I love making cake. Really, really love it. If I were going to go pro, I would open a bakery and make CAKE. But alas, I don’t get to make it often. Cake is a bit fancy. It’s not everyday. And things don’t get fancy around here very often. Not to mention, I don’t need to have cake lying around every day of the week. I used to fantasize making cakes and then just giving them away, but then I felt guilty about that. “Eating all this cake isn’t good for me, but here, you have some.” Didn’t quite feel right. So, I mostly just bake cake when I really want to decorate a beautiful edible treat or there’s something special going on. This time it was the former.
This cake came to me as a lay awake at 2:00 AM. I was so excited about it that I couldn’t fall back to sleep. (This actually happens to me quite frequently and is super annoying). I love that great ideas come to me at any time, don’t get me wrong, but I end up getting so excited that I am up for hours and HOURS. Seems counter-productive, but I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. It would be nice if I were the type to get out of bed and execute my ideas at 2:00 AM, but I am decidedly NOT that person. And I’m pretty sure my family would dagger-eye me back to bed if I started clanking pots and pans at 2:00 AM.
This whole grain cake is made with a roasted blackberry and blueberry puree, covered in fresh fruit, and then topped with two decadent sauces: a white chocolate hemp sauce and a blackberry and blueberry sauce. Eeeee! So good. And only sweetened with maple syrup and honey. I have tried this cake multiple ways: once with just the berry sauce (great!), once with just the white chocolate sauce (great!), once completely plain with berries (great!), once with greek yogurt as a frosting (excellent!), I think you get my point. The one aspect of this cake I would not change is the fresh fruit. In my world, each bite should have a generous portion of fresh fruit!
I shared this cake with a new friend of mine and it made me realize, once again, how nervous I get cooking/baking for people I don’t know very well. Do any of you ever get nervous about this?
When I don’t know a person’s taste preferences, I get really anxious serving them. And I find myself constantly biting my tongue, working hard not to apologize or give unnecessary explanations about what they are eating. Such as, “I added a lot of salt because I love salt, but maybe you don’t.” ” You really don’t have to eat this.” “This might not be as sweet as you’re used to.” And on and on…
In addition to all of the above neuroses, I am also super paranoid when I cook for new people, thinking that they will feel obliged to eat what I made for them. I frequently feel compelled to say, “Here I made this for you, but you can totally just throw it out if you don’t want it.” Which is not quite the sentiment I am going for. It also makes for a really awkward moment as I am serving something to say, “Don’t feel obliged to eat this.” It seems to add a note of severity to an otherwise delightful gathering.
But this time I decided not to do any of this! As each apology and unnecessary explanation twisted its way to the tip of my tongue, I swallowed it back down. I did a bit of internal squirming, but I managed to keep my mouth shut, which I was happy about.
The cake was a total success from my perspective. My sister went nuts for it. She is the absolute best audience! She is not the type of person who will eat anything, but if I make it for her she will, and 9.9 times out 10 she loves it. I don’t think I am as good a cook as she is a taster. But I am grateful to have her tastebuds to please.
I don’t want you to feel obligated to make this cake or anything, but here’s the recipe (winky face…I haven’t kicked the annoying emoji habit yet, either…sorry).
- 2½ Cups whole spelt flour
- 2 Teaspoons baking powder
- 1 Teaspoon baking soda
- ½ Teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ Cup maple syrup
- 1½ Cups blueberry and blackberry puree (2 cups blueberries + 2 cups blackberries + 1½ cups water roasted in oven)
- 6 Tablespoons ghee melted (90ml) (or substitute coconut oil)
- 1 Teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Leftover blackberry and blueberry puree from cake recipe
- ¼ Teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon lemon
- 1 Teaspoon maple syrup
- 3½ Tablespoons (50g) Cacao butter
- ½ Cup hemp seeds
- 2½ Tablespoons raw honey
- Seeds from ½ vanilla bean scraped
- 1 Tablespoon arrowroot powder
- Pinch of sea salt
- ½ Cup water
- Preheat oven to bake 350F.
- Measure fruit and water into a small baking tray and roast in oven for 25-30 minutes or until the fruit is bubbly and oozy.
- Leave on counter to cool and allow the juices to thicken (about 30 minutes).
- Sift all of your dry ingredients together.
- Using a a blender, blend together the roasted fruit and cooking liquid until smooth. Blend very well so that no large blackberry seeds remain*.
- Measure out 1½ cups of the berry mixture into a bowl with the other liquid ingredients (except for the apple cider vinegar). Whisk together.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold together. Whisk gently until you have an even mixture.
- Spray your bundt pan with cooking spray.
- Mix in the apple cider vinegar just before pouring the batter into your pan.
- Bake for forty-minutes at 350F or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool completely.
- Melt the cacao butter in a double boiler
- Combine melted cacao and remaining ingredients in a blender and blend on high until the sauce is completely smooth.
- Store in a glass container in the fridge. If the sauce solidifies melt it again by putting the glass container in a pot of simmering water. If you want to use the sauce immediately, after blending place it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to allow it to thicken just a bit.
