Very Berry Swiss Meringue Buttercream Cake
Just in time for the holiday festivities, this Very Berry Swiss Meringue Buttercream Cake is just what your weekend celebration needs.
Tons of red and blue berries make it patriotic without looking like you tried too hard while the homemade vanilla cake layers with vanilla swiss buttercream will suggest otherwise. Minus the quirky swiss buttercream, this cake is really NOT that difficult.
Very Berry Swiss Meringue Buttercream Cake
Fresh berries and light and fluffy swiss buttercream take a traditional vanilla cake to new heights in this recipe that is perfectly patriotic when using strawberries and blueberries.
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup canola oil
- 3 cups sugar, divided
- 4 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- For the Vanilla Swiss Buttercream:
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 cup sugar
- 1½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Assorted berries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three 8-in. round cake pans with parchment circles; spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
For Cake, combine butter, oil and 2 cups sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down bowl between each addition. Beat in vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
Add a third of dry ingredients to butter mixture, and beat on low until incorporated. Add half of milk. Alternate between flour and milk, scraping down bowl as you go.
Divide batter evenly among prepared pans and bake until cakes are lightly brown and a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Allow cakes to cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then remove from pans and allow to continue to cool on a cooling rack.
For Vanilla Swiss Buttercream, heat a medium saucepan filled with 2 in. water to a simmer. In a clean bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together egg whites and sugar.
Set mixing bowl over simmering pot and continue to whisk until sugar has dissolved and mixture becomes hot to the touch. Wipe condensation from bottom of bowl and return to stand mixer. Beat egg mixture on medium-high speed until whites are glossy and bowl is no longer warm (about 5 minutes). With mixer still going, add butter, a few cubes at a time. Continue to add butter until buttercream is smooth and fluffy. Beat in vanilla.
To assemble, level tops of cakes to ensure layers are even. Place 1 layer onto cake stand. Place a third of buttercream on top and use an offset spatula to smooth buttercream to edges. Add second cake layer and repeat with another third of buttercream. Repeat. Smooth buttercream from top layer over edges and then along sides of cake. This is a semi-naked cake, so don’t worry about being perfect and completely covering with buttercream. Top with assorted berries.
Note: You may also include berries between cake layers.
I didn’t really know what I wanted to make for tomorrow (it’s the Fourth of July in case you’ve been hiding under a rock) but participated in the Sprouts Grand Opening Celebration over the weekend and strawberries were 98 cents for 1 lb container. Ninety-eight cents. Holey moley.
And do you know what strawberries are in addition to being on serious sale?
Red. Strawberries are red.
And the American flag is also red, too. Into my buggy they went along with their dear friends Miss Blackberry and Mr. Blueberries.
To say that Sprouts was a zoo would be an understatement. I was excited for Brian to experience it, otherwise, we probably would’ve waited a week or two. But we braved it and I came home with ALL the berries.
Sidenote: Why didn’t any of you Sprouts fans tell me they sold pet products?! I nearly had a small heart attack when I spotted my dog’s beloved Honest Kitchen and the digestive enzymes I pay $5 more for and sometimes aren’t available at the specialty dog store. So excited, people. So excited.
And while we’re wrapping up our Sprouts chat and you are forgiving me for derailing the conversation with pet products, let me share how to make your trip more pleasant:
Download the Sprouts app prior to your visit.
Listen to me when I say you’ll want to utilize the app. There’s coupons and rewards plus you’ll have the ability to select your store and view the sales ad for that particular week. Remember from this post that you’ll want to shop on Wednesdays if you can because it means the ads overlap.
The app will help you know what’s on sale rather than bumping into people while reading the paper flier (ask me how I know this). You’re welcome.
Let me know if you’ve ventured over there and what your initial thoughts are!
Today’s post was sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market but I’d still be excited to welcome them even if it wasn’t! You can visit their website here.
