A buttery soft biscuit cake, full of blackberries and blueberries, this Blackberry Blueberry Biscuit Cake is so good on its own but even better piled high with vanilla ice cream and a honey butter sauce.

Side view of a Blackberry Blueberry Biscuit cake topped with vanilla bean ice cream and honey butter sauce.

What is a biscuit cake?

Starting with the base of my buttermilk biscuit recipe, I added in a bit of sugar, extra buttermilk, and a bunch of berries. Bake it all together and this biscuit cake is fluffy eggless cake that’s not too sweet with a crunchy sugar topping, perfect for topping with ice cream.

Can I swap out the fruit?

Yes!! I feel like this would be so yummy with raspberries, cherries, apricots, etc.

What can I use instead of Buttermilk?

A lot of people don’t want to buy buttermilk which I don’t full understand because it stays good for so long in the fridge and you can use it for a lot including: a chicken marinade, pancakes, biscuits, etc. However, if you don’t have buttermilk or can’t find it – mix together half full fat greek yogurt and half whole milk. I find the lemon juice and milk trick doesn’t work great because the mixture is too thin and has a different absorption into the dry ingredients.

Tips for making a Biscuit Cake

Keep everything as cold as possible but don’t stress, as long as the butter hasn’t melted you’ll be fine. If you ever need to step away while making the batter, put the bowl in the fridge until you are ready to keep working.
If you don’t have buttermilk or can’t find it – I recommend mixing together half full fat greek yogurt and half whole milk. I find the lemon juice and milk trick doesn’t work great because the mixture is too thin.
Be careful not to over mix the dough. Once the buttermilk is added, use a fork to just cut and fold until no dry bits remain.
This cake is meant to get that deep golden color so don’t under bake it!
This cake can be scaled down to a 6″ cake pan by cutting the recipe in half. Or you can do a double layer cake by splitting it in half across two 8″ pans and then layering it!
If ice cream isn’t your thing, this cake would also be amazing with a simple whipped cream on top!

Additional Recipes to try!

Biscuit Cake Ingredients

Sugar: Granulated sugar is used in the cake and sprinkled on top!
Lemon Zest: Lemon zest adds a little extra brightness and flavor to the cake.
Flour: I recommend using all purpose flour but you can play around with swapping in whole wheat flour.
Fine Sea Salt: A good bit of fine sea salt is needed to really give this cake that delicious flavor!
Baking Powder: Baking powder is what makes the cake puff so make sure it isn’t expired.
Baking Soda: Baking soda helps with the texture of the cake and keeps it soft inside.
Butter: I used cold salted butter in this cake and for the honey butter sauce. Unsalted will work too; however it is often harder to work into the flour because it comes out of the fridge a bit harder.
Buttermilk: Whole milk buttermilk is an essential part of a biscuit cake so try to go buy some! If you don’t have buttermilk or can’t find it – I recommend mixing together half full fat greek yogurt and half whole milk.
Vanilla & Almond Extract: A little vanilla and almond extract add extra flavor and round out this cake.
Blackberries & Blueberries: I like to use this combo in August – I don’t recommend using frozen fruit because it will release too much moisture. That being said, raspberries or apricots would also be delicious.
Honey: To make the honey butter sauce any honey will work!
Vanilla Ice Cream: I love topping this with a big pile of vanilla ice cream, I usually use a store bought ice cream but you could also top the cake with whipped cream.

Side view of a slice of Blackberry blueberry biscuit cake on a white shallow bowl.

How to make a Blackberry Blueberry Biscuit Cake

Make the Biscuit Dough

Preheat the oven to 400 F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
In a large mixing bowl, add in the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers.
Then add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a fork to stir until combined.
Thinly slice the butter and toss it into the dry ingredients. Rub the butter slices into the flour mixture between your thumbs and forefingers until thin and flaky. Do this quickly but thoroughly. This might sound silly but if your kitchen is hot or directly in the sun go somewhere where it’s a bit cooler and shady.
Continue to rub and mix until the butter is somewhere between grainy sand and small pebbles.
Add in the buttermilk and use a fork to fold and cut the dough rather than stirring it. You can also use the fork to kind of smush any unmixed dry ingredients as needed.
Mix until about 90% of it is fully clumping and no dry flour remains. Cover the bowl and place the dough in the fridge.

Add the berries & bake

Rinse the blackberries and blueberries. Cut the blackberries into roughly 1/2″ pieces. Usually either in half or into quarters.
Take the dough out of the fridge and uncover, pour in the chopped blackberries and rinsed blueberries.
Use the fork to gently fold and cut the berries into the batter, trying not to stir the dough.
Line the bottom of an 8″ metal cake pan with a piece of parchment. Pour the batter into the pan and use the back of the fork to smush it into an even layer.
Sprinkle 1.5 tablespoons of granulated sugar over the top. Bake in the hot oven for 40-45 minutes. It should be a deep golden brown and not wobble in the center when finished baking.
Take the pan out of the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Honey Butter sauce

While the cake cools, make the honey butter sauce. Add the butter and honey into a small sauce pot.
Place over medium low heat and “cook” until the butter has melted. Stir occasionally to combine.
Once smooth and homogenous, turn off the heat and pour it into a heat safe cup or pitcher preferably with a spout for easy pouring.
Stir occasionally as it cools.

Assemble and Serve

The cake can be served slightly warm or at room temperature.
Gently flip the baked cake out of the pan and peel back the parchment. Place the cake onto a large plate or cake stand from which you plan to serve. Scoop 5-6 big scoops of vanilla ice cream into a pile in the center of the cake.
*Alternatively you can slice the cake and top each one individually.
Decorate the ice cream pile with a few more blackberries or blueberries.
Pour the slightly cooled honey butter sauce over the pile of ice cream and berries. Sprinkle with flaky salt.
Use a large sharp knife to slice the cake and serve.
If you don’t plan to serve it all at once, I recommend topping each slice with ice cream and honey butter individually.
The leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple days!

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