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An over head shot of a slice of lemon blackberry cake on a plate. The plate is sat on a pink napkin, with a fork sat next to it.

Lemon and Blackberry Cake

Our Lemon Blackberry Cake is a zesty three tiered Lemon Cake, loaded with sweet fresh Blackberries, and a fluffy whipped Vanilla Buttercream.
5 from 6 votes
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Course: Baking, Dessert
Cuisine: Dessert
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Decorating Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 287kcal
Author: Yasmin

Equipment

  • Cake Stand  optional
  • Juicer
  • Large Mixing Bowl
  • Measuring Jug
  • Sharp Knife
  • Small Mixing Bowl
  • Whisk or fork
  • Wooden Spoon
  • Zester or grater with zester

Ingredients

Cake ingredients

  • 360 ml Plant Milk Soy, Almond, Pea
  • teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 330 g Self-Raising Flour
  • 320 g Golden Caster Sugar
  • 110 ml Olive Oil
  • teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
  • ¾ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • teaspoon Vanilla Exract or Vanilla Paste
  • 3 Lemons Zest & Juice
  • 90 g Fresh Blackberries plus extra for topping/serving

Buttercream ingredients

  • 200 g Dairy free Butter
  • 300 g Icing Sugar
  • teaspoon Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Paste
  • 60 ml Vegan Double Cream

Instructions

Before you start:

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C fan
  • Line the base of 2 x 6inch cake tins with baking paper. 
  • Hint: Remove the butter and cream from the fridge for the buttercream. You want these both at room temperature before you whip them up.

Make the Vegan Buttermilk

  • To make the Vegan Buttermilk, add the Plant Milk and Apple Cider Vinegar to a bowl, and stir well to combine.
    360 ml Plant Milk, 1½ teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the Buttermilk to curdle. You will clearly be able to see that the milk has separated.

Make the Sponge Cakes

  • Add all of the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir well. We use a whisk to do this as we find it the most reliable way to make sure all of the ingredients are evenly distributed.
    330 g Self-Raising Flour, 320 g Golden Caster Sugar, 1½ teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda, ¾ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • Zest and Juice the Lemons. We use a hand held grater for zesting, and a juicer for juicing.
    3 Lemons
  • Add all of the other wet ingredients (Buttermilk, Olive Oil and Vanilla Extract), to the bowl of Lemon Juice and Zest.
    110 ml Olive Oil, 1½ teaspoon Vanilla Exract
  • Mix well, then pour the wet ingredients in to the large mixing bowl containing the dry ingredients.
  • Gently mix the dry and wet ingredients together until well combined, but do no over mix. Stir using a whisk or wooden spoon until the cake batter is smooth and begins to 'bubble'. 
  • Sprinkle half of the fresh Blackberries over the top of the cake batter. Then gently fold them in using a wooden spoon. The remaining half of the Blackberries will be used to layer the cake with.
  • Evenly split the cake batter between your lined baking tins.To do this with as much accuracy as possible, refer to our the notes section below for a fool proof method.
  • Place your baking tins on the middle shelf of your pre-heated oven. Then bake for 20-22 minutes. The tops should be a golden colour. Use a toothpick or similar to test the center of each cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is fully cooked. If there is still some wet batter, return the cake back to the over for a further 5 minutes and test again.
  • Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before carefully removing the cakes from the tins and placing on a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before icing your cake.

Making the Buttercream

  • Add the Icing Sugar, Vanilla, and room temperature butter to a mixing bowl. Using either a stand or hand mixer, mix together on a medium speed until well combined and any lumps of icing sugar have gone. You want this silky smooth.
    200 g Dairy free Butter, 300 g Icing Sugar, 1½ teaspoon Vanilla Exract
  • Pour in the room temperature vegan double cream to your buttercream. Mix on high speed for about 30-60 seconds until the cream has 'whipped', and the buttercream is light and creamy. You will start to see a difference in the colour of buttercream and the folds created by the mixer will appear bigger.
    60 ml Vegan Double Cream
  • Cover your bowl of buttercream with some clingfilm, and transfer to the fridge to 'firm up' before you start layering the cakes. I usually leave it in the fridge until all three cake layers have cooled completely. Chilling the buttercream makes it significantly easier to ice your cake.

Layering the Sponge Cakes and Buttercream

  • Place the first layer of your cake on to your cake stand. You can secure this in place by adding a small amount of Buttercream to the center of the cake stand, and then placing the first sponge cake layer directly on top. This will help to stop it sliding about.
  • Once your first cake layer is ready. Add a healthy sized dollop of the Whipped Buttercream on top. Using a spatula or similar, smooth this out until you have an even layer. Chop half of the remaning fresh Blackberries, and evenly sprinkle these over the Buttercream.
  • Add the second cake layer over the Blackberries, then repeat the previous step with the Buttercream and Blackberries.
  • Finally, add your third and final cake layer.
  • Gently spread a layer of Buttercream over the top and sides of your Cake using a spatula. You can make them as thin or as thick as you like. Try not to rush this stage.
  • Tip: To go for a 'Naked Cake' look, like we have pictured in the recipe, you can use the long side of a cake spatula, or a cake scraper, to gently scrape the Buttercream from the sides of the sponge. 
  • OPTIONAL: Top with extra Blackberries, some more Lemon Zest and a dusting of Icing Sugar.

Notes

For splitting the cake batter evenly I like to use a ladle. In an ideal world you'd have three baking tins the same size. But, if you're like me and only had 2, then start by using 2 tins and another bowl to help you split the batter 3 ways.
I usually get about 4 ½ ladles worth of cake batter to each tin. If following my genius method, start with one ladle full in one tin, then another ladle full in the other, and same again for either the third tin or the additional bowl you're using to measure it in to. Then continue this until the mixing bowl is empty. You don't need to be 100% precise with this, but you can get it pretty close.
If you've used a bowl for your third measure of cake batter, set this aside until the other two layers have fully baked in the oven. At which point you can then clean and re-line one of the used tins, and bake the third portion of the cake batter as per Step 8 of the Instructions under the 'Making the Sponge Cakes' section.

Nutrition

Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 277mg | Potassium: 98mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin B1: 1mg | Vitamin B2: 1mg | Vitamin B3: 1mg | Vitamin B5: 1mg | Vitamin B6: 1mg | Vitamin C: 21mg | Vitamin E: 2mg | Vitamin K: 8µg | Calcium: 39mg | Copper: 1mg | Folate: 18µg | Iron: 1mg | Manganese: 1mg | Magnesium: 14mg | Phosphorus: 55mg | Selenium: 17µg | Zinc: 1mg