Blackberry & Sage Chocolate Cake

Rich chocolate cake brushed with a vanilla bean sage cake soak, filled with blackberry sage coulis, and coated in a lush blackberry sage Swiss meringue buttercream. The Sagittarius cake.

Happy Sagittarius season! This cake was initially developed as a combination birthday cake for my boyfriend’s youngest sister as well as the Sagittarius installment of my astrology cake series.

As for all my astrology cakes, I look at the traditional correspondences for each sign in terms of colors, fruits, flavors etc, and develop the cake from there; adding my own personal interpretations. For Sagittarius, purple and sage are both traditional, which I then cross-referenced with the birthday girl’s preferences.

This cake is a rich chocolate olive oil sponge, brushed with a sage and vanilla bean cake soak, and then filled with blackberry sage coulis, and a blackberry sage Swiss meringue buttercream.

Due popular demand on TikTok, you will find the complete written recipe below. Happy baking <3

Ingredients:

Makes one 6 inch, triple tier cake

For the cake:

• 1 batch of my Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

For the cake soak:

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 sprig fresh sage

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

For the coulis:

• 4 cups of fresh, washed blackberries

• 3 sprigs fresh of sage

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• Pinch of salt

For the buttercream:

• 1 batch Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Blackberry Sage Coulis, at room temperature

---

Method:

For the cake soak:

1. Combine all ingredients in a heat proof bowl or mug.

2. Microwave for 1-2 minutes or until sugar has completely dissolved.

3. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use. (You can also make this in a small saucepan on the stovetop but I’ve found this method to be faster and easier with an identical result.)

For the coulis:

4. In a large saucepan over high heat, combine all ingredients for the coulis.

5. Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.

6. Continue to simmer the blackberries until they’re soft and broken down, about 20 minutes.

7. Once the time has elapsed, pour the blackberry mixture into a blender.

8. Blend until completely smooth.

9. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds and sage.

10. Set aside to cool until ready to use. The coulis must be cool before continuing.

For the buttercream:

11. Add 1/4 to 1/2 (depending on how strong you want the color and flavor) of the cooled coulis to your buttercream and beat on high until combined. Set aside until ready to use.

    

Assembly:

12. Place your first layer of cake on your serving plate or cake board.

13. Brush generously with your cooled cake soak. Let sit for 1-2 minutes.

14. Add a scoop of your buttercream and spread evenly across your layer of cake. Create a dam around the outside rim of the cake layer by either piping or indenting the buttercream with an offset spatula. The dam is essential to keep the coulis from spilling out the sides (unless that is what you are looking for aesthetically).

15. Fill the dam with your coulis, spreading evenly.

16. Add your next cake layer, pressing down gently. Repeat steps 13-15.

17. Add your final cake layer.

18. Brush the cake layer with your cake soak and let sit for 1-2 minutes.

19. Add a large scoop of buttercream and thinly coat the entire cake as evenly as possible to create a crumb coat.

20. Place your thinly frosted cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, or until the frosting has hardened.

21. Once the crumb coat is solid, add your remaining buttercream and evenly coat the cake. This is where you can get creative! I chose to do textured swirls adding extra coulis as I went.

22. Garnish your cake as desired and enjoy :)