This cake was originally created for the Mother’s Day Brunch collaboration, and I had to recreate it to confirm the recipe. I decided to make it gluten free this time, so that I could taste-test. It’s really an unfortunate perk of the job. 😉 This mini cake consists of layers of gluten free vanilla cake, vanilla cream cheese buttercream, strawberry jam, and fresh berries. It is truly delicious, and would be a great way to celebrate Mother’s Day, or any birthday or special occasion, especially during warmer months. I have made a gluten free version, and a standard version. Both recipes are included, but the method is the same. I hope you enjoy it!
Vanilla Berry Mini Layer Cake
Materials You Will Need (other than from the recipe) + How to Grease a Cake Pan
- 2 small round cake pans
- parchment paper
- palm shortening (or Crisco shortening)
- extra flour
- macarons for garnish (optional) – I bought a box of frozen macarons from Trader Joe’s and used the vanilla for decoration
- mint leaves for garnish (optional)
- icing spreader
- stand mixer (obviously this is optional, but I wanted to share the one I have and love!)
To grease cake pans, I always go overboard, but the cakes never stick! I learned this method from my Granny and my mom. I grease the pan with shortening (I use palm shortening now, but I used to use Crisco). Then I dust it with gluten free flour (can use all purpose flour if you are not making a GF cake). I then trace a circle of parchment paper the same size as the bottom of the pan, cut it out, and lay the circle inside. So the steps are: grease the pan well with shortening, dust with flour and tap out any extra flour, and then lay the circle inside.
These are the pans I use. I only have 2, so I slice the layers in half with a large serrated knife, but you could use four and just divide the batter evenly among the four, and not have to worry about the tricky step of slicing the layers. Or you could double the recipe, and make 2 of these cakes at once!
All of these photos are by JLT Photography.
The pretty pink and gold plates are from The Graceful Host Shop.
Frosting and Crumb Coat
I use an offset spatula like this one for mini cakes, and it works well. I always use the crumb coat method when icing cake. To do this, you assemble the layers and filling of the cake. Then do a very thin coat of icing around the top and outside. Then refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes before adding the final layer of buttercream and decoration on the outside of the cake.
How to Make it non-gluten free
The original recipe inspiration is from a book called Vintage Cakes that was gifted to me by my aunt a few years ago. The vanilla cake recipe from that book is the best I’ve ever made. I tweaked that recipe to make a smaller cake, and to make it gluten free. If you do not need to make it gluten free, instead of the GF flour, you will use:
- 2/3 cup cake flour
- heaping 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
The best gluten free flour
I have tested several all-purpose gluten free flours, and this one is my favorite for baking. It does contain milk powder, so this will not work in any recipes that need to be dairy free. However, it performs well. When you’re mixing up the batter, be aware that this flour causes the batter to be a bit more sticky than you may be used to with regular flours. It tastes great after being baked, though. I was really happy with the overall texture of this cake. Gluten free items are always going to be slightly different than conventional baked goods, but overall this one was a winner.
How to make it ahead of time
When I need to bake a cake, it is typically during a time that I will also need to do a bunch of other cooking. It helps me tremendously if I can make the cake ahead of time. The way I like to do that is to bake the cake layers, cool them completely, and slice them in half with a large serrated knife. Then I thoroughly wrap each layer in saran wrap, and place the layers in a freezer-safe gallon ziplock bag. Lay them flat in the freezer (they can be stacked). Pull them out about 40 minutes before you need to assemble your cake.
The buttercream can be made a week in advance and kept in the refrigerator in an air-tight container. You will need to let it sit on the counter to warm up a bit before icing the cake, and I like to stir it really well before using it.
You can assemble the cake, do the crumb coat, and even finish the final icing the day or two before eating. With this cake, I would recommend finishing it the day before or the day of serving, just because it has fresh berries that could potentially cause the cake to get a little soggy inside. For this event, I completely finished the cake the day before and left it in the refrigerator until the day of. Allow it 30 minutes – 1 hour of time sitting on the counter before serving.
