Blackberry White Chocolate Gooey Cake Bars
July 10, 2023
Gooey Cake Bars- 1st in the Series: Blackberry Swirl with White Chocolate Buttercream
I am super excited to be starting an Eras Collection Series with my friend Sheri Wilson. I decided to make gooey cake bars each week with a different theme to coordinate with Taylor Swift’s albums. The first one that we decided to do was “Speak Now.” I made blackberry swirl gooey cake bars topped with white chocolate buttercream. If you don’t want to make your own blackberry preserves, you can most definitely use store-bought! And if you aren’t doing a lot of decorating with the frosting, be sure to half the buttercream recipe. These bars have the perfect texture- buttery, gooey, sweet, and flavorful.
Gooey Cake Bars: Blackberry Swirl with White Chocolate Buttercream
Ingredients
BLACKBERRY PRESERVES- or feel free to use store-bought
- 6 oz blackberries, mashed
- 3/4 c powdered sugar
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1 tsp vanilla
CAKE BARS
- 1 box white cake mix
- 1 small box of vanilla pudding mix
- 1/4 c water
- 3/4 c vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
FROSTING (if you’re not doing detailed decorations, half this recipe)
- 2 sticks of butter, softened
- 1/2 c white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled. I used Ghirardelli white melts.
- 4 c powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
DECORATING
- Purple gel coloring- I like this brand
- Eras Collection sprinkles from Sprinkle Pop
Instructions
PRESERVES:
- In a small pot, mix together the blackberries, powdered sugar, and cornstarch. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Continue to cook for about 1 minute until thickened, then remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Let cool
CAKE BARS:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, and eggs. Spread it into a 13 x 9 pan sprayed with baking spray.
- Drop the blackberry preserves onto the cake, scattering them throughout the whole pan. Use a pointed knife and swirl the preserves through the batter.
- Bake for 30 minutes and then let them cool completely. They should be golden brown on the edges and a bit gooey in the center. Move them to the fridge for at least 30 minutes, ideally longer. This will give them more of a “fudgy” texture.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add in the white chocolate and mix. Add in half of the powdered sugar and mix until combined. Then the cream, vanilla, and rest of the sugar and beat until smooth.
- If desired, tint the buttercream several shades of purple. I used a regular purple shade, a pinky-purple shade, and a slightly darker shade of purple. Put dollops of the regular purple and pinky-purple onto the cake. Using an offset spatula, spread them so that they have a marble effect.
- Put the slightly darker purple shade in a piping bag with a 1M tip. Pipe rosettes/swirls, mini rosettes/swirls throughout the cake. Finish with stars. I only used this one tip, but feel free to use others. Place the sprinkles and butterflies throughout the cake. Serve immediately. Store in the fridge and bring back to room temp if eating later on.
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