This light and sweet vanilla cake is made with homemade berry puree and topped with a sweet and tangy lemon cream frosting. It is beautiful and tasty for any occasion.
My third daughter Karmen just turned eleven years old and decided that she wanted to have a tea party with some of her little friends. First thing she started to look at was cakes. She had about 5 different ones she was looking at, but ended up wanting a naked cake. I figured since it was a tea party, that we would want flavors that said ‘tea party’. So we decided on this Vanilla Berry Cake with Lemon Whipped Cream Frosting. Doesn’t that just scream summer tea party? I thought so, even though it was super snowy here that morning, we were taken away to summer for a bit. One of the little girls said it tasted like a strawberry lemonade cake.
Every year my girls get to choose the theme for their birthday party. Birthdays are special at our house and we make sure we celebrate with a little party each year. They get so excited and it is fun to see all of the things they come up with. Here is my sweet Karmen setting up for tea with her friends.
We served this homemade creamy hot chocolate as their ‘tea’, as well as pink lemonade.
I really try my hardest to keep our birthday parties under $100, and it is possible. I found these little tea trays at a thrift store a couple of years ago when Nicea (my 4th) had a tea party. They were only $.50 each! I couldn’t find enough miss-matched teacups or matching ones that weren’t expensive, so we ended up with clear ones. You can get them on Amazon here. I had a set of these fake pearls from a Halloween costume. We found the flower petals, doilies, and napkins at the Dollar Tree.
Let me just say that my favorite party of the party was this vintage tea pot that was my grandmas. I just filled it with a bouquet of flowers at Sam’s Club. I got the tea pot when she passed away. I love it. It made me miss her, but I know she was there with us.
The girls put together a little banner made with paper doilies that were folded in half and put onto a string. They enlisted daddy’s help to hang it.
For the food table we just set up the background with some crepe paper that we had and a cute little banner that I printed off here. I also printed all of the ‘Eat Me’ and ‘Drink Me’ labels.(Thank you Happy Homebird.)
Our menu was chicken salad sandwiches (recipe coming soon), fresh fruit, potato chips, mini eclairs, cream puffs, mini cheesecakes, chocolate dipped strawberries, chocolate dipped wafers, and of course. . . the birthday cake.
One thing that is fun is that my girls love to help and prepare for their parties. They are great helpers in the kitchen and are learning a lot. They dipped all of the wafer cookies and Larissa made strawberries into teapots. I enjoy watching their creativity in the kitchen.
Knowing that I had to make and decorate a birthday cake made me realize that I did not want to make any other things. So Sam’s Club to the rescue for the pastries.
I did however make the chicken salad sandwiches and they were completely devoured. Not one sandwich left. I made 30 of them. There were only 12 little girls.
I think it’s safe to say that they liked them.
Larissa is quite the little hostess and poured tea all afternoon.
The joys of having a toddler. Found her under the table with a stash of chocolate.
This is my cute mom Sylvia and my oldest daughter. This picture makes me smile.
To decorate the cake I just used some flowers from the bouquet that I got. We also made a mini little bunting banner and bought this cute miniature tea set and table and chairs from Michaels. Larissa made a mini cake for the table out of polymer clay. It was seriously adorable.
You know what else was adorable? This girl!
We ended the party with gifts and making bracelets. The girls had a great time and my Karmen said it was the best day ever.
Let me just say that cord bracelets take longer than expected. Good thing Larissa went to girls camp and knew how to make them, otherwise they would have gone home with just strings.
Obviously someone rubbed up against the chalk art. I love this board, we change it out all of the time. I am not a chalk artist at all, but it’s fun to try.
Now onto the recipe. On the recipe it says to add 5-6 tablespoons of puree to the cake and then swirl it, I wish I would have done a little more. I also wish I would have used more of the frosting in the centers because it was delicious. I made the cake the night before and just stored it in the refrigerator until we needed it. As you can see, I decorated with flowers but topping it with fresh berries will be so pretty.
We enjoyed it so much that we didn’t even get a picture of what it looks like cut. It’s pretty. You can see all of the cream layers and fruit swirls. It was delicious and I hope you enjoy it.
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- 4 large eggs separated
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup whole milk you can also use 2%
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 cup strawberries hulled
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 8 oz container whipped cream cheese
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest about the zest of 2 large lemons
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup raspberries
- 1/2 cup strawberries sliced and hulled
Ingredients
Berry Vanilla Cake
Berry Puree
Lemon Whipped Cream
Topping
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- In a blender or food processor, puree strawberries, raspberries, and sugar together. With a sieve, drain the puree to remove all of the seeds (if you do not mind seeds, you can skip this step). Set aside. (You should have about 1 cup of puree).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease three 9" cake pans.
- Separate the 4 eggs and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add in vegetable oil and beat for another minute.
- Gradually add in sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating until well combined. Add in egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla extract, and sour cream.
- Alternately add dry and wet ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
- Beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gently fold egg whites into the cake batter until completely combined.
- Divide batter evenly in cake pans.
- Dollop 5-6Tbsp of puree in each cake pan, using a toothpick or knife to swirl the puree with the batter.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool.
- With a mixer on high, beat heavy whipping cream until it begins to thicken. Add in lemon zest, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract, and beat until soft peaks form.
- Add whipped cream cheese to the whipped cream, and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Once cakes are cooled, remove from the cake pans. Place the bottom layer on a flat plate or cake stand and top with about 1 cup of lemon whipped cream, spreading almost to the edges. Place a few raspberries and strawberries evenly throughout the cream.
- Place the second layer on top and top with about 1 cup of lemon whipped cream, spreading almost to the edges, and add raspberries and strawberries.
- Place the final layer on top and spread the remaining whipped cream on top.
- If any of the cream has come out of the sides of the cake, use a spatula to smooth the cream around the cake.
- Top with fresh strawberries and raspberries.
- Enjoy!
The whipped cream frosting is stabilized with the addition of cream cheese, so it can be left out at room temperature for a few hours. Leftovers (or if the cake is being prepared the night before) should be stored in the fridge
Recipe adapted by ALatteFood
Tools I used for this recipe. You can purchase any of these by clicking on photo.
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