Lemon Blackberry Cake

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This Lemon Blackberry Cake is a moist lemon cake that’s loaded with fresh blackberries and layered with mascarpone whipped cream and lemon curd. It’s perfectly moist, deliciously dense, and the perfect blend of sweet and tangy.

Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake

I am swooning over this Lemon Blackberry Cake. It’s similar to my lemon blueberry cake, but with different berries. And it is, quite literally, perfection. It’s a homemade, lemon layer cake with fresh blackberries baked right in. Nestled between each layer is a generous layer of the perfect mascarpone whipped cream and lemon curd.

If you’ve never had mascarpone whipped cream, I suggest you try it immediately. It’s like regular whipped cream, but thicker, more of a mousse. Its subtle flavor complements literally whatever you pair it with!

So, next time someone asks for a lemon birthday cake or you’re just craving a lemon or fruity dessert, you’ll know exactly what to make!

Key Ingredients

• Oil – Make sure you’re using a neutral oil such as vegetable oil.
• Lemons – We’ll need both the zest and the juice to give our cake the perfect lemon flavor. If you don’t know how to zest a lemon, here’s a helpful tutorial for you (you don’t even need a zester!).
• Lemon or Vanilla Extract – If you want the extra zing, go with lemon extract.
• Sour Cream – If you don’t have sour cream, plain Greek yogurt can be used in its place.
• Buttermilk – You could also use milk, but the texture won’t be quite as moist and tender. Otherwise, you can try this simple homemade buttermilk.
• Blackberries – We’re mixing fresh blackberries directly into the cake batter, then also using them for garnish.
• Mascarpone cheese- Check your grocery store, usually in the specialty cheese section. This can be an expensive ingredient, but my preferred brands are Belgioioso, Trader Joes, and Vermont Creamery.

How to Make Lemon Cake with Mascarpone Frosting

Step 1: Make the Cake

1. Prepare the pans: Grease and flour three 8-inch baking pans, and I recommend lining the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Mix the wet ingredients: In a bowl, mix together sugar, oil, eggs, and lemon extract and beat until it’s well combined. Then add in the lemon zest and sour cream, then mix until combined.
3. Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk: In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk and lemon juice. Mix on low speed until the flour is combined. Give the batter a good stir with a spatula.
4. Add the berries: Toss the berries with a little bit of flour, then gently fold half of them into the cake batter.
5. Bake and cool: Divide the batter evenly between three 8-inch baking pans, then top with remaining blackberries. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

Step 2: Make the Frosting

Some people do have issues making mascarpone whipped cream. I recommend reviewing the full tutorial (linked above) before beginning. It’s not meant to be stable like buttercream, it’s still a whipped cream. It is however, much thicker and easier to work with than traditional whipped cream.

1. Chill the bowl. Place a mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer to chill for 5-10 minutes.
2. Beat the mascarpone: The key to a smooth textured whipped cream is to slowly bring the mascarpone cheese to a liquid consistency. Start by beating it on a low speed while slowly pouring in the heavy cream until it reaches a liquid consistency (about 1/4-1/2 cup of cream).
3. Whip until stiff peaks. Once it’s more of a liquid consistency, add the remaining heavy cream and increase the mixer to high speed, beating until soft peaks form. Add in powdered sugar and lemon extract and beat until stiff peaks form.

Step 3: Assemble

1. Level the cakes: If you find the cakes have domed, use a cake leveler to cut the domes off the top of each layer. However, the tops may not be completely flat due to the berries. This cake is quite moist, so you want to avoid ripping the outside.
2. Frost and fill: Place a dollop of frosting on a cake board, then place the bottom layer on top. Use a piping bag to pipe a layer of frosting around the edge and over the top of the first layer, then spread half the lemon curd on top. Add the second layer of cake, repeat with the frosting and lemon curd, then add the final layer on top. I like to invert the top layer so it’s nice and flat on top. If you want to see how I do this, I included some step-by-step photos of the process in my Lemon Raspberry Cake recipe.
3. Decorate and chill: Top with remaining frosting then garnish with extra berries. I do recommend chilling the cake before serving to allow the frosting to rechill.

Why is My Lemon Cake Not Fluffy?

This cake is more dense than it is light and fluffy, but if it’s extra dense and flat, there could be a couple of reasons for that.

• Use fresh baking powder. The expired baking powder won’t do what it’s supposed to do which is create a lighter, fluffier texture. Make sure it’s fresh before adding it to the batter.
• Don’t substitute ingredients. Wherever possible, I do not recommend making substitutions. True buttermilk will always produce better results than a homemade substitute.
• Properly measure the flour. If you are not weighing ingredients, make sure to use the fluff, spoon and level method to measure the flour. Scooping your cup directly into the flour is the surest way to add too much flour, resulting in a dense cake.
• Don’t over-mix the batter. Over-mixing the cake batter can cause a dry, dense texture. Mix everything only until just combined and avoid mixing too much for the best results.

Recipe Tips

• Toss the berries with flour. Coating them in a light layer of flour can help prevent them from sinking in the batter as the cake bakes depending on the size of the berries.
• Use bake-even strips. Bake even strips prevent the edges of the cake from cooking too quickly which, in turn, prevents the cake from rising in the middle. The less you have to cut off the top, the better!
• To fill your cake, I suggest filling a piping bag with frosting to ensure an even thickness throughout.

