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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
Fresh Berry Vanilla Layered Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 26 minutes
- Total Time: 56 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
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!
Ingredients
CAKE
- 1 1/2 cups (310g) 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 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 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
*You’ll l need a total of 1 pint of blueberries and about 1 1/2 pounds of strawberries for the full cake – the puree, fruits layers, and fruit flower topping
Keywords: vanilla layer cake recipe, vanilla cake recipe, berry dessert recipe, patriotic desserts, 4th of July dessert recipe
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!