This cake is made of Lemon Honey Cake layers, filled with two layers of Blackberry Jam and one of Lemon Curd. Covered in Honey Blackberry Buttercream. We also use honey to make the jam and the curd, which gives this cake floral and nutty honey notes through all elements, in each bite.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cake
Prep Time 2 hourshours
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Total Time 2 hourshours20 minutesminutes
Servings 10people
Calories 300kcal
Author Camila Hurst
Ingredients
Lemon Honey Cake
2cupsall-purpose flour9 oz, 255 grams
1tspbaking powder
1/4tspbaking soda
1/4tspfine sea salt
1/2cupunsalted buttersoftened (4 oz, 113 grams)
3tbspoilvegetable oil such as canola, avocado, grapeseed (45 ml)
1/2cuphoney120 ml
3eggs
1tspvanilla extract
3/4cupmilk180 ml
1/4cuplemon juice60 ml
3tbsplemon zest
Blackberry Jam
3cupsblackberries
3tbsphoney
2tbsplemon juice
1tbsplemon zest
3tspcornstarch
3tspwater
Lemon Curd
3tablespoonslemon zest
1/4cuplemon juice
1/3cupgranulated sugar66 grams, 2.3 oz
3tablespoonsunsalted butter room temperature42 grams, 1.5 oz
2large eggs
1/8teaspoonsalt
Honey Blackberry Buttercream
12ozunsalted butterroom temperature (1 1/2 cup, 340 grams)
8ozcream cheesesoftened (1 cup, 256 grams)
1/3cuphoney
5 to 6cupspowdered sugar625 to 750 grams, 22 to 26 oz
3tbspblackberry jamstrained or not
Instructions
Lemon Honey Cake
Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Line 4-6” round cake pans with parchment, and grease the bottom with oil spray. Or butter and flour the cake pans. Set aside.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
Cream the butter and the oil with an electric mixer for 1 minute.
Add the honey and cream for another minute on medium-high.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium, and waiting for one egg to be incorporated before adding the next one.
Add the vanilla and stir.
Pour the milk, the lemon juice, and the lemon zest in the bowl. Stir gently.
Finally add the sifted dry ingredients, and mix until combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the cake. Also, you can check by touching the top of the cake gently with your finger, if it springs right back, it means the cake is done.
Remove the cakes from the oven. After 10 minutes flip them onto a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before frosting.
The cake layers can be made up to 2 days ahead, wrapped in plastic and kept very well packaged in the fridge.
Blackberry Jam
Place the blackberries, honey, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook, while stirring often, for about 20 minutes. If the mixture is getting dry and sticking to the bottom of the pan, add a little bit of water, and considering lowering the heat.
Cook until the blackberries are soft and falling apart.
Mix the cornstarch with the water until completely dissolved, and pour over the blackberry mixture.
Immediately begin stirring, and let the jam come to a boil, until it becomes thick, for 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat and pour the jam into a bowl.
Let it cool and place it in the fridge for at least 2 hours before using.
As you are making the jam, consider straining about 3 tbsp of jam and saving the liquid to put on the buttercream later on, if you don’t want to use jam with seeds in the buttercream.
Lemon Curd
Cream the butter at medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer. Slowly add the sugar and lemon zest to the butter, and keep creaming at medium speed for one minute, until the mixture is light in color and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, waiting until one egg has been completely incorporated before adding the next one.
Add salt. And finally, add the lemon juice, and stir on low speed.
Pour mixture in a small sauce pan and cook it over medium-low heat, while stirring nonstop.
You are looking for a very thick and creamy curd. Don’t stop stirring, don’t look away. And don’t let it actually come to a boil.
The temperature of the curd should be reaching 170F.
When that happens, remove from heat and pour into a heat proof bowl.
Let it cool completely, refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
STORAGE: The shelf life of lemon curd will be up to 1 week in the fridge, and up to 3 months in the freezer, if well protected
Blackberry Buttercream
Cream the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add the honey and continue to cream for another minute.
Sift the powdered sugar and add to the butter/cream cheese/honey mixture.
Stir on low until combined.
Raise speed and cream until fluffy.
Add the jam and stir.
When adding the powdered sugar, add only 5 cups, and then continue to add the remaining cup (or more) to adjust the consistency.
If the buttercream is too runny, add more powdered sugar to make it stiffer. And if the buttercream is too stiff, add 1/2 tsp of water or milk to thin it out.
To assemble
Place one cake layer on a cake plate.
Pipe a ring of buttercream around the edges of the cake.
Fill the middle with about 1/4 cup of Blackberry jam.
Top with another cake layer.
Pipe a ring of buttercream around the edges of the next layer.
Fill the middle with 1/4 cup of Lemon Curd.
Top with another cake layer. Repeat the process, and fill it with Blackberry Jam.
Top with the final cake layer.
Spread a thin layer of the buttercream over the cake.
Place the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes. This process is called crumb coating and it helps seal the cake crumbs in the cake, so the crumbs don’t show on the final frosting coating.
Remove the cake from the fridge, and frost it with another layer of frosting.
Storage
Store this cake in the fridge for up to 5 days, make sure to cover the cake so it doesn’t dry out.
To make this cake into an 8” cake, use 2-8” cake pans, but you won’t be able to have 2 layers of Blackberry Jam filling, only one of the jam filling, and one filled with the Lemon Curd. To make 3-8” layers, make 1.5 recipes of the cake, by simply multiplying each measurement by 1.5. Time baking will vary, and might take longer to bake the 8” cakes. Check for doneness by reading the tips above.
Notes
To make this cake into an 8” cake, use 2-8” cake pans, but you won’t be able to have 2 layers of Blackberry Jam filling, only one of the jam filling, and one filled with the Lemon Curd. To make 3-8” layers, make 1.5 recipes of the cake, by simply multiplying each measurement by 1.5. Time baking will vary, and might take longer to bake the 8” cakes. Check for doneness by reading the tips above.