Preparation and Storage

The best way to prep your lemon cake ahead of time is to bake the lemon cake, but wait to add the frosting. Regardless of how you store them, be sure the cakes are completely cooled.

Frosting: I do not recommend preparing the frosting in advance, it’s best when prepared fresh and directly frosted onto the cake.

Unfrosted cake layers: In you plan to frost within 48 hours, store these in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not stack them together as the layer are quite moist and they will stick. To freeze the layers, wrap it in plastic wrap followed by foil, and freeze them for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to serve, thaw to room temperature then frost and serve.

How to Store a Frosted Cake: An assembled lemon berry mascarpone cake must be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last for for 3-4 days. For best results, you may want to place a piece of plastic wrap on the cut edges to prevent them from drying out.

Lemon Blackberry Cake

★★★★★

5 from 11 reviews

• Author: Julianne Dell
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 28 minutes
• Total Time: 58 minutes
• Yield: 10-12 slices

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Description

This Lemon Blackberry Cake is a moist lemon cake that’s loaded with fresh blackberries and layered with mascarpone whipped cream and lemon curd. It’s perfectly moist, deliciously dense, and the perfect blend of sweet and tangy.

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 2 cups (380g) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature 
• 2 lemons- zested and juiced 
• 1 teaspoon Lemon (or vanilla) extract
• ½ cup (118 ml) sour cream, at room temperature 
• 2 ½ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour, sifted
• 3 teaspoons (11.2 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (236 ml) (or milk), at room temperature 
• 1/4 cup (59ml) fresh lemon juice
• 12 ounces blackberries, washed and dried
• 2–3 tablespoons (15.6g) all-purpose flour

For the frosting:

• 2 ¼ cups (532ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
• 1 cup (130g) powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) lemon extract 
• 16 ounces mascarpone cheese, cold
• 1 jar (10 ounces) Lemon Curd

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Instructions

For the Cake: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch round baking pans, line the bottom with parchment paper and grease the sides. Prepare the bake even stripes if desired.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and lemon extract. Beat on medium speed until the eggs and oil are well incorporated, scrape down the bowl as needed. Next, add the lemon zest and the sour cream and beat until well combined.
3. Next, zest 2 lemons into the batter and then juice the lemons to get 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Set the lemon juice aside. Add the lemon zest, and sour cream to the wet ingredients and beat until well combined.
4. Sift together the remaining dry ingredients. Alternate adding half the dry ingredients followed by half of the liquid ingredients (buttermilk and lemon juice) and mix on a lemon speed just until the flour starts to incorporate. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure it’s well mixed.
5. Toss the blackberries with 2 tablespoons of flour, and add additional if needed. If the blackberries are large, cut them in half, then gently fold the blackberries into the batter.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the three pan, about 1 ¾ cups of batter per pan. Drop the remaining blackberries on top. Bake at 350°F for 28-32 minutes.  Test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, you cake is done. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

For the Frosting: 

1. Place the mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to chill.
2. Spoon the cold mascarpone whipped cream into your bowl and beat on a medium-low speed (speed 3 on your stand mixer). Slowly pour in the heavy cream, allowing the mascarpone cheese to turn to a liquid consistency.
3. Then increase the mixing speed to high (speed 8-10) and beat it until soft peaks form.
4. Next, add the powdered sugar and lemon extract, beating on low until sugar is incorporated. Then continue beating at high speed until stiff peaks form.

To Assemble 

1. Use a cake leveler to cut the domes off the top of the cake if needed. Place a dollop of frosting on the cake board and place the bottom layer of cake on top of that.
2. Place half of the whipped cream in a large piping bag fitted with a large open round tip, or simply cut off the end of the piping bag. Pipe a layer of frosting and spread it evenly. Then spread half of the lemon curd over the mascarpone frosting.
3. Add the second layer of cake and repeat the above steps using all of the remaining lemon curd. Next, add the final layer of cake on top inverted. 
4. Use the piping bag to fill in any gaps between your layers and to create a crumb coat. Using an offset spatula or icing smoother, wipe away the excess frosting, leaving you just enough to coat the outside of the cake. Do not mix your crumb-coating frosting back into your icing if it has cake debris in it.
5. Proceed to frost the top and sides of the cake using the offset spatula with the remaining frosting. Garnish with leftover blackberries. 

Equipment

Zester

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8-inch Silpat Liner

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8-inch cake pan

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Cake Leveler

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Large Piping Tips

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Angled Spatula

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Notes

Substitutions: 

Wherever possible, I do not recommend making substitutions, but in a pinch the below will work. 

• Sour cream- use a plain non Greek yogurt. 
• Buttermilk- Can be made using lemon juice or vinegar. Here’s the quick homemade buttermilk 
• Lemon extract– sub with vanilla if needed
• Frozen berries: Note that I have not tested this with frozen blueberries but it should work. Frozen berries may have more moisture than fresh. Toss in the batter when frozen and do not coat in flour

 

• Review this detailed tutorial for Mascarpone Whipped Cream  if this is the first time serving. 
• Storage instructions: the blog post contains more details, but a frosted cake but be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. 

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size: 1 slice

Calories: 672

Sugar: 60.1g

Sodium: 370mg

Fat: 32.6g

Saturated Fat: 21.1g

Carbohydrates: 89.9g

Fiber: 2.4g

Protein: 8.4g

Cholesterol: 112.6mg

• Category: Cake
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: Lemon Cake Recipe, Lemon Blackberry Cake, Lemon Dessert