The time has come for the final recipe in my FELLOWSHIP OF BAKERS & MAGIC menu! I feel like it’s flown by—maybe because it’s been so fun to make an entire menu full of desserts! I haven’t gotten to do this since my CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY menu in 2018.

Today I’m making Arleta’s competition piece: vanilla cake with blackberry jam filling and cream cheese frosting. In the story, Arleta actually makes a last minute change to her cake that affects the final ruling of the competition, but I’m making her submission as she originally planned so as not to spoil the surprise for anyone who hasn’t read the book yet.

I imagine Arleta made a large cake, since it was meant to feed not just the judges but also all the competition attendees. However, as I write this my family is still drowning in Easter treats, so I decided to scale mine down to a six-inch cake. I used my own vanilla cake recipe for the layers, and I used Joy the Baker’s frosting recipe prepped using a technique from Handle the Heat for improved stability. The filling is a spin on my previously posted seedless blackberry jam recipe—this time with fresh rosemary infused in the jam!

I love how this one turned out. I like the rosemary-blackberry jam even more than the basil-raspberry curd I made for the first recipe in this menu (and I liked that one a LOT). I used just enough rosemary to ground the blackberry flavor without overpowering it, giving it a warm, rich taste. I never would have thought to pair it with cream cheese frosting, but it’s a brilliant combo. The creamy richness of the frosting complements the tartness of the jam in a way that creates a well-balanced bite. I’m often content with trying one slice of each of my cakes before giving the rest away, but I kept coming back for this one. It might even beat out the hazelnut honey cake I made in 2023 as my new favorite cake.

I hope you had fun on this culinary journey through A FELLOW OF BAKERS & MAGIC with me. I hear there’s a sequel called A FELLOWSHIP OF LIBRARIANS & DRAGONS, and it stars my favorite character from BAKERS & MAGIC: Doli Butterbuckle, a dwarf who loves tea. If her story has some tasty treats, maybe I’ll make a menu for it too!

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Vanilla Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Rosemary-Infused Blackberry Jam Filling

“Her mind crystallized with her baking plan: a multi-layered vanilla cake with cream cheese frosting, generously filled with rosemary-infused blackberry jam. The top would be piled high with juicy, fresh blackberries. The cake had been her father’s favorite. Every year, minus the rosemary, her mother would make this cake to celebrate their wedding anniversary.“

— A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

Makes 1 6-inch, 3-layer vanilla cake with blackberry-rosemary jam filling and cream cheese frosting

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. FOR THE CAKE LAYERS. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 3 6-inch cake pans with cooking spray. Line the bottoms with parchment paper circles and spray the paper. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter with a hand mixer on medium-low speed for 30 seconds. Beat in the sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until just combined. Stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl if needed. Beat in sour cream, then the white vinegar. Beat in half the flour mix, then half the buttermilk. Repeat with remaining flour mix and buttermilk.
3. Evenly divide the batter between the cake pans (approx. 14 oz of batter per pan) and bake 20 minutes. Lightly cover the pans with tin foil to prevent overbrowning. Bake for 5-10 minutes more until the tops are golden and spring back when lightly tapped with a finger. Allow to rest in the pan for 2 minutes. Loosen from the pan with a butter knife. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. FOR THE BLACKBERRY-ROSEMARY JAM FILLING. Combine all jam ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until combined. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Thoroughly mash the blackberries with a potato masher or the bottom of a heavy glass. Simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring regularly with a spatula and taking care to scrape the bottom of the pan.
5. Remove from heat. Thoroughly press fruit mix through a wire strainer over a medium bowl, making sure to scrape the fruit pulp from the bottom of the strainer (you’ll want to press and scrape several times—the fruit pulp is what gives the jam its structure, keeping it from being too loose and liquidy). Allow to cool in the bowl, then transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to use.
6. FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING. Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium-low speed until smooth. Reduce speed to low. Sift in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape the bowl if needed. You can increase the speed temporarily once each cup has a chance to incorporate a little (you just don’t want higher speed when you first add it or you will get a powdered sugar cloud). When powdered sugar is fully incorporated, the mix may look clumpy. Increase speed to medium-low and beat in the milk and vanilla until the mixture is smooth. Beat in the cream cheese until fully incorporated (try not to over beat, as this can make the frosting stretchy).
7. NOTE: This makes a lot of frosting. You’ll probably have at least 1-2 cups leftover. I decided not to cut the recipe down because 1) if the “frosting dam” around your jam layers happens to break, you’ll want some extra frosting for patching it up and 2) it’s just the right amount for topping any cake scraps you might have after leveling off your layers.
8. FOR ASSEMBLY. Level off the cake layers and place the first layer on a cake turntable. Transfer 1 cup frosting to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip and set aside. Leave remaining frosting in the bowl.
9. Use a frosting knife to apply a thin layer of frosting from the bowl on top of the first cake layer. Use the piping bag to pipe a circle around the top to create a dam. Add 1/3 cup blackberry jam and spread with a separate knife until even. Chill uncovered for 10-15 minutes (this will help prevent the frosting moving around and help support the next layer).
10. Repeat Step 9 for the next layer, then place the final layer on top. Take care to make sure each layer is centered before beginning to frost, or the cake can begin to tilt. If desired, you can insert cake dowels for added stability (I recommend this if you’re new to working with cream cheese frosting. It doesn’t dry and set like buttercream does, so it doesn’t provide as much structural stability). Use frosting from the bowl to apply a thin layer of frosting around the outside of the cake. Chill for 10 minutes. Refill the piping bag with 1-2 cups frosting and pipe an even layer of frosting around the outside of the cake. Smooth it out with a large pastry knife. Use the pastry knife to draw horizontal lines on the outside of the cake for decoration if desired.
11. Top with fresh blackberries. If desired, arrange 2 large rosemary sprigs around the base and tuck small tufts of rosemary leaves between the blackberries (I would remove these before serving, since it can be too much rosemary flavor, but they make for pretty decoration).
12. Serve to the judges and attendees of the Langheim Baking Battle!
    

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If you like this recipe from
A FELLOWSHIP OF BAKERS AND MAGIC,
check out my recipe for Arleta’s Raspberry Basil Tart!