basil + wild blueberry cake

hey hi helllllo!

Welcome back to bake chats xx

*This post has a few affiliate links, which if you click and purchase from I receive compensation at no additional cost to you*

You guys may know this by now, unless you’re new here (hiiiii). But, one of my favorite ways to riff and zhuzh up a recipe is by replace an ingredient in the recipe with a more flavorful counterpart. Because you can completely change the flavor profile of a bake without ever having to touch the ratio of what makes it work. (More yapping on understanding ratios ⬇)

By doing this you can bring new life to something you make all the time. Texturally you get the same result but the flavor can change every time ya make it. At this point I’m more of a flavor developer rather than a recipe developer. Because 7 times out of 10 these days, I’m reaching for one of my tried and true recipes and tweaking ever so slightly for flavor mods. Like, my perfume cake series and honestly any layer cake I make, the build of the cake follows the same formula, once again just infusing flavor into the recipes I already know work.

The way I build a layer cake follows the same logic of a recipe starting from a ratio. This is what a cake will always have (soft layers of cake, creamy filling, flavorful soak, buttercream) and then you just plug and play using components/recipes that already exist. So, anytime I want a “new” cake/recipe I’m kinda just playing around with tweakin’ flavor or the amount of custard to make for a cake. (Don’t get me wrong… even with a solid base recipe this can take a decent amount of testing… but I’m also kinda neurotic so could be that idk).

HENNYWAYS. For this cake I went with a basil infused olive oil rather than a classic extra virgin. There are TONS of flavored oils you can choose from, I’ve used rosemary, lemon, bergamot, and blood orange infused oils.

Now the thing about making ingredient swaps is you need to swap ingredients with like properties. Right, swapping extra virgin olive oil for an infused olive oil will work because the ingredients function in the same way. I think that this is where people are hitting walls and failure, is that we’re looking a little too broad at the ingredients they’re aiming to swap. Thinking you can swap fat for fat or dairy for dairy and still get the same results. But, buttermilk does not have the same properties as whole milk in the same way butter and olive oil don’t. Where people get a little caught up is in the naming, like all purpose flour and almond flour. Olive oil and coconut oil. You see a familiar term and think okay 1:1 swap. Which is not always the case, just because two ingredients come from the same “family” doesn’t mean they’ll act the same, take me and my sister for example…

Olive oil vs coconut oil for example, both sources of fat. But, olive oil is monosaturated fat while coconut oil is a saturated fat. You can already see the difference in the two at room temp, olive oil is in a liquid state at room temp while coconut oil remains solid. In the context of a baked cake, one made with olive oil will remain soft and plush at room temp, while the same recipe made with coconut oil can have a firmer texture at room temp.

This is also how I’m able to swap the buttermilk that the original version of this recipe (my vanilla buttermilk cake) calls for and swap it out for ricotta cheese. It’s because they have a similar pH balance, so I don’t have to touch the baking powder or soda so get the same chemical reaction. But, just because I can use ricotta as a 1:1 swap here doesn’t mean it’s a swap that works across the board. None of this is an absolute okay. Just because I can use ricotta in place of buttermilk here doesn’t mean that when you’re making cannolis and you run out of ricotta you can swoop in and use buttermilk in its place. OKAY. It feels very important to drive that home.

Moving on.. for this version I went in with Brightland’s basil infused oil and because basil + blueberries work so well together obvi topped with with mascarpone whip (I mean my absolute GO TO) and blueberry compote. But, with the basil note, peaches, strawberries and raspberries would work so well here.

I also just made a version of this same base cake, instead of the basil oil I did a maybe 50/50 split of Agrumato’s bergamot infused oil with Brightland’s lemon infused oil. Same exact texture as the basil on, completely different flavor profile. Topped that baddie with a vanilla bavarian and tons of fresh cut strawberries.

While you can buy infused oils, you can also make your own and really play with flavors that way too.

