Vanilla Layer Cake with Cherry Jam and Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

There’s few things you can add to a Vanilla Cake that will add to the already deliciously sweet and fluffy cake, and sour cherries just happens to be one of them! The contrast between the slightly sour and super sweet is pretty damn amazing if I do say so myself. If you can’t get your hands on fresh cherries or they’re just not in season, you can absolutely replace with frozen or canned cherries in a pinch! I will warn you, that even though the sour cherries addition does help the sweet balance, it is still a very sweet cake. If you prefer something a little less sweet, replace the Vanilla Buttercream with freshly whipped cream.

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Okay okay so tell me how to make all the things already!

To make this layer cake recipe a little easier to digest, i’ve broken it down into 4 easy steps;

–Cherry Jam

–Vanilla Cake

-Vanilla Buttercream

-Cake Assembly

Cherry Jam

For the Cherry Jam, start off by pitting and cutting 200 grams of fresh cherries in half. Add them along with the sugar, lemon juice and vanilla to a small saucepan. Cook this for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until the cherries are soft and the liquid has started to thicken. Take off the heat and blend until smooth. You can absolutely skip making the jam and simply buy a can of tinned cherries and just blend it all straight from the can and use this as your Cherry Jam instead.

Vanilla Cake

This is my favourite go-to recipe for a light fluffy and buttery Vanilla Cake recipe. It can also be used for the most delicious cupcakes! The recipe couldn’t be easier, simply add all your ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix well for 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to over mix but you also don’t want any lumps left either. Make sure your butter is soft and at room temperature to ensure you don’t have any lumps of butter left. Pour into greased and lined 20cm (8inch) round cake tins and bake. Allow to cool before icing.

Vanilla Buttercream

This Vanilla Buttercream Recipe results in a super fluffy, creamy and buttery buttercream that has massive vanilla flavour. To begin, start with soft, room temperature butter. Beat this well for 2-3 minutes until it turns pale and creamy. Next, add in the icing sugar, vanilla and milk and beat again for a good 4-5 minutes until fluffy.

Cake Assembly

Alright so you’ve got all your elements made, what next? Cake Assembly!

So to start off, you’re going to cut your cooled cakes horizontally in half so you end up with 4 layers. Or if you really prefer, just leave them as is and make it a chunky two layer cake, it’s your cake, you do you boo! But if you are following what I did, you’re going to fix the bottom layer onto your cake board or plate to stick it down while you decorate.

Next, spread about 2/3 of the Cherry Jam onto the first layer and top with a layer of buttercream. Place the next layer of cake on top and spread a layer of buttercream on this too. Place your third layer of cake on top of this. Chop the remaining cherries and add to the leftover jam. Spread this over the third cake layer and add a layer of buttercream on top of this. Place the last layer of cake on top, with the bottom facing up for a smooth top. Spread a thin layer of buttercream around the edges and top of the cake. This buttercream recipes provides enough to fully coat the cake with a thicker layer of buttercream if you wish. To do so, chill the cake for 20-30 minutes after the first coat of buttercream before applying a second. This is called crumb coating a cake.

For more Cake Recipes, check out my Cake Category, here.