Cakes and Cupcakes

Fresh Berry Cake

This Berry Cake is a true showstopper! Soft lemon sponge layered with creamy frosting and totally covered with fresh strawberries,

  • Serves 14
  • Prep 20 minutes
  • Cook 30 minutes
  • Total 50 minutes
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Fresh Berry Cake

You will also love my Strawberry Shortcake Cake and Strawberry Crunch Cake!

Berry Cake’s claim to fame? THE Nigella Lawson shared it on her Instagram feed! The Nigella effect soon snowballed and brought new followers as well as recreations of the cake.

Originally, I shared this recipe only on my Instagram feed but since it has proven so popular I decided to post it here as well.

Covering a cake with a medley of fresh berries will transform it from everyday to a true showstopper! You can use your favorite cake recipe here – I first made this with my lemon sponge but it would be equally delicious using a vanilla sponge.

In fact there’s nothing stopping you from using this fresh berry treatment to a classic Victoria Sponge or even a Vanilla Loaf Cake!

It goes without saying that you will need to use the freshest seasonal berries you can find for this berry cake. I used a combination of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.

Berry Cake – Let’s Break It Down!

  • The cake layers – you need a soft yet sturdy sponge for this recipe. My lemon sponge below is ideal but you can turn it into a vanilla sponge simply by replacing the lemon with vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
  • Syrup – a simple syrup will keep the layers moist and flavorful. To make it you simply combine lemon juice or water with sugar and heat it until the sugar dissolves. Add a few crushed blueberries to your syrup and to turn it a beautiful bright pink!
  • Frosting – I used a cream cheese buttercream flavored with lemon syrup. You can also add a little seedless raspberry jam.
  • Fresh berries to cover the cake – since the berries won’t keep fresh for long you will need to cover the cake right before serving. Store in the fridge and consume within one day.

How to Decorate a Cake with Fresh Berries

Cover the entire cake with a generous layer buttercream an smooth it. Slice the strawberries and arrange around the cake.

Fill any gaps with the blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and mint leaves. A few edible flowers will add extra pretty, not that this cake needs it!

A fresh berry cake is covered with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries, then decorated with small pink flowers. It rests on a round white plate against a blue background.

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HAVE YOU MADE MY FRESH BERRY CAKE RECIPE? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #Nusde and make my day

You might also like my Double Berry Matcha Chiffon Cake.

Recipe

Berry Cake

This Fresh Berry Cake is a true showstopper! Soft lemon sponge layered with creamy frosting and covered with fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.

  • Serves 14
  • Prep 20 minutes
  • Cook 30 minutes
  • Total 50 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • 4 ½ cups (520g) self-rising flour ((= self-raising flour), or see notes)
  • 2 ¼ cups (500g) superfine sugar ((= caster sugar))
  • 6 medium eggs
  • 1 cup (226g) softened unsalted butter (or Stork baking spread)
  • 1 cup (240ml) semi skimmed milk
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 lemons (, zest only)

Lemon Syrup

  • ⅓ cup (80ml) lemon juice
  • ⅔ cup (150g) granulated sugar

Frosting

  • 1 cup (230g) softened unsalted butter
  • heaping 1 cup (250g) full-fat mascarpone cheese (or block cream cheese)
  • 4 cups (480g) powdered sugar ((= icing sugar))
  • 4 tbsp heavy cream or as needed ((= double cream))
  • 1 tbsp lemon syrup ((if you have any left))
  • Lemon essence or extract (, to taste)

Decoration

  • 10 ½ oz (300g) fresh strawberries
  • 10 ½ oz (300g) fresh blueberries
  • 7 oz (200g) fresh raspberries
  • 7 oz (200g) fresh blackberries
  • mint leaves
  • edible flowers

Method

Make the cake layers

  1. 1

    Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Reduce the temperature by 20 degrees if you are using a fan forced oven. Grease and line four round 8-inch (20cm)cake tins. I use cake release spray for all my cakes, misting the tins lightly.

  2. 2

    Put the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.

  3. 3

    Add the eggs, butter, milk, lemon juice and zest.

  4. 4

    Beat together using an electric hand mixer, using a spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. Mix until the batter is smooth, about a minute.

  5. 5

    Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake tins and level. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake is golden, springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Make the Syrup

  1. 6

    Put the lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat for about five minutes, or until the sugar dissolves. Leave to cool slightly.

  2. 7

    Brush the syrup over the cake layers. You can use any leftover syrup to flavor your frosting or add it to drinks.

Make the Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream

  1. 8

    Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Start beating with an electric hand mixer on the lowest speed setting until the ingredients combine.

  2. 9

    Increase the speed to maximum and continue to beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl halfway through.

  3. 10

    Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.

Assemble the Cake

  1. 11

    Place the bottom cake layer on a stand or plate. Pipe a layer of frosting over it and level with a palette knife. Repeat with the other sponge layers.

  2. 12

    Leave the cake naked to show the filling or smooth buttercream over the entire cake to cover.

Decorate the cake

  1. 13

    Cover the entire cake with buttercream. Slice the strawberries and arrange around the cake. Fill any gaps with the blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and mint leaves. Serve immediately!

Notes

If you can’t find self raising flour, use plain (all purpose) flour and add five teaspoons of baking powder in with the flour and sugar. Useful tools Contains affiliate links I always rely on a digital scale to measure my ingredients. Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer this lemon cake recipe just make sure all ingredients are room temperature. You will need four 8-inch cake pans for this recipe or you can bake the cake in two batches if you only have two.

Nutrition

  • Calories828 kcal
  • Carbohydrates115 g
  • Protein9 g
  • Fat39 g
  • Saturated Fat24 g
  • Polyunsaturated Fat2 g
  • Monounsaturated Fat8 g
  • Trans Fat1 g
  • Cholesterol164 mg
  • Sodium258 mg
  • Potassium131 mg
  • Fiber1 g
  • Sugar84 g
  • Vitamin A1250 IU
  • Vitamin C10 mg
  • Calcium78 mg
  • Iron2 mg

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