Chocolate Cake with Blackberry Frosting

I have such a sweet-tooth and I love cake, but gluten free cakes can be very dense and grainy. This recipe is pretty light and airy for a gluten free cake, as well as refreshing. I made it for my housewarming party and it was a huge hit!

Ingredients for cake:

• 2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 3 cups of gluten free flour

• 1 tablespoon of baking powder

• ½ teaspoon of salt

• 4 tablespoons of chocolate powder (if you want a richer chocolate flavor, add more)

• 1 ¼ cups of sugar

• 4 large eggs (preferably at room temperature)

• 1 ¼ cups milk (whole milk is best, but not necessary)

• ½ cup of sour cream

Steps for cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F

2. Butter two pans and dust with flour (springform pans are great)

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and chocolate powder in bowl until combined

4. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy

5. Beat in eggs, one at a time, in bowl with butter and sugar

6. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with milk, and with flour

7. Beat in sour cream

8. Divide cake batter into two pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until cooked through

Ingredients for frosting:

• 2 sticks of butter, at room temperature

• 4 cups of confectioner’s sugar (preferably sifted, but it’s okay if it is not sifted)

• 1/8 teaspoon of salt

• 2 tablespoons of milk

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

• 1 package of blackberries

• sugar

Steps for frosting:

1. Wash off blackberries and put blackberries in a small pot with enough water to cover the bottom of the pot, on medium-low heat, with lid for twenty to thirty minutes; you may add up to ¼ of a cup of sugar, but this is not necessary

2. Beat butter, two cups of confectioner’s sugar, and salt until combined

3. Add milk, two to three tablespoons of blackberry reduction, and vanilla till combined

4. Add remaining confectioner’s sugar, one cup at a time, until combined, fluffy, and smooth

Assembly:

1. Let cakes cool for at least an hour. If the cakes are not cool, the frosting will melt

2. Level the cakes

3. Frost the top of one cake and put second layer on top

4. Frost the entire cake (top and sides); it is best to do two coats, as the first will be a crumb coat

5. If you like, add berries on the top of the cake

Frosting recipe adapted from myrecipes.com