Earl Grey & Lavender Cake with Blackberry Buttercream
Posted: February 23, 2019 Filed under: Cakes (36), Raspberry/Blackberry (25) | Tags: Blackberry Swiss meringue buttercream, Earl Grey & Lavender Tea Layer Cake, Earl Grey Cake, Layer Cake with blackberry 3 Comments
I came across this black loose flavored tea while in the grocery store one day and it sounded so good, I bought it, but parked it in my pantry for the longest time. I finally decided it was time to put it to good use. I just love the flavor of tea infused into cake. It’s not the first time I have used this process for flavor. This particular combo pairs really well with the subtle flavor of the blackberry buttercream. The Husband is really picky when it comes to desserts; he will usually comment when he really likes something and this time he said this one was a “real winner”. I have to say I agree; the color of the cake is a bit strange because of the color it turns the milk when infused but don’t let that turn you off, it is sublime! The cake comes out super moist as well, so that’s always a plus. I went a bit strong I have to admit on the amount of the tea- but I really wanted the flavor to come through. If you want a more subtle flavor cake you can cut down to 3 tablespoons total if you prefer. Also- I added in a little bit of non infused tea to the cake so that it has those little bits of black flecks of the tea. (I know people will ask me why I did that, so that’s why I’m explaining it here). I get a lot of questions on why I do certain things and sometimes it’s just a whim that hits me when recipe developing, as in this case.
These would make adorable mini cupcakes as well for a party.
Earl Grey & Lavender Cake with Blackberry Buttercream
Cake
2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
2 Cups sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tea bag of earl grey (cut open and contents removed) (I used Stash brand)
1 Cup milk (I used whole)
1/4 Cup loose (earl grey with lavender black tea)
1 Cup warm water
1/2 Cup grapeseed oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
purchased blackberry seedless preserves (I like Dickensons brand)
fresh blackberries (optional for serving and decorating the top of the cake)
Preheat the oven to 340° F and prepare three 6 x3 inch cake pans (If you don’t have 6×3 inch pans you can use 6×2 and divide batter into 4 pans instead) with non-stick baking spray and line with parchment circles. You may also divide batter into 8×2 inch pans or 9×2 evenly but will have to adjust your baking times. I used a little over 2 cups of batter into each 6×3 inch pans.
Heat the milk to a scald, remove from heat and steep the 1/4 cup loose tea in the milk for 15 minutes. Strain the tea and throw away the tea and keep the milk.
In the bowl of a stand mixer whisk together the first 5 ingredients.
In a large glass measuring cup or mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, water, eggs, and vanilla
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and beat on low to medium speed until combined; stopping the scrape down the sides to ensure you get everything combined well. Do not over beat.
Bake until tops of cakes are no longer wet looking and when touched lightly with a finger they spring back lightly, or a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let cakes cool in their pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes then remove to cool completely on the rack.
For my 6×3 inch pans, I baked at 340° F for 40 minutes, but all ovens are different so make sure to test cakes often so as not to overbake.
To assemble cake:
Pipe a dame of blackberry buttercream around the edge of a cake layer and spread a layer of blackberry preserves, then top with blackberry buttercream and gently spread the buttercream evenly over the preserves, then continue to layer in this manner until you reach the top layer and spread with just buttercream. Do a crumb coat of buttercream on top and sides and chill cake at least 30 minutes until you spread the remaining buttercream over sides and top and decorate as desired.
Blackberry Buttercream
5 egg whites
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
4 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 tsp. vanilla
4-5 Tbsp of seedless blackberry preserves
optional lavender, regal purple, or violet gel food colors (I used a combination of to boost purple color)
Heat the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until temperature reaches 160 degrees. Whip with a whisk on medium-high speed until you reach a billowy meringue and meringue is cool and bottom of the bowl does not feel warm. Add butter in by tablespoons at a time and continue to beat until smooth. Add in vanilla and blackberry preserves a tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated. Stop and taste after 3 tablespoons of preserves to adjust flavor. You may not need all of the preserves to achieve the desired taste. I added a few drops of different purple gel colors to boost the color of my finished buttercream.
