Berry Vanilla Kefir Cake

A light vanilla cake, with berries inside and layered with whipped cream, this cake is the perfect dessert for Spring! It tastes a bit like a strawberry shortcake, and is sooo easy to eat! My mom loves this cake, so I’ll be making it for dessert for Mother’s day brunch this year. 

This post is sponsored by Lifeway Kefir,  but the opinions and thoughts are mine. Thanks for supporting the brands that make EyeDocBakes possible!

When making a cake, especially a naked cake – the cake layers have to be really excellent. This cake has the perfect crumb – it’s fluffy, yet moist, and that’s all due to the kefir in the batter. Kefir is a healthy cultured milk that you can drink, add in smoothies, or use to enhance your bakes! Kefir has a great tangy flavor, and is high in calcium, vitamin D, and protein! I used Vanilla Kefir in this cake, so I didn’t even have to add vanilla extract to the batter. The cake itself is made without a stand mixer, so super easy! I did use the stand mixer to make homemade whipped cream, with no extra sugar added, and used that to layer the cakes, instead of a traditional buttercream frosting. This made the cake feel super light and Spring-like. I also added strawberries and blueberries to the batter, and in between the layers – but you can add whatever berries you prefer! 

What You’ll Need. . .

• eggs
• granulated sugar
• vegetable oil
• Lifeway Vanilla Kefir 
• lemon
• flour
• baking powder
• salt
• strawberries
• blueberries
• heavy cream

Making the Batter

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and oil. Next add in the Vanilla Kefir (because of the vanilla flavor, you can skip vanilla extract), lemon juice, and zest, and continue whisking until smooth. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk  together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift this into the wet ingredients and then fold in with a silicone spatula. 
3. Slice 3-4 large strawberries into small cubes, and add the strawberries and blueberries into a small bowl with 2 tbsp of flour. Coat lightly with flour – this helps the fruit to not sink to the bottom of your cake layer. Fold berries into the batter. Butter two 6 inch cake pans, and line with parchment paper on the bottoms. Pour batter in two equal parts into each pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.  Let cool. Once completely cool, use a cake leveler to slice each cake into two equal parts, so you have 4 round cake layers. 

Making the cream and cake assembly

1. Add your heavy cream to your stand mixer. I didn’t add any extra sugar and found the cake to have a perfect sweetness level. If you prefer you can add 1-2 tbsp of sugar to the heavy cream. Use the whisk attachment to whisk the cream to stiff peaks. 
2. Use a large spoon or a spatula to add a layer of whipped cream to your bottom cake layer. Top with berries and the next cake layer. Add whipped cream and berries again, and add the third layer. Once more add whipped cream and berries, and top with the fourth and top cake layer. Add a few dollops of whipped cream on top and add berries.

If you liked this recipe, you might want to try. . .

1. 6-inch layered carrot cake
2. Cherry Shortcakes
3. Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake

Tried this recipe?

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Print Recipe

Berry Vanilla Kefir Cake

A light vanilla cake, with berries inside and layered with whipped cream, made moist and fluffy with kefir, this cake is the perfect dessert for Spring!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time50 mins

Total Time1 hr 5 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: berry cake, blueberry cake, cake, easy cake, layer cake, mother's day, mother's day cake, mother's day dessert, naked cake, six inch cake, strawberry cake, strawberry shortcake, whipped cream

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1½ cup granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup vanilla kefir
• ½ medium size lemon juiced and zested
• 2 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 4-5 large strawberries or more to taste/decoration
• 20-30 blueberries or more to taste/decoration
• 2 cups heavy cream

Instructions

• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, and vegetable oil. Add in the Lifeway Vanilla Kefir (because of the vanilla flavor, you can skip vanilla extract), lemon juice, and zest, and continue whisking until smooth. Preheat oven to 350F.
• In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and then fold in with a silicone spatula.
• Slice 3-4 large strawberries into small cubes, and add the strawberries and blueberries into a small bowl with 2 tbsp of flour. Coat lightly with flour - this helps the fruit to not sink to the bottom of your cake layer. Fold berries into the batter.
• Butter two 6 inch cake pans or springform pans, and line with parchment paper on the inside bottoms. Pour batter in two equal parts into each pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.  Let cool. Once completely cool, use a cake leveler to slice each cake into two equal parts, so you have 4 round cake layers. 
• Add heavy cream to your stand mixer. Use the whisk attachment to whisk the cream to stiff peaks.
• Use a large spoon or a spatula to add a layer of whipped cream to the top of your base cake layer. Top with berries and the next cake layer. Add whipped cream and berries again, and add the third layer. Once more add whipped cream and berries, and top with the fourth and final cake layer. Add a few dollops of whipped cream on top and add berries to finish. Slice and enjoy!