This Fresh Berry Vanilla Layered Cake is light, fruity and the perfect dessert for sharing! It’s also easy to make and with the red and blue, it’s prefect for the Fourth of July!
This post is sponsored by Driscoll’s Berries, but all opinions are my own.
Summer is one of my favorite times of year. There are fresh berries galore and they’re all on sale! I love getting them not only for snacking, but for desserts. Berry-filled desserts are easily some of the hubs and I’s favorites. And I always know that Driscoll’s is a great brand of berries that I can trust to be delicious!
So of course I was excited to join them in sharing Driscoll’s Food Art and creating the picture perfect plate. I’ve mentioned before how fruit is nature’s art and that could not be truer than with berries. There are so many fun ways to use them to decorate food. Such a great thing to do with kids too.
In the case of this cake, I used strawberries and blueberries and made a big beautiful berry flower on top of the berry-filled cake. I was totally in love with the look of it. So bright, beautiful and summery.
One of my favorite looks for a cake is the naked look. I love being able to see the pretty layers and being naked, it’s even easier to put together, since you don’t have to worry about icing it.
For the layers of this cake, we’ve got a light vanilla cake, whipped cream and fresh Driscoll’s berries. And to take it up a notch, holes are poked into the cake layers and then strawberry and blueberry puree is poured over them. It adds even more berry flavor to every bite and makes the cake layers extra moist! Plus, it adds some extra color to the inside of the cake when you cut into it.
And don’t be intimidated by the big fruit flower on top. That’s probably the easiest way you could decorate a cake. Strawberries are sliced and placed around the outside of the cake in three rows, then the center of the flower is filled in with blueberries. The effect is striking, don’t you think?
This is a great cake for sharing with a group of friends. It makes a statement of it’s own and it’s a light treat that’s perfect for the warm weather. My parents have friends over every July 4th for dessert and if you’re anything like them, I know this cake could be the perfect dessert to share.
Also, if you are looking for other fun berry desserts, you can check out Driscoll’s recipe page. And if you have a love of berry fruit art, be sure to enter the Driscoll’s sweepstakes. Just create your own treat, upload a photo and tag it to win.
More Berry-Filled Treats
- Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake
- Strawberry and Blueberry Cheesecake Icebox Cake
- Triple Berry Trifle
- Strawberry Cream Pie
- Strawberry Bread
Fresh Berry Vanilla Layered Cake
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Ingredients
Cake
- 1 1/2 cups (310g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (168g) salted butter (room temp)
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (173g) sour cream
- 6 large egg whites
- 2 1/2 cups (325g) all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
Strawberry Puree
- 1/2 cup (120ml) strawberry puree (from about 6 medium-large Driscoll’s strawberries)
- 5 tbsp (75ml) water
- 4 tsp granulated sugar
Blueberry Puree
- 1/4 cup (60ml) blueberry puree (from about 2/3 cup of Driscoll’s blueberries)
- 2 1/2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
Whipped Cream and Topping
- 2 1/2 cups (600ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/4 cups (144g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Additional strawberries and blueberries for flower on top*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Prepare three 8 inch cake pans by placing parchment paper circles in the bottom of the pans and greasing the sides.
- Cream butter and sugar together until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add sour cream and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add egg whites in two batches, beating until well combined after each addition.
- Combine flour and baking powder in another bowl.
- Alternating adding dry ingredients and milk to batter, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat until smooth after each addition. There should be three additions of dry ingredients and two additions of the milk.
- Divide cake batter evenly between the three cake pans and bake for 23-26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs.
- Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool for 3-5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- While cakes cool, make the purees. You’ll make the strawberry puree mixture separately from the blueberry one and have more strawberry than blueberry. To puree the berries, add them separately to a food processor and pulse until smooth.
- Add the water and sugar to the strawberry puree and stir until combined. Repeat with the blueberry puree. Set both aside.
- To make whipped cream, whip heavy whipping cream until it begins to thicken.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and whip until stiff peaks form.
- To stack the cake, first remove the domes from the cakes with a large serrated knife. Then, use a small straw, or something similar, to poke holes in the top of each cake.
- Place the first layer of cake on your cake plate. Spread half of the strawberry puree over the cake, so that it soaks into the holes.
- Top cake with a layer of whipped cream. You’ll use about 2 cups of whipped cream per layer.
- Top the whipped cream with blueberries and sliced strawberries.
- Repeat layers 14-16 with the second layer of cake using the blueberry puree, whipped cream and berries.
