This blackberry lavender chocolate cake is a show stopping dessert in both flavor and looks. It's so easy to put together, and a cake that you and your guests will enjoy! You would never guess that it's vegan!
I haven't been able to resist the allure of plump blackberries lately. Not that I try very hard as you know, fruit is good for you and all that. And each little carton of early season blackberries has paid off with the sweetest, most juicy berries!
So don't mind me while I devour all the blackberries I can get my hands on while the season lasts. And no judgment if I enjoy some of those berries via the most delicious chocolate cake!
If I could put this cake on repeat, I would. Anyone have a birthday coming up they want to invite me to? I'll bring the cake! ?
The truth is, you don't need great fresh blackberries to make this cake. Most of the blackberry flavor comes via an easy homemade lavender blackberry jam which is as tasty (and often more economical) when made out of frozen berries as fresh.
A few fresh blackberries to top and if you want some extra berries nestled between the layers for decor and extra bursts of flavor are all you need.
To frost this cake I chose my vegan ermine frosting, an old fashioned flour-based buttercream. It's fluffy and light, not overly sweet, and super creamy. You'll def want to give this frosting a try!
So, let's build this cake!
Start with the chocolate cakes!
I baked up 2 of my ultimate vegan chocolate cakes. Each cake bakes up nice and tall, and I chose to cut them in half (called torting) to make a total of 4 layers to my cake.
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I prefer to bake my cakes at least the night before I want to assemble, as this gives them ample time to chill in the fridge. This is essential for getting clean cuts through the cake to make nice layers as well as minimizes crumbs when frosting the cake.
Once baked, let the cakes cool on a rack until they reach room temperature, then transfer them to a cardboard cake board and wrap in plastic and place in the fridge to chill. The cake boards help protect your cake and keep them nice and level as well as make for easy storage.
Next, prepare the blackberry lavender jam.
Homemade blackberry jam is super simple. Combine the blackberries, sugar, lavender, and some lemon juice and simmer until the juices start to thicken.
There's a lot of cool chemistry when it comes to making jam. Essentially it thickens thanks to pectin, which is naturally occurring compound in blackberries (and other fruits). Cooking the berries with sugar draws out the pectin, and this process is aided by adding an acid--in this case lemon juice.
There's no need to get overly fussy with this blackberry lavender jam, as we aren't trying to make the most perfect jam ever, but just trying to make a delicious preserve for swirling between our cake layers.
Be careful not to cook the blackberries for too long as this can cause the mixture to get too thick, the sugars start to caramelize, and before you know it your jam will cool to be solid (definitely don't know that because of experience ?). Because we're just adding this to cake, if anything it's better to cook less than it is too long.
As the berries simmer they'll cook off excess water and the juices will start to thicken. How long this takes depends on how much you're making and the size and shape of your pot, as well as you particular stove.
When you're able to draw a spoon or silicon spatula through the jam and it takes a second to fill in behind the spoon, your jam is ready. If it holds the gap for too long, you're starting to overcook the sugar in the jam.
The jam will thicken as it cools. Make it in advance and store in the fridge, or just make sure it's completely cooled before decorating the cake.
If interested, you can read more about jam making in this article!
Now it's time to make the flour frosting!
The idea of flour frosting might not make your mouth start to water, but, you guys. This frosting is so delicious! It's ultra creamy and smooth. Soft, light, and fluffy.
It's made with just 5 simple ingredients. Flour, plant milk, granulated sugar (that's right! no powdered sugar here!), vegan butter, and vanilla extract.
If you're one of those people who doesn't love the way that powdered sugar frosting taste (super sweet typically), doesn't care to fuss with meringue buttercream, or just likes to experiment with new recipes, then this is the frosting for you!
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First we make a simple pudding with the flour and milk (any vegan milk should work just fine in this recipe--I tested it with oat milk and soy milk). Whisk them together and heat on the stove, whisking while it warms to keep any large clumps from forming.
Once it thickens, turn off the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Whisk occasionally as it cools to keep it from turning lumpy or developing a skin on top.
Next, blitz your sugar in a blender to make a homemade caster or superfine sugar. You can skip this step, but it helps ensure that all the sugar dissolves into the vegan butter easily and you won't end up with a stray grain of sugar here and there.
