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This Blackberry cake is soft and moist and has a fluffy lemon blackberry buttercream frosting. The lemon juice cuts the sweetness and brightens up the whole cake. You’ll enjoy every bite as it hits your taste buds; sweet, tart and tangy. And of course the fresh blackberries were plump, juicy and wonderful!
I made this blackberry cake for my niece’s birthday and it was…good and so pretty (with decor inspiration from Allie)! Then I kept working on the cake, adding more lemon and the results were fantastic. Thankfully another niece was having a birthday the following weekend so it became her birthday cake.
This was much safer than leaving the cake at home with me, alone – with just the cake and I – and a fork. No one even noticed that I had taken out a slice to photograph it and then carefully replaced it and patched the frosting #smooth. My family was completely smitten with this cake!
Blackberry Cake Ingredients:
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour *measured correctly
1/2 tsp baking powder
Simple Lemon Syrup:
3/4 cup warm water
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
4 Tbsp Lemon Juice (from 1 large lemon)
Blackberry Frosting Ingredients:
3 cups powdered sugar
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz Cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/2 tsp salt (I used fine sea salt)
2 packages (6 ounces each) blackberries, divided (1 cup for frosting, 1 cup sliced for layers, 6 berries for decor).
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice from 1 medium lemon
Crystal sprinkles, optional
How to Make the Blackberry Cake:
Watch the video before you get started:
Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line bottoms of two 9″ cake pans with parchment paper (do not grease the sides).
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment (this is the one I have), beat 6 large eggs for 1 minute on high speed. With the mixer on, gradually add 1 cup sugar and continue beating 8-10 minutes until thick and fluffy.
2. Whisk together 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder then sift this mixture into fluffy egg mixture one third at a time. Fold with a spatula with each addition just until incorporated. Scrape spatula from the bottom to catch any pockets of flour and stop mixing when no streaks of flour remain. Do not over-mix or you will deflate the batter.
3. Divide evenly between prepared cake pans (it helps if you have a kitchen scale to weight the pans). Bake at 350˚F for 23-28 minutes (my oven took 25 min), or until top is golden brown. Remove from pan by sliding a thin spatula (here’s the one I love for cakes) around the edges then transfer to a wire rack and remove parchment backing. Cool cakes to room temperature then slice layers equally in half with a serrated knife.
How to Make Lemon Blackberry Frosting:
1. Combine 2 Tbsp lemon juice with 1 cup blackberries in small saucepan. Simmer 6-7 minutes or until berries easily mash up with a fork then turn off heat. Strain through a fine mesh Strainer, pushing the blackberries through with a spatula until only seeds are left in strainer. Discard seeds and set the puree aside to cool completely to room temp (you should get 5 Tbsp puree).
2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, cream together 3 sticks butter, 3 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp salt on low speed until combined, scraping as necessary. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until white and fluffy (2 to 3 min).
3. Add cream cheese 1-piece at a time and mix until combined then continue to beat 2 min until fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed. With the mixer on, drizzle in blackberry syrup 1 Tbsp at a time then beat another minute.
How to Assemble Blackberry Cake:
1. Slice 1 cup blackberries and set aside. Make your lemon syrup by combining 3/4 cup warm water, 1 Tbsp granulated sugar and 4 Tbsp Lemon Juice.
2. Place first cake layer on serving platter cut-side up. Brush with 1/4 of the lemon syrup. Spread frosting over the top and layer with 1/3 sliced berries. Repeat with remaining layers placing the final layer cut-side-down, then frost the top and sides. (Tip: For the smoothest results, reserve flattest cake-layer for the top)
3. Pipe remaining frosting onto cake. For the roses, I used a closed star Wilton 2D tip (here’s a tutorial I created awhile back for how to pipe frosting roses). Decorate with remaining blackberries. I sprinkled with sugar crystals since it was my niece’s princess party birthday cake :).
Blackberry Cake Recipe

Ingredients
Cake Ingredients:
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
Simple Lemon Syrup:
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 4 Tbsp Lemon Juice, from 1 large lemon
Blackberry Frosting Ingredients:
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3 sticks, 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 oz Cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp salt, I used fine sea salt
- 12 oz blackberries
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice from 1 medium lemon
- Crystal sprinkles, optional
Instructions
Prep: Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line bottoms of two 9" cake pans with parchment paper (do not grease the sides).
How to Make the Cake:
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat 6 large eggs 1 min on high speed. With the mixer on, gradually add 1 cup sugar and continue beating 8-10 min until thick and fluffy.
- Whisk together 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder then sift this mixture into fluffy egg mixture one third at a time. Fold with a spatula with each addition just until incorporated. Scrape spatula from the bottom to catch any pockets of flour and stop mixing when no streaks of flour remain. Do not over-mix or you will deflate the batter.
