Things have been quite a whirlwind ’round these parts as of late. Keeping up with the house, teaching my online course, and working on some other projects (will be telling you about these, soon!) have left me with very little extra time on my hands. With the kitchen remodel moving very slowly, I was having a hard time not being able to cook for an extended period of time, especially since cooking is one of my preferred methods of stress relief. So, this past Friday I said ‘to hell with it’ and made a cake in my half torn down kitchen. The oven was in working order and there was countertop space enough for the mixer, and that was good enough for me. I’d had all these berries left over from berry picking and needed to put them to good use, and I’d be damned if they were going to get all moldy before I put them into a sweet of some kind.
I used this recipe as the base for the cake and made a simple vanilla poppyseed glaze for the top. And because I’ve always used Challenge Butter for baking anyway, when they reached out to me about being an ambassador for them I immediately said yes. I like using them because their European style butter line has this rich, creamy texture and flavor to it that you just can’t find for the same price point in other brands. It’s easy to work with, quickly makes a great creamed sugar base for cakes and cookies, and is absolutely *amazing* when turned into brown butter. They also were the first US butter brand to implement a no-rbST policy, aka no weird hormones added to the poor cows and their subsequent butter, thank you very much.
They’re currently having a Real Summer, Real Flavor contest where you can play a fun little wheel game and possibly win products, cash, and coupons for Challenge Butter, Good Cook, Langers Juice, and Mrs. Cubbinson’s. But they were kind enough to offer up a special giveaway along with Good Cook for all of you here. The winner will receive1 Stir Fry pan, 1 Cookie Sheet, 1 Ice Cream Scoop, 1 Turner, 1 Spoon Baster, 1 Slotted Spoon, 1 Corkscrew, 1 set of Mini Clip Magnets, and coupons for free Challenge Butter products.
To enter please use the rafflecopter widget below, the deadline for entries is 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time August 12th. Best of luck everyone!!
Black and Blueberry Brown Butter Cake
Ingredients
Black and Blueberry Brown Butter Cake
- 3/4 cup unsalted Challenge Butter
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 and 1/2 cups flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 10 ounces blackberries for cake batter
- 6 ounces blueberries for cake batter
- 6 ounces mixed blackberries and blueberries optional garnish for the top of the cake
Vanilla Poppy Seed Glaze
- 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon poppy seeds
Instructions
- First, brown the butter. When making browned butter, it is best to use a stainless steel pan so that you can see the color of the butter change. Heat the butter in a large shallow frying pan over medium heat until melted. Swirl the pan around a bit every couple minutes to help it cook evenly. Over a period of several minutes, you'll notice the foam at the top of the butter start to change from light yellow to a dark tan. Once it reaches the dark tan stage and the butter looks light brown and golden, smell it. It should smell nutty and similar to toffee. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the brown butter, eggs, and sugar until blended. Add the vanilla extract and milk and mix until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gradually add the flour mixture to the batter, mixing at medium-low speed until fully incorporated. Add the blackberries and blueberries and stir in by hand. Evenly distribute the batter between 2 well-greased and lightly floured 8-inch cake pans.
- Place the pans in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until they're golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean (don't insert it into a berry bit though, that will always come out rather jammy). Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing the cakes from their pans and setting them on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cakes have cooled, prepare the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the poppy seeds and whisk until they're evenly distributed throughout the glaze. Drizzle 1/3 off the glaze over the first (bottom) layer of the cake. Place the second layer on top of it and drizzle with the remaining glaze. Garnish with the fresh blueberries and blackberries and serve.
my birthday is in one week and I have been struggling to decide what type of cake to make – totally making this with farmer's market fresh blueberries!
My favorite summer berry dish is pavlova with any kind of berries. Yum!
This cake is so. GORGEOUS. Eva, you make the most beautiful cakes. The brown butter sounds so so good in this, plus all the berries?! So worth hijacking your half-renovated kitchen. (I would totally do the same thing, by the way! Months without a kitchen?! Nightmare.) Love this so much!
My favorite berry dish… probably cake with berries. Like this one, OMG 🙂
I love berries and cream! Simple and delicious. 🙂
I can get european butter easily in Berlin. But I'd so prefer to get a piece of your cake. Your photography is unique and I love it. Everything looks tempting.
my very favorite dish peach cobbler with homemade vanilla sea salt ice cream – could eat it every night of summer!!
blackberries and raspberries sprinkled with hemp seeds and a touch of homemade whipped cream 🙂
marie [dot] hope [dot] martin [at] gmail [dot] com
this cake looks delicious esp that frosting!!! i have never tried challenge butter but i will be looking out it at the store next time.
This cake looks delicious. So glad you braved the half done kitchen to share it with us. My favorite berry recipe is a pie I randomly threw together when I first started cooking. It is an all butter pie crust + cheesecake (with a few drops of rose water mixed in) + berries + a crumbly topping.
This cake looks amazing! Can't wait for a free weekend so I can make it!
This cake looks amazing. We at the very end of a kitchen remodel and this looks like the perfect recipe to celebrate with. I love your food photography. Just beautiful.
I just used Challenge European butter in a cake for the first time last night and LOVED the results! Question – have you ever tested the cultured butter on a person with lactose intolerance? My boyfriend is intolerant and we were hoping maybe cultured butter would make a difference! Beautiful photos as always!
I love summer berries for so many things (pies mostly), but rarely make cakes with them. Definitely need to try this!
Berry pies that my grandma taught me how to make. She even found a copy of her 1960 cookbook at a flea market that she gave me on my 16th bday.
