Blackberry Buttermilk Cake

My one bowl blackberry buttermilk cake brings together blackberries, buttermilk, and vanilla in a simple but unexpected snacking cake recipe. It’s one of those perfect little surprises that brightens your day.

In my particular grocery store they come right at you with the berries, they’re placed front and center at the entrance. Could explain why so many of my recipes are berry-centric. But come on, you know you need a great one bowl breakfast cake in your life, if only to upscale your morning toast and peanut butter routine. Yolo.

I have a thing for casual snacking cakes!

• French Pistachio Cake
• Fresh Pear Coffee Cake
• Almond Fig Cake
• Honeycrisp Apple Cake
• Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
• Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake
• Blueberry Lemon Breakfast Cake

blackberry buttermilk cake ingredients

It’s a from-the-pantry cake, just add berries.

• blackberries
  • supermarket blackberries can be pretty big, so I suggest slicing them in half for this cake.
• flour
  • I use all purpose flour, but you could also use cake flour for an extra tender cake. See my list of dietary substitutions below for more options.
• butter
• sugar
• eggs
• yogurt
  • full fat, low fat, or non fat, it’s up to you.
• buttermilk
  • cultured buttermilk is thick and creamy with a tangy flavor that works so well in cakes. It’s low fat, too!
• baking powder and salt
• vanilla bean paste
  • I know, I know, it’s hard to find, and pricey. (You can buy it here.)Use extract if you prefer.

what makes this blackberry buttermilk cake work

Room temperature ingredients and the time you take in creaming the ingredients and blending the batter will pay off in a lovely texture in your cake. Don’t rush the process, take 3-4 minutes (set a timer!) to combine the butter and sugar ~ you’ll be surprised at the transformation, especially if you’re used to rushing. Why room temperature eggs? Instead of the curdled mess you get when you try to introduce cold eggs into your mixture, you’ll be rewarded with a silky smooth batter. (I pop my cold eggs in a bowl of hot water to warm them up.)

The yogurt and buttermilk are a dynamic duo. Their acidity reacts with the baking powder to boost it, resulting in a light and fluffy cake. They add a subtle tangy flavor as well.

Blackberries are a nice change from the more common blueberries and strawberries. Their flavor is rich and goes beautifully with the vanilla.

dietary substitutions and flavor variations

Gluten free blackberry cake: this is a no brainer, use a gluten free 1:1 baking mix from King Arthur Flour in place of the all purpose wheat flour.

Non-dairy blackberry cake: use your favorite vegan plant based butter, a plant based yogurt like almond or soy, and a plant based buttermilk substitute. You might not find this in your supermarket, but you can make your own homemade vegan buttermilk:

• Choose a plant-based milk:
  • soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, or coconut milk (unsweetened.)
• Add an acid
  • for every 1 cup of plant-based milk, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar (apple cider or white vinegar) or lemon juice.
• Mix and let sit:
  • stir the mixture and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. It will curdle slightly, and mimic the texture and tanginess of traditional buttermilk.

Add nuts: fold in a cup of chopped walnut or pecans to your batter.

Add a streusel topping: mix together 1/2 cup flour + 1/3 cup brown or white sugar + 1/4 cup butter until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the cake before baking. Add chopped nuts and extract if you like.

Almond blackberry cake: use almond extract, and add some sliced almonds on top before baking. You can sub about 1/2-1/2 cup of almond flour for some of the all purpose flour, too.