Whip the sugar with the vegan butter (take it out of the fridge 15-30 minutes before you want to whip it) until fluffy and lighter in color. Then add the pudding in batches and whip it in to incorporate and turn the frosting even fluffier and creamier.
Buttercream lightens when air is incorporated into the frosting, so you can watch for the color turning to a pale cream as a visual cue that it's ready. Add the vanilla extract at the end. Taste it, but try not to eat it by the spoonful!
If you make the frosting in advance, keep it in the fridge or freezer, but make sure to let it come back up to room temperature before rewhipping.
I've learned the hard way that if you skip this step the buttercream will break/split/curdle. If you look really closely at these photos, you'll notice that I was not as patient with this as I should have been. Don't make my mistake, do it correctly and your cake will be even better than the one in these photos!
Finally, let's build and decorate the cake!
First, turn the two cakes into 4 cake layers by cutting each cake in half. This process, called torting, is easily done using a cake leveler, but you can also cut cakes in half using a bread knife (a very long serrated knife). Check out this tutorial by Wilton for tips on how to do this, but make sure your cake is thoroughly chilled before slicing to minimize crumbs!
You can also skip this if you prefer and just have a simple 2 layer cake! use the same instructions to level the cakes as you would to torte it for a flat topped cake.
Now we build the cakes:
- Place a dab of frosting on a flat plate, cake stand, or turntable then place the bottom layer of cake down.
- Add ~¼ of the frosting to the cake, then spoon on some of the blackberry lavender jam and use the back of a spoon to swirl it into the frosting. Use more or less to your own tastes, you can even spread it to fully cover between each cake layer! Add some fresh blackberries if you wish.
- Place the top half of the first cake top side down. Repeat with adding frosting, jam, and blackberries if using.
- Place the top half of the second cake on top of the second layer, again putting it top side down. Repeat with the frosting, jam, and blackberries.
- Place the bottom half of the second cake on top as the last layer, placing it bottom side up to give yourself an even and flat top to the cake. Cover it with the last of the frosting, swirl in some blackberry jam for a pretty marbled look.
- Decorate the cake with some fresh blackberries, and some edible flowers. If using non-edible flowers, make sure to practice food safety best practices and use your own judgement. I've found this tutorial to be helpful.
And that's it! Now you have a beautiful, rustic cake that's a showstopper in both looks and flavor! I hope you guys enjoy it!
If you make this gorgeous vegan blackberry lavender chocolate cake, leave a comment below and rate the recipe on the recipe card. And please share your photos with me on Instagram, tag @thecuriouschickpea and #thecuriouschickpea. I love seeing your recreations!
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Blackberry Lavender Chocolate Cake
This beautiful and rustic vegan chocolate cake is layered with a simple but out of this world creamy flour frosting and homemade blackberry lavender jam.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cakes
- 2 ½ cup (296g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup (60g) dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoon (8g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (4g) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (4g) sea salt
- ½ cup (96g) neutral flavored oil
- ¼ cup (72g) maple syrup, dark amber
- 2 cup (460g) plant milk
- 2 teaspoon (10g) apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon (12g) vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (4g) chocolate extract, optional
Lavender Blackberry Jam
- 2 cups blackberries (frozen or fresh)
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon dried lavender
Flour Frosting
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup plant milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup vegan butter, softened to a cool room temperature
To decorate
- fresh blackberries
- flowers (optional, use edible flowers or follow best practices for food safety)
Instructions
Chocolate Cakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 ºF with a rack positioned in the center. Prepare two 8" round pans: spray the pans with oil, then place round parchment paper on the bottom.
- In a large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Whisk together until combined and fluffy.
- In a second mixing bowl add the oil, maple syrup, plant milk, vanilla extract, chocolate extract (if using), and apple cider vinegar. Whisk together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry whisk until smooth and lump free.
- Divide the batter into the prepared baking pans then tap the pans on the counter 2-3 times to release some of the air bubbles. Place the pans in the center of the oven and bake for 32-34 minutes. When done, a tester will come out clean or with a couple of crumbs and the edges of the cake will have pulled away from the edge of the pan.
- Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to fully cool. Remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake when transferring.
- When cool, move the cake onto a cardboard round and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Store this in the fridge until chilled.