Summer Cocktail Series: # 1: The Amelia Cocktail
Posted: June 6, 2018 Filed under: Beverages/Cocktails (23), Raspberry/Blackberry (25), Summer Cocktail Series (4) | Tags: Cocktails with fresh blackberries, Cocktails with St. Germaine, Summer Cocktails, Summer Cocktails with Blackberries, The Amelia Cocktail Leave a comment
Summer
Fresh ripe juicy blackberries
Elderflower St. Germain liqueur
Warm gentle breezes
Porch sittin’
A few of your best friends
What do all of these have in common? The Amelia cocktail– named after Amelia Earhart is a wonderful, berrylicious, bright and fresh cocktail that comes together quite easily in a cocktail shaker. The end result is a gorgeous purple-maroon colored beauty. Sorry guys- this is a girly girl drink.
Summer lends itself to our creative senses when it comes to sipping on something refreshing, so I’m starting a new category called “Summer Cocktail Series” to get us in the mood. The star of this beautiful libation utilizes fresh blackberries, sugar, lemon juice and St. Germain liqueur. St. Germain is a liqueur made from elderflower and it pairs nicely with berries and lemon because of it’s citrus notes.
Mix this up ahead of time and find a pretty glass container and invite your BFF’s over for some lazy sipping on the front porch. Serve it in coupe wineglasses if you have them, (or a martini glass will do) placed on a pretty serving tray for a style reminiscent of old Hollywood glamour. You can multiply the recipe and keep it in the fridge in a pretty glass container of your choice so easy pouring and seconds will not distract you from your lazy porch sitting-slow sipping-catching up on neighborhood gossip-entertaining duties. Serve it alongside simple hors d’oeuvres and you will never leave the porch or pool side. Enjoy~
The Amelia Cocktail
recipe: adapted slightly from Nordstrom Bar
yield: two cocktails
12 fresh large plump blackberries
1 Tbsp. super fine sugar
2.5 oz. vodka
2 oz. St. Germaine liqueur
1 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice
ice to fill cocktail shaker
Garnish: fresh blackberries, mint, super fine sugar for rimming glasses
Chill glasses ahead of time in the fridge or place ice in each glass to fill then fill with enough water to fill each glass. Right before serving, dump out the ice cold water before pouring the cocktail.
Prepare cocktail: In a cocktail shaker place the berries and sugar. Muddle the berries and sugar (with a cocktail muddler or end of a large wooden spoon) until broken down and juicy. Add the vodka, St. Germain, lemon juice and enough ice to fill the shaker. Cap the shaker and shake vigourosly about 20 times.
Prepare glasses: Remove chilled glasses from fridge (or dump out the ice water from glasses and wipe dry). Swipe a small piece of lemon around the rims of glasses and then dip the glasses in sugar (place sugar on a small plate for easy rimming). Strain the cocktail into the glasses and serve garnished with fresh mint and blackberries.
Blackberry Lavender and Lemon Pound Cake
Posted: May 28, 2017 Filed under: Quick Breads (16), Raspberry/Blackberry (25) | Tags: 9x5 Pound Cake Recipe, Blackberry Lavender Lemon Pound Cake, Blackberry Pound Cake, Cooking with Flowers by Miche Bacher, Lemon Glaze for Pound Cake Leave a commentAre you as happy as I am that blackberries are in season? I’m seeing them left and right on sale now in the markets and it’s making me oh so happy. My latest greatest find was 3 for a dollar, so I had to strike! Brought these beauties home and made this scrumptious pound cake. It is super duper moist. That’s right- I said super duper. The lemon glaze that adorns the top takes it to the next level. The recipe calls for quite a bit of lavender- but don’t be scared, the flavor does not overpower the cake at all-just make sure you are buying culinary dried lavender. It can be a bit hard to find, but higher end stores like Whole Foods carries it in their spice aisle. The original recipe comes from Miche Bacher from her cookbook “Cooking with Flowers” which now that I took a sneak peak on Amazon, I might have to purchase the book! The recipe is posted on fancy flours website.
