This Very Berry Layer Cake makes the perfect use of those summer berries! Layers of vanilla cake, swiss meringue buttercream, and loads of fresh berries.
Summer berries are the best. Pretty and plentiful, it’s hard not to make a berry dessert (or multiple) during the hot, sunny months. This berry layer cake is an impressive yet super easy dessert to make, I promise! All you need is a cake of some kind (from scratch or a box mix, vanilla or chocolate), frosting of your choice (a simple vanilla buttercream or cream cheese frosting, etc.), and fresh berries. Then all you have to do is stack, and your impressive summer dessert is done!
I first made this cake years ago for my mom’s birthday. I had seen it in a magazine and improvised the recipes. If you dig through my blog, you can find the super old post about it along with some lovely pics in the archives.
Laziness prevailed this week, so instead of baking from scratch, I made my Almost Scratch Cake. It’s a box mix (gasp) with some extras thrown in (like sour cream) to make it even better. I actually kinda screwed up the cake. I really need to learn to read my recipes. I checked the cake at 30mins and wondered why the heck it was domed and cracking. Now I know why: I assumed that I needed to set the oven to 350F, as I do for almost every other cake, but this one needs 325F.
A domed cake was the last thing I wanted, and it never happens thanks to some of my tricks. Thankfully, I was able to utilize the tea towel trick to flatten the cakes as soon as they came out of the oven. Not ideal, but it got the job done. The high temp also meant the cake was browned way more than I expected/wanted. Oh well! Learn from my mistakes people, read the directions!
You can really make any kind of cake for this as long as the flavour goes with berries. A chocolate one would be pretty delicious. You can use something like Angel Food cake too, but it will affect the structural integrity of the cake, since Angel Food is so light and this is cake gets heavy once all of the layers, frosting, and berries are added. If you do want to use Angel Food, I’d suggest trying whipped cream instead of buttercream and maybe not as many berries. I prefer my cakes dense though, so no Angel Food here.
I made a Swiss Meringue Buttercream for the frosting since it’s lighter and less sweet than a traditional American buttercream. The berries already add sweetness, as does the simple syrup, so I wanted to balance it out.
The simple syrup is optional, but it adds more moisture to the cake. No one wants dry cake, right? Truthfully, this cake is already super moist with the addition of sour cream, but I like the syrup for that extra amount of moisture and sweetness.
There you have it. This Berry Layer Cake is a stunning simple summer dessert!
Very Berry Layer Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 recipe Almost Scratch Cake or any 8" layer cake
Simple Syrup
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 1/2 cup egg whites* 4 oz
- 1 cup granulated sugar 8oz
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter room temperature, cubed
- 1 tsp vanilla
Berries
- 5-6 cups mixed berries sliced
- 2 cups mixed berries whole
Instructions
Cake:
- Prepare cake as per recipe. Once cool, cut layers in half horizontally. I used a cake leveler to do this.
Simple Syrup:
- Optional, but will add more moistness to your cake.
- Place water and sugar into a small pot over high heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and cool completely. Store in fridge until needed.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.
- Place bowl over a hot water bath on the stove and whisk constantly until the mixture is no longer grainy to the touch (approx. 3mins).
- Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
- Switch to paddle attachment.
- Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth. Add vanilla.**
Assembly:
- Cut cake layers in half horizontally using a cake leveler or large serrated knife.
- Place one layer onto your cake stand, brush with simple syrup. Add 1/4 of the buttercream on top and spread roughly. Spread 1/3 of sliced berries over top of the buttercream.
- Repeat the process with the other layers, finishing with 2 cups of whole berries.
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Notes
** The buttercream may look like it's curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth.
Megan says
I made this cake using the recipe as is. I didn’t have a stand mixer, so using a hand mixer made the meringue a bit t icky. It took much longer to get it to peak.Other than that, itwent over great! Everyone loves it!
Olivia says
Hi Megan! A hand mixer will definitely take a lot longer, but glad it worked out!!
