In summer, I tend to gravitate toward desserts that are fruit forward and maybe a little lighter. I am not going to try and claim Peach Bourbon Pound Cake or Blueberry Buttermilk Bread Pudding are diet food, they are just less intense. But I go all out here with a deep, decadent chocolate cake tinged with dusky blackberries and rich red wine. The I top it off with a thick, sweet blackberry and white chocolate ganache. The cake itself is not overly sweet, just full of complex flavors. The ganache brings the sweetness, and the drama with its swags of purple color draping the dark and moody cake. It’s a new take on a summer dessert, perfect for a birthday celebration (that’s what I developed it for). Or a Tuesday! A scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side never goes amiss.
I use an unusual method for mixing the cake batter, one I found in a similar recipe for a cake using a fruit puree. I find it works really well, so I stuck with it. Mixing the softened butter with the other wet ingredients first seems odd, but I promise it all comes right. Adding the blackberry puree and red wine with some extra buttermilk last loosens the batter and keeps the flavors bright. You may have a little more blackberry puree than you need, but no worries, you can decorative drizzle it over the cake, or save it to use over yogurt or in a cocktail. This batter is dark but the top can burn in the oven, so I place a piece of foil over the top part way through the cooking. And cool the cake completely before adding the ganache, which you should also cool.
Ingredients
- For the Cake
2 ½ cups blackberries, divided
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups whole buttermilk, divided
3 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 Tablespoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
½ cup red wine
- For the Ganache
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ cup blackberry puree
11 ounces white chocolate chips
Directions
- For the Cake
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan generously with baking spray, such as Bakers’ Joy.
- Put 1 ½ cups of the blackberries in a small food processor and puree until smooth. Pour into a wire mesh sieve set over a bowl and use a spatula to scrape the puree through, leaving the seeds behind. You should have at least ¾ cup of puree.
- Put the softened butter, 1 cup buttermilk, and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium low until everything is well mixed. The butter will still have some lumps and that is okay, just blend until it is well broken up and the eggs are completely combined. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix on low speed until all the ingredients are combined, scraping the bowl as needed. It will be thick at this point. Add the wine and remaining ½ cup of buttermilk and mix to combined again. Add ½ cup of blackberry puree and mix well, then add the remaining 1 cup of whole blackberries and beat on medium to combined and break them down a little. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes to and hour, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover the top loosely with foil after about 20 minutes to prevent burning. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack set over a piece of foil or parchment to catch ganache drips. Cool completely.
- For the Ganache
- Stir together the heavy cream and ¼ cup blackberry puree in a microwave safe bowl or measuring jug. Put the chocolate chips in a small mixing bowl. Heat the cream mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir and then heat in 10 second bursts until hot but not boling or bubbling. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and give it a stir to cover the cips with liquid. Cover with a tea towel and let sit for about 10 minutes to melt the chocolate. Stir well until completely smooth. If the chocolate hasn’t fully melted, you can zap in the microwave 10 seconds at a time. You can warm the cream and puree in a small saucepan over medium heat if you prefer.
- Let the ganache cool completely, the slowly drizzle it over the completely cooled cake. Let set for an hour or so before serving. The cake can be made one day ahead, covered, and kept on the counter.
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