Blackberry Doughnut Cake – A dense coffee cake with a hint of nutmeg, filled with blackberry preserves, and covered in cinnamon sugar. It gives you all the flavors and textured of an old-fashioned doughnut but without the hassle.
Are you ready to ramp up your baking? The holidays have begun and that means I’m making sweets almost non-stop. I just can’t help it! It’s so fun baking this time of year – gingerbread, cinnamon rolls, cookies, and all kinds of cakes.
Today’s recipe is a new cake recipe that I fell in love with. It has all the flavor and texture of a doughnut but none of the hassle. After all, making a cake is sooo much easier than making and frying doughnuts.
Here is my Blackberry Doughnut Cake!
The batter
The most unique ingredient in this cake batter in the nutmeg. It adds just a hint of spice that you barely even notice it’s there. But it adds more than you think. It’s what gives an old-fashioned doughnut it’s unique flavor and it does the same here in this cake.
This cake batter is far simpler than any cake you’ve made before. You do NOT need a stand mixer and there is no alternating of wet ingredients and liquids. Instead, they all get mixed together slowly and voila! You have a cake batter.
Assembling the cake
After the batter is made, half of it is placed in the greased cake pan. The blackberry preserves are layered in next, followed by the rest of the batter. The batter is piped over the preserves to ensure an even layer without having to do much spreading.
The cake is baked in a preheat 350-degree oven for about an hour. It’s a pretty thick cake so it will need time to cook-through.
Finishing the cake
After the cake is baked, it’s removed from the oven and cooled in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, it’s removed from the pan and cooled completely before coating in sugar.
Once cooled, the cake is brushed with melted butter. This will help it hold onto the cinnamon sugar. Add the cinnamon and sugar to a plate and stir together to combined. Roll the sides into the cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle the top of the cake with cinnamon sugar. Serve immediately.
Tips & Tricks
- Warm the milk. Warm milk is best when mixing with the butter so that the butter stays melted. If you use cold milk, it will shock the melted butter and cause it to seize up and get lumpy.
- Use a piping bag. To ensure the preserves stay in the center of the cake without mixing into the batter, pipe the remaining batter on top. This will create an even layer of batter on top that will need minimal smoothing.
- Cool cake completely. If you handle the cake while still warm, it’s more likely to break apart in the process. Also, a warm cake will absorb the sugar instead of leaving a nice coating on the outside.
Blackberry Doughnut Cake
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup whole milk scalded
- 10 tablespoons butter unsalted, melted
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- ¾ cup blackberry jam or preserves
Cinnamon sugar topping:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablesoons butter salted, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees if you are using a dark metal pan). Grease 8-inch cake pan well. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk together to combine. In a large measuring cup, add butter and milk. Slowly add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, whisking slowly to ensure lumps don't form. Whisk in eggs.
- Pour half of the cake batter into prepared cake pan. Place the rest of the batter in a piping bag. Pipe a half-inch border around the edge of the cake pan. Fill the center with all the blackberry preserves. Use an off-set spatula to smooth the preserves into an even layer that reaches the edge of the piped ring. Pipe the rest of the batter over the top of the preserves, gently covering the preserves so they are completely sealed in the center and none is poking through. Smooth with a spatula.
- Bake cake in preheat oven for 55 minutes or until the top is completely golden brown and the center is cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes and then remove from panand onto serving dish.
- Add sugar and cinnamon to a plate and stir to combine. Brush melted butter over the top and sides of the cake. Lift cake and roll sides in the cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle sugar mixture over the top. Serve immeditately or within a couple days. Do not store in a sealed container, or the sugar will absorb/melt into the cake. Instead, cover with foil.
Notes
Pin for later:
More recipes you’ll love:
Blackberry Skillet Pound Cake
Cinnamon Swirl Doughnut Cake
Blackberries & Cream Slider Doughnuts
Just like a giant donut! I love this cake and think i might also try it with different flavored jams.
Very yummy! Looks and tasted incredible! Definitely making it again soon!
Love the idea of this doughnut cake, plus it looks so easy and delicious. Will be trying it very soon!
I’ve never had a doughnut cake; what a fun and unique idea! This looks absolutely wonderful.
I love that I can make this recipe for the Holidays and it’s not a super traditional recipe, but still so perfect! Kind of like a nice Holiday surprise. haha!
I am drooling to taste this doughnut cake. I’ll be saving this recipe, and I will make this for everyone.
I am not a cake lover, so this was something I needed to try…just as good as a donut without all the fuss! This goes on my list of easy brunch favorites for sure 😉
Perfect cake for Berry lovers. This Cinnamon Sugar topping is unique and flavorful. Perfect for Tea Time Treats.
Absolutely delicious! i will make this again and again. Thanks heaps for a great recipe.
This cake is easy and delicious. The nutmeg is perfectly balanced. It adds this little hint without overwhelming the blueberry flavor. I Love the cinnamon sugar coating, and it’s such an easy trick to elevate a cake.
You had me at blueberry donut! What a delicious treat! I love how easy this cake was to make and my family really loved it too.
This doughnut cake is wonderful! I just loved the sweet blackberry flavor with the warm cinnamon. Delicious way to start the day.
I love when my recipe turns out just as pretty as the photos and this one did!!! So pretty and delicious. Perfect for holidays!
What a delicious spin on a favorite donut flavor, and it’s so stinking easy to make, too! Thanks for the recipe!
This doughnut cake looks and sounds incredible!
Oh wow, this looks so delicious. My family is going to devour it!
This turned out so delicious! It was pretty easy to make too. Thank you!
An amazing dessert that I will be making soon.
Doughnut and cake? Together? YES PLEASE.
I am drooling. This looks like an amazing dessert. I cannot wait to try this!
Wow, what a unique spin on a donut! I love this idea and will definitely be trying this out!