KANIKA says
This so great! I want to reach out and take a slice 🙂
In fact, about the same time you baked this cake, I did a similar one for my berry loving spouse.
Baran says
Hello, I really want to try this AMAZING recipe for my mums upcoming birthday however, I am struggling with the cake I just wanted to knownif a normal vanilla cake will do? Thank you very much.
Olivia says
Hi Baran! A normal vanilla cake would work perfectly fine. You can try this one if you like: https://livforcake.com/vanilla-cake/
Belinda says
Hopefully this doesn’t post twice. :). I am making this for a wedding and wondering if I can leave it out at room temp for 24, if I cover it?
I refrigerated it the last time I made it and the icing gets a little stiff. Not sure if it will soften up after setting out for a couple hours.
What do you recommend? Let it set out for 24 hours or refrigerate?
Olivia says
Hi Belinda! I would not leave it out for that long. Refrigerating should work fine. The icing will get very stiff, but will soften again once at room temperature for 2-3 hours.
Mary says
Hi Olivia,
Beautiful cake. I plan to make it this weekend. I can’t wait to try it out. Since it’s a naked cake I worry it may dry out if I assemble it too early. How long before eating should I assemble the cake?
Olivia says
Hi Mary! Ideally I would do it same day as the sides will dry out. Or you could try to wrap it loosely in plastic wrap. Let me know how it works out!
Fernanda says
Dou you have a technique for sprinkling powdered sugar on top of the fruits? no matter how much I add, it keeps dispearing! Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Fernanda! I make sure my fruit is dry (no glaze), but eventually the powdered sugar will disappear 🙁
Fernanda says
hey, thanks for the response. I ended up giving up trying to make the fruits look this pretty. The blue berries were a bit more cooperative than the other two fruits, but not by much. Tt was delicious anyway and everyone loved it. I love your blog!
Olivia says
Thanks so much Fernanda! I’m glad it worked out for you 🙂
Fernanda says
Hey Olivia, Do you think this recipe wold stand a bundt pan and a swirl of dulce the leche cream?
Fernanda says
sorry posted this in the wrong recipe.
Olivia says
No problem, checking your other comment now!
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
Holy shizz, this cake and your photos are sooooo beautiful! Naked cakes are definitely the way to go. Love love love!
Olivia says
I know, right?? I see more naked cakes in my future 🙂
Thamica says
I could just stare at this recipe all day and all night. What a fun way to incorporate berries!
Olivia says
Thank you Thamica! 😀
Andrea @ The Pineapple Cake says
This cake looks beautiful, light, and delicious Olivia.
I am pinning this now so I can make it in the summer. Love it! !
Olivia says
Thanks Andrea!! It’s delicious, you won’t regret it! 😀
Julia (@Imagelicious) says
This is so gorgeous!!!
Olivia says
Thanks Julia! 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
This cake look so light and delicious.. and perfect for summer too. I wish I had a slice right now!
Olivia says
Thanks Thalia! It was such a yummy summer dessert 🙂
Oana says
Oh very berry indeed. So simple and yet so elegant. I kinda love this kind of naked cakes, all packed with fruits. Well done!
Olivia says
I’m a huge fan of naked cakes too. I see many more in my future! 🙂
Daniel says
This looks absolutely beautiful 🙂
Olivia says
Thanks so much Daniel! 🙂
lindsay says
almond scratch cake? oh woman, you know the way to my heart. LOVE IT! <3 beautiful
Olivia says
Thanks Lindsay! 😀
Karen says
This cake is so good! Super tall and elegant and bursting with a beautiful vanilla flavour. Love all the berries!
Olivia says
Thanks Karen! So glad you liked it 😀
Kat | curlsnchard.com says
Oh this is really such a good idea – it looks really impressive! I love fresh berries, so I definitely have to keep this in mind. Oh, and I love that you use a little tea egg for the sugar 😀
Olivia says
Thanks Kat! 😀
June @ How to Philosophize with Cake says
Such a gorgeous cake!! Looks like the perfect summer dessert, with all that fresh fruit 🙂
Olivia says
Thanks June! 😀