It’s a short work week this week, my friends, and I’ve got a new cake for your Memorial Day festivities! This Berries and Cream Cake has my new favorite frosting of all time. I feel like I probably say this about a lot of things, but it’s so good. Like, we used spoons to scoop up the berries and frosting off the top when this cake was going stale and on its last leg before we had to sadly get rid of it kind of good.
I’d originally planned to do either a vanilla bean or cream cheese frosting, but I had some honey goat cheese in the refrigerator that I needed to use up. I opened the fridge to reach for the cream cheese sitting right next to it and thought, huh. I wonder if this would be good. Like, how bad could it be?? What could go wrong?? These are the kinds of risks I’m willing to take and it paid off!
This cake comes together so easily, which means it’s perfect for your weekend because you just get to enjoy it and relax. Those are the vibes I channel with all my baking lately, but they’re the vibes you should definitely have for a holiday weekend too.
BEST BUTTER CAKE
This Berries and Cream Cake has my favorite yellow cake recipe, except with butter instead of oil. I’ve mentioned a thousand times at this point that I prefer an oil-based cake just because they always seem to come out nice and soft and moist for me. But I’ve been wanting to try some new base cakes lately, just to switch things up and try new-to-me recipes. Like a classic sponge cake or genoise, but when I started pulling ingredients out to make this, I definitely did not have enough eggs! So a butter cake had to do.
And let me tell you, I will be making this one again. This one has me totally questioning my feelings towards butter-based cakes. It was so soft and tender and flavorful and so so good. Much better than any I’ve made in the past, which might be due to the fact that I used way more butter here than I normally would with oil. It was the perfect accompaniment to the dreamy silky smooth amazing frosting and the fresh berries.
GOAT CHEESE IN FROSTING???
As I was whipping up this buttercream, my mom came into the kitchen and asked what kind it was. I almost didn’t want to tell her because I knew she’d think it was weird! Which she did. But once the cake was available for eating, she really loved it.
To me, it’s kind of just like a fancier version of cream cheese frosting. It has that tanginess and is super luxurious and smooth. It reminds me of whipped fruit dips, except a little thicker and with a considerable amount of powdered sugar. I also added a little extra honey for flavor, and of course, the vanilla beans. Because I just cannot resist an opportunity to put vanilla beans in baked goods.
BERRIES AND CREAM CAKE NOTES
- Berries and Cream Cake definitely needs to be stored in the refrigerator! If you don’t have a box or cake container or something that fits in the fridge (my parents are so tired of my cakes taking up valuable fridge space and I know it is so inconvenient!!), you can loosely cover it with plastic wrap.
- With the frosting and the berries and everything, this cake is definitely at its best right after assembly. Because the berries go between the layers as well as on top, I’d suggest frosting and assembling a couple of hours before you plan to serve it. Or at least wait to put the berries on top until right before you serve it. The sugar in the frosting will cause the strawberries to start getting juicy after a little while.
- You can make the cake layers in advance, though! If you want to make them a day or two ahead of time, just wrap them in plastic wrap once cool and then put them in a large Ziploc bag.
- If you don’t want to use goat cheese here (although I strongly suggest you try it!), you can sub with cream cheese or mascarpone.
I think that’s it! I already miss this cake and wish we had one for this weekend. I might have to do something about that.
If you’re looking for other Memorial Day weekend bakes, I highly suggest this (similar, but different) Red Velvet Berries and Cream Cake, Mixed Berry Frosé, Bourbon Cherry Cake, or this No-Bake Red, White, And Blue Cheesecake!
Happy baking!
Berries and Cream Cake with Vanilla Bean Honey Goat Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Butter Cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
Vanilla Bean Honey Goat Cheese Frosting:
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 4-oz honey goat cheese, room temperature
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp cream or milk
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 5-6 cups powdered sugar
Garnishes:
- 1 16-oz container fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 1 16-oz container fresh blueberries
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy and lighter in color.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well.
- Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Add flour, baking powder, salt, and buttermilk. Mix until all ingredients are combined, scraping the bowl as necessary, about 1 minute.
- Divide batter evenly between cake pans. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes or until cakes are golden brown and set in the center. (Test by inserting a toothpick into the center of each cake layer. If it comes out clean, they're done!)
- Let cakes cool in pans for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting:
- Cream butter on medium-high speed with an electric mixer. With mixer running, add shortening. Mix until smooth and creamy. Repeat with the goat cheese, mixing until completely smooth and incorporated.
- Add honey, cream, and vanilla bean paste. Mix well.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and mix until well blended. Repeat with second half of powdered sugar, and mix for 1 minute. (You may want to taste test it at 5 cups and add the rest if you’d like it to be sweeter.)
- Store frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Assembly:
- Level the cakes with a serrated knife or cake saw. Plate one cake layer on a cake plate or stand and top with frosting.
- Arrange strawberries and blueberries over the frosting. Press them slightly into the frosting to create a relatively flat surface for the second cake layer.
- Place the second cake layer on top and repeat with frosting and berries.
- This cake is best served the first day or second day after it’s made (the strawberries will start to leak after the first day), but can also be stored loosely covered in the refrigerator.
Notes
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