Blackberry Lavender Jam:
- Combine the blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, and dried lavender in a pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, mashing the berries to break them up. Then turn down and let simmer for about 15 minutes (may take less time if using fresh berries), or until a spoon can run through the pot and the jam takes a second before filling in behind it. Let cool completely, or make in advance and refrigerate until ready to use.
Flour Frosting:
- Whisk together the flour and plant milk in a small pot until smooth. Turn the heat on to medium and bring the mixture to a simmer. Keep whisking continuously until the pudding thickens. Turn off the heat and let cool to room temperature. Whisk occasionally as it cools to keep it smooth.
- Blitz the sugar in a blender for a few seconds to make a superfine sugar.
- In a large mixing bowl with electric beaters or using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, whip the vegan butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add the pudding in batches, whipping after each one to incorporate. Once all of it has been added, whip the frosting until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat it in.
- If making frosting in advance, store in fridge or freezer, and let come completely to room temperature before re-whipping.
Decorate the cake:
- Cut each cake layer in half using a cake leveler or a long serrated bread knife (see post for tips).
- Layer the cakes. Place a cake layer down, spread about ¼ of the frosting over it. Spoon some blackberry lavender jam on top and use the back of a spoon to swirl it into the frosting. Add fresh black berries (cut in half or use smaller berries) if you'd like. Repeat with the remaining layers.
- After adding the last layer, frost the top with the remaining buttercream and swirl in some blackberry lavender jam to marble the top. Decorate with fresh berries and flowers if you'd like.
- Refrigerate the cake to store (cover or wrap in plastic once chilled--frosting will firm when cold), but serve at room temperature!
Notes
Depending on how much jam you use between layers you may or may not have some leftover. I personally don't like a lot of jam in my cakes so only used about half of it.
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You indeed mean 1 Tbsp vanilla extract, right? That's just so much more than my usual cakes :-). Just want to be sure. Looks gorgeous and delicious!
Hi Jenny, yes I do mean 1 tbsp vanilla extract! ?
Made this for grandson and daughter in laws birthday, was a beautiful cake, will definitely make it again.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Christine!
The chocolate cake recipe in this is AMAZING. Moist and delicious and flawless. It has become my go-to chocolate cake (and am even going to attempt to make a matcha cake from it, maybe by subbing the cocoa powder with matcha powder. We'll see what happens! I haven't tried it with the lavender frosting, but needed a chocolate cake recipe, and so used this one. LOVE it. 🙂
I am a big fan of vegan cakes. Cake in the pictures is looking very delicious. Will love to try this one.
Hello can you tell me how far I advance I could make each component of this recipe?
Like can I make the cake 1-2 days in advance and keep in fridge?
Also have you tried making this gluten free?
Thank you!
Hi Kelly, I usually make the cake a day or two before and wrap them up well and store them in the fridge until ready to frost. Frosting the cakes cold makes for a less crumbs in the frosting. The jam can easily be made several days in advance as it will keep for awhile. The frosting can be made a couple of days in advance and kept in the fridge, or can be stored for a month or two in the freezer. But no matter how you store the frosting let it come fully to room temperature before rewhipping it, as otherwise it will split.
I haven't tried to make this recipe gluten free. However I did successfully make my vanilla cake gluten free using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour. If you want to try this gluten free I would recommend using that or a similar 1:1 all purpose gluten free blend (and report back to let us know how it worked out!). Arrowhead Mills and King Arthur Flour also make all purpose gluten free flour blends. Now, if you make the cake gluten free, eat the cake the day you bake it as gluten free baked goods tend to get stale quickly compared to treats with gluten in my experience.
Hi! I had a question. I made the frosting and used it right away. I made sure all the ingredients were room temperature. The frosting still split on me 🙁 any way to fix this or prevent it? The cake is delicious!!
Hi Sue, I'm so sorry about your frosting! There are a few factors and questions to consider. What vegan butter did you use? Frosting is an emulsion of fat, sugar, and water, and as such sometimes it can be finicky. It can split if its too cold and if its too warm! If it splits when the ingredients are room temperature and the bowl feels a bit warm to your touch, I would try chilling it by either putting an ice pack or ice bath under the bowl or even sticking it in the fridge shortly. You can also try adding in some cold vegan butter straight from the fridge or add some cold shortening. If the bowl felt cold it could be too cold (though seems unlikely given what you said), and then you want to warm the bowl. A warm water bath, or a kitchen blow torch pointed at the bottom of the bowl as you mix can do the trick to melt it enough to emulsify. And sometimes it just needs to be mixed for another few minutes to come back together. I'm glad to hear you otherwise enjoyed the cake!
