Triple Berry Lemon Cream Cake

I love this time of year.  Berries are in season, it's hot outside, we play in the water, and life is good.

Plus it's the 4th of July.

A great excuse to make some delicious food, have a fun BBQ, and light a whole bunch of things on fire.

With all those fresh berries around I decided I wanted some of my favorite things combined: lemon and fresh berries.  This cake turned out fantastic and was super easy to make.  It's perfect for the 4th with all the red, white, and blue, plus everyone at your party will love you for bringing it.  

Triple Berry Lemon Cream Cake

(click here for printable version)


Cake:
6 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup non-fat plain greek yogurt
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Cream:
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 lemon

2 cups each of 3 different berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a half sheet pan (bigger than a 9x13 but smaller than jelly roll pan) and set aside.

2.  In large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stir in vanilla, eggs, 1 at a time, yogurt and milk. Scrape edges and mix again until smooth. Pour in all dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Scrape edges and mix by hand to ensure batter is evenly mixed. Pour into half sheet pan, smooth out into one even layer, and bake 7-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside to cool 30 minutes.

3.  To make the cream, whip heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla together until stiff peaks start to form. Whip in lemon zest briefly and set aside.

4. To assemble the cake, cut cooled cake into 4 small rectangular pieces, keeping it as even as possibe. Place one piece of cake onto serving platter. Top with one fourth of the cream. Top with 1 1/2 cups of one kind of berry. Top with another piece of cake. Top with more cream and another 1 1/2 cups of another berry. Top with another piece of cake. Top with more cream and 1 1/2 cups last kind of berry. Top with last piece of cake. Spread with remaining cream and any remaining berries. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Source: Lauren's Latest