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Overhead view of a round gluten-free layer cake frosted in pale violet American buttercream and decorated with fresh blackberries arranged in a circle around the perimeter with a cluster of berries in the center. Piped buttercream stars and small flower shapes edge the top border. The cake sits on a wooden cake turntable on an oak dining table.
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Gluten-Free Lavender Blackberry Cake

Course: Dessert
Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

Lavender Syrup

  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 3-4 tbsp culinary lavender

Cake

  • 2.5 cups King Arthur Measure-for-Measure gluten-free flour
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 4 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 cup milk whole milk
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 4 tbsp butter unsalted
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 3-4 tbsp culinary lavender
  • 1 jar Bonne Maman blackberry preserves
  • 1 pint fresh blackberries rinsed and dried

Goat Cheese Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 cup unflavored goat cheese
  • 1 cup butter unsalted
  • 4-5 cups powdered sugar or icing sugar
  • 1 each lemon zest
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

Lavender Syrup

    Make this first so it has time to steep and cool while you make the cake.
  • Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan over med-high heat.
  • Remove from the heat and add the culinary lavender.
  • Let cool to room temperature.

Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 325F
  • Lightly butter 2 8" round cake pans and line the bottom of the pans with parchment rounds if you have them. 
  • In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer (barely bubbling around the edges).
  • Add the lavender, butter, and oil and remove from the heat. Set aside to steep.
  • Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and set aside. 
  • Beat the eggs and sugar in a mixer until thick and creamy and light gold in color. The mixture should fall in ribbons from the whisk or beaters. 
  • Add the dry ingredients to the mixture in the bowl and mix — by hand or on low speed of a mixer — just enough to combine. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then mix again briefly, to fully incorporate any residual flour or sticky bits.
  • Strain the lavender out of the milk mixtures and then slowly mix the lavender milk/butter/oil into the batter, stirring on low speed of a mixer until everything is just smooth. 
  • Divide the batter evenly between the two pans.
  • Bake about 35 to 40 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. If you're using an instant-read thermometer (highly recommend this) the internal temperature of the cake should be 210F. 
  • Let the cakes cool in the pan for 15 mins and then turn out onto a rack and let them cool to room temp.
  • Once the cakes are completely cool, brush them with the lavender syrup. Be generous. The syrup is doing double duty: adding more lavender flavor and also adding moisture to the cakes. Gluten free cakes can be dry and sandy in texture and this really helps.
  • Wrap the cakes tightly in plastic and refrigerate them overnight or at least for a couple of hours. This helps set the crumb and let the flavor develop. A chilled cake is also easier to frost.

Goat Cheese Buttercream Frosting

  • Mix the goat cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
  • Add the lemon zest and the lemon juice and mix for another minute or two
  • Add in the powdered sugar a cup at a time until each batch is fully mixed in.
  • Begin tasting after the 3rd cup. When the frosting reaches the desired sweetness and texture, stop adding sugar.
  • Mix the frosting for 2-3 more minutes until light and airy and fluffy.
  • The frosting can be refrigerated overnight and brought to room temperature the next day or it can be used immediately.

Assembly

  • Start the first layer (the crumb coat) while the cake is still cold from the fridge.
  • Spread a thin coat of frosting on the top and sides of the bottom layer of cake.
  • Pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of this layer. This is the "moat" that will hold the filling in.
  • Fill the moat with Bonne Maman blackberry preserves.
  • Set the top layer and crumb coat the whole cake.
  • Return the cake to the fridge for 15-20 mins.
  • While the cake is chilling, you can tint the top layer of frosting if desired: crush 2-4 blackberries and strain the seeds out using a mesh sieve. Add the juice to the remaining frosting until you get the desired color.
  • Frost the whole cake, smoothing the frosting with a spatula.
  • Decorate the cake: pipe stars or flowers if desired. Then arrange the berries on top however your hands and patience allow.
  • If you're feeling fancy, you can roll the damp berries in superfine sugar and let them dry slightly before adding them to the cake.