Blueberry Chamomile Vanilla Bean Layer Cake

Layers of blueberry white chocolate blondie, white chocolate chamomile ganache, vanilla bean sponge, blueberry compote, & blueberry chamomile SM buttercream. An indulgent devotion to high spring.

Hi everyone! My last post detailed the recipe for my Vanilla Bean Cake, a light and fluffy sponge recipe yielding the perfect base for fruits or jams. So, here is a recipe that utilizes that base to the fullest.

This is an extravagant, indulgent, 8-layer cake, that features my favorite of all the berries: blueberries, complemented by the honeyed notes of chamomile and white chocolate.

The bottom of this cake is a layer of white chocolate blueberry blondies. For these blondies, I’ve used frozen and thawed blueberries as opposed to fresh. This is so the color bleeds into the batter, yielding a darker blue/purple final color. This is a very basic blondie recipe that can be easily adjusted with the use of different additions. I’ve baked these blondies in one of my 6-inch cake tins, so they are naturally the same shape as the sponges.

The next layer is a chamomile white chocolate ganache. This is a whipped ganache with a smooth, luscious texture and subtle chamomile flavor. This ganache is paired perfectly with the following layer: syrupy and sweet blueberry chamomile compote. This compote is cooked the same as the rest of my cooked fruit fillings: in a saucepan with sugar, acid, and a pinch of salt. I’ve opted to leave the blueberries whole as opposed to pureeing. Blueberries cook down significantly, so even if there is a fully intact berry at the end of cooking, it will be very soft and not texturally inconsistent to eat with the rest of the cake.

The following layers are my vanilla bean sponge, more compote, and the blueberry chamomile Swiss meringue buttercream. This buttercream is made by adding some of the cooled compote to the finished frosting and beating, giving a gorgeous purple color and delicate flavor. The beating breaks up any whole pieces of blueberry left, but I feel some speckles of blueberry chunks are whimsical and lovely! If you want a perfectly smooth buttercream, I’d puree the compote, strain it, and then add it to your buttercream.

I’ve decorated this cake with blueberries, florals, and mini white chocolate chips, but, as always, decorate however your heart desires. Happy baking!