Can you use fresh lavender instead of dried? We have a lavender plant at home. If not, do you have Tips for drying it or buying it?
Thanks. I want to make this for my at home college graduation 🙂
Hi Caroline, I wasn't sure of the answer, but a quick search gave me this article: https://purplehazelavender.com/lavender/cooking-lavender/ which says that fresh lavender is less potent than dried so you should use more. Hope that helps and that you enjoy the cake!
Hi! I was wondering what type of plant milk you recommend and what brand of vegan butter? Thanks!
I prefer to use either soy milk or oat milk personally, but almond, cashew, or a different milk is totally fine! I recommend you use plain or unsweetened milk.
For the vegan butter, this depends on where you live, but I usually use Earth Balance Buttery Sticks. It's best to use one that is not too soft or melty at room temperature as then it will make for a soft and less stable frosting! Also avoid the kind that come in tubs as these tend to be softer, higher in water content, and more spreadable–nice if you're topping bread with it, but not so nice for frosting.
Hey was wondering if the correct measurement was 2 1/2 cup of flour Of 296g of flour? I just measured my flour and only used about 1 1/2 cup for 296grams!
The recipe looks amazing by the way!! I’m making this for a friend’s birthday, so wouldn’t want to get it wrong.
Thanks
Hi Jess, yes it is correct, and this is exactly why I recommend weighing ingredients for baking! The volume of flour can vary by as much as 50% depending on how compacted it is when you measure and how you measure by volume. I whisk the flour to undo any settling, then scoop and level. Also I’m not sure where you live but it may be relevant that American cups are not the same size as UK cups.
Hi! I love the idea of using blackberry lavender jam for a layer cake!! For my birthday, I want to make a layer cake using your easy vegan vanilla cake and the buttercream you recommend for that recipe, and add in the blackberry lavender jam in between. (Your recipe here is beautiful as is, but I really want a light-colored cake for the occasion.) Do you think that combination would work flavor-wise? Should I try to adapt the jam as a curd? (Would you know how to do that?) Thanks very much!
This has been my recipe for two years now and I love it. Wondering how to convert it into cupcakes. How much will it make? How long to bake? Thanks.
@R, It should make about 2 dozen cupcakes, filling the tins 3/4 full. Baking time 18-20 minutes at 350 ºF.
I made this cake and got rave reviews! I did, however, change the lavender for earl grey tea and it was really good!
Thanks for the great recipe! My daughter asked for a blackberry lavender cake without overbearing frosting for her birthday- this was it! I was planning on just doing it in two layers because I was lazy, but I decided to do the 4 because I had so much jam and frosting. It was great and not hard to make the 4 layers. My neighbor who came for her birthday party said she often thinks lavender in food makes it taste like soap but she thought this was delicious. I’m saving this one for sure.
This cake was absolutely to die for. It was so delicious and so easy to make. Everyone flipped over it! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe
Hi, I am making this with fresh berries picked nearby and I'm wondering if the texture of the blackberry seeds/lavender blossoms will interfere with the texture of the smooth cake and icing. Do you ever strain the jam?
Hello, what kind of lavender do you use for this cake ?
I have just made the frosting, but in spite of ingredients being room temp, it did split. This I would not be bothered by, but it is also too runny to practically use in a cake. It will obviously harden up a lot in the fridge since the main ingredient of the butter is coconut oil, but then, as you point out, it will not be whippable, and when it comes to room temp again it will be sloppy. I'm wondering if I could add some cocoa powder to make it stiffer? Do you have any other suggestions? I think recipes like this are tricky because every vegan butter is different and so forth, so not blaming you at all!! But I would like to rescue if I can.
Delicious and beautiful! Turned out great. Our only issue was the it was so warm in our “room temperature” home at 83 degrees room temp tha the vegan butter was not keeping its shape as much as I’d wish. I should’ve made the frosting the day before so I could control how cool it was while layering it, and then serving too. But! It turned out great and got great reviews from the eaters.