- Top the cake with the last layer of cake, using the other half of the strawberry puree, then spread with remaining whipped cream.
- Slice remaining strawberries for use on the top of the cake to make the flower.
- To make the flower, place slices of strawberries around the top edge of the cake, allowing the bottoms of the “petals” to touch. Make three rows of slices, overlapping them.
- Fill in the center of the flower with blueberries.
- Refrigerate cake until ready to use. Best if eaten within 2 days of making.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Enjoy!
Hi there. Cake looks beautiful! I’m planning on making this for my son’s birthday. You think the whip cream and cake will hold up in the refrigerator over night? I would hate to make this the day before and have it flatten out overnight for the party.: Thank you!!!
Yes it should hold up fine. Just be sure to use all the powdered sugar listed in the whipped cream. It’s a stabilizer for it.
Hello there, I was looking through the directions of this cake recipe and was wondering what the height of the 8 inch pan is that you used for this cake.
Thank you,
Madeline
It’s 8×2 inches.
Can you use Light sour cream?
That should be fine. The lower fat content should be ok.
Hi!! This cake looks amazing, I just finished making the cake part. Unfortunately my edges did not brown beautifully like yours, all the cakes are super pale all around. Any advice to fix this?? Since frosting won’t be covering the edges I want it to look pretty! (I did also use cake strips around my pans while baking to keep the cakes level, this may have had an effect…
The cake strips could be the reason. Since not as much heat reaches the sides of the pan, they may not brown as much.
Just to clarify, does the blueberry purée have sugar, too? I wasn’t sure as directions say add blueberry purée and 1 tsp blueberries. Planning to make this for my moms birthday. Thank you!
Gosh, I’m surprised nobody has pointed that out before! Yes, that should be sugar. I’ve updated it. Thank you!
Wow! Can I substitute plain yogurt for sour cream?
And if I used unsalted butter, how much salt would I need to add to the cake? And when would I add it?
You’d use 1/2 tsp of salt and add it in with the dry ingredients. Enjoy!
I think people do that with success. I usually find that it alters the texture and moisture of cakes a bit, but you could try it.
Hey Lindsay , love love your website!!!!
You have a talent for making food look like an art piece , this cake is so beautiful it belongs in a art gallery. I would love to make this cake for my 23rd birthday, quick question for the purees can you use frozen and thawed fruit instead of fresh?
Thanks Courtney
Hi Courtney! Thank you! Yes I think frozen fruit would be fine. Just try to drain as much of the water from the frozen fruit as you can. Happy Birthday!
This is gorgeous Lindsay!! I love Driscoll’s, the perfect berry!
I never comment on blogs or recipes but this cake and the lemon cake was amazing and a huge hit with my boys and my family. I can’t wait for more from you.
Thank you so much Holly! I’m so glad you enjoyed them both!
So much beautiful fruit! What a gorgeous dessert. I just adore layer cakes!
This is the perfect way to enjoy a cake in the summer time!
Hi Lindsay. I love your site. I attempted my first try at your recipes this evening. We are celebrating our grandaughter’s first Birthday and I opted to make the cupcakes. I made the lemon blueberry and the fresh strawberry cupcakes. Unfortunately they did not turn out for me. I combined everything together and mixed it but my butter did not marry up too well with the rest of the ingredients resulting in my cupcake cups saturated with melted butter. Was I supposed to mix the butter with the sugar and then add the balance…..wet and the dry? Also, the blueberries did not sit on the bottom, they were throughout. Heeeelllppp! I love your recipes and I have many more to try, but I need to know where I went wrong. Thanks Lindsay!
Hi Gina, I’m sorry you had trouble. It’s hard to diagnose a problem from afar, but you could try melting the butter before adding it to the batter to help get rid of the lumps.
Hey I’m going to make this cake for my friend’s birthday. I want to cover it with fondant. Is it a good idea? I’m worried that the fondant will melt and it will ruin my cake but I’m not completely sure.
I don’t really work with much fondant, but I probably wouldn’t suggest using a cake that has a whipped cream filling for a fondant cake.
Hi is it 350 Celsius or Fahrenheit please
Fahrenheit
This cake is SO gorgeous! I love the naked cake look, too! 🙂
This looks delicious! Not clear though when and how the purees are used. Please clarify so I can make this for July 4.
Thanks for letting me know Marilyn. I’ve updated the instructions to make that clear. 🙂
That looks just perfect for the fourth of july! Fresh berry desserts are the best in summer 🙂
It’s July 4th perfection! Love how the fresh berries act as all the decoration you need!