Blueberry & Cream Cheese Layered Cake

I saw this cake from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, and had to make it.  The results did not disappoint.  It was simple to make, and the blueberries balanced out the decadent cream cheese frosting, so it is perfect for a spring brunch or summer celebration.

The three things that made this cake stand apart from the usual recipes was beating the egg whites, using buttermilk and layering with fresh blueberries. Separating the eggs to beat the egg whites until stiff and folding them into the cake batter made the cake a lighter and more airy texture.  So, the cake was not heavy.  The layers and generous portion of fresh blueberries gave it a subtle fruit taste, balancing out the sugar sweetness just right.... and buttermilk always makes any baked dessert (or pancakes for that matter) taste better!!

You can find the original recipe here from the Pioneer Woman, which includes coconut in both the cake and frosting.  However, I dislike the flavor and texture of coconut, so I did not include in my cake version.

Also, if you don't want to buy a carton of buttermilk just to use only one cup for this recipe, the Pioneer Woman shared that you can make 1 cup of buttermilk by combining regular milk and vinegar, with the ratio of 1 cup milk mixed with1 teaspoon vinegar. Who knew?  It actually works!

I made this cake for an office birthday party, and served it with fruit cups and brownies.  It was a big hit!
 

The recipe is below, with a slight variation from The Pioneer Woman's version.  ENJOY!

INGREDIENTS
Cake:

• 5 eggs, separate egg whites from yolks
• 1 cube butter (1/2 C)
• 1 C vegetable oil
• 1 C sugar
• 1 Tbl vanilla
• 2 C flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 C buttermilk 

Frosting:

• Two 8-oz pkgs cream cheese
• 1 cube butter (1/2 C)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 lbs powdered sugar
• 1 C chopped pecans
• 1-1/2 pints fresh blueberries

CAKE Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, oil and granulated sugar together until creamy.  Once the sugars are combine, add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Alternate adding the buttermilk and dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined, and then fold in the egg whites.
Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.  Let the cakes initially cool for 10-15 minutes, remove cakes from their pans and place on wire racks until completely cooled before cutting and assembling.

FROSTING Directions:
Mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and powdered sugar in a bowl.  Beat until will combined and the frosting is light and fluffy. Stir in the pecans.

ASSEMBLING:
Cut each cake in half lengthwise. Spread the bottom layer with 1/4 of the frosting and top with blueberries. Repeat this sequence with each layer of cake topped with frosting and blueberries until the 4 layers of cake are complete. Placing blueberries around the edge of each layer is important to maintain layer's structure.  Garnish blueberries on the top of the cake with some pecans for decoration.