A note about the buttercream
You do not technically need an entire recipe of this buttercream, but you need more than half of the recipe. So I recommend making the whole batch and use the leftovers for something else fun. 🙂
The Recipe
| Servings |
people
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- 1 1/3 heaping cup + 1 Tbsp gluten free all purpose flour Cup 4 Cup brand
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1/2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 egg yolks room temperature
- 1 1/2 eggs room temperature
- 1/4 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 Tbsp strawberry jam
- 12 blackberries washed, dried, sliced in half
- 15 blueberries washed, dried, sliced in half
- 12 raspberries washed, dried, sliced in half
- 3 strawberries washed, dried, sliced into thin pieces
- extra berries, vanilla macarons, fresh mint leaves optional for garnish
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a medium metal bowl and a metal whisk in the freezer to chill. Prepare the cake pans using the shortening + flour + parchment method mentioned in the notes above.
- If you have a stand mixer, use that with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and the sugar and mix on medium to medium-high speed until it is white and starting to get fluffy. This may take 5 minutes.
- Mix the oil and vanilla in a glass measuring cup. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer on to low, and drizzle in the oil and vanilla. Blend on medium to medium-high again until the mixture is very white and fluffy.
- While this is mixing, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
- Once the sugar-oil-butter-vanilla mixture is the right consistency, add in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each one.
- Stop the mixture to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
- Add 1/3 of the flour mixture then mix slowly until incorporated. Add in 1/2 of the buttermilk and mix until just incorporated. Follow with 1/3 more flour, then the rest of the buttermilk, and finally the rest of the flour.
- While the batter is mixing, remove the bowl and whisk from the freezer. Pour in the heavy cream and whisk by hand until soft peaks form.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl of cake batter, then gently fold in the whipped heavy cream.
- Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans, and bake until the center is cooked through. This took around 30-35 minutes, but oven temperatures vary, so keep an eye on it.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pans for about 15 minutes, then gently flip onto cooling racks. Once completely cooled, you can slice in half with a serrated knife (if you used 2 cake pans), to make 4 layers.
- While the cake is cooking, or ahead of time, make the vanilla cream cheese buttercream (recipe below).
- Take one of the layers of cake, and place it on a cake board or cake carrier. I always like to add a dollop of icing onto the cake board or cake carrier first, so that the cake doesn't slide around.
- Add some icing (make sure it is warm enough to spread - maybe a little cooler than room temperature) to the first layer and spread evenly. You'll want about 1/8 inch of icing.
- Then spread 1 Tbsp jam over the buttercream. Then lay some of the sliced berries onto the layer. You'll use 1/3 of them, because you will do this 3 times.
- Add another layer of cake, and repeat with the buttercream, jam, then berries. Then repeat again with another layer of cake, buttercream, jam, and berries.
- Top with the final layer of cake. Carefully add a thin layer of buttercream to the whole outside of the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (this is called the crumb coat).
- Remove from the refrigerator and add on the final layer of buttercream - the amount is up to you.
- Garnish the cake before refrigerating it again with extra berries, fresh mint leaves, and/or vanilla macarons.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
cupcakes
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- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 sticks unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 lbs confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
- 3 Tbsp heavy cream cold
Ingredients
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- Sift confectioner's sugar into a large bowl and set aside. Make sure the cream cheese and butter are properly softened.
- In a stand mixer (or with an electric handheld mixer), beat the cream cheese. Then add the butter, and mix on medium speed until incorporated and has a whipped appearance.
- Mix in the salt and vanilla.
- Gradually add the confectioner's sugar, and beat on medium speed until well incorporated and starts to be fluffy.
- Add the heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time. Beat until lighter, very fluffy, and smooth.
I’m so excited to try this recipe for my sister-in-law’s birthday brunch! It will be my first attempt at gluten free baking, but my SIL has celiacs so I think this recipe will hit the spot! Just wondering…if I wanted to make this a 3 layer cake in 8-9inch pans would you suggest doubling the recipe?
I am so so sorry, Dayna! I hate I did not get back to you sooner. I hope it’s not too late! But the answer to your question is yes, just double the recipe to make a standard size 3-layer cake.
Oh my word – this cake is delicious! I made it for a party for the 4th of July. It was a hit – even with people used to eating gluten filled cakes. It’s a labor of love, but it is so worth it. Thank you for this recipe, Lindsay!!