Blueberry Cobbler Cake
Mother’s Day weekend, and we had ourselves a cake date, which is an at-home date I’ve been wanting to curate for a minute. I have 6-inch cake pans, which are perfect for making more miniature layer cakes, and every time we go to assemble one of our mini cakes together, Jordan + I pretty regularly mention how fun it would be to each have our own cake to frost + decorate. So I made it happen this time. Spent a full day just baking 6 miniature layer cakes so we could have an official cake date. Our cake choice - a fruity + fun Blueberry Cobbler Cake. This cake is all thing fruity, sweet + crunchy, with subtle salty + tangy notes for balance. The cake itself is packed with fresh blueberries, and a homemade blueberry compote is layered in between each light + fluffy cake layer. It’s pure blueberry flavor that’s combined with crumbly, cobbler pieces and a light + tangy cream cheese frosting (which is actually the best cream cheese frosting ever!). So good + such a fun classic dessert to transform into a well composed cake, and the perfect dessert for sharing with loved ones. Moreover a great memory + a fun cake date to cap off the weekend.
A perfectly seasonal dessert
Sweet + fruity + berry forward desserts are just my jam in the Summer. It’s the time when I crave loaded berry pies + cobbles that are warm with an ice cold scoop of ice cream lobbed on top. These cravings are already hitting hard, and this cake totally delivers on all the fruity, Summer dessert vibes. Fresh blueberries in the cake + fresh blueberries to make a cobbler filling - it’s loaded.
The crumble filling, however, is what makes it a cobbler cake. Think savory, buttery pie crust crumbled into small, bite size pieces. That’s the vibe. So easy to make, and I quickly whipped this up early in the morning while I drank my morning coffee. You can hand mix all the ingredients, so need to get out the heavy duty equipment, and then just lay on baking tray + bake to golden brown. It’ll be fairly crumbly, and takes on a crispy, crunchy texture as it turns golden brown.
Make it a 2-day bake
This cake has layers of flavor - a fresh blueberry cake that includes a blueberry puree, a blueberry compote made with a combo of blueberries + sugar + cornstarch, then a crumbly cobbler filling, and finally a cream cheese buttercream. All so essential + damn tasty when combined in one loaded bite, but it goes without saying - there are steps involved. My advice - get ahead of the game + turn this into a two day cake making venture.
Day 1 - Do all the blueberry things! Bake your cakes + make your compote. This will give plenty of time for the cakes + compote to cool and be ready cake assembly the following day.
Day 2 - Make the crumble early in the day, and let it sit + cool at room temp for use that day. Make the frosting right before you want to decorate.
Just remember to take into account getting your ingredients to room temp. Specifically, make sure you know when you’re making those cake + frosting, and get that butter out of the fridge + to room temp.
Cream Cheese Buttercream Heaven
This cream cheese buttercream is heaven. It’s easy to make, so freaking delicious, and, best part, it’s so easy to work with. It has all the sturdy qualities of a buttercream, and by that I mean it really holds the cake together + maintains a solid shape, so getting a clean, finished look is so easy to achieve. But the flavor - ugh there is just something about cream cheese frosting that makes you want to scrape up every little bit, and not any bite go to waste.
Every slice really was so yummy + I’ll cherish the memories of making these cakes with Jordan. For me, it was such a fun and new way for us to be in the kitchen together, but own our own little projects and each have something to be hands on with. What can I say - it was a great way for two people who really like to cook together to spend a few hours in the kitchen.
For the cake
2 c. fresh blueberries
3 c. + 3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 egg + 4 egg whites, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp blueberry jam
For the blueberry filling
2 c. fresh blueberries
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. water
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp lemon juice (juice of 1/2 a lemon)
For the crumble
1/2 c.granulated sugar
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c. oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the cream cheese buttercream
1 1/2 c. unsallted butter (3 sticks), room temp
4 oz. cream cheese, room temp
6 c. powdered sugar, sifted
3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
fresh strawberries, thinly sliced (save for assembling the cake)
Heat the oven to 325. Prepare 3-6 inch cake pans with cooking spray, a light sprinkle of flour, + parchment paper at the bottom of the pan.
To make the cake, start with heating the blueberries in a saucepan over medium heat just until they become a bit tender (about 5-7 minutes). Transfer to a food processor and puree. Set aside to use in the cake batter.
Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add the butter + sugar to the bowl of the stand mixer and beat on medium speed until creamed + fluffy. Add in the eggs, mixing until fully incorporated. Alternate beating in the dry flour mixture + blueberry puree - adding in 1 cup of flour + half of the blueberry puree and repeating until all is mixed in. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the dose of blueberry jam, mix again for another minute. Separate the batter amongst the 3 prepared cake pans + bake for 30-35 minutes.
When the cakes have baked completely, let them cool in the cake pans at room temp for 20-30 minutes, then remove the cakes from the pan, letting them continue to cool at room temp for another 45-60 minutes. Level the cakes, so cut them so they do not have a domed top. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in the freezer to firm up.
Next step is making the blueberry compote. Combine all of the ingredients for the compote in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the blueberries to burst + the compote to thicken - cook for about 7-10 minutes. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator, and leave to chill overnight.
Now make the crumble. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F + line a baking tray with parchment. Combine the sugars, flour, baking powder, cinnamon + salt in a bowl until combined. Add the oil and the vanilla, stirring until the mixture is moist + crumbly. Lay the mixture on the parchment paper + bak for about 15-25 minutes (until they’re toasty + browned). Let the mixture cool completely on the baking tray + place in an air tight container until you’re ready to assemble the cake.
To make the frosting, which you should only do when you’re getting close to baking, add the butter + cream cheese to the stand mixer, mixing at medium speed for about 1 minute. Add in the powdered sugar (slowly to avoid making a huge mess), and once all is incorporated add in the cream, vanilla, + salt. Increase the speed to medium high, and mix for 5 minutes. It should be light + fluffy. Add some to a piping bag, leaving the rest in the bowl for cake assembly.
Now the fun part + my favorite - assemble the cake.
Place a smear of buttercream on the cake tray and place the bottom cake layer right on top. Spread a thin layer of frosting over the cake, and pipe a thick ring of the buttercream. Spread a layer of the blueberry compote on top + press a sprinkle of the crumble into the compote.
Place the second layer right on top of the compote + crumble, and repeat the steps in step above.
Place the final cake layer on top, and dirty ice the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Place an acrylic disk on top of the cake + continue with thoroughly icing the sides of the cake, leaving a bit of the buttercream to use to finish icing the top of the cake. When you’ve iced the sides of the cake, place back in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
Remove the acrylic disk gently, spread a smooth layer of buttercream right over the top, and decorate the cake with leftover blueberries + crumble. Dive in + enjoy.