Strawberry pizza pie. Reminds me, I need to make one.
What a beautiful cake! I love the idea of a glaze full of poppyseeds too. I'm going to pass on the giveaway (there is way too much stuff in my kitchen already, ha ha) but good luck to everyone else!
Strawberry Shortcake!!!
When I was in England, I had this wonderfully simple dessert of strawberries and blueberries in a raspberry reduction sauce with some clotted cream… it was heaven. Your cake looks and sounds amazing!
Cherry Pie! No contest.
omg this cake is AMAZINGLY gorgeous!! I've never sen anything like it. It's almost (almost!) too pretty to eat!!
Sues
Raspberry or blackberry sorbet.
homemade blueberry pie is my fave!
Okay so, that looks amazing. Beyond.
My favorite berry treat is blueberries, cooked on the stove until they pop, with just a hint of vanilla. Serve that with goat cheese, and some good crusty bread, and I'm in heaven.
blackberry cobbler
love a blueberry crisp…. although nothing beats fresh summer blueberries by the handful in summertime 🙂
Eva, this cake is breathtaking! My sister in law who lives in Portland is really into marionberries, but she conceded to Kevin that Maine's wild blueberries are better 🙂 I'm so excited that it's blueberry season. Summer fruits abound! I'm glad to hear that your online course is going well, and I can't wait to hear what's next for you and your tremendous talent. I can't imagine what not having a kitchen is like in the midst of all that craziness you've got going on, but if you can continue to make things like this, well…dang, girl. You rule!
Simple: fresh blueberries picked off the bush, warm from the sun! Nothing better.
Eva, your cakes and photos keep getting better and better (how is that even possible!!?), beautiful post! 🙂
Your photographs are absolutely stunning. Just pinned this, and will attempt to make this one day!
There is nothing better than fresh, sun warm berries.
Triple berry turnovers are the greatest!
Your cake is mouth watering.
Hope when I make it, it looks half as good as yours does.
Looks delicious!
I love making angel food cake with berries on top! YUM
Stunning cake! I'm loving the vanilla poppyseed glaze 😉
Have a nice week!
OMG!! OUTRAGEOUS!!!
My very favorite summer berry treat is a blueberry tart with homemade icecream!
I am in Michigan currently with the finest fresh blueberries picked straight from the bush. This cake looks divine and I can't wait to try it!
i usually just mix berries with some greek yogurt and honey. simple, but delicious! and no need to turn on the stove in the summer heat. thank you for the great giveaway!
great
Two of my favorite berries in one cake. Delish!
My favorite summer dish with berries is delicious chocolate cake (I usually make it with 2-3 layers) with berry cream in between the layers and buttercream frosting and fresh berries on top. Jolly great of you to host this giveaway! So excited to enter.
love the look of this cake! will definitely have to try making it!
My favorite is a wonderful summer berry tart that I make often
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
this is beautiful! i love hand-churned fresh black raspberry ice cream. 🙂
My favorite summer berry dish…strawberry ice cream!
Girl, no one else could create such a stunning piece of art work in a half torn down kitchen. So beautiful!
I love the idea of just topping it with a beautiful glaze
Freshly churned home made vanilla bean ice cream with fresh sliced strawberries and a drizzle of honey on top. Divine!
wow this looks so delicious and beautifully captured as usual! loving that poppyseed glaze!
Until seeing this gorgeous cake, my favorite summer berry dish has been a simple dish of sliced nectarines with blueberries in half & half.
Thanks for a chance at the giveaway.
anything with lemon and blueberry in the summer…it's my favorite combination! 🙂 courtney.e.perkins07@gmail.com
We get fresh blackberries by where we live and my favorite thing to do with them is make cobbler. Mmm.
We love all berries and have many fave summer desserts.. but, I seem to asked to make my scratch fresh strawberry infused cake with marshmallow cream frosting the most.. topped with more fresh strawberries.. sometimes I have fresh on top with chocolate dipped alternating…Thanks.. your recipe here looks very good too..gonna have to pin it 🙂 Vickie floridagld (at) yahoo (dot) com
What a gorgeous looking cake, your photo's are amazing. My favorite berry dish pavlova with fresh berries and cream on top.
Samantha
Berries are good with just about anything, ice cream, pancakes, salsa, but especially in a Caipirinha or Mojito. Mmmm.
Blueberry Pie. Always a family favorite, we would go pick wild (or farmed) berries and make a pie with some fresh ones before freezing the rest. It's my dad's all time favorite desert.
Blackberry cobbler is a family favorite – this post is gorgeous… Can't wait to try it!
This is a beautiful recipe, but your photography is stunning. What kind of camera do you use?
Mmmmm berry crisps are my favorite!
Berries with whole milk yogurt and a drizzle of honey – divine!!
What a cake! A berry dream. I hope your kitchen will be ready soon so you can get back to your normal cooking routine.
Oh My!!!! It looks devine. Some of my favorite flavors all in one.
Eva, this cake is amazing! I really admire your style and I take you as an inspiration :). I also have started a culinary blog (http://kitchenhighlights.blogspot.com/) and I enjoy posting and of course cooking. Keep up the good work!
Good old fashioned blueberry pie!
I love Strawberry shortcake!
juanitas_cocina@yahoo.com
I love challenge butter! Makes the best shortbread.
Blueberry pie with a flaky crust is my family's favorite berry dessert!
I love making berry crumbles in the summer!
I love berries with greek yogurt and honey for breakfast every morning! – K Ch
My favorite summer berry dish is fruit tarte.
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