The original version of this was made with blueberries studded through out the cake batter and with a blend of whole grain flours for a faint corn like note (sonora + amarillo). And the ACTUAL original version of this recipe is my go to vanilla buttermilk cake. btwbtw.

as per usual, a easy to view, printer-friendly version PDF version of the recipe is avail to paid subscribers at the end of the post xx

TOOLS

• Digital scale

• Mixing bowl(s)

• Whisk

• Rubber spatula

• Small offset spatula

• 8” round cake pan

• Precut parchment round

• Medium saucepan

• Hand mixer/stand mixer

BASIL OLIVE OIL CAKE

Makes 1 8” single layer cake

Now, I love a very herby cake, so I go all in with the basil oil. It comes through strong with a very herbaceous and earthy note. If ultra herby isn’t your vibe you can play around with a split of extra virgin olive oil/canola oil + infused oil :)

INGREDIENTS

• 200 grams granulated sugar

• 120 grams basil olive oil, see headnote

• 100 grams egg (approx 2 large eggs)

• 200 grams full fat ricotta cheese

• 190 grams all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 335F.

2. In a medium bowl combine the 200 grams granulated sugar with, 120 grams basil olive oil, 2 large eggs and 200 grams of whole milk ricotta cheese. Whisk until evenly combined.

3. To the wets add the 190 grams all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Mix just until combined and the dry ingredients are evenly saturated.

4. Prepare an 8” cake pan with a parchment round and non-stick spray. Add the batter to the pan and use a small off set spatula to evenly spread everything out.

5. Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes. The cake should be evenly golden brown and spring back in the center when lightly tapped. Don’t rely fully on the time- always look for the visual indicators of when a cake is done. Different ovens, yield different bake times, alright?? ^{The internal temp of the cake should register 200-205F when fully baked.}

6. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing from the pan.

If you can’t get your hands on wild blueberries (check the freezer aisle first though) you can use a conventional bloob. Wild blueberries though while tiny, pack a far more intense blueberry flavor punch.

INGREDIENTS

• 300 grams wild blueberries (fresh or frozen), divided

• 50 grams granulated sugar

• zest of 1 lemon

• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

• pinch of kosher salt

• 2 tablespoons cold water

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan combine 100 grams of the wild blueberries, 50 grams of granulated sugar, the lemon zest, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and a pinch of kosher salt.

2. Place the saucepan over medium heat. Using a heat proof rubber spatula stir the berries as they cook, lightly smashing them to coax out their juices. Cook for about 5 minutes

3. While the berries heat up, make a thin slurry by combining the 2 tablespoons of cold water with the 1 1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch. Add the slurry to the cooking blueberries, stirring to combine. moving quickly otherwise the cornstarch and congeal and clump up.

4. Cook the slurried blueberries for about 1 minute before adding the reserved 200 grams of blueberries. Stir just to combine and cook for 1 minute more. Being careful not to overwork/pop the second addition of berries.

5. After the compote is cooked, you’ll transfer it to a heat safe bowl and place that in a bowl filled with ice water to cool it down before transferring to the fridge until ready for use.

INGREDIENTS

• 200 grams mascarpone

• 60 grams granulated sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt

• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste, or the seeds from 1 split and scraped pod

• 400 grams heavy cream, cold

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl combine the 200 grams mascarpone, 60 grams granulated sugar, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste. Use the hand mixer (alternatively, you can use a stand mixer) on low to cream everything together until smooth. Scrape down the bowl and add in the 400 grams of cold heavy cream.

2. Whip until medium peaks form.

3. Use immediately to frost the cake with.

TOOLS

• Cake turntable

• 10” or larger serving plate/platter/cake board

• Small offset spatula

• Piping bag

• Large ended piping tip (I used an Ateco 807 but a 865 could also be cute here)

DIRECTIONS

1. Make your vanilla mascarpone whip, if you haven’t already. This should be done right as you’re ready to decorate the cake.

2. Invert the cooled cake on to a serving plate. Place the plate on your cake turn table.

3. Load up the cake with 75% of the mascarpone whipped cream, load the remaining 25% into a piping bag. Use the offset spatula to evenly spread the whip over the cake, and use it to clean up the edges for a seamless look.

4. Pipe a decorate border around the edge of the cake, this will help to keep the compote from spilling over the edges.

5. Top with the blueberry compote. Use an offset spatula or a spoon to spread the compote evenly and gently over top of the mascarpone whip.

6. Decorate with some eddies (edible flowers) if ya want.

7. Slice up & serve. Enjoy ♡

* you can chuck this back in the fridge until you’re ready to serve, just give the cake 10-15 minutes at room temp for the cake to temper/soften a bit *

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