Buttermilk and Berry Cake
This cake is so moist and is the perfect thing for leftover summer berries. Plus it uses no special equipment!
Servings: 1 9x13 cake
Equipment
- 9x13 Pyrex baking dish or cake pan
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons), room temperature (very soft)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Juice and zest of half a small lemon
- 1.5 cup buttermilk
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups assorted berries (cherries should be pitted and halved, strawberries should be halved, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries can be left whole)
- Coarse sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare a 9x13 Pyrex dish by lining with parchment paper and spraying with cooking spray or greasing with butter. Make sure there is some overhang of the parchment paper over the edges of the pan so you can easily lift the cake from the pan when it's done baking.
- You can also use a metal baking pan, but watch the cooking time. Metal heats up faster than glass does, so make sure you are watching this cake in the oven.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the butter and sugars. The butter should be extremely soft to the touch - I leave it out on the counter for a few hours before I start baking. But you can also microwave for a few seconds to soften it. Keep whisking until the butter and sugars are combined and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and whisk to combine. The batter should be smooth.
- Whisk in the vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt). Add half of the dry ingredients to your batter. Whisk until combined. I alternate a little between the whisk and a wooden spoon here. Sometimes it's a little easier to use the spoon. But use whatever is easier for you! Continue to mix until fully incorporated.
- Add all of the buttermilk. Whisk or stir to combine. The batter should be very smooth.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients. Stir to form the final batter. It should be nice and smooth!
- Add the cake batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Scatter the berries over the top of the cake and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown on top and fully cooked through. The cake is cooked through when a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. I usually cover the top of the cake with tin foil at around the 40 minute mark so it doesnt get too brown.
- Let the cake cool slightly in the baking dish and then remove the cake by lifting the parchment paper gently from the dish.
- Place the cake on a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once the cake is cooled, slice and serve! It's great on its own, but I love it topped with some whipped cream and extra berries.