berry butter cake

I’m really pushing the boundaries on being fashionably late with these posts.  It’s all going to make it here eventually but it will get here extremely late and out of season, which is just what the people are looking for. This berry butter cake is from September but she’s a year round beauty so I think the cake still plays.I fell in love with this cake before I ever made it because it has condensed milk in the actual batter, which is exactly the type of outdated decadence I’m into. The woman who ran the daycare I went to as a child made her chocolate chip cookies with crisco and my favorite almond cake is made with margarine. There is absolutely a time and a place for European butter and house milled flour*, but there is some very magical about ingredients that are the opposite of modern. This cake actually has the perfect balance of both worlds because it includes condensed milk and browned butter.  This unlikely duo gives the cake a “moist and delicate” crumb according to Posie from 600 acres, where the recipe is from. Do yourself a favor and go down a deep rabbit hole on her website or instagram page (@posiehh).  It’s everything moody and charming and cool that I will never be despite my best efforts.I made slight changes by browning all of the butter (go big or go home) and by doubling the amount of jam (same idea.) I used strawberry rose jam from trader joe’s and it was lovely.  Bonne maman anything would also be amazing, even though they have refused to acknowledged this viral blog I am running. The cake itself turns out so tender and the jam swirls sink into the cake in a very attractive way, like cobblestones made of calories.  I served this cake with ice cream at my grandmother’s birthday and with fresh berries and a blizzard of powdered sugar at my friend’s bridal shower.  You can’t go wrong with either. *note: I have never milled my own flour but I am sure there is a time and place for that somewhere

berry butter cake

(recipe from 600 acres)

10 tablespoons butter, browned and cooled to room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

7 ounces sweetened condensed milk

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup good quality jam

directions

Brown your butter by melting it in a saucepan.  It will bubble and froth first before starting to smell nutty and amazing.  Take it off the heat once the milk solids have started to toast and look like brown flecks throughout.  This step can be done ahead of time as you want to then cool off the butter and get it back to a spreadable consistency or close to room temperature.  I usually pour it off into a container and leave it in the fridge until it solidifies again.  The toasty bits will sink to the bottoms so make sure to scrape all that goodness into your mixing bowl when ready.

Once the butter is at the right consistency, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and butter and/or line an 8 inch square pan or 9 inch cake tin with parchment.  I also butter and sugar the edges of the pan so it leaves a thin shattery sugar rim around the cake.

In a stand mixer, beat your butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Mix in your eggs once at a time, followed by the vanilla.  Next add in your condensed milk and beat until smooth.  Finally stir in the flour and salt until combined.

Pour your batter into your prepared pan.  Dollop your jam onto the surface of the cake batter and give it a few swirls.  The cake will bake up around the jam and I’ve never felt like I’ve added too much so be liberal with it.

Bake 30-35 minutes until the top of the cake is springy to the touch and it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before carefully transferring onto a cooling rack to the cool the rest of the way.  This is lovely served with powdered sugar, more berries, ice cream, whipped cream, or all of the above.

Enjoy : )