This Chocolate Blueberry Cake is made up of a rich chocolate cake, oozing with chocolate chips, surrounded by a gorgeous blueberry frosting. It is then topped with a decadent ganache, more frosting, chocolate chips and blueberries! It's the perfect combination of rich and sweet; the flavors will be dancing on your tongue! Best yet, it's gluten free, nut free, eggless and can easily be made vegan!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8 inch round cake pans with vegetable oil, line bottoms with parchment paper and then lightly grease the parchment paper with vegetable oil as well.
Whisk the 1.5 cups of gluten free flour, the 1.5 cups granulated sugar, ¾ cup cocoa powders, 1.5 baking soda, ¾ teaspoon baking powder and ¾ teaspoon salt in a large bowl until combined and lump free.
Measure out 1 cup of milk of choice into a measuring cup. Add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar into the mix and stir with a spoon. Let it sit for 5-10 min and stir again. It should look slightly chunky. That’s normal.
In a separate small bowl, combine the 4 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch and 6 tablespoons of water and mix together with a spoon until thin and watery. It will be thick and tacky at first. Set aside.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the cornstarch water mixture, milk and vinegar mixture, 1 cup warm water, 4 tablespoons vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. If it starts to get too thick, use a spatula to mix the rest.
Add in 1.5 cups of chocolate chips using a spatula to combine.
Divide the batter evenly between the two greased cake pans and smooth the tops with a butter knife.
Bake the cakes for about 47-50 min in the center rack of the 350 degree oven or until the cakes spring back at you when carefully touched.
Remove cakes from the oven and let them cool in the cake pans. Once the cakes have cooled completely, take them out of the pans. If the tops of your cakes have domes, you can very carefully slice them off to make the tops flat.
Then, slice both cakes in half horizontally. Now you have 4 thin layers of cake.
Make the Jam
While the cake is baking, make the Blueberry Jam. If using store bought, skip this step.
Make The Frosting
In the large bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the 1 cup unsalted butter or vegan baking stick until smooth and creamy. About 2 minutes.
Add in the 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and beat until combined.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons of blueberry jam and 3 tablespoons of water. Beat until combined. It will look chunky at first.
Then add in the other 4 cups of confectioners' sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons of blueberry jam and beat until combined. If needed, with the mixer still on, slowly add in the rest of the 3 tablespoons of water...a little at a time until you get the desired consistency. You may not need to use all the water.The frosting should be creamy and smooth but thick enough to not slide all over your cake.
Assemble The Cake
Separate the frosting into 5 equal sections. Place one layer of cake on a cake plate/stand. Scoop ⅕ (about 1 cup) of frosting on top of the layer and use an icing spatula to spread it around.
Place another layer of cake on top; repeat this same process. Do this with 3 layers of cake.
Once you get to the top layer of cake, place it bottom (or flat) side up so the top of the cake is nice and flat. Use an icing spatula to frost the top and a thin layer on the sides of the cake. You should only use ⅕th of the frosting on the top and sides combined.
Pop the entire cake in the fridge uncovered for 15-20 minutes. This will make it more stable to work with.
Make the Ganache
Place 6 ounces chocolate chips in a heat safe bowl. Set aside.
Place the ½ heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. When it begins to simmer around the edges, immediately pour the cream over the chocolate chips and let it sit.Do not whisk the heavy cream and chocolate chips together yet! Let it sit for one minute and then whisk until combined and smooth.
Make the Drip and Decorate
Take the cake out of the fridge and immediately spoon almost all the liquid ganache on top of the cake.
Using an icing spatula, push the ganache around the edges of the cake so it drips down the sides.Work quickly because the cold cake will quickly stop the ganache from dripping too much.
Put the remaining ⅕th of the frosting into a piping bag.Make swirls all around the edge of the top of the cake.
Sprinkle some more chocolate chips and fresh washed blueberries on top of the frosting swirl.
Video
Notes
Vegan: Use a dairy free gluten free flour, vegan sugar, vegan baking sticks, non dairy milk, allergy friendly chocolate chips and and only use a vegan heavy cream, or use my vegan ganache recipe from my strawberry red velvet cake. All Purpose Flour: I cannot test this due to celiac disease, but use 1 ½ cups packed AP flour (252 grams) and ¾ packed cup of cocoa powder (87 grams).Storing: Store extra slices wrapped in foil in the fridge for up to 2 days. Warm in the microwave for 5-10 seconds if desired. Be careful not to burn your mouth.Freezing: Freeze extra slices (without the raw blueberry decoration) wrapped in foil in a zip top bag for up to 30 days. Place in fridge overnight to thaw and then microwave for 5-10 seconds. Or leave on the counter for 1-2 hrs until soft.Nutrition: The info below is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.