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    Home » Recipes » Cakes

    Published: May 10, 2021 · Modified: Nov 16, 2021 by Pate Giltner 6 Comments

    Bourbon Chocolate Cake with Blackberry Buttercream

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    This chocolate layer cake has a gorgeous kick of bourbon and is layered with a light and refreshing blackberry swiss meringue buttercream. 

    This is my favorite celebration cake! The layers of rich bourbon chocolate cake are such a treat, and the blackberry frosting is so light, airy, and refreshing. The combination turns this cake into a beautiful purple showstopper. 

    bourbon chocolate cake with blackberry buttercream on a cake stand and a slice missing

    Key ingredients for this recipe:

    • All-purpose flour: this is what gives the cake its structure. 
    • Cocoa powder: this recipe uses cocoa powder to provide the chocolate flavor; you can use Dutch process or regular. However, Dutch process cocoa will always provide a deeper flavor. 
    • Hot coffee: if you have never made a chocolate dessert with instant espresso powder or coffee, you need to do this ASAP! The espresso really brings out the flavor in the chocolate and is the secret ingredient in the best chocolate cookies and cakes! 
    • Sugar: Sugar is what makes this cake and buttercream sweet. However, there's not too much; I'm not a fan of overly sweet things.
    • Baking soda and baking powder: These are the leaveners in this recipe, and along with the eggs, they help the cake to rise. 
    • Salt: Salt is the ultimate flavor enhancer, and fun fact, if you ever want a dessert to be sweeter, a lot of times, it means you need to up the salt and not the sugar.
    • Buttermilk: buttermilk provides moisture and a bit of tang to the cake. 
    • Canola oil: oil is the fat used in this recipe. Using oil instead of butter helps to ensure a really moist cake. 
    • Bourbon: this ingredient provides a lot of depth of flavor to the cake; don't skip it! 
    • Eggs and egg whites - The eggs in this recipe work double-time to act as a binding agent for all the ingredients, but they also help the cake to rise. The egg whites also help to create a light and merengue like buttercream. 
    • Vanilla extract and almond extract: in addition to the sugar, the extracts provide sweetness and flavor. 
    • Butter: Butter is the key binding ingredient in the buttercream it; with the egg whites, make a fluffy supper frosting. 
    • Fresh blackberries: fresh blackberries are what make the blackberry buttercream so fresh, tasing. 
    bourbon chocolate cake with blackberry buttercream close up of frosting

    Tips and tricks for making this recipe: 

    1. This cake is so easy to make! Just whisk the dry ingredients together, and then combine with the wet, and then pour the batter into greased and parchment-lined 9-inch cake pans and bake!
    2. The buttercream is a bit more difficult just because it can be a bit temperamental. 
    3. For successful swiss meringue buttercream with fresh fruit, make sure your heat-proof bowl is completely dry to start. 
    4. If you don't have a candy thermometer, keep testing the egg and sugar mixture until all the sugar granules have dissolved. 
    5. Whisk until you have very stiff peaks; this is the step when you build up a lot of the structure. Once the berries get added, the buttercream will turn to soup if it's not thoroughly whipped. 
    6. Add the butter and thoroughly whisk until it reaches stiff peaks again.
    7. Add the blackberry puree. If it starts to et soupy, chill it in the refrigerator for 30 min, and it should stiffen up. 
    How to store this recipe:

    This cake will keep in the refrigerator for two days.

    How to make a moist chocolate cake?

    Using oil instead of butter and buttermilk helps to make this a super moist cake. 

    Bourbon chocolate cake with blackberry buttercream on a cake stand and cut in half so that the layers are visible

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    Bourbon Chocolate Cake with Blackberry Buttercream

    ★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
    • Author: Pate Giltner
    • Prep Time: 30
    • Cook Time: 40
    • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
    • Yield: 1 9 inch cake 1x
    • Category: Cake
    • Method: Baking
    • Cuisine: American
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    This chocolate layer cake has a gorgeous kick of bourbon and is layered with a light and refreshing blackberry swiss meringue buttercream. 


