Now that we’re taking the steady march into summer, berries of all forms are making their way to the farmer’s markets and grocery stores. When I saw those glorious blackberries, I thought to myself, “what flavor would complement these?” The answer came to me instantly: lime!
This cake was made with lime sponge cake (which actually turned out really dry, so when I tweak that to perfection, I’ll share it with you). But the frosting was so good that my guests and I couldn’t stop eating it. Seriously.
This frosting is light, fluffy, and delicious! The trick: using the whisk attachment on your stand mixer. Oh, and make sure your butter is at room temperature. Pretty simple, huh?
Blackberry Buttercream Frosting
Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes, or one 8″ or 9″ double layer cake.
- 7 cups of powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 c. (2 sticks) of unsalted butter at room temperature (I prefer to use Kerrygold)
- 1/4 c. black berry jam (I used Smucker’s Natural Blackberry Fruit Spread)
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- zest of 4 limes (for garnish only)
- blackberries (for garnish/decoration)
Get your stand mixer set up with the whisk attachment.
In a large bowl, sift a whole helluva lot of powdered sugar (a little more than 7 cups). Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the blackberry jam and the lime juice until smooth. Set aside.
Cream the butter in the stand mixer on medium until light and creamy (about 5 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer set to low, add in 1/2 cup of the sifted powdered sugar. Once the sugar starts to disappear, set mixer to medium/high until the sugar is incorporated. Scrape down sides.
Continue the same process, adding a half a cup of the sifted powdered sugar at time on low speed, increasing speed to medium for a minute, and scraping down the bowl, until you’ve added 6 cups of the sugar.
Don’t be scared. The mixture will look a little dry at this point. I promise it’s going to be fine. Breathe.
With the mixer on low, add in the jam and lime juice mixture. Once it’s poured in, scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixer bowl. Then, set the mixer on medium and let it whip for a minute or two. Then, set the mixer to low and add the remaining powdered sugar a half a cup at a time like before.
This mix is ready to be used immediately to frost completely cooled cupcakes or cakes. I used the lime zest to garnish my cake. The zest acts like natural sprinkles but it adds color and flavor.