Blackberry Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This scrumptious cake recipe features a fudgy Blackberry Chocolate Cake topped with Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting. It’s rich and indulgent but the blackberry flavor shines through lightening it just enough.

This cake recipe is perfect for spring! It’s not just a chocolate cake that has blackberries in it; you can really taste them and it’s a delightful combination. The blackberry chocolate cake recipe is adapted from a sour cream fudge cake recipe from The Joy of Cooking. The cake is topped with a layer of dark chocolate blackberry ganache and then a pillowy soft layer of blackberry cream cheese frosting. I can’t overstate how good it is. Let’s make it!

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase any of the items linked in this post, I should earn a small commission. This creates no additional cost to you and helps support the work that goes into running The Fig Jar. Thank you! -Becky 

Ingredients

Chocolate blackberry cake ingredients

• unsweetened baking chocolate
• cake flour
• sugar
• baking soda
• salt
• sour cream
• salted butter
• eggs
• vanilla
• blackberry sauce

Chocolate blackberry ganache ingredients

• blackberry sauce
• dark chocolate – this is my absolute favorite dark chocolate and is perfect for ganache
• whole milk

Blackberry cream cheese frosting ingredients

• salted butter
• powdered sugar
• blackberry sauce
• salt

How to make blackberry chocolate cake and blackberry cream cheese frosting

The first thing you’ll need to do is make the blackberry sauce. It’s used in every layer of the cake! Simply blend fresh blackberries with water until smooth. Then cook over medium heat for about 10-12 minutes.

Strain through a mesh sieve. You should end up with about 1 cup of black berry sauce.

Next, make the blackberry chocolate cake

Melt the baking chocolate so its ready to add in later.

Then sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the sour cream, softened butter, blackberry sauce and beat with an electric mixer on high for about 2 minutes.

Then add the melted chocolate, eggs, vanilla.

Beat on high again for 2 minutes until smooth. The batter will be thick.

Spread this into a 13 x 9 inch baking pan lined with parchment and bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes.

Blackberry cream cheese frosting

This is my favorite part! Like any frosting, this blackberry cream cheese frosting is very very easy to make. It’s just cream cheese, blackberry sauce, butter and powdered sugar! The color is so pretty (perfect for spring!) and its just delicious.

Just beat the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and salt until smooth, then pour in the blackberry sauce. Beat again until smooth!

Blackberry chocolate ganache

This ganache might really be what brings this whole dessert together. The key is using super dark chocolate to offset the richness of the cream cheese frosting. This one from Trader Joe’s is my favorite. Just chop the dark chocolate and place it in a small bowl.

Heat milk and blackberry sauce in the microwave for 1.5 minutes. Then pour the hot milk/blackberry sauce over the chocolate and let stand 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth.

Assemble the cake

Allow the cake to cool and top with the ganache.

Then place in the fridge to set. Next, top with that beautiful blackberry cream cheese frosting.

I like to decorate the cake with some fresh blackberries and mint!

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Blackberry Chocolate Cake

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This scrumptious cake recipe features a fudgy Blackberry Chocolate Cake topped with Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting. It’s rich and indulgent but the blackberry flavor shines through lightening it just enough.

• Author: Becky Schmieg
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 10 1x
• Category: Dessert

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Blackberry Sauce

• 18 oz blackberries
• 3/4 cup water

Chocolate Cake

• 3 oz unsweetened chocolate (chopped)
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup blackberry sauce
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

Blackberry Chocolate Ganache

• 1/4 cup blackberry sauce
• 1/4 cup milk of choice
• 3 1/2 oz dark chocolate

Blackberry Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
• 1 8 oz block cream cheese (room temp)
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup blackberry sauce

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Blackberry Sauce

1. Purée washed blackberries and water in a blender and add to a sauce pan over medium low heat.
2. Cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from heat and strain through a sieve to remove seeds. You should end up with about 1 cup. Set aside.

Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Melt the chopped, unsweetened chocolate in the microwave and set aside.
3. Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.
4. Add sour cream, butter and blackberry sauce and beat on high for 2 minutes.
5. Add melted chocolate, eggs and vanilla and beat with a hand-held electric mixer on high again until smooth (about 2 minutes).
6. Pour baking pan lined with parchment and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool in pans for 15 minutes before attempting to remove and place on a cooling rack. You will also need to allow the cake to cool before topping with ganache. 

Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Add the butter, cream cheese and salt to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smoother. Add in the blackberry sauce and beat again until smooth & creamy. 

Chocolate Blackberry Ganache

1. It’s best to make the ganache once the cake is cooled so it doesn’t start to set before the cake is cooled. 
2. Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. Warm the blackberry sauce and milk together in the microwave until very warm to the touch, almost scalding. This should only take about 1 1/2 minutes. 
3. Pour blackberry milk mixture over chocolate immediately and allow to stand for 2 minutes. Then whisk until smooth.

Assembly

1. Make sure cake is cooled before adding the ganache. 
2. Cover the cake evenly with a layer of ganache and place in the fridge to set the ganache for about 10 minutes. 
3. Apply frosting using an off set spatula. Start with a large blob in the middle and gently work your way around the cake. Top with fresh blackberries and mint if desired.

<3 Becky