    Ingredients

    Scale

    For the cake:

    1. 1 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour 
    2. 2 cups of sugar
    3. ¾ cups cocoa powder 
    4. 2 teaspoons baking soda 
    5. 1 teaspoon baking powder
    6. 1 teaspoon salt 
    7. 1 cup buttermilk 
    8. ½ cup canola oil
    9. 2 large eggs
    10. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    11. ¼ teaspoon almond extract
    12. 3 tablespoons bourbon 
    13. 1 cup hot coffee

    For the buttercream:

    1. 4 egg whites 
    2. 1 ¼ cups sugar
    3. ¾ pound unsalted butter (3 sticks) softened and cut into pieces 
    4. 1 ¼ cup pureed blackberries

    Instructions

    For the cake:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and cover the bottom of 3 9 inch cake pans with wax paper and prepare ingredients.
    2. Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
    3. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, vanilla, almond, and bourbon. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.
    4. Next, add in the coffee and mix to combine.
    5. Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared cake pans and bake for 20-30 minutes. 

    For the buttercream:

    1. Put eggs whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture reaches 160 degrees. 
    2. Remove bowl from heat and attach the bowl to a mixer, whisk on medium-high speed for 5 minutes or until very stiff peaks form. Lower speed to medium and start adding butter one piece at a time until are all combined.  Whisk until stiff peaks form again if you lost definition when adding the butter. 
    3. Switch to the paddle attachment and on low speed slowly add a little bit of the blackberries, keep mixing and adding blackberries until all are combined. Whisk on medium speed to firm up the mixture. 

    Notes

    1. For successful swiss meringue buttercream with fresh fruit, make sure your heat-proof bowl is completely dry to start. 
    2. If you don't have a candy thermometer, keep testing the egg and sugar mixture until all the sugar granules have dissolved. 
    3. Whisk until you have very stiff peaks; this is the step when you build up a lot of the structure. Once the berries get added, the buttercream will turn to soup if it's not thoroughly whipped. 
    4. Add the butter and thoroughly whisk until it reaches stiff peaks again.
    5. Add the blackberry puree. If it starts to et soupy, chill it in the refrigerator for 30 min, and it should stiffen up. 

    Keywords: Chocolate cake, blackberry buttercream

    Did you make this recipe?

    Share a photo and tag me @thegandmkitchen — I can't wait to see what you've made!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Linda Omura says

      May 26, 2021 at 1:17 pm

      This recipe looks so scrumptious and especially with the addition of bourbon! Looks like a keeper for a future occasion!

      Reply
      • pate giltner says

        May 26, 2021 at 8:51 pm

        Thanks so much! It's my go to occasion cake!

        Reply
    2. Andy says

      January 19, 2022 at 11:31 am

      This cake was absolutely fantastic - probably one of the best cakes I have ever made. Thank you for your recipe!

      One question I had was about the Blackberry puree. I noticed that you seem to have kept the skins (and the seeds, presumably) in your puree. When I made it, I ran the puree through a strainer and the frosting was on the lighter side - almost pink. While I desire a deeper color - which the skins would probably provide - I think this would be far more enjoyable without the seeds. Can you share your thoughts on this? Thank you!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • pate giltner says

        January 20, 2022 at 7:12 pm

        Thanks so much!!! I'm so glad you liked it! I have always been someone who likes seeds and pulp so I prefer them in my recipes. The skins would provide a deeper color but you could always use a little bit of food coloring to darken it too.

        Reply
    3. Sam says

      June 06, 2022 at 9:10 am

      I’m about to bake this cake, but I have two 10-inch pans instead of three 9-inch pans. Should I adjust the amounts at all, or you think it will work? How do you recommend changing the bake time?

      Reply
      • Pate Giltner says

        June 08, 2022 at 8:10 pm

        Hi Sam! I'm sorry for such a late reply, I would keep the same baking time but check on them 5 minutes before the time is up. I hope you enjoyed it!

        Reply

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    Pate Giltner holding a cupcake
    Pate Giltner holding a cupcake

    About Pate

    Hi, I'm Pate, and welcome to The G&M Kitchen!

    The G&M Kitchen is a recipe blog that specializes in southern baked goods. Here you will find classics like buttermilk and honey biscuits and beautiful show stoppers like strawberry basil cupcakes. While all recipes are inspired by traditional southern classics, they all have a twist or adjustment that elevates them and brings them into the modern age.

    Learn more about me →

    As featured in: thefeedfeed, Sur La Table, Bake From Scratch, Foodtography School, The Bourbon Review, Bringing it Home

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