Have a surplus of blackberries and a hankering for something sweet? Put them both to good use by making this simple, delicious sourdough blackberry cake! The sourdough leaven and light amount of sugar make this long ferment sourdough cake a much healthier option for a seasonal dessert. The blackberries make it taste divine! 
From July through Michaelmas in September, blackberries are a seasonal favorite in our house. We’re blessed in that blackberries grow in our hedgerows, pastures, and forests, so we can gather them as wild free food.
Foraging summer’s bounty is one of the best ways to enjoy the season! There are herbs, wildflowers, and fruits just waiting to be found and used.
If you have a surplus of berries, you can always make a simple blackberry jam to enjoy in winter. The best part about blackberry jam is that it doesn’t take a lot of sugar to get a good flavor. Blackberries are simply delicious!
A Few More Seasonal Treats:
Sourdough Blackberry Cake
Sourdough blackberry cake is suitable for breakfast or dessert. We prefer the blackberry whipped cream topping instead of frosting. However, the recipe includes blackberry frosting instructions in case you want something a little sweeter.
All my sourdough recipes are long-ferment for optimal health and this blackberry cake is no exception. You can bake it up with confidence knowing that you’re serving your family a fully fermented grain dessert.
Sourdough Blackberry Cake
Equipment
- 1 9" x 13" Pan
- 1 Large Bowl with a Lid for fermenting the batter
Ingredients
Initial Mix
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 1 Cup Active Sourdough Starter
- 1/4 Cup Coconut Oil, softened
- 1 tsp. Sea Salt
Final Mix
- 7 Eggs
- 1 Cup Organic Cane Sugar Raw sugar will also do.
- 2 tsp. Baking Powder
- 2 tsp. Vanilla
- 2 Cup Fresh Blackberries
Whipped Cream Topping
- 2 Cups Cream
- 2 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
- 1 Cup Blackberries
Instructions
Initial Mix
- Mix 1/2 cup of water and 1 cup of sourdough starter together in a bowl.
- Sift 1 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon of sea salt together in a separate mixing bowl.
- Add the starter mix to the flour mix. Add 1/4 cup of very soft coconut oil. Mix until incorporated.
- Cover and set aside to ferment for at least 6 hours.
Final Mix & Bake
- Preheat oven to 350F/176C.
- Uncover the fermented batter and add 7 eggs, 1 cup of sugar, 2 tsp of baking powder, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.. Mix by hand* or with a mixer until just incorporated.
- Mix in 2 cups of blackberries to batter.
- Butter a 9 " x 13" glass pan. Pour batter into the pan and place in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. If your oven runs hot, cover with foil for the last 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before you top it.
Assemble & Top
- While the blackberry cake is cooking, make the blackberry whipped cream topping by placing 2 cups of cream in a large bowl. Mix with a mixer for several minutes until the cream begins to stiffen. The time this takes varies with each mixer, its temperature, the temperature of the bowl, and the kind of cream. Plan on at least 5 minutes.
- Add 2 Tbsp. of maple syrup and 1 cup of blackberries and whip until incorporated.
- Once cooled, cut the cake in half. Put a layer of blackberry whipped cream or frosting on top of one half of the cake. Place the other half on top and top the final layer. Serve immediately!
Notes
- If you'd like more cream, add another.
- If you want more sweet, add another tablespoon of maple syrup.
- If you want more berries, add another 1/2 cup.
- Beat 2 cups softened butter with a hand mixer until fluffy.
- Add 1 tsp. vanilla and gradually beat in 7 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time until smooth.
- Add 1 cup fresh blackberry puree and mix until blended.
Assembly Instructions
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before you top it.
While the blackberry cake is cooking, make the blackberry whipped cream topping by placing 2 cups of cream in a large bowl.
Mix with a mixer for several minutes until the cream begins to stiffen.
The time this takes varies with each mixer, its temperature, the temperature of the bowl, and the kind of cream. Plan on at least 5 minutes.
Add 2 Tbsp. of maple syrup and 1 cup of blackberries and whip until incorporated.
Once cooled, cut the cake in half. Put a layer of blackberry whipped cream or frosting on top of one half of the cake. Place the other half on top and top the final layer.
Sourdough Blackberry Cake Notes
Here are a few things that will make this process easier and your cake turn out delicious.
- No matter how soft coconut oil is, I always seem to find little balls of it in my batter. Hunt those down and smash them flat to incorporate them into your initial batter mix.
- I use a dry erase marker to note the time on the lid of my covered bowl. I’ve tried setting alarms and leaving myself notes, but writing the ferment time directly on the lid has helped me remember the best!
- If you don’t have a mixer, mix the final ingredients into the batter by hand – as in, with your hands. Base cake batter that has been fermented with sourdough starter has very active gluten and it can be hard to mix in the final ingredients without over-mixing the batter.
Over-mixing can lead to bready texture, so only mix until the ingredients are incorporated but do it with your hands. Squish the ingredients together to blend them more effectively. Trust me, it works.
The whipped topping recipe is very adaptable.
- If you’d like more cream, add another.
- If you want more sweet, add another tablespoon of maple syrup.
- If you want more berries, add another 1/2 cup.
To Make Blackberry Buttercream Frosting
If you would rather top with blackberry buttercream frosting, do the following:
- Beat 2 cups softened butter with a hand mixer until fluffy.
- Add 1 tsp. vanilla and gradually beat in 7 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time until smooth.
- Add 1 cup fresh blackberry puree and mix until blended.
To make blackberry puree, blend 1 cup of blackberries in a blender until smooth. Press through a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds.
Celebrate Summer!
If you need a little help finding things to celebrate through the last dog days of summer, look no further than our book, Homestead Holidays. There are holidays, crafts, recipes, games, and more than can be celebrated on any homestead and with any family throughout the year.
For me, summer is the hardest season to get through, so I wrote the summer section to be as fun as can be! (Mostly for myself, if I’m being honest.) I’ll wager there’s something for you on the many pages of Homestead Holidays.
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