- Divide evenly between prepared cake pans and bake at 350˚F for 23-28 minutes (my oven took 25 min), or until top is golden brown. Remove from pan by sliding a thin spatula around the edges then transfer to a wire rack and remove parchment backing. Cool cakes to room temp then slice layers equally in half with a serrated knife.
How to Make Lemon Blackberry Frosting:
- Combine 2 Tbsp lemon juice with 1 cup blackberries in small saucepan. Simmer 6-7 minutes or until berries easily mash up with a fork then turn off heat. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, pushing the blackberries through with a spatula until only seeds are left in strainer. Discard seeds and set the puree aside to cool completely to room temp (you should get 5 Tbsp puree).
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, cream together 3 sticks butter, 3 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp salt on low speed until combined, scraping as necessary. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until white and fluffy (2 to 3 min).
- Add cream cheese 1-piece at a time and mix until combined then continue to beat 2 min until fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed. With the mixer on, drizzle in blackberry syrup 1 Tbsp at a time then beat another minute.
How to Assemble Blackberry Cake:
- Slice 1 cup blackberries and set aside. Make your lemon syrup by combining 3/4 cup warm water, 1 Tbsp granulated sugar and 4 Tbsp Lemon Juice.
- Place first cake layer on serving platter cut-side up **. Brush with 1/4 of the lemon syrup. Spread frosting over the top and layer with 1/3 sliced berries. Repeat with remaining layers placing the final layer cut-side-down, then frost the top and sides.
- Pipe remaining frosting onto cake. For the roses, use a closed star Wilton 2D tip. Decorate with remaining blackberries and sprinkle sugar crystals if desired.
Notes
**Tip: For the smoothest results, reserve flattest cake-layer for the top)
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Agh got everything to make it except parchment paper.. what can I do instead?
Hi Erica, it is best to have parchment paper with this sponge cake otherwise it will be very difficult to remove from the pan and it’s not recommended to grease the sides because the cake will pull away from the sides and you won’t achieve as flat of a cake layer. I’ve used wax paper before but with wax paper you have to remove it from the cake right away after it’s out of the oven or it will stick to the bottom like crazy.
Thanks I actually greased some foil with butter and it turned out good! Also used raspberries instead everybody loved it!!
Looks beautiful! I would like to try it as cupcakes. Any idea on bake time/temp to do that? Thanks!
Hi Amy, This cake is not ideal for cupcakes. Since it does not have any fat in it, it will stick to the cupcake liners badly and will be difficult to pry off. I recommend trying this cupcake base instead.
Oh thank you natasha for this beautiful and delicious cake! I made it last night and not even one piece was left(: the blackberries and lemon accent did wonders for this cake. Was not overly sweet .. It was perfect. God bless your hard work and am waiting for more always (;
I’m so happy you loved it. Thank you for the wonderful review and your sweet comment. God bless you also! 🙂
Natashenka,
Thank you so very much for all the recipes they really help me out especially since I’m still getting used to cooking/ baking in marriage lol. This cake looks amazing I can’t wait to try it!!! By the way I’m in love with the shop 🙂 so much stuff I don’t want to go look for at the store, it’s so nice to find them right here!
Awesome!! I’m so happy to hear you like it and find it useful :). My husband has spent many hours on it also putting in the items one by one as we think of them. I’ll be sure to share your comment with him 🙂
Just wanted to share I used mascarpone instead if cream cheese and skipped the butter… Oh my! It was so good! Attached is the pic of my cake, it doesn’t look fancy but is so yummy , thanks a lot!
P s I can’t download my picture
Thank you so much for sharing that with me! How much mascarpone did you use for the recipe? Did everything else stay the same? I love that idea – and it’s even healthier than buttercream! Unfortunately there’s no way to attach pictures on my site. Do you have a facebook account, maybe you could share a picture on my Facebook page? I’d love to see it!
re: blackberry cake, can I used frozen blackberries to make this cake?
Hi Stella, I think fresh is best but thawed frozen blackberries would probably work.
I am so excited to make this!! I always wait for new cake recipes. Hope my decor looks just as nice
Let me know how it turns out Irene 😀. Have a great weekend.
I can’t wait to make this for Mothers’ Day! Quick question, though, since there is cream cheese, does the cake need to be stored in the refrigerator?
Yes, it’s best to store it in the refrigerator. The cream cheese also keeps the frosting from becoming hard after refrigeration like most butter creams do and it complements the blackberry flavor nicely.
Natasha, your cake looks delicious! I’m a big fan of yours! Wanted to ask, what size of pans did you use for this cake? Is it 9-inch? Thank you.
