberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a saucepan over medium heat.

Cook until the berries start to break down. You can help them along by mashing them with your mixing spoon.

Continue to cook and stir until the mixture begins to thicken and the berries are completely broken down. The whole process takes about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and let it cool for about 10 minutes.

Press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve. You really have to work it through because there’s a lot of seeds and pulp to separate out.

Place your strained blackberries into the fridge and start on the chocolate cake.

Preheat the oven to 325F and prep 3 round 8 inch baking pans. Spray them with some nonstick spray, coat them in the Rodelle Organic Baking Cocoa, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

In a large bowl (use your stand mixer bowl if using), mix together all of the dry ingredients including the sugar.

In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and eggs) minus the hot water.

With the mixer on medium-low speed, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients in a slow and steady stream.

Once it’s almost combined, slowly mix in the hot water. The batter will be very thin.

If using cake strips, which I highly recommend for an even bake, dampen and wrap them around the prepared pans.

Evenly distribute the batter between the three pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in their pans for 20-30 minutes or until the pans and cakes are completely cooled.

Turn out the cakes and wrap individually in plastic wrap. Because the cake is so soft and tender, you’ll need to refrigerate the layers for about an hour to firm up a bit. This makes it easier to assemble the cake.

Let your butter sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before starting.

Pour about an inch of water into a medium saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Don’t let it come to a boil.

If using an electric mixer, place the egg whites and sugar into the metal bowl of your mixer and place it over the simmering water.

Whisk the egg whites and sugar until it reaches 160F. This should only take about 5 minutes but to test and make sure it’s done, rub a bit of the mixture between your fingers and if you can’t feel any sugar granules…it’s ready.

Place the bowl back on the mixer and whisk on high speed for about 10 minutes or until you reach stiff peaks.

You want the bowl to be somewhat cool before adding the butter. Once ready, drop the mixer to low and mix in 1 tablespoon at a time. Make sure it is mixed in before adding the next.

Lastly, mix in the 3 tablespoons of blackberry jam. By this time, you should have a silky buttercream. If you’re having trouble with the consistency, I wrote instructions in the post above as to how to fix the issue.

Take the cakes out of the fridge and unwrap. Level them off if needed.

Spread an even layer of the buttercream on top of the first layer. Spread 1 tablespoon of the blackberry jam on top of the buttercream then place your second layer of cake. Repeat.

Once you’ve placed the final layer, pop the cake in the fridge for about 10 minutes so the center can set.

Cover the entire outside in the blackberry buttercream and even out the sides with a cake scraper.

Dot tiny bits of the blackberry jam all throughout the cake and run the cake scraper along the edge. If you added too much, spread on a bit more buttercream then scrape again to get the berry swirl effect you see here.

Place the cake back in the fridge and prepare the ganache.

Add the chopped chocolate to a bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a separate bowl in the microwave for about 1 minute.

Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a minute. Then mix until smooth.

Gently spread it over the top of the cake and let it drip down the sides.

Top with some extra blackberries and place in the fridge for 15 minutes to set. Enjoy!