Upside Down Blackberry Lavender Cake


I recently had a birthday and since I’m the baker in the family, I had to bake my own cake. Although I enjoy baking, of course, I didn’t want to spend all day in the kitchen so I modified a recipe I found on Pinterest. I don’t really care for frosting and the original frosting recipe for this cake seemed fussy so I replaced it altogether with homemade whipped cream. The end result was astonishingly good, as evidenced by my son who asked me to bake the same cake for his upcoming birthday!

Notes:

Dried lavender lends wonderful flavor to baked goods but you must not add too much because it can quickly become overpowering.

The berries, leaves, and lavender (fresh and dried) pictured below as garnishes on the cake came from lavender plants and black raspberry bushes in my yard.


Cake Ingredients:

2 pints blackberries
1 ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dried lavender
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut out a piece of parchment paper the size and shape of the bottom of the pan(s) you’ll be baking the cake in. Butter the bottom and sides of the pan(s), then drop in the piece of parchment paper and butter that as well. Evenly spread out the blackberries along the bottom of the pan(s) and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and lavender; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, add one egg, beat on high for 1 minute, then repeat with the second egg. Scrape down the bowl again and then add the vanilla. On low speed add 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by ½ of the milk, repeating until all of the flour and milk have been incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) over the top of the blackberries and smooth it out evenly. For 2 six-inch pans, bake for 25 to 30 minutes. For 1 eight-inch pan, bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake(s) on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then invert the pan(s) onto the serving platter and carefully peel off the parchment paper.

Whipped Cream Ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla

Place the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk attachment in the freezer for 20 minutes, then remove and immediately begin beating the whipping cream; sugar; and vanilla on medium speed until soft peaks form. (Cold tools will help the cream to be whipped in a shorter amount of time.)

If using 1 layer of cake, top with whipped cream; garnish; and serve. If using 2 layers, top the bottom layer with ½ of the whipped cream; place the second layer on top of the first; top with the remaining whipped cream; garnish; and serve.

Examples of garnishes: blackberries, blackberry leaves, small amounts of dried lavender, sprigs of fresh or dried lavender, etc.



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