Blackberry Lavender & Lemon Pound Cake
recipe: from fancyflours.com (reprinted from original recipe by Miche Bacher) from cookbook “Cooking with Flowers”
2 Tbsp. dried (culinary) lavender buds
3/4 Cup buttermilk (or 3/4 Cup milk + scant Tbsp. lemon juice-see notes in step one).
2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
zest of one lemon
1 pint blackberries (2 small 6 oz. containers)
1 Cup unsalted butter, softened
2 Cups sugar
4 eggs + 2 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1. Stir lavender buds into the buttermilk and let steep for 30-45 minutes, or if you don’t have buttermilk stir the buds into 3/4 cup of milk and 10 minutes before preparing the batter stir in a scant tablespoon of lemon juice.
2. Preheat oven to 325° F. Prepare a loaf pan (9x5x3) with nonstick baking spray and line with a parchment sling, leaving parchment so it hangs over the long sides of the pan with at least 3 inches, then spray again. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Gently stir in the (washed & dried) blackberries.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time on medium speed until incorporated. Note: the mixture may appear curdled, but don’t worry-it will come together once you add the dry ingredients. Stir in the lemon juice.
4. Gently fold in BY HAND (not with an electric mixer), one third of the flour/berry mixture, then add in 1/2 of the milk/lavender mixture, adding in another third of flour mixture, then the last half of milk mixture, ending with last 1/3 of flour mixture. Gently pour the batter into the pan (Note: only fill the pan 3/4 of the way full- you may have some batter left over), and bake for ~ 40 minutes or a wooden skewer when inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove using the parchment sling. Allow the cake to cook completely on a wire rack, then glaze with lemon glaze.
Lemon Glaze
2 Cups confectioners sugar
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
In a small bowl whisk together sugar and juice until glaze is smooth and free of any lumps.
Blackberry-Mint Vodka Fizz
Posted: April 12, 2017 Filed under: Beverages/Cocktails (23), Raspberry/Blackberry (25) | Tags: Blackberry Mint Cocktail, Blackberry Mint Fizz, Blackberry Mint Syrup, Summer cocktail with blackberries Leave a commentI always wanted a house with a big wrap around porch. You know the kind you see on those fancy home renovation shows. It would have dual porch swings facing each other and trees in the front yard lending soft breezes. My friends would stop by and I would whip up some boozy fruit flavored drink and we would sit for hours talking about nothing. I have a backyard pool with palm trees that give off a nice breeze, so don’t feel too sorry for me, but this is the kind of drink that evokes porch sippin’. If you have a nice covered front porch I demand you to make this drink and invite over a friend or two….
Blackberry-Mint Vodka Fizz
1.5 oz. blackberry mint syrup (recipe below)
crushed ice (this is key)
lime (or plain) flavored sparkling water (I used La Croix lime)
1.0 oz. vodka (optional)
4-5 fresh blackberries
sprig of fresh mint
In a short glass tumbler place crushed ice and blackberry mint syrup. Add in sparkling water or plain soda and optional vodka. Stir. Top with berries and fresh mint.
Blackberry mint syrup
makes a generous 1 Cup
1 Cup water
1 Cup sugar
2 Cups fresh or frozen blackberries
1/4 Cup fresh (clean) mint (about 20 leaves)
Bring everything to a boil except the mint. While mixture is coming to a boil crush the blackberries softly (they don’t have to be totally crushed). Let mixture boil for about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and then add the fresh mint. Let mint steep for 20 minutes, then strain out solids and store syrup in refrigerator.