- Add ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, and 1 teaspoon lemon to the leftover blackberry and blueberry puree you made for the cake. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Garnish with fresh fruit and pour on your two sauces in alternating layers.
*What remains of the blackberry seeds after blending can be filtered out by straining the puree. I didn't do this because the seeds don't bother me.
Now let’s decorate this thing! Decorating cake is ALMOST as good as eating cake, almost…
And now for that black and blue sauce…
Dig in!
Gorgeous cake, amazing pictures, and delicious-sounding recipe, Kathryn! I’m so on board with this cake, it’s not even funny. I’ve been tempted by pro baking myself and was discouraged by the same reason. I think the love poured into the batter cancels out some of the sugar, right? 🙂
I love the way you decorated this cake. I’ve never seen anything like it, and that’s a really wonderful thing!
Happy September!
xx Sydney
Hey Sydney,
Yay! I can definitely get on board with your math!
I’ve never decorated a cake this way either, it was so fun and I love the way the colors contrast each other. Thanks so much for all of your kind words.
xoox
Ohhh yes. I get really nervous whenever I make food for a crowd. Especially because they know I have a food blog! It’s like my entire identity is staked on that one recipe. But I do the same – close my mouth, don’t apologize and let people make up their own minds. But this cake looks SO good – I’m sure it was a hit! 🙂
Yes! You understand! I felt pretty good about this one, thanks for your comment.
What a gorgeous cake! I don’t get nervous baking or cooking for new people, but I do stress out around the holidays and feel like everything I make has to be spectacular. My son’s 3rd birthday is coming up, and I will bake a cake for the family party, but I’m considering ordering one for his party with his friends, just because there is already so much to do and plan for it. But then I’m like, all the parents know I am a food blogger! I have to bake the cake from scratch. Aaagh!
Oy! I know the feeling well. Once people know that I have a blog about food I am even more anxious because I imagine the expectation is so high. That’s when I REALLY have to bite my tongue and stop myself from over explaining. You could always *cheat* and say you made the store bought cake…Just kidding 🙂
Cake IS a bit fancy, isn’t it? But this one looks totally worth it! Love that white chocolate drizzle mingling with those jammy berries. My husband has been talking nonstop about putting berry compotes and sauces on all the sweets I’ve whipped up as of late, so I bet he’d love this. Just might have to give it a go! 🙂
Hi Em,
Your husband is absolutely right! I love berry compotes/sauces and fresh berries on sweets. Desserts seem naked without them, unless chocolate is involved and then who needs fruit!? Thanks so much for stopping by. I LOVE your blog and your writing and I’m quite thrilled that you took the time to stop by and add your voice here. 🙂
First of all: this cake looks amazing!!! And i like you use maple syrup instead of sugar. I should try it too 🙂
When you tell about the sleepless nights, i recognize myself in it. Most of my ideas come so me at night either. Then i have to get up and write it down. But it does not mean i can fall back to sleep *haha
Have a wonderful friday!
Oh thanks so much! At this point I pretty much never use sugar and I don’t miss it at all. I think you’ll be surprised by how many great substitutes there are for sugar. I keep a pad by my bed so I can write ideas down without having to pull myself out of bed 🙂
Wow, this cake is STUNNING! I can’t believe it’s whole grain too! I, too, have anxiety when cooking for new people (especially if they eat very differently than me). I don’t know who wouldn’t love this!!
Thanks, Liz! New tastebuds are a challenge! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I didn’t realize that others had this same anxiety.
Cake looks beautiful! And YES! I totally share that nervousness baking for other people! At work I will just leave it in the breakroom hoping everyone will eat it without asking me to explain what it is. I am the worst salesperson when it comes to baking.
Haha! I guess we are cut from the same cloth. Knowing me, I would have to restrain myself from leaving notes in the breakroom explaining all the possible defects with my confection 🙂
Such a lovely decorated cake, Kathryn. Spelt flour is one of my favorites for baking too. I totally relate to you when cooking for other people so I smiled when I read about some of the things you end up saying. 🙂 your food looks scrumptious so I don’t think you have anything to worry about!
Hi Emily,
I am so glad I shared what my inner world is like when I cook for others, because I had no idea so many others felt this way too! I was especially shocked to hear that other food bloggers related to this. Aren’t we supposed to be confident about our food? Yeah…rrrrright 🙂 Thank you for your sweet words. I had such fun decorating this cake.
What a beautiful cake! And berries + white chocolate is such a stellar combination. I don’t make cakes often either, but I can see how this is a pretty special one that deserves some attention!
Thank you, Julia!
I adore chocolate and berries together. What a perfect cake to make any day special!
Hi Erin! Thanks for stopping by. They are a perfect combo!
Baking cake is soooo much fun. I can see why you dream of opening a bakery 🙂
Thanks for sharing and here’s to 2am blasts of creativity!
Thanks Kimberly! Cake and bread, my two favorite things to bake 🙂 Those 2 AM blasts are worth it, aren’t they?