Hi Lana, yes it is a 9-inch pan.
hi i was wondering of you have a marinated eggplant recipe or maybe post one in the near future? i can’t find good directions on how to make them. =) i just love your website, bookmarked it too & thought maybe i should ask.
Hi Lily, Some folks haven’t seen it before so I figured its worth mentioning 🙂 On my recipe index page, if you click ingredient (or scroll down to ingredient section), you will find a listing of all the ingredients used on my blog. If you click on eggplant you get this (all of the recipes with eggplant). I don’t know if these are anything you are looking for. I hope that helps for the future! 🙂
hi thank you for the response but i was looking for a recipe in a jar. one of your recipes with the eggplants looks good so i will try that. =)
Wow Natasha another beautiful cake creation must try on my to bake list after Passover totally perfect for mothers day a lot of times I usual make her a nice hearty delish brunch and I think this cake would definitely go well btw love the video tutorial on how to make rose creations thanx lots for the tip will probably watch again just to get the hang of it oh my word ur son was so little then love how u guys say prayers before eating just like this Jewish chica beautiful blessings to you and your whole family tho I do have a question with the lemon syrup would I be able to add some alcohol like rum or brandy
Hi Tzivia! I know it! He was so little in that video. I love watching that video just to see him in it. It makes me so glad that I included him :). I haven’t tried it with alcohol since the lemon juice provides a great contrast to the sweetness. I’m not sure if the fruit, lemon juice and alcohol would meld well together. Are you thinking about using it just in the soaking syrup? If so, I would omit the lemon juice from the soaking syrup.
Yea that’s how it goes gurl these kiddies they r lil munchkins and then b4 ya know it they grow so very fast I still can’t believe that my g-d daughter is 13 and in a few years she will be six feet she’s already taller than me yup videos can be gr8 memories too I’ll probably watch the tutorial again just to get my drink on lol ok so I I’ll leave out the alcohol and stick with the lemon juice I love lemons and so does my mom gotta remember to print this cake recipein general your recipes have been such a major big time saver healthwise and time wise too keep them coming luv cheers
I’m so happy you’re enjoying my recipes. Thanks Tzivia! 🙂
Hello Natasha, thank you for this recipe! Looks delicious and I have to try it. Do you think if I can substitute cream cheese for mascarpone ? And use 2 butter sticks instead of 3? Thank you!
I haven’t tried those substitutions but my guess is that the frosting won’t be as easy to pipe – it will be more loose with mascarpone since it is a softer product than cream cheese. I have tried with 2 sticks butter and it doesn’t stay as firm as when using 3. Keep in mind you need to add blackberry syrup which softens the frosting so if you are starting with a base that is loose, it will just be difficult to pipe. It could work but I haven’t tested it that way to say how well it would work.
Natasha,
The cake looks amazing! I love the coarse sugar detailing. Your frosting reminded me of her cup of joy’s fresh raspberry buttercream using fresh raspberries instead. How does fresh berry cream hold up? Just beautiful.
Ofcourse now I have to go check out her recipe… mmm that sounds lovely! It looks like she doesn’t use cream cheese, but cream cheese compliments the flavor of blackberries nicely. Thank you for the compliment! 🙂
Beautiful cake. Looks divine! Perfect for the upcoming Mother’s Day gift! Thank you!
Thank you so much :). It would be lovely for Mother’s Day! 🙂
The cake looks delicious!!! I really like how you made the roses different sizes and only one side. Very modern and elegant. I pinned it, can’t wait to try it.
Do you think it Would work with other berries as well? Any changes you would recommend?
Hi Estera, I think it would work really well with raspberries too. If using raspberries, you might tone down the lemon juice slightly since raspberries are naturally a little more tart than blackberries.
This cake looks sensational! Love the color and the beautiful decorations on top! You do classically beautiful better than anyone!
You’re so nice! Thank you 🙂 that’s quite a compliment!
What a gorgeous cake!! I love blackberries and always get excited when there are fruit tarts or cheesecakes topped with blackberries. That frosting must be so good. 🙂
I do love blackberries on dessert also! They are so striking both in how they look and taste. Thanks Kate! 🙂
That looks so pretty and I’m sure it is delicious! Wonderful job! 🙂
Thank you so much! 🙂
Hi Natasha, the cake looks delicious! Do you know how tall the cake stands?
I didn’t measure it, but I believe it was between 3″ to 3 1/2″
How beautiful does this cake look!. I’m a tellin ya, the photography gets better with each recipe. Love it.
Great cake for Mother’s Day! 🙂
Pinned!!
Thank you so much Valentina! That’s quite a compliment 🙂 and thank you so much for pinning! I agree, it would be a good one for Mother’s Day! 🙂