Berry Thyme Cake with Honey and Goat Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups fresh blackberries and raspberries combined, plus more for garnish.

1/4 cup Heirloom Springs honey

2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves(lemon thyme is lovely too), plus more for garnish

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, preferably duck

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk *Make your own, it always tastes better. Measure out 1/2 cup whole milk, squeeze about 1/2 a lemon and let it sit, add more lemon if the consistency is not thick enough. Should be about like a loose yogurt.

For the frosting

5 ounces Caromont Farm farmstead Chèvre  goat cheese, room temperature

3 ounces cultured cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup local honey, preferably Heirloom Springs floral honey

2 cups powdered sugar, less if you want it less sweet, more if you like it really sweet.

Instructions

In a small bowl, stir together the blackberries, raspberries, honey, and thyme.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Butter and flour 3) 8 x 1 1/4 inch round cake pans.

Mix dry ingredients together. Cream butter, and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Alternating, add in dry ingredients and buttermilk until thoroughly mixed. Divide the batter between pans evenly and add about 1 cup of the berry mixture to each cake.

Baking time will depend on your oven, start checking at 25 to 30 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the center, it should come out clean when done. Once the pans have cooled for at least 20 minutes, turn the cakes out onto wire racks to finish cooling completely.

Frosting

Using an electric mixer, combine the goat cheese and cream cheese until fluffy. Add in the honey and begin, adding in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time until mixed thoroughly to taste.

Assembly

Place one layer of the cake on a plate, put some frosting on it, top with a little bit of the berry mixture that’s left over. Spreading evenly, continue with your two other layers of cake, frosting, and berry mixture, ending with only frosting on top and have some fun decorating with berries and thyme.