Berry Purée Cake

Name: Berry Purée Cake
Ingredients: 200 g flour; 150 g sugar; 100 g butter; 100 g sour cream; 2 eggs; 2 tsp vanilla sugar; 1 tsp baking powder; 0.5 tsp salt; 150 g berry purée (or ≈200 fresh or frozen berries + 2 tbsp sugar)

A tender, delicious, incredibly soft and fragrant cake with a berry filling. I've been steadily working through my freezer stash, and this time my eye landed on cranberries — their fate was sealed: they were going into a cake. I started with a simple cake base, adding sour cream for extra softness and tenderness. I thawed the cranberries ahead of time and cooked them down into a thick purée. Besides cranberries, other berries work beautifully here — black currants or lingonberries would be great, and red currants, raspberries, or blackberries are also good options (though those are best pressed through a fine strainer to remove the seeds). I used 20% fat sour cream, but any variety will work just fine.

Ingredients:

200 g flour
150 g sugar
100 g butter
100 g sour cream
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla sugar
1 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
150 g berry purée (or ≈200 fresh or frozen berries + 2 tbsp sugar)

How to cook berry purée cake

Thaw the berries ahead of time, then blend them into a smooth purée. Transfer to a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and add sugar (I used 2 tbsp). Adjust the amount of sugar depending on which berries you use. If the berries aren't tart or bitter, you can skip the sugar altogether.

Simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture reduces by roughly half (the finished purée should be fairly thick). Let the purée cool completely.

Place the softened butter, sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt in a bowl and beat together briefly. Add the eggs and beat again.

Add the sour cream and beat to combine. Add the flour mixed with the baking powder and beat just until everything comes together.

The batter will be thick.

Grease your pan with butter — I used a 24x10 cm pan. Spread about one-third of the batter evenly in the bottom.

Dollop about half of the berry purée over the top using a teaspoon.

Using a toothpick, make a few swirling motions to slightly marble the purée into the batter.

Spread the second portion of batter on top and smooth it out. Dot the remaining purée over the surface and gently swirl it into the batter as before. Spread the remaining batter on top and smooth it carefully.

Bake in an oven preheated to 170°C for approximately 1–1.2 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the finished cake cool completely.

If you like, dust the cake with powdered sugar and garnish with fresh berries. The flavor of this tender, soft, and fragrant cake is beautifully complemented by the bright, tangy cranberry filling. Give it